Pentagon City | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published December 7, 2018 at 9:00AM | Updated December 7, 2018 at 9:38AM

Arlington County Prepares for Winter Weather — Though a winter storm this weekend is looking increasingly unlikely for the area, Arlington County says it is preparing for a snowy winter and “will be ready to fight back” against snow and ice. [Arlington County]

More Solar Panels for APS — “Arlington County Public Schools signed a contract on Thursday night that they say will save them millions of dollars. Five of their schools will be made over with solar panels as part of a power purchase agreement, or PPA, with a Charlottesville, Virginia firm called Sun Tribe Solar.” [WUSA 9]

News

Pentagon Row Parking Rates Creep Upward, A Development Neighbors Attribute to Amazon

By Alex Koma

Published December 6, 2018 at 4:15PM | Updated December 7, 2018 at 12:58PM

A Pentagon City parking lot is jacking up some of its monthly rates, and some residents fear that Amazon’s impending arrival in the neighborhood is to blame.

Residents of the RiverHouse Apartments (1400 S. Joyce Street) were recently informed by their landlord that their monthly parking rates were about to jump substantially if they park their cars in the nearby Pentagon Row garage and surface lot. Starting Jan. 1, anyone from the apartment complex parking there will pay $100 month per space, up from $65.

News

Amazon-Focused Town Hall Reveals Community Concerns Over Tech Giant’s Power

By Alex Koma

Published December 4, 2018 at 1:45PM

How might lowly local officials be able to bring one of the world’s largest companies to heel?

That’s the prime question on the minds of many Arlington and Alexandria residents worried about how Amazon might soon reshape their communities.

News

Major Pentagon City Redevelopment Nears Opening, Just in Time for Amazon’s Arrival

By Alex Koma

Published November 29, 2018 at 10:45AM | Updated November 30, 2018 at 10:50AM

The Witmer, a new residential tower as part of the Pentagon Centre redevelopment (via Kimco Realty)

Update, Nov. 30 at 9 a.m.: After this story was published Kimco spokeswoman Jennifer Maisch contacted ARLnow to clarify that Glazer’s comments regarding the new parking garage were inaccurate. The garage will serve only retail customers, while each residential building will have its parking available on lower floors, she said.

A massive new mixed-development in Pentagon City is nearly ready to open — and its backers hope it’ll be perfectly positioned to serve the thousands of Amazon employees who will start arriving in the area in the next few months.

News

Arlington Plans Amazon-Focused Town Halls to Accept Feedback on New Headquarters

By Alex Koma

Published November 28, 2018 at 4:45PM

Arlington County Board Member Katie Cristol

Arlington leaders are now planning on hosting at least two Amazon-focused town halls to let residents share their concerns about the tech giant ahead of a planned February vote on the deal to bring the company’s new headquarters to the county.

County Board Chair Katie Cristol announced at the Board’s meeting yesterday (Tuesday) that the county will hold a pair of “community listening sessions” to give people the chance to talk directly with Arlington staffers and Board members alike about Amazon. She says the county is targeting Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 12 at 9:30 a.m. for those sessions, but has yet to settle on locations for either one.

News

County Expects Amazon’s Arrival Will Spark a Transformation of Crystal City Office Buildings

By Alex Koma

Published November 27, 2018 at 3:45PM

Crystal City’s bevy of aging office buildings have long been in need of a makeover, and Arlington officials hope Amazon’s arrival will spur some big development changes in the neighborhood.

The tech giant itself will be responsible for a major transformation of the newly christened “National Landing” all on its own, of course. Amazon will start off by leasing space from property owner JBG Smith in Crystal City, with plans to fully renovate those office buildings, and even construct its own facilities on various plots of land in Pentagon City.

News

Officials Expect Plenty of Amazon Votes in Coming Years, Giving County Some Say in Shaping New HQ

By Alex Koma

Published November 20, 2018 at 2:45PM

Amazon protesters demonstrate at a County Board meeting.

Though Amazon skeptics fret that Arlington officials will offer them only limited opportunities to have their say on the new headquarters, county leaders stress that the complexity of the tech giant’s plans for the area means there will be plenty of chances for the public to weigh in.

Critics of the county and state’s proposal to Amazon have centered on the secrecy of the “HQ2” negotiations in the days following the company’s big announcement, arguing that it may well be an uphill battle for lawmakers to change the structure of the deal after Gov. Ralph Northam’s staff already hammered out most of the details with Amazon. Though both the General Assembly and the Arlington County Board will hold votes on the proposed headquarters agreement, opponents of Amazon’s arrival argue those will mainly be for show, and won’t include a robust community debate about the company’s impact on the region.

Around Town

Pentagon City Mall Adds Five New Stores Ahead of Holiday Shopping Season

By Alex Koma

Published November 19, 2018 at 10:45AM | Updated November 19, 2018 at 11:26AM

As the busiest shopping season of the year draws near, the Pentagon City mall is adding five new stores.

The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City announced Thursday (Nov. 15) that it would be welcoming the new retailers, with some opening right away and others rolling out in the coming weeks.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 19, 2018 at 8:45AM | Updated November 19, 2018 at 9:14AM

New Elementary School at Reed Site Approved — “The Arlington County Board today approved a new elementary school for up to 732 students at the Reed site, 1644 N. McKinley Road, in the Westover neighborhood. The Board voted unanimously to approve a use permit amendment for Arlington Public Schools to renovate and expand the existing Reed School/Westover Library to create a neighborhood elementary school.” [Arlington County]

Here’s Where Amazon is Coming, Exactly — Amazon will be leasing office space at three JBG Smith buildings in Crystal City: 241 18th Street S., 1800 S. Bell Street and 1770 Crystal Drive. Amazon also agreed to buy two JBG-owned land parcels in Pentagon City that are approved for development: PenPlace and the remaining portion of Metropolitan Park. [Washington Business Journal]

News

Arlington Commits to Only Limited Affordable Housing Measures As Part of Amazon Deal

By Alex Koma

Published November 15, 2018 at 11:00AM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 11:27AM

A rendering of a new 1900 Crystal Drive apartment building near Amazon's headquarters (via JBG Smith)

Amid persistent concerns that Amazon’s army of new workers will displace low-income Arlingtonians, county leaders plan to redirect their existing investments in affordable housing to better serve the areas impacted by the new headquarters — but the county won’t be upping its financial commitment to spurring the construction of reasonably priced homes.

While critics of Arlington’s decision to court Amazon’s HQ2 have focused on everything from the headquarters’ potential impact on county schools to its transportation systems, the tech giant’s impact on housing prices has perhaps drawn the most scrutiny of all.

News

Amazon’s Arrival Brings Plans for Transportation Transformation Around New Headquarters

By Alex Koma

Published November 14, 2018 at 4:45PM

A map of proposed transportation projects around Amazon's new headquarters in Crystal City (via HQ NOVA)

For pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike, Crystal City has never been the easiest neighborhood to navigate — and Amazon’s looming arrival in the neighborhood has stoked fears that things could get worse in the area long before they get better.

But now that the tech giant has officially picked Arlington for its new headquarters, county officials are free to unveil their grand plans for allaying those concerns and fundamentally transforming transportation options along the Crystal City-Pentagon City-Potomac Yard corridor.

News

Arlington Shouldn’t Fear a ‘Tsunami’ of New Residents With Amazon’s Arrival, Officials Say

By Alex Koma

Published November 14, 2018 at 9:45AM

Amazon’s new headquarters will fundamentally transform Arlington in the years to come, but county officials are hoping to reassure residents that the area won’t change in the blink of an eye.

Instead, Arlington leaders are painting the arrival of the tech giant — and the 25,000 workers set to someday occupy its new office space — as a development that will shape the county’s economic landscape over time, rather than overnight. And, they hope, that will give the county time to prepare accordingly.