planning | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published November 11, 2020 at 8:00AM

It’s Veterans Day — Today is Veterans Day, and as a result of the holiday government offices are closed and metered parking is not being enforced. Per the county, Arlington is currently home to about 13,000 veterans. [Arlington County]

Trump Scheduled for Cemetery Visit –“To mark Veterans Day… President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will visit Arlington National Cemetery. The President will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown [Soldier],” according to CBS News producer Sara Cook. [Twitter, Washington Examiner]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 15, 2020 at 6:00AM

Nonprofit Won’t Return to Arlington Office — “The American Diabetes Association isn’t planning a return to the Crystal City headquarters it left Alexandria for a few years back, not even when a Covid-19 vaccine is readily available and it’s safe to go back to the office again. The nonprofit is seeking to sublease all of its space at 2451 Crystal Drive, about 80,000 square feet.” [Washington Business Journal]

Voter Registration Open Until Midnight — “A judge on Wednesday granted a request from civil rights groups to extend Virginia’s voter registration deadline until Oct. 15 after the state’s online system crashed on the final day of the registration period, according to Virginia’s attorney general.” [Axios, Press Release]

News

County Considering Making Office-to-Apartment Conversions Easier

By ARLnow.com

Published October 13, 2020 at 3:45PM

WeWork / WeLive in Crystal City, in 2016 (file photo)

Arlington County officials are considering new administrative guidance to streamline the process of converting office buildings into residential buildings.

Such conversions would remain subject to County Board approval, but a new set of guidelines being considered by county staff would make the review and recommendation process easier.

News

New Report Shows Route 1 in Crystal City as a Tree-Lined Urban Boulevard

By ARLnow.com

Published October 6, 2020 at 2:00PM

Rendering of potential changes to Route 1 - Option A (via National Landing BID)

Route 1 through Crystal City is currently a car-oriented, exhaust-clogged asphalt canyon that’s unpleasant for pedestrians to cross or even walk along. But there’s a push for that to change.

The National Landing BID, formerly known as the Crystal City BID before Amazon came to town, has just revealed its lusher, more pedestrian-friendly vision for Route 1, complete with wide sidewalks lined with ground-floor retail and restaurants.

News

Renderings Released for New Public Plaza in Virginia Square

By Scott Fields

Published September 22, 2020 at 2:00PM | Updated September 22, 2020 at 2:20PM

Concept A of 3901 N. Fairfax Drive plaza (photo via Arlington County)

(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) After years of stalled plans, concepts for a new public plaza and office building in Virginia Square are taking shape.

Arlington County and developer Skanska released two new concept designs for the plaza as part of a community engagement process for the planned development, located near Arlington Central Library. The county is seeking feedback on the designs, which have changed since the development was first approved in 2012.

News

Planned Changes to Parking Permits Postponed by Pandemic

By Vernon Miles

Published July 10, 2020 at 1:45PM

Amid the pandemic, Arlington County is sifting through which planning processes are ready to continue moving forward and which ones are being delayed.

The County recently announced that it is still moving forward with plans for updating guidelines for development in Pentagon City, a relatively time-critical issue with Amazon’s permanent HQ2 under construction nearby.

News

Arlington Starts Planning Effort to Guide the Future of Pentagon City

By Vernon Miles

Published July 9, 2020 at 3:45PM | Updated July 9, 2020 at 4:14PM

Aerial view of Pentagon City (photo via Arlington County)

(Updated at 4:1o p.m.) Arlington County is launching a new planning study to determine how best to shape the new density coming to Pentagon City.

As nearby Crystal City and Potomac Yard undergo new development spurred by Amazon’s second headquarters, the new study is intended to shape development around Pentagon City, where the permanent HQ2 campus will be located.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 24, 2020 at 7:30AM

A delivery driver hustles to pick up an order during a rainstorm in Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Blind Triplets Have Coronavirus — “The blind Virginia triplets who defied the odds and made history when they became Eagle Scouts in 2017 are facing another challenge. All three young men have now been diagnosed with COVID-19 and their father is praying they continue to beat the odds.” [WUSA 9]

Wakefield Seniors to Get Yard Signs, Too — “Through donations from teachers, alumni, and community members, every senior gets a yard sign!” [Twitter]

News

County May Consider Plan for Trails, Boating at Roaches Run

By ARLnow.com

Published March 3, 2020 at 11:00AM

Roaches Run (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

A stone’s throw from Crystal City is Roaches Run, a waterfowl sanctuary on the northern flight path to and from Reagan National Airport.

The body of water, surrounded by woods, is home to birds, ducks and dragonflies. Accessible primarily from a small parking lot off the southbound GW Parkway, most human activity is confined to fishing and birdwatching.

News

Developer Proposes Converting Part of Planned Office Complex into Apartments

By ARLnow.com

Published February 24, 2020 at 11:00AM

The buildings would include office and retail space (image via DCS Designs)

A long-delayed development project in the Potomac Yard area is likely to go back before the Arlington County Board this year with some changes.

Developer Meridian is expected to seek a modification to the earlier plan to build four office buildings on the empty plot of land along Richmond Highway, south of Crystal City, known as Potomac Yard Land Bay C.

News

With Lots of Redevelopment Coming, County Expected to Re-Examine Clarendon Plan

By ARLnow.com

Published February 18, 2020 at 3:45PM | Updated February 18, 2020 at 4:28PM

(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) A bevy of new development is coming to Clarendon and Virginia Square, prompting Arlington County to update its plan for the former.

The county’s busy planning division, which is working its way through a crush of post-Amazon HQ2 development applications, is also gearing up to review and perhaps refine the 2006 Clarendon Sector Plan.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 3, 2020 at 7:00AM | Updated February 3, 2020 at 9:57AM

Cristol Reacts to Lawmaker’s Arlington Suggestion — After another Republican state Senator suggested, jokingly, that Arlington and Alexandria go back to being part of D.C., Arlington’s state lawmakers and County Board member Katie Cristol were not amused. Cristol tweeted: “Hmmm, is it possible their grievance is that my diverse, progressive constituents are EXACTLY what it means to be a ‘Real Virginian’ in 2020?” [Twitter, Blue Virginia]

More on Planned Pentagon City Study — “County staff have been overwhelmed by a flood of new development applications in the area since Amazon announced its intentions to set up its second headquarters. And the sizes of some of those projects have been so large that staff have begun urging developers to be patient and wait for a revision of the area’s planning documents before pursuing them.” [Washington Business Journal]