Events

The Rosslyn Business Improvement District has already announced its office-themed outdoor summer movie schedule, which will run on Friday nights from May 30 to Aug. 22. In addition to the films, events for dogs and their owners, fashion and fitness fans and a farmers market are on their way.

Starting next Friday, May 2, Rosslyn will host a “Yappy Hour” at Le Méridien Arlington, 1121 19th St. N. on the terrace in front of Amuse. Dogs are welcome — and the pooches will have some treats — and cocktails and appetizers are available to their owners, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.


Around Town

The restaurant’s leasing agent made the announcement today that the lease for the space has been signed. Formerly home to Santa Fe Cafe, the office building and retail space at 1500 Wilson Blvd has since been renovated. We previously reported that Capriotti’s was looking to open in Rosslyn, but at the time a location had not been finalized yet.

Capriotti’s is a fast-casual sandwich shop with locations in more than a dozen states. It specializes in large sandwiches that feature turkey and roast beef that has been roasted in-house, overnight.


News

Located at 1601 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, the Wilson School was built in 1910 and preservationists have been calling for it to be restored rather than torn down. Under a plan approved by the School Board last summer, it was to be demolished to make way for a private mixed-use development with affordable housing, a new fire station and a 1.5 acre park.

Now, according to a press release (after the jump), that plan has been scrapped in favor of retaining the property and perhaps building a new secondary school at the site, to address the school system’s capacity crunch.


News

Arlington officials and real estate developer JBG Companies broke ground this morning on the 31-story residential skyscraper at 1823 N. Moore Street in Rosslyn called Central Place.

The development, which is expected to be complete in 2017, will have two floors of retail, a 17,00-square-foot public plaza and six levels of parking — three below ground and three above. Once the residential tower, which will be one of, if not the tallest, residential building the D.C. area, is complete, JBG will begin construction on an accompanying office space next door, between N. Lynn and Moore Streets.


News

Earth Day in Arlington — Today is Earth Day around the globe, but Arlington County has declared that “every day is Earth Day in Arlington.” In a press release, the county detailed the steps it has been taking to enhance environmental sustainability and also highlighted some environmentally-friendly events around Arlington. Among the upcoming events are the Green Living Expo on April 26 and Bike to Work Day on May 16. [Arlington County]

School Board Candidate Visits All 52 Precincts — Arlington School Board candidate Barbara Kanninen says she has now knocked on doors in all 52 Arlington electoral precincts. Last year Kanninen was criticized for reportedly holding all of her published campaign events in north Arlington. [InsideNoVa]


News

The Board approved the the framework for its planned Rosslyn Sector Plan Update. It’s an outline for a plan that when finished and approved, will help move Rosslyn from its auto-oriented, commercial feel to what the County Board hopes will be a mixed-use hub of street-level activity.

Among the components of the framework the Board approved this weekend were developing more housing in central Rosslyn, studying turning Ft. Myer Drive and N. Lynn Street into two-way streets, creating a full 18th Street corridor to remove the “superblocks” between 19th Street N. and Wilson Blvd, creating an “esplanade” and connecting the open spaces in the area.


Around Town

A street corner in Rosslyn transformed into a red carpet scene for an hour this morning, all to make a little girl’s wish come true.

Five-year-old Addy — who is suffering from a Wilms Tumor, a form of kidney cancer that affects young children — wished to become a pop star. Through the efforts of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Mid-Atlantic chapter, Addy’s wish played out in front of the WJLA building in Rosslyn, on the corner of N. Lynn Street and Wilson Blvd.


News

New Restaurants Coming to Rosslyn — At least three new restaurant concepts are reportedly coming to Rosslyn. The restaurants will be opening on the ground floor of the Sedona/Slate apartment building and office buildings at 1100 and 1501 Wilson Blvd, according to speakers at a Bisnow conference in Rosslyn yesterday morning. Little is known about the restaurants — so far, property owners aren’t naming names — but one rumor relayed to ARLnow.com is that one of the restaurants will feature a Top Chef contestant as its head chef. [Bisnow]

Vihstadt Swearing-In Set for Friday — The swearing-in of new Arlington County Board member John Vihstadt will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The ceremony will be aired live on Arlington TV (Comcast 25 / Verizon 40). [Arlington County]


News

In the fourth quarter of 2013, Arlington reported about $813 million in taxable retail sales in its March economic indicators study today. Over the same period in 2013, Arlington had about $786 million, a drop of 3.3 percent. The change can’t be attributed to the unusually snowy winter, either: nearly all of the snow this winter fell in the first quarter of 2014, after these numbers were recorded.

While the retail industry — which includes everything from restaurants to grocery stores to stands in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City — lost $27 million in sales year-over-year, Arlington’s workforce grew 1.4 percent while its unemployment rate dropped from 3.9 percent in January 2013 to 3.3 percent in January.


Around Town

Several cherry trees were chopped down this week, while fully flowered, for a new landscape design in Rosslyn.

The trees were several of about a dozen planted in front of the Colonial Village Shopping Center, home to the new Ben’s Chili Bowl, along Wilson Blvd. Xtra Care Landscaping & Design was hired by the strip mall’s property manager to remove the trees, according to an Xtra Care employee.


Around Town

Rosslyn has a cameo in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which opened to a record-setting $96.2 million in box office sales this past weekend.

The superhero flick is set in D.C., but much of the action centers around the high-rise headquarters of the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D., which oddly appears to be built on Roosevelt Island. As a result, Rosslyn can be seen in the background of many shots.


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