Arlington is collecting feedback on a plan to bring over 1,500 new apartments to the RiverHouse development in Pentagon City.
Respondents have until Sunday, Sept. 22 to submit feedback on a site plan application to bring 1,515 more apartments to 1111 Army Navy Drive, 1400 S. Joyce Street and 1600 S. Joyce Street. This round of public feedback kicked off on Sept. 9.
The Arlington County Board has re-approved the Pentagon City Sector Plan, restoring a document that a state court declared void for procedural reasons earlier this year.
The Board’s unanimous vote on Tuesday reaffirmed the county’s original February 2022 decision to plan for substantial Pentagon City development in coming years, particularly at the RiverHouse apartment complex. Developer JBG Smith proposes to build over 1,500 new units on the expansive property, across from the Westpost shopping center and home to three apartment towers.
Four beach volleyball courts are now open in Crystal City as part of Club Volo National Landing, a new temporary recreational site at 223 23rd Street S.
The site is the result of an partnership between developer JBG Smith and Baltimore-based social sports company Volo Sports. The developer is set to construct high rise apartment buildings at the address, but has delayed construction until costs and interest rates settle.
The Pentagon City Sector Plan, which the Virginia Court of Appeals voided last month due to insufficient public notice, is heading back to the Arlington County Board for another vote.
However, county staff have indicated that they do not intend to make any substantive changes to the plan, suggesting that the construction of several controversial apartment towers at the RiverHouse property is still likely to proceed.
A large, aging office building in Crystal City is getting some significant upgrades.
JBG Smith announced last week that its 11-story building at 2011 Crystal Drive would be getting $40 million facelift. The “repositioning” will include exterior facade changes, communal outdoor spaces, a new meeting and conference facility with a cocktail bar, and upgrades to the ground floor.
A plan to have a developer pay Arlington County $5.8 million instead of building a planned library in Crystal City could get final approval this weekend.
Citing “site, operating, and capital budget constraints,” a county report calls for accepting a proposal “to support library operations elsewhere” by receiving payments from JBG Smith in installments over the next six years.
Alban Odoulamy has been selling puppets out of his shop in the Crystal City Underground for 28 years.
Opening as “La Marionette” in April 1996, that shop — now Puppet Heaven at 1750 Crystal Drive — has shifted locations over decades, but it’s always stayed in the subterranean mall. However, following last month’s announcement that all shops must vacate the shopping area, what Odoulamy says is the D.C. area’s only dedicated puppet store is one of many businesses in need of a new home.
(Updated at 3:30 p.m.) New York-based ice cream chain Van Leeuwen expects to open its Crystal City location next month.
The shop will occupy retail space underneath The Grace, the new apartment tower at 269 19th Court S. The shop is planning on an early June opening.
Temporary pickleball and beach volleyball courts could be coming to Crystal City as plans to build two apartment towers face significant delays.
A pair of 30-story apartment buildings are ultimately expected to bring 1,439 residential units and over 22,000 square feet of retail to 223 23rd Street S. and 2250 Crystal Drive. But the project approved in early 2023 won’t be getting off the ground until “construction costs and interest rates normalize” — likely next year at the earliest, developer JBG Smith told ARLnow.
It’s the end of an era in Crystal City.
The neighborhood, which has seen significant new development since Amazon’s HQ2 decision, is losing one of the most memorable vestiges of its time as a drab hub of military and government offices.
JBG Smith may be bowing out of a deal with the county to build a public library in Crystal City within one of its existing office buildings.
Instead of building the facility, JBG Smith now proposes paying a total of $5.8 million across seven years of annual payments, per a minor site plan amendment filed late last month.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day to submit feedback on a proposed 370-unit apartment building in Crystal City.
The design is less than half the height recommended in the Crystal City Sector Plan, but developer JBG Smith argues that it would function on a more “human scale.”
