Author: ARLnow.com

Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. Started by a Pentagon City resident who has spent the past several years working in local TV news, ARLnow.com seeks to distinguish itself with original, enterprising, up-to-the-minute local coverage.

A Pawn Shop in Crystal City is Selling a Pair of Super Bowl Rings and Trophies

By ARLnow.com

A pawn shop in Crystal City has not one but two of the most rare items around: Lombardi trophies. And that’s not to mention the Super Bowl rings.

Eric Rizer, the owner of Royal Pawn at 507 23rd Street S., says a former Denver Broncos player — he wouldn’t say who — has parted with the two Super Bowl rings and trophies, which date back to the team’s championship 1997 and 1998 seasons.

The trophies are replicas, made by Tiffany & Co. and about 75 percent of the size of the real trophy, of which only one is made for each Super Bowl-winning team. Starting players are eligible to buy the replicas after winning the big game, Rizer said, adding that he has verified the authenticity of each with Tiffany via an engraved serial number.

While the sterling silver trophies are more rare than the Super Bowl rings, the rings come with a higher price tag thanks to what they’re made of: 14-karat gold and a combination of white and canary yellow diamonds.

The trophies are on sale for $10,000 each, while the single-horse ring is $25,000 and the double-horse ring is $30,000, Rizer said. He said interest in the NFL’s highest prizes has been high, with kids frequently stopping by to gawk at the trophies and rings, which the store allows.

Rizer says he even brought one of the trophies to the nearby Crystal City Sports Pub for its Super Bowl viewing last month, attracting lots of attention.

While Rizer would not reveal the name of the seller, he did say that it was a Pro Bowl-caliber player who — despite playing for the Broncos — currently lives in the D.C. area.

Royal Pawn opened in Crystal City in 2017 and has other locations in Vienna and Alexandria. Rizer said he had been “dying to open” along 23rd Street S. in Crystal City and is now doubly excited about the location, given the arrival of Amazon’s new office campus, which is currently under construction.

More on the rings and trophies from Royal Pawn’s Instagram account:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvhE_F6hZfp/

JUST IN: A CVS Is Coming to Shirlington

By ARLnow.com

CVS Pharmacy is planning to open a new store in the Village of Shirlington next year, the shopping center announced this afternoon.

The CVS will open a 10,906 square-foot space at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and S. Randolph Street, apparently in the the former Ping by Charlie Chiang’s and the current Cheesetique spaces.

Ping closed permanently last year. Cheesetique is moving to a larger location in Shirlington at 4024 Campbell Avenue, the former home of Luna Grill and Diner, according to a press release.

There’s still no word about might be coming to an even larger, vacant space in Shirlington — the former Capitol City Brewing location at the corner of Campbell Avenue and S. Quincy Street. A PR rep declined comment today.

Village of Shirlington owner Federal Realty Investment Trust said in this afternoon’s announcement that the new CVS is expected to open in the fall of 2020.

More from the press release:

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) announced today that CVS Pharmacy will join the Village of Shirlington at 4060 Campbell Avenue in 2019.

The new CVS Pharmacy location will open fall of 2020 in a 10,906 square-foot space at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and South Randolph Street at the center of the Village. The new store will offer an expanded selection of healthier foods and wellness products in addition to a full-service pharmacy, bringing best in class health and beauty needs to the Village.

Preceding CVS’s arrival, Cheesetique will relocate to a larger restaurant space within the Village at Shirlington at 4024 Campbell Avenue, allowing the locally-grown purveyor to expand its specialty cheese and wine shop, restaurant seating, and private dining offerings.

“We are thrilled to provide the Village at Shirlington with a new amenity that will meet the needs of the surrounding community,” said Dan Corwin, Director of Asset Management at Federal Realty Investment Trust. “We consider the Village to serve as both an entertainment and dining destination to greater Arlington, as well as a local hub for the many individuals living in and around Shirlington, and we believe CVS Pharmacy will provide Campbell Avenue with more conveniences that attract our local customers daily.”

Photos: H-B Woodlawn’s Future Home Under Construction

By ARLnow.com
1/7

Construction is proceeding as planned on The Heights Building, the name of the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program’s new home at the former Wilson School site in Rosslyn.

Located at 1601 Wilson Blvd, The Heights Building will include an estimated 775 seats for students, at a cost of around $100 million. The Leo A. Daly– and BIG-designed building, with its unique stacked-rectangle design, will house both H-B Woodlawn and the Stratford Program.

H-B Woodlawn, an arts-oriented high school program with a focus on self-discipline, was once known as “hippie high.” Stratford is a secondary school for students with special needs.

Demolition for the project started in 2017.

Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia told ARLnow that the project remains “on schedule to open in September,” though he offered no other details on the construction progress so far.

Meanwhile, next to The Heights Building, another large construction project is underway. Excavation for the massive project — which will feature three towers, a park and a new road as part of a mixed-use development called The Highlands — appears to be mostly complete.

More from our prior coverage in October:

Work is kicking off on a massive new development in West Rosslyn, and its developer is offering a first look at its plans to build three new residential towers, a new fire station and an improved Rosslyn Highlands Park.

The D.C. developer Penzance announced today (Monday) that it would be dubbing the project “The Highlands,” which will be located at 1555 Wilson Blvd.

In all, the development will include 104 condos, 780 apartments and 40,000 square feet of retail space, including a new CVS pharmacy replacing the old shop at the location that closed earlier this year.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Lidl Opens Store at Arlington HQ — “Arlington finally has its first Lidl grocery store — it just happens to be pint-sized… the company took a little more than 1,000 square feet it was using as storage on the ground floor of its HQ to open Lidl Express, a convenience-sized store with a variety of convenience store staples and fresh food.” [Washington Business Journal]

Lee Highway Group Wants More Funding — “The Lee Highway Alliance is seeking what its president calls a modest increase in funding from the county government. But the budget proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz is heading in the other direction.” [InsideNova]

Crystal City Condo Aiming for Record Sale — “With Amazon’s HQ2 on the way, the seller of Penthouse 3S at the Crystal Gateway Condominiums believes the time is right to go for a record… While $2 million might sound like a hefty number, DeHart stresses that inside DC limits, buyers pay nearly twice as much for Potomac views.” [Washingtonian]

Former ACPD Captain in the News — “The former police chief of Portsmouth, Va.” — Tonya Chapman, a former Arlington County Police captain and the first black woman to lead a municipal police department in Virginia — “says she was forced out by city leaders over resistance to her attempts to overhaul a department riven by racial tension.” [Washington Post]

Instagrammable Arlington Spots — Arlington tourism booster StayArlington has compiled a list of Instagram-friendly locations in the county. [StayArlington]

Nearby: Halal Butchery Approved — “A retail halal butcher shop that slaughters chickens on-site will be allowed to open in a small industrial area of Alexandria, despite strong opposition from nearby business owners and their patrons.” [Washington Post, Patch]

Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley

Arlington Pet of the Week: Lapis and Opal

By ARLnow.com
1/3

(Updated at 7:15 p.m.) This week two puppies are pet of the week: Lapis and Opal.

Here’s more about the four-legged sisters from their owner Jeanne:

They are [Shih] Ztu sisters adopted last summer from dear friends in Tennessee.  Their Momma was pure white and their Poppa was all black – can you guess who the take after?

They love long walks, belly rubs, car rides, playing with toys and each other.  As you can see from their pics they had really long hair and are loving the new look.  What girl does not like going to the salon?

My Dad and I love to spoil these girls with affection and they spoil us right back.  My Dad is known to say, “Am I to be bathed or to be drowned?” when the girls start licking his face.

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of six consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.

Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.

UPDATED: Widespread Water Outage in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:40 a.m.) Hundreds — and perhaps even thousands — of water customers in Crystal City are without water service this morning.

Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services (DES) says it is currently performing emergency water main repairs following a series of at least three water main breaks. Drivers should expect detours around one of the work zones, near the intersection of 23rd Street S. and Crystal Drive.

“Several buildings” are without water, the Crystal City Business Improvement District said via social media. Tipsters have told ARLnow that some buildings are closed due to the outage.

A map posted by DES shows outages across a wide swath of Crystal City, from 15th Street S. to S. Potomac Avenue, east of Route 1. As of 9:30 a.m., water service has been restored to buildings north of 18th Street S., DES said.

“Progress is being made on isolating breaks and ultimately returning service,” DES said. So far, there’s no estimate of when the repairs will be completed.

Update at 2:20 p.m. — Water service “has been restored to most of the affected buildings,” DES says.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

New APS Verification System — “For the 2019-20 school year, Arlington Public Schools will implement a new annual online verification process for updating and maintaining accurate student information. This will replace the First Day Packet students used to receive on the first day of school.” [Arlington Public Schools]

Garvey: Board Should Get Full-Time Pay — From Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey, who has previously spoken out about the issue: “To expect 5 Board members to hold outside jobs to supplement our $55k salary while maintaining Arlington’s presence in the region and the Board’s connection to the multitude of civic associations, commissions, and organizations we have is, I believe, unreasonable and not healthy for our County.” [Libby Garvey, Blue Virginia]

Border Wall May Cost Local Projects — Arlington may lose out on more than $50 million in military construction projects — including a road project and Pentagon exterior and security upgrades — if the money is diverted to President Trump’s southern border wall project. In all, nearly a half billion dollars worth of projects are at risk in Virginia. [WUSA 9]

Cyclist Struck in Shirlington — “ACFD on scene of a cyclist struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Shirlington Road at Arlington Mill, in Shirlington. Victim is being transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, per scanner. Several lanes blocked.” [Twitter]

Wardian Does it Again — “Running from south to north, Michael Wardian of Arlington, Virginia has set an FKT on the 631-mile (1,009K) Israel National Trail of 10 days, 16 hours and 36 minutes (unofficially). That’s like running a 100K race every day for 10 days.” [Trail Running]

Ride Hailing Service for Kids Comes to Arlington — “A California transportation service is looking to make life easier for Greater Washington families — by driving their kids. Los Angeles-based HopSkipDrive Inc., whose service chauffeurs kids between school and other activities much like a family-friendly Uber or Lyft, is launching in the D.C. area, now live in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria.” [Washington Business Journal]

Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley

Vehicle Overturns Near Pentagon City Costco

By ARLnow.com

Police and firefighters are on scene of a crash involving an overturned vehicle in Pentagon City.

The crash happened at the intersection of S. Fern Street and 13th Street S., near a busy entrance to the Costco parking lot. Fern Street is currently closed to traffic in both directions between 12th and 15th streets.

The crash involved at least two vehicles, one of which flipped on its side, and at least one reported minor injury. The occupant or occupants of the flipped vehicle were able to get out without the assistance of any of the fire department’s heavy rescue equipment.

White Nationalist Group Places Stickers Around Arlington

By ARLnow.com

A white nationalist group has been sticking posters on signs, poles and other public property in parts of Arlington.

Patriot Front, a group identified as a “white nationalist hate group,” took credit on social media earlier this month for its “activists” placing the stickers in Arlington. Photos from the social media post appear to show the stickers — with slogans like “reclaim America” and “better dead than red” — in Crystal City and Pentagon City.

More recently, Fairlington residents reported in a local Facebook group that a number of stickers had been placed around the neighborhood. One of the stickers has the slogan “Keep America American” and urges people to “report and and all illegal aliens.” A Fairlington resident said in the post that he took down some of the stickers.

Patriot Front has been active around Northern Virginia, with stickers also popping up in Reston, Herndon, Vienna, Alexandria and elsewhere.

The effort has led to charges against at least one man. A 21-year-old Herndon man was arrested on Saturday, March 16 and charged with destruction of property after Vienna police allegedly saw him place a Patriot Front sticker on a public utility box, our sister site Reston Now reported exclusively.

This is not the only recent instance of a hate group being active in Arlington. KKK recruitment flyers popped up in the East Falls Church neighborhood last year.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

‘I Voted’ Sticker Design Competition — “The Arlington Electoral Board is teaming up with the Arlington Artists Alliance and the county library system on its first-ever ‘I Voted’ decal competition. Modeled on a similar effort in New York City, the contest encourages Arlington residents to submit designs for the decal that will be distributed to voters on Election Day and used in a variety of outreach campaigns.” [InsideNova]

Crystal City Startup Implodes — “One of Trustify’s investors is asking Delaware’s Chancery Court to appoint a receiver to oversee the company, claiming in court documents that founder and CEO Danny Boice ‘misappropriated Trustify corporate funds for personal use’ and effectively abandoned the business.” [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington No. 1 for Working Moms — Arlington is the No. 1 best “city” for working moms, according to a new study. “Women in Arlington earn a median salary of $76,438, and the pay gap is narrower than the U.S. average,” the study notes. [Haven Life]

Local Gov’t Contractor Makes Acquisition — Clarendon-based By Light Professional IT Services LLC yesterday “announced the acquisition of [Tysons-based] Phacil, Inc., a diversified software, cybersecurity, systems engineering and managed services provider to the US Government. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.” [PR Newswire]

Demolition Underway on Amazon Buildings in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com
1/10

Arlington’s Crystal City neighborhood is echoing with the sounds of demolition today as work gets underway on Amazon’s new, temporary offices.

Loud, heavy demolition is underway at 1800 S. Bell Street and 1770 Crystal Drive, two of three buildings near the Crystal City Metro station that Amazon plans to lease from JBG Smith. The aging office buildings are being refurbished prior to Amazon’s arrival.

Lighter construction is underway at 241 18th Street S., which is also part of Amazon’s plans but which has other, existing tenants.

The space — around 500,000 square feet in total — is planned to only be temporary for the tech giant, which is set to eventually move to a brand new office campus near the Pentagon City. JBG Smith, which plans to sell Amazon that property for its permanent campus, is rehabilitating Amazon’s Crystal City office buildings as part of a “big bet” on the area’s future with Amazon on board.

The arrival of “HQ2” is not only prestigious for Arlington and the combined Crystal City-Pentagon City-Potomac Yard area now being called National Landing, but also for the contractors working on the project. On Friday, one contractor even sent out a press release, below, and posted on Facebook about its work on the Crystal City project.

Arlington’s best-known project is currently under construction. Muller Erosion & Site Services has begun work on the highly anticipated Amazon’s new HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia. Amazon is building its second headquarters in the Crystal City, and Muller Erosion & Site Services is proud and excited to be associated with the project.

Amazon has said it is committed to create 25,000 jobs in Arlington, a region it considers to be a great fit for putting in place the needed talent pool. The company will invest $2.5 billion in Northern Virginia, and plans are also in place to build 4 million sq. ft of energy efficient office space. […]

For Muller Erosion & Site Services Inc, this is a prestigious project and affirms the company’s high standards of services. The company is considered to be a leading site construction business in the Mid-Atlantic region and works on several high-profile projects throughout the region.

“We are thrilled and honored to be part of Amazon’s new plans to build its second headquarters in Arlington. Our best service will be delivered by our experienced team, and we look forward to contributing to the project however we can,” said a spokesperson for Muller Erosion & Site Services.

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