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.

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Looking for a new home? Arlington has several options to consider this weekend.

Check out our recently-relaunched real estate section for a full listing of open houses this weekend. Here are a few highlights:

Exterior (Front) -

5565 Columbia Pike
2 Bed/2 Bath Condo
Agent: Nancy Alert
Listed: $224,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m

 

Exterior (Front) -

973 Taylor Street
2 Bed/2.5 Bath Townhouse
Agent: A. Casey O’Neal
Listed: $429,900
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m

 

Exterior (Front) -625 Buchanan Street North
3 Bed/2 Bath Single Family Detached
Agent: Jason Curry
Listed: $650,000
Open: Saturday 1-3 p.m

 

Lee Highway View 2) -

2200 Westmoreland Street
2 Bed/2.5 Bath Condo
Agent:Robert Herring
Listed: $795,000
Open: Saturday 1-4 p.m

 

2225-trenton-n-22225 Trenton Street North
4 Bed/3 Bath Single Family Detached
Agent: Lisa Koch
Listed: $949,900
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

Exterior (Front) -

3210 1st Road North
4 Bed/5.5 Bath Single Family Detached
Agent: Mark McFadden
Listed: $1,489,500
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

Real estate agents, if you don’t see your listings in our real estate section shoot us an email and we’ll let you know what your office needs to do to get listed.

Five Guys ‘Temporarily Closed’ in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com
1/3

The Five Guys location at 2300 Wilson Blvd in Courthouse has been temporarily closed for at least the past week.

“Attention: This location will be temporarily closed,” says a sign on the door of the popular burger restaurant. “We apologize for this inconvenience. Please visit our other nearby locations during this time.”

Online ordering from the location is also listed as “temporarily unavailable.”

It’s unclear why the eatery is closed. Workers could be seen inside the restaurant yesterday, performing some sort of work on or in the ceiling. Thus far a phone call to a company spokeswoman has not been returned.

When ARLnow.com drove by today a group of firefighters could be seen walking up to the restaurant and then walking back, empty-handed, to their truck.

The first Five Guys opened in Arlington in 1986. The company is now headquartered in Lorton and has well over 1,000 locations nationwide.

Podcast: GOP Congressional Candidate Charles Hernick

By ARLnow.com

Charles Hernick (screenshot via charleshernick.com)At a time when Donald Trump is at the top of the Republican Party’s ticket, GOP congressional hopeful Charles Hernick is, well, not anything like Donald Trump.

He’s a policy wonk who isn’t one for heated rhetoric. He’s an economic conservative who’s largely a libertarian on social issues. He believes more needs to be done about climate change.

Hernick truly believes he can do a better job in office than Rep. Don Beyer (D), but — unlike the current presidential race dynamic — doesn’t think Beyer should be jailed. In fact, Hernick acknowledges that Beyer is basically free of skeletons in his closet, which makes running against him even more of an uphill battle than he would otherwise face in the deep blue Eighth District of Virginia.

We talked with Hernick about the issues, about Trump and about Hernick’s own one-time intra-party foe, the ever-interesting Mike Webb.

Be sure to subscribe to ARLnow.com’s podcast, 26 Square Miles, on iTunes, Google Play,Stitcher or TuneIn.

Owner of Controversial Lyon Park Mansion Wants to Use It as a Bed and Breakfast

By ARLnow.com
1/2

The owner of a huge mansion in Lyon Park is asking for the county’s permission to use it as a bed and breakfast.

Yogi Dumera, the restaurateur behind Delhi Dhaba and Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill in Courthouse, recently filed a bed and breakfast use permit application for his 13,700 square foot house at 3120 N. Pershing Drive.

The item is on the Arlington County Board’s agenda for this Saturday, but county staff is recommending it be deferred to December to give Dumera time to discuss the proposal with the Lyon Park community.

The palatial house was controversial when it was built a decade ago, attracting opposition from neighbors, who said its massive size — compared to other homes in the community — was “absurd.” Neighbors at the time also worried about the house being used for commercial purposes.

From a 2005 Washington Post article:

“Its scale is absurd,” said neighbor Alan Tober, who, along with others, worries that the house will be used for commercial purposes — namely weddings.

But property owner Yogi Dumera said he has no such plans. He is only taking advantage of his large lot, he said.

Dumera has been trying to sell the house for the past two years, records show, dropping the asking price well under the property’s $4 million assessed value. With no buyers to be found, the home is now off the market.

The next step for Dumera will be presenting his bed and breakfast plans to a Nov. 9 meeting of the Lyon Park Civic Association.

Said a tipster: “I bet the civic association meeting where he consults with the neighborhood will be popcorn-worthy.”

Screen shot (above) via Zillow

Photos: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Hyatt Place Hotel in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com
1/21

Arlington dignitaries were on hand for a ribbon cutting and champagne ceremony at the new 168-room Hyatt Place hotel in Courthouse Thursday afternoon.

In addition to rooms with modern furnishings and comfy beds, the hotel, at 2401 Wilson Blvd, features a 24-hour gym, 24-hour meal service, free hotel-wide WiFi and a “coffee to cocktails bar.”

There’s also a curated art collection in the lobby and a newly-unveiled original sculpture — of a stylized, blue high heel shoe that doubles as a bench — outside, at the corner of Wilson and N. Adams Street.

At the ceremony, officials lauded the hotel as an economic asset for Arlington that was built with the support of local residents, thanks to a focus on public outreach by developer Schupp Companies.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Patrol boat on the Potomac in front of the Memorial Bridge (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Presidential Campaigns in Arlington — What do Ronald Reagan’s 1980 general election campaign, George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, Hillary Clinton’s 2008 primary campaign and John McCain’s 2008 general election campaign have in common? They were all headquartered here in Arlington. Among them, Reagan’s campaign was based in an unassuming office building on Columbia Pike. [Arlington County]

AFAC Reports Record Need — The Arlington Food Assistance Center has had a record 116,000 family visits over the past year and expects weekly family visits to increase to 3,000 next month. [InsideNova]

All About Storm Drains — Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services has answered some frequently asked questions about the county’s more than 10,000 storm drains. [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

Blumen Cafe Now Open on Wilson Blvd

By ARLnow.com
1/13

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Blumen Cafe, a new independent coffee, tea and pastry shop in the Clarendon-Courthouse area, has opened for business in the former CD Cellar space (2607 Wilson Blvd).

The cafe has quietly opened this week — customers are discovering it by walking by — ahead of a planned grand opening event on Saturday, Oct. 29.

Blumen Cafe reflects European and Mediterranean influences. It serves Illy coffee and espresso, from Italy, and offers 27 different types of teas, imported from Germany. Half of its pastries — cakes, baklava, etc. — are homemade from scratch, we’re told.

Owner Andira Jabbari says she started the first Blumen Cafe in Germany, after graduating from a university there, before selling it and moving to Doha, Qatar, where she started a tea shop. Jabbari moved here last year and lives in Courthouse.

The cafe is a family affair — staffed by Jabbari and her daughters. Jabbari’s brother was in the cafe this afternoon, helping out.

Asked about competition from Starbucks, Jabbari brushed it off and said the quality of her offerings will stand out. The relaxed, airy atmosphere — including a large accordion-style door up front that remains open during nice weather — will also provide a welcome alternative to the green-logoed coffee giant, she said.

Blumen Cafe is currently open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Planters NUTmobile Coming to Arlington Next Week

By ARLnow.com

Planters NUTmobile (photo courtesy Planters)Don’t be surprised if you see a giant peanut on wheels traveling the highways and byways of Arlington next week.

The 24-foot-long Planters NUTmobile will be spending the week in Arlington from Oct. 17-24. It will be in town for the 2016 National Trademark Expo in D.C. and will also be making appearances at local grocery stores.

Expect to see it parked outside a hotel in the Courthouse neighborhood, the truck’s driver, “Top Hat Trav,” tells ARLnow.com.

“Many of your readers may be seeing our massive peanut vehicle throughout the week,” Trav advised. The NUTmobile travels the country on a “nutty journey” that includes appearances at well-known destinations by the Planters mascot, Mr. Peanut.

County Board to Consider Regulations on Airbnb Rentals

By ARLnow.com

Airbnb logoThe Arlington County Board on Saturday will consider taking a first step to enacting new regulations on Airbnb and other short-term housing rentals.

County staff is proposing regulations that would permit Airbnb rentals, which currently exist in a bit of a legal gray area in Arlington, while imposing some restrictions.

Among the proposed regulations:

  • Those who rent their home on Airbnb would need to apply for and obtain an “accessory
    homestay permit,” which would remain valid for two years.
  • County inspectors would be authorized to inspect the homes of anyone with such a permit “at least one time per year,” with proper notice.
  • The home being rented is required to be the owner’s primary residence, with the owner living there most days of the year.
  • A cap of no more than six guests at a time in any given rental.
  • The owner would not be allowed to “prepare or serve food or beverages to
    any overnight guests.”

There are a total of 21 proposed regulations listed, including more mundane safety regulations like requiring working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.`

Some of the regulations are said to be “an option” for consideration — such as requiring that owner provide at least one off-street parking space and limiting the number of short-term-rental-eligible apartments in a given multi-family building to no more than 25 percent of units.

The Board this weekend will consider advertising the proposed changes. If approved, public meetings on the regulations would be held in November, ahead of final Board consideration in December.

Nearly 1,000 properties in Arlington were listed on Airbnb in September, according to a county press release. The number was closer to 1,600 over the summer, said County Manager Mark Schwartz.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Sunlight in Bluemont Park (Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick)

Fire Station Open Houses — Arlington County’s ten fire stations will be hosting open houses on Saturday as part of Fire Prevention Week. The open houses will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will allow attendees of all ages to tour the stations, climb in the trucks, talk to firefighters and learn about fire safety. [Arlington County]

Sun Gazette Endorses Garvey — Incumbent Democratic Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey has won the endorsement of the Sun Gazette over independent challenger Audrey Clement. Garvey “is the only candidate on the ballot who has both a track record on the issues and in building coalitions to serve the public,” the newspaper says. [InsideNova]

Arlington Ranked No. 25 Bicycling City — Arlington County is the 25th-ranked “city” for bicycling in the country, according to Bicycling Magazine. Arlington offers robust bicycling infrastructure and does a good job of encouraging residents to get out of their cars and try biking to work instead, but it “consistent enforcement” of traffic laws to protect cyclists “remains an issue.” [Bicycling]

Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick

Crime Report: Man Punched in the Face, Robbed

By ARLnow.com

Fairfax County police car lightsA man was talking with a woman when he was suddenly punched in the face and robbed, according to this week’s Arlington County Police crime report.

The incident happened on the 300 block of N. Glebe Road, just south of Ballston. It was reported Monday afternoon, well after the crime was committed.

Police say both the woman who did the talking and the guy who did the punching are suspects in the robbery.

LATE ROBBERY, 161010018, 300 block of N. Glebe Road. At approximately 2:53 p.m. on October 10, officers responded to the report of a late robbery. The victim advised that while speaking to an unknown female, a male subject approached him and struck him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Both suspects then fled the scene with his personal belongings. The first suspect is described as a white female in her teens, approximately 5’5″ tall and 130 lbs. She was wearing black sweatshirt and black sweatpants. The second suspect is described as a black male in his teens, with black hair. He was wearing a white t-shirt, khaki pant, and black shoes.

The rest of the past week’s crime report highlights, including some that we’ve already reported, after the jump.

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