The general trend for February home sales has been up, however, since February 2010.
Despite the decrease in the average sale price, the number of homes — including condos, townhomes and single-family detached houses — sold in February 2018 was up 3.6 percent year over year, with a total of 175 homes sold. Selling prices were 1.48 percent less than the asking prices.
The median home selling price in Arlington in February, meanwhile, was up 0.44 percent to $532,353.
Average sale prices can be affected by changes in the mix of the types of homes sold. For instance, a higher percentage of condos — which typically sell for less than single-family homes — sold may cause a dip in the average. In February 2018, 62% of the homes sold in Arlington were condos, compared to 58% in February 2017.
Update at 5 p.m. — Another source of local real estate data, Bright MLS, is reporting a jump in Arlington’s median home selling price in March.
“Arlington County led the region for price, with a median selling price in March of $564,250,” WTOP reported Tuesday afternoon. “That’s up 11 percent from a year ago and topped D.C.’s median price of $555,451, which was up 3.8 percent.”
The popular political podcast Pantsuit Politics will turn the VIP reception at the annual Arlington Democrats “Blue Victory Dinner” into a “live podcast” event.
The bipartisan pair — Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers, both of Kentucky — will be recording their podcast at the event on April 21, according to a press release.
A number of female Democratic elected officials will be interviewed during the taping, including Del. Hala Ayala (D-51), who became one of the first Latina women to serve in the Virginia General Assembly this past November, and Del. Danica Roem (D-13), who became the first openly transgender elected official in Virginia after last year’s election.
Other recently-elected state officials, including Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-2), Del. Gwendolyn Wendy Gooditis (D-10), Del. Elizabeth Guzman (D-31), Del. Karrie Delaney (D-67), and Del. Kathy Tran (D-42) are also expected to be interviewed.
The delegates will be discussing “why representation matters, the importance of inclusive representation, and how [the delegates] bring multi-layered experiences to governance and the legislative process.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is listed as the evening’s keynote speaker.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington took in about 70 cats and dogs this past Friday (April 6) from shelters across Virginia and West Virginia.
Four staff members traveled to different parts of Virginia, but shelter staff from the West Virginia brought the animals to Arlington themselves.
The AWLA accepts animals weekly from the West Virginia shelter, and the large number of transfer requests from Virginia shelters wasn’t tied to any specific event, according to Chelsea Lindsey, the league’s communications specialist. The other shelters are simply high-intake and at capacity, and can’t easily adopt out all of the animals in their region.
Even though shelter transfers aren’t unusual, it was still a larger intake than usual for the AWLA.
“That’s a big number for us to take in in one day,” Lindsey told ARLnow.com, adding that she expects many of the kittens to be “snatched up quickly.”
About 50 of the animals were mother cats with kittens, and have been placed with foster families mainly in Arlington and Alexandria. Those kittens will have to wait until they are at least eight weeks old before being adopted out, in addition to hitting weight targets and being fixed.
Only one animal, a cat, from the large shelter transfer is ready for adoption. The dogs all need to be fixed and several of the cats have what Lindsey called “kitty colds.”
It’s the season for spring cleaning, and Arlington’s street sweeping service is set to resume today (Monday).
The sweeping service runs from April through October in an effort to “reduce stormwater pollution in our local streams, the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Bay,” according to an Arlington County Solid Waste Bureau press release.
The street sweeping schedule is zoned by neighborhood, and begins April 9. The sweeping will run each day in the designated civic associations from about 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
For “more effective sweeping” the County is asking residents to move their cars out of the road — “to a driveway, garage or non-sweeping street” — during cleaning, but parking fines will not be issued.
Monday, April 9
Zone 1 – Alcova Heights, Ashton Heights, Arlington Heights, Foxcroft Heights, Arlington View, Penrose
Tuesday, April 10
Zone 2 – Claremont, Douglas Park, Columbia Forest, Fairlington
Wednesday, April 11
Zone 3 – East Falls Church, Yorktown, Williamsburg
Thursday, April 12
Zone 4 – Arlingwood, Old Glebe, Chain Bridge, Rock Spring, Country Club Hills/Gulf Branch, Stafford-Albemarle-Glebe
Friday, April 13
Zone 5 – Bellevue Forest, North Highlands, Donaldson Run, Rivercrest, Dover Crystal, Riverwood, Maywood, Woodmont
Monday, April 16 Zone 6 – Arlington Ridge/Forest Hills, Aurora Highlands, Columbia Heights, Long Branch Creek, Nauck
Tuesday, April 17
Zone 7 – Clarendon, Courthouse, Colonial Village, Lyon Park, Lyon Village, North Rosslyn, Radnor/Fort Myer Heights
Wednesday, April 18
Zone 8 – Arlington Forest, Barcroft, Buckingham, Columbia Heights West/ Arlington Mill, Forest Glen, Glencarlyn
Thursday, April 19
Zone 9 – Ballston, Virginia Square, Cherrydale, Cherry Valley Nature Area, Glebewood, Old Dominion, Waycroft-Woodlawn, Waverly Hills
Friday, April 20 Zone 10 – Highland Park, Overlee Knolls, John M. Langston, Leeway Overlee, Madison Manor, Tara-Leeway Heights, Westover Village
Monday, April 23 Zone 11 – Bluemont, Boulevard Manor, Dominion Hills
Some snow may fall over the weekend and even though accumulation is unlikely, several events like this weekend’s Fitness + Wellness Festival and Chalkapalooza have been rescheduled or cancelled.
Snow aside, let’s take a look back at ARLnow’s biggest stories over the past week.
A chronometer, in for repairs, alongside its original bill of sale
A Van Cleef and Arpels watch
The exterior of Arlington Watch Works
Dan Sabouni didn’t set out to be a watchmaker and repairman.
His shop, Clarendon’s Arlington Watch Works, never would have come to fruition if Sabouni had actually enjoyed working in an automotive engineering office after college.
Luckily for Sabouni, he had worked in a jewelry shop during college, and did repairs for antique shops in D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood. Now, he occupies the tiny, 200-square-foot space, between Goody’s Pizza and Rien Tong, at 3127 Wilson Boulevard, repairing, buying, and selling watches.
He initially owned a similar store in Georgetown neighborhood — a spit of a shop with only 90-square-feet of space — and found success there.
“When I opened that shop, everyone thought I was crazy,” said Sabouni, recounting how people would ask him who even fixes watches anymore.
Eventually, he sold the shop in the early 2000s to a friend and began traveling the world with his watch repair money. That was before he was married, “of course,” he pointed out.
Once he “ran out of money,” Sabouni, originally from London, came back to the area. He opened up the new Arlington shop in January 2015. Per square foot, he says, he’s paying more than any other shop.
“For us watchmakers, we can’t afford high rent,” said Sabouni. “So this was small, but yet affordable.”
Though most would think that those seeking less expensive rent would stay away from one of the more bustling Arlington corridors, or even stay out of Arlington as a whole, Sabouni says that the demographic makeup of the county is necessary for his business to grow.
“I have to be in a place where people do have what I’m looking to repair,” he said. “If I were to go down to, you know, Detroit, Michigan — who’s going to spend a thousand dollars or more restoring their dad’s watch?”
“All said and done, I don’t think you’ll ever find a rich watchmaker,” he added. “But it pays the bills, and I do what I like.”
And his clientele seems to like what he does, as well. Looking at a Yelp review page for Arlington Watch Works, 28 of his 29 reviews are five stars.
It usually takes about a day for a repair, if all goes according to plan. But it’s not an easy task, and even just apprenticing with Sabouni takes several years before being allowed to work on a paying client’s piece.
Sabouni still says that he’s still learning himself, and meets almost every Saturday with his mentor to discuss what’s stumping them.
Though watch repairs are certainly at the heart of the business model, Sabouni has a number of expensive watches on his shelves. Some are priced as little as a few hundred dollars, while others on display push the $20,000-$25,000 mark.
One watch on display, which Sabouni unlockws from its case and brings to a work table, is infinitely more delicate than what you could find at department stores.
It’s an $8,900 Van Cleef and Arpels model, handmade, completely see through, and thoroughly filigreed with real gold.
It’s an expensive passion to pick up, and an equally difficult industry to get into. But in an age of industry disruptions and smartphone app development, Sabouni doesn’t see his industry, and his place in it, going away.
“As long as men are men, and want to have their toys — I guess [the industry] will be over when men want to stop playing with their toys.”
Arlington County may be known as a generally pedestrian-friendly place, but you can get ticketed for jaywalking here.
At least 18 citations were issued in 2017 for common pedestrian code violations, according to the Arlington County Police Department.
Nine citations were issued for “pedestrian disobey walk/don’t walk,” and another nine were issued for “pedestrian walk in street when sidewalk is available,” according to ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage.
(The term jaywalking, while colloquially used to describe those crimes, is technically not an offense code in Virginia.)
“As part of a police officer’s routine duties, they enforce various traffic laws for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists,” Savage told ARLnow.com. “Officers utilize their discretion and take enforcement action when there is a clear danger to the safety of travelers.”
At least one of these enforcement actions occurred yesterday outside of the Deloitte offices in Rosslyn (1919 N. Lynn Street), according to a tipster, who sent a photo of a man waiting near a police cruiser as an officer wrote up a citation.
Pedestrian-related citations, dependent on the exact nature of the offense, can result in fines of $66 (including processing fee).
Recent pedestrian-related fines, including fines for paying attention to a mobile device while crossing the street, have drawn attention from D.C. to Honolulu.
The annual Street Smart regional traffic safety campaign kicks off soon, running from April 16-May 13. The law enforcement effort attempts to encourage safe behavior among pedestrians, drivers, and bicyclists “through high visibility traffic enforcement and education while reducing the number of traffic related crashes and injuries.”
Eagles at Ft. Bennett Park (photo courtesy of GM and MB/Flickr)
Eagles at Ft. Bennett Park (photo courtesy of GM and MB/Flickr)
A pair of eagles and their eaglets have taken up residence along the GW Parkway, around Arlington’s Ft. Bennett Park northwest of Rosslyn.
Glenn Mai, a local resident who spotted the nest, said it is “viewable from Ft. Bennett Park” and “there are currently three chicks in the nest that can be seen with binoculars and/or a spotting scope.”
Another local spotted the nest late last month and has since posted several photos via Twitter.
Bald eagles, according to Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology, build nests that are about five to six feet in diameter and two to four feet tall — making the nests the largest among birds. It can take up to three years for a pair of eagles to build a nest.
The Center for Conservation Biology keeps a map of eagle nests, as well as Chesapeake Bay herons, ospreys, and nightjars.
Facility Manager Bryan Donnelly on the phone in a metals recovery area
A view of the trash pit
A view of the trash pit
A view of the trash pit
A Covanta employee securely disposes of sensitive passport-making materials
Covanta’s business manager, Don Cammarata, views the trash pit
A view of the combustion chamber
If you live in a single-family home in Arlington, the trash you put out for collection each week eventually comes back to you — in the form of electricity.
While the Arlington recycling rate is nearly 50 percent, well above the national average of about 35 percent, that means that there still is plenty of garbage to deal with. All that waste has to go somewhere and much of it ends up at a waste-to-energy plant in Alexandria, near the Van Dorn Street Metro station, that Arlington jointly owns with the city.
Covanta, the company that operates the facility, estimates that they process 975 tons of solid waste per day, distributed among the three 325 ton-per-day furnaces on-site, preventing it from ending up in a landfill.
“In some ways, the U.S. can be seen as a third-world country, with the way we’re putting garbage in landfills,” said James Regan, Covanta’s media director.
Arlington and Alexandria’s municipal waste goes through an emissions-controlled incinerator, where the controlled fire reaches temperatures just under 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The fire boils water, which in turn generates steam and, through that, electricity.
That generates about 23 megawatts of baseload power, according to Regan, enough to power about 20,000 homes.
Emissions are monitored throughout the processes, with a few-dozen-or-so knobs, buttons and devices each focused on a different aspect of the process.
With all the capabilities, however, the control room’s goal is threefold: to monitor multiple security camera feeds in case of the occasional, small fire in the trash pit; to monitor temperatures in the combustion chamber; and pollution monitoring and emissions controls.
The combustion has led to a 90 percent reduction of waste by volume, which the company says offsets, on average, one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent for each ton of waste processed.
Both ferrous and non-ferrous metals are able to be extracted from the combustion and recycled, and Covanta is currently developing ways to reuse ash “as aggregate for roadways and construction materials.”
The facility has been burning trash since February 1988, according to Bryan Donnelly, the Arlington/Alexandria facility manager.
Prior to that, there was another incinerator, but it didn’t have the emissions controls or metal recovery program that the current waste-to-energy plant has.
New plants can cost as much as $500 million, but tend to be much larger than Arlington’s plant, which is only four acres — the smallest operated by Covanta. Most other plants are closer to 24 acres, according to Regan.
He estimates that this facility, in today’s dollars, would have cost about $200 million.
“We’re not saying take everything to [a waste-to-energy] facility,” said Regan. “We’re saying, let’s recycle more, to 65 percent. Let’s reduce the amount of landfill that [the U.S.] is doing,”
If you live near I-66, between the East Falls Church and Ballston Metro stations, the rumbling of Metro trains is a noise you’re probably used to.
But at least one person who lives in that area has taken to social media to comment on what she says is a recent escalation in noise: the constant, loud honking by trains as they roll by.
Me again @wmata I know you aren’t interested in my issue but I thought I’d share the honking fun from today’s trains. It happens ALL DAY LONG. Thinking it’s time for a noise complaint with @ArlingtonVA or @ArlingtonVaPD or maybe you could just stop the constant noise pollution pic.twitter.com/Y2K162EEMN
Video uploaded to Twitter indeed seems to show jarringly loud honking for a residential neighborhood.
The resident posted that she has lived at that location for 13 years and that this is a new neighborhood problem.
I can see @wmata that you are working on an answer to my question. Thought this video might help demonstrate the bizarre honking that happens ALL DAY. Why do residential neighborhoods have to listen to this every day? pic.twitter.com/Xza2i4Bg7n
The social media complaints go as far back as January 22, and regular Twitter posts indicate that the honking hasn’t ceased or abated, and occurs after rush hour as well as on the weekends.
Though WMATA officials haven’t yet answered an ARLnow request for comment, Metro replied to the resident on Wednesday via Twitter and said that the honking is a safety measure.
“Thank you for contacting us about the frequent honking near your home,” the transit agency wrote. “At times trains may come across animals or unauthorized people near or on the tracks resulting in the operator to blow the train horn. Your tweet was shared with the Rail Division for review.”
That explanation, the resident replied, seems unlikely given the frequency of the honking.
“Thank you for responding, however this is a constant occurrence… All day every single day,” she said. “This is new and extremely intrusive to anyone who has a home nearby.”
Update at 2:15 p.m. — The resident who first contacted ARLnow.com about the honking says it has stopped since the publication of this article. Also via Twitter, some say that the honks may have to do with workers on or near the tracks.
As @RailTransitOPS has noted previously, #wmata's roadway worker procedures instruct train operators to honk their horns when workers are on the tracks. https://t.co/gk3w1uCwLD
The Pentagon Row ice rink closed on Monday, April 2, despite possible Saturday snow and ongoing cold temperatures.
According to the Capital Weather Gang, “snow or a mix of precipitation is likely across the region between 8 a.m. and late morning, with temperatures in the 30s.”
Several crew members were seen clearing the space on the shopping center’s plaza today (April 5). No word yet on social media when the plaza will be open again for other activities.
