Author: Ethan Rothstein

Board Approves Loan for Pike Apartment Purchase

By Ethan Rothstein

Serrano apartments on Columbia PikeThe Arlington County Board approved a $16.5 million loan to affordable housing developer AHC on Saturday to purchase a Columbia Pike apartment building.

The loan, which comes from the county’s dedicated Affordable Housing Investment Fund, will allow AHC to purchase the Serrano Apartments at 5535 Columbia Pike, which are currently owned by Carmel Partners.

The apartment building, in the Columbia Heights West neighborhood, has 280 units, 239 of which are currently considered affordable. The loan allows AHC to purchase the building and keep 196 units in the building as dedicated affordable housing for the next 60 years. The remainder will be offered at a market rate.

AHC will also purchase the 39,500 square feet of vacant land fronting the Pike, which Carmel has an application to subdivide, according to the county’s press release. That land could be developed into a complex with about 80 apartment units, according to the Columbia Pike Form Based Code.

“The County Board has committed to preserving affordable housing along Columbia Pike,” County Board Chair Jay Fisette said in the press release. “This loan to AHC is in keeping with our commitment. These units now will remain affordable for generations of Arlingtonians — and help preserve the Pike’s rich diversity as it is redeveloped into a more transit-oriented, walkable ‘Main Street.'”

Current tenants will not be displaced with the ownership change, the county said. The purchase follows through on the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Area Plan, which calls for keeping 6,200 of the current affordable market-rate apartments affordable as the Pike develops and creating 400 new units affordable to families at 80 percent of the area median income on the western portion of the Pike.

Photo via Bozzuto

Arlington Agenda (April 14-20)

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County.

If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form. Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Monday

Arlington Central LibraryMeet Synetic Theater’s Artistic Director
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Meet Synetic Theater‘s Artistic Director, Paata Tsikurishvili, who directs and stars in many of the theater’s productions. He’s also taught at Georgetown, Catholic and American Universities.

Looking UpOpen Mic Poetry
Busboys & Poets (4251 Campbell Ave.)
Time: 8:00-10:00 p.m.

Poet Angelique Palmer, winner of the Newbie Slam Champion award at the Beltway Poetry Slam in 2011, hosts an open mix poetry night at the Shirlington coffee shop. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Thursday

More beers have been added to the tap selectionAllagash Tap Occupation
Fire Works Pizza (2350 Clarendon Blvd)
Time: 5:00-11:00 p.m.

Maine-based brewery Allagash takes over taps at Fire Works with its Red Howes, Odyssey, Confluence, Interlude, Blonde, Black, Saison and White beers. Sampler sizes available.

Rocklands Shed Your Coat LogoPig-and-Oyster Roast for Charity
Rocklands Barbecue & Grilling Company (3471 Washington Blvd)
Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Rocklands hosts a benefit for Doorways for Women and Families. Tickets are $35, 100 percent of the proceeds go to doorways, and tickets are good for oysters, pulled pork and beer.

Engine #9Live Music: Engine #9
Clarendon Grill (1101 N. Highland Street)
Time: 10:00 p.m.

Dover, Del.-based “drum and turntable remix show” Engine #9 plays for the dancers at Clarendon Grill. Cover charge is typically $5.

Saturday

Poor Old ShineLive Music: Poor Old Shine
IOTA Club and Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 8:30 p.m.

Poor Old Shine, a grassroots band from Connecticut with a fiddle and a banjo among its instrumentation, plays the stage at IOTA. Tickets are $12.

Vihstadt Sworn in as County Board Member

By Ethan Rothstein
1/5

John Vihstadt, the first non-Democrat elected to serve on the Arlington County Board since 1999, was sworn in to his new position this afternoon.

In his first remarks as a County Board member — filling the seat that Chris Zimmerman vacated when he resigned earlier this year — Vihstadt vowed to introduce an “audit function” to the Board, rein in spending and “break down silos” in county government.

“Our victory was not a victory for one candidate or one person,” Vihstadt said from a podium in the County Board room, “it was a victory for the people of Arlington County.”

Vihstadt, who ran as an independent endorsed by the Republican and Green parties, defeated Democrat Alan Howze on Tuesday by a 57 to 41 percent margin. The two will face off again in November’s general election, on the ballot with the race for Sen. Mark Warner (D)’s seat and the congressional seat of retiring Rep. Jim Moran (D).

Vihstadt campaigned against projects like the Columbia Pike streetcar and Artisphere, a message that resonated with the majority of the 22,209 voters on Tuesday. Friday afternoon, Vihstadt promised to follow through on his campaign platforms.

“I’ll question county spending decisions and ask ‘do we need it? How do we pay for it?'” he said. “It’s time county government lives within its means.”

Vihstadt also said he wants to reform the county’s bond process and the wording of ballot items, both measures that could reduce Arlington’s capability for large community investments.

County Board Chairman Jay Fisette introduced Vihstadt, whose father held the bible during the ceremony, and explained why the ceremony was pushed back to Friday when it was originally scheduled for Wednesday. Virginia passed a law in 2012, Fisette said, that required any provisional ballots to be reviewed by the Friday after an election before the results could be certified. There was one provisional ballot cast in the special election.

“Many of us have worked with John, and I certainly have on a variety of things over the years,” Fisette said. “I look forward to getting back to work with John as one of the five of us on the Board.”

Del. Patrick Hope (D) was in attendance, as was Board member Libby Garvey and Commonweath’s Attorney Theo Stamos, both Democrats who endorsed Vihstadt’s campaign. Board Vice Chair Mary Hynes was attending a regional meeting and Board member Walter Tejada was late, leading Fisette to comment that Tejada was “running on Latino time.”

Farmers Market Could Come to Fairlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Crystal City Farmers MarketResidents of Fairlington may soon have a farmers market in their backyard, if they want one.

Field to Table, an Arlington-based nonprofit dedicated to coordinating farmers markets to encourage people to eat locally sourced foods, is eyeing the open space around the Fairlington Community Center (3308 S. Stafford Street) as a location for a farmers market.

The Fairlington Citizens Association has also expressed interest in using the site for a market, according to county staff.

The county’s Department of Parks and Recreation is hosting a community meeting on April 21 at the community center from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to gauge residents’ feelings and possible concerns on bringing a farmer’s market to the neighborhood. Another meeting is scheduled for May 13 at the same time to discuss the findings from the first forum and a survey, which will be posted online.

“The County needs to evaluate the appropriateness of the use at the Center,” Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation Jennifer Fioretti told ARLnow.com in an email. “The purpose of the meeting at Fairlington on April 21 is not to evaluate any specific proposal, but rather to seek input from the community regarding their interest, concerns and general feedback about this potential use of the space at the community center. The first meeting will include presentations from staff followed by a facilitated break-out session with meeting participants.”

There are currently seven regular farmers markets in the county, on varying days in Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon, Ballston, Crystal City, on Columbia Pike and in Westover Village.

File photo

Rosslyn Helps Grant 5-Year-Old’s Pop Star Wish

By Ethan Rothstein
1/8

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.

There, Addy shot a scene for a music video as part of her pop star wish. Make-A-Wish, with an assist from the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, asked people in Rosslyn to hold signs, cheer for the starlet and hold out photos for Addy to autograph.

The proceedings started a little later than anticipated because, as the director told the gathered crowd, the pop star was suffering from “stage fright.” Once Addy emerged from her stretch limousine gripping her mother’s hand tightly, the crowd softly cheered, bringing an immediate smile to the purple-wigged 5-year-old. After that, Addy strutted in front of the crowd for multiple takes.

The music video is set to be released in May.

Investment Fund Launches in Crystal City

By Ethan Rothstein
1/9

Crystal City will soon be the home to dozens of early stage technology companies, housed in the just-opened Crystal Tech Fund coworking space.

Located on the 10th floor of 2231 Crystal Drive, the $50 million Crystal Tech Fund — founded by Paul Singh, an early partner in the venture capital firm 500 Startups — provides office space to companies while also giving each of them significant capital investments and entrepreneurial mentorship.

The fund’s office space opened this week with six companies inside, and partner Brooke Salkoff said the floor — which has an acre of space — can fit up to 30 or 40 companies. The idea isn’t to bring in new startups and be an incubator or accelerator, she said — the startups eligible for space must already have an average of $1 million in annual revenue.

“These startups need more money in order to grow,” Salkoff said. “We fund startups to scale nationwide, and it’s scalable because once they grow, there’s more space around Crystal City.”

Sen. Mark Warner (D) toured the space this morning and Gov. Terry McAuliffe will do the same tomorrow morning, meeting the companies, some of whom are D.C.-area natives and others that moved to Crystal City from other tech hotbeds like Austin, Texas. Warner was briefed on the concept by Singh and Vornado/Charles E. Smith President Mitchell Shear. Vornado contributed $10 million in investment capital as well as the space.

“The combination that’s taking place here is the kind of thing I want to see all over Virginia,” Warner told a group of reporters. “I think Crystal City is being remade. If we could create a tech entrepreneur hotbed here, that would be great for Virginia.”

Among the space’s first tenants are Power Supply, a platform that allows chefs to deliver healthy meals directly to customers, and SupplyHog, an e-commerce platform for contractors. Warner, a former tech investor and one of the founders of Nextel, asked each company to give him “an elevator pitch.”

“We’re going to find the best companies from around the world,” Singh said, “and bring them to Virginia.”

Arlington Retail Sales Lag While Economy Improves

By Ethan Rothstein

Crowds of shoppers at Pentagon City mall (file photo)Arlington’s retail sales dropped at the end of 2013 while other indicators of a strong economy — like housing prices and unemployment — improved over the same time period.

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.

In addition, housing prices were up across the board this February compared to last year, with a 2.2 percent bump in single family detached house prices, 3.7 percent for single family attached (like townhouses and duplexes) and a 4.7 percent jump in condominium prices, from $410,339 to $430,115.

Local retail broker John Asadoorian, of Asadoorian Retail Solutions, said the numbers don’t raise any alarm just yet.

“It’s hard to really discern what the drop means,” Asadoorian told ARLnow.com. “The only thing I could say is there hasn’t been that much new retail space delivered in Arlington, which means there hasn’t been a whole influx of new tenants, which means the mix in Arlington is stable. If it’s stable, is it still competitive with other jurisdictions that may be growing?”

Asadoorian referred to Tysons Corner and Georgetown as two areas whose growing retail options could be poaching customers from Arlington’s shops. However, several buildings under construction in Ballston and Rosslyn figure to bump the retail number back up in the coming years, he said.

While those buildings may help the retail market, they may not do wonders for the office vacancy rate in Arlington, which ballooned to 19.9 percent over the past year, a 3.7 percent jump over 2012. A significant chunk of that is from the 35-story 1812 N. Moore Street building in Rosslyn which is still looking for its first tenants.

The office vacancy rate in Rosslyn grew 8.4 percent year-over-year and sits at 25.2 percent, now the highest area in the county. Crystal City, still smarting from BRAC closures, is the second-most vacant neighborhood at 24.7 percent. Only the Clarendon-Courthouse corridor gained more office tenants than it lost last year, with its vacancy rate falling from 11.2 to 9.0 percent.

Rosslyn Cherry Trees Cut Down in Full Bloom

By Ethan Rothstein
1/3

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.

“The manager just wants the shopping center to look better and to cut some trees down,” the employee told ARLnow.com. “There are going to be a lot of new plants going in and the whole center is going to be landscaped.”

The employee estimated the landscaping work will be completed by Friday.

Arlington Reacts to Vihstadt’s Victory

By Ethan Rothstein

New County Board member John Vihstadt at his election party 4/8/14As the dust settles from Republican-backed independent John Vihstadt’s victory in the Arlington County Board special election last night, those in and around Arlington politics are surveying what could be a new political landscape.

Vihstadt won by a significant margin — 57 percent to Democrat Alan Howze’s 41 percent — in a special election that saw an unofficial tally of 22,209 votes. Democrats saw the result partly as a result of not enough voter turnout, while Vihstadt’s supporters — Republicans, Democrats, Greens and independents among them — viewed the election as a referendum of County Board policy.

“John’s overwhelming victory tonight is a testament to the growing number of Arlingtonians who are tired of a County Board that dictates its own priorities instead of listening to the voices and concerns of the community,” the Arlington County Republican Committee, said in a press release.

“Despite attempts to nationalize the issues in this race, the principles of fiscal responsibility and local project prioritization won out — and with a 15-point lead,” Arlington-Falls Church Young Republicans President Matt Hurtt said in a press release. “John is perfect for the job, and will bring balance to an overwhelmingly Democrat-controlled county government.”

Board member Mary Hynes focused on the work the Board has to do — including pass a budget later this month — with its newest member, who’s expected to be sworn in as soon as the election results are certified.

“The Board has a lot on its plate this month — budget being the first among many right now,” Hynes told ARLnow.com in an email. “It’s hard to come in at the end of a multi-month process like the budget. I know Board members and staff will do their best to answer any questions John may have as we move to adopt the budget on April 22.”

Many observers viewed this special election as centered primarily around the planned streetcar from Fairfax County on Columbia Pike to Pentagon City and Crystal City. Arlington Streetcar Now congratulated Vihstadt on his victory, but reiterated its beliefs that the streetcar would be better for Arlington than the enhanced bus service Vihstadt supports.

“Mr. Vihstadt’s election does not change any of the facts that have led the Arlington County Board to conclude on numerous occasions that the streetcar system is needed in Arlington and will provide tremendous benefits both for the neighborhoods directly served and for Arlington as a whole,” the group said in a release.

One local political observer, who preferred to remain anonymous, said Vihstadt’s victory was attributable to strong fundraising efforts, his experience and his liberal position on social issues, among other factors. The observer also said Democrats may have been distracted by the June primary in the 8th District congressional race.

“I think the thing to watch will be the CIP, due out soon,” the observer said. “Will there be a financing plan finally put forth for the Pike streetcar? What will be proposed to do for the Aquatics Center? Garvey and Vihstadt have common ground here — what will the other three do?”

Howze will again run against Vihstadt in November, when the general election for the retiring Rep. Jim Moran’s House of Representative seat and Sen. Mark Warner’s (D) Senate seat will take place.

RV Fire Closes Southbound Route 1 in Crystal City

By Ethan Rothstein
1/6

Update at 10:25 a.m. — One southbound lane of Route 1 has reopened, according to Arlington County. A tow truck is on scene and all lanes are expected to reopen shortly.

An RV has caught fire on southbound Route 1 in Crystal City, causing police to shut down the southbound lanes to traffic at the tail end of this morning’s rush hour.

The fire started just before 9:00 a.m., according to scanner traffic, on the highway near the intersection with 15th Street S. The Arlington County Fire Department and Virginia State Police were the first responders to the scene.

According to ACFD spokeswoman Lt. Sarah Marchegiani, three people were inside the RV when the fire started, but they all escaped the vehicle safely and no injuries were reported. The fire is believed to have been caused by a mechanical failure in the engine block, Marchegiani said.

“The driver didn’t notice the fire at first, just that the car was acting funny and he smelled smoke,” Marchegiani told ARLnow.com. “They happened to pass by a Virginia State Police officer who saw that the car was on fire and flagged them down.”

The roadway will remain closed temporarily. Drivers should avoid the area if possible.

Land Eyed for Shirlington Walmart Could Become Storage Facility

By Ethan Rothstein

2631 Shirlington RoadThe site near Shirlington that was once eyed for an urban-style Walmart appears on its way to becoming a self-storage facility.

The site, at 2631 Shirlington Road, is currently occupied by Redman Fleet Services, a towing and truck service company that has a contract with the Arlington County Police Department. Big box retailer Walmart was thinking about building a store there in 2011, which prompted the County Board to change its zoning ordinance so it could regulate the design and plans for Walmart or other “big box” retailers.

The plans for the Walmart ultimately fell through, and the run-down two-story warehouse and large car storage lot on 2631 Shirlington Road remain. The building, however, has been approved for demolition and, in its place, a five-story facility referred to as “Shirlington Self Storage” has been proposed to take its place.

The self-storage facility’s building permit has been approved by county staff, but the zoning application was tentatively rejected in its last review by staff, which said an ongoing subdivision process needs to be completed before the zoning can be approved.

Hat tip to Preservation Arlington

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