Author: Jo DeVoe

Ballston startup PerformYard to expand after nabbing $95M investment

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

Ballston-based human resources startup PerformYard has nabbed a $95 million equity investment from Updata Partners, a D.C.-based growth equity firm.

PerformYard, which offers companies employee performance management software that handles everything from annual reviews to quarterly goals, announced the investment earlier this month.

The investment from Updata, which invests in business-to-business software-driven companies, caps off other recent windfalls for PerformYard. Its revenue grew by five times over the last four years, launched a new product last summer and, last spring, was ranked first in the category of “Highest Satisfaction Software” by G2, a peer-to-peer review site.

Now, bolstered by the $95 million investment, PerformYard intends to hire more staff across all departments. Right now, it has eight full-time positions open, per its website.

“We are thrilled to partner with Updata as we embark on our next phase of growth in solving performance management challenges,” PerformYard Founder and CEO Ben Hastings said in a statement. “Given the incredible success and growth our team has realized in recent years, I view this partnership as a natural evolution of our business to support continued development and expansion.”

PerformYard logo (via PerformYard/Facebook)

Hastings founded PerformYard in 2013 to help organizations improve employee performance through better management and improvements to standard practices within human resources, such as performance reviews. For instance, notes PerformYard, 93% of organizations run employee performance reviews but almost the same percentage of HR leaders, 90%, are unhappy with their process.

“We identified a critical need for employers to better manage, coach, retain and progress talent throughout their organizations,” Hastings said. “Over the last 10 years, we have seen the emphasis on employee performance and engagement deepen significantly. Our plan is to continue building our organization to support these critical initiatives.”

Updata General Partner Carter Griffin, who will join PerformYard’s Board of Directors, complimented Hastings and the PerformYard team for its exceptional performance in recent years.

“With PerformYard, we see an opportunity to win in a large and important category,” he said in a statement. “We are excited to help further scale the company.”

Photo via PerformYard/Facebook

Two proposed 6-plexes in Alcova Heights clear a neighbor’s attempt to appeal them

By Jo DeVoe
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Arlington’s Board of Zoning Appeals has rejected a neighbor’s attempt to stop two proposed Expanded Housing Option developments in the Alcova Heights neighborhood.

An affiliate of local homebuilder Classic Cottages proposes building two side-by-side six-plexes at 4015 and 4019 7th Street S., bordering Alcova Heights Park and a couple of blocks north of Columbia Pike.

A neighbor fought back, filing an appeal with the BZA, which takes up appeals to any decisions or determinations made by the county’s Zoning Administrator.

Normally, residents go to the BZA to appeal decisions related to plans to build additions or add front porches; this appears to be one of the first appeals related to new Missing Middle developments.

In February 2023, before the Missing Middle ordinances were approved, Classic Cottages submitted a request to re-subdivide two properties in a “pipestem” configuration, where the boundaries of one property form a “pipe” around the other. After the Missing Middle or Expanded Housing Option (EHO) ordinances went into effect in July, Classic Cottages submitted permits to replace the current single-family home and circular driveway spread across the two lots with a pair of 6-plexes.

“Pipestem” lots are a rarity now because many years ago, they were so hated by the community that the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee got the county zoning ordinance amended to make pipe-stem developments more difficult, says Barnes Lawson, the attorney for Classic Cottages.

“The reason is that you had problems with driveways. You had houses behind houses. It was just not the ideal way in which to provide housing for our community,” he said.

The ‘pipestem’ lots in Alcova Heights (via Arlington County)

In her appeal, neighbor Kelley Reed argued that the permits were illegally issued. She contends the lots, created via subdivision, did not yet exist in county land records when the permits were issued. Also, she said, they do not conform with the 60-feet minimum width required for EHO developments and the EHOs would have to be put on portions of the lot that cannot be built on.

“This is not a pro- or anti-EHO case,” said Reed. “This case has ramifications far beyond EHO and regardless of use, as this case is about getting the math right. It’s about following the rules. It’s about not cherry-picking definitions. Please correct the staffs’ errors and reject the wrongly approved permits.”

Several neighbors joined the chorus, dwelling less on the math and more on how the project does not fit with the surrounding houses and would hurt the neighborhood.

Jamshid Kooros, who identified himself as a Missing Middle supporter, argued that building multifamily buildings on narrow, deep lots would make this project “the poster child of those who oppose the changes.” That has already come to pass, however, as the project figured into a recent presentation by Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future, a local group that has argued against the policy changes.

Others, including the president of Classic Cottages, came to its defense, arguing that residents are hijacking the purpose of BZA appeals to relitigate Missing Middle.

“In all the years we’ve been doing this — building houses all over the county — it never occurred to me that adjacent property owners could file BZA cases against one of our projects. It’s never happened before,” David Tracy, the president of Classic Cottages said. “This particular case seems to be more about the EHO policy itself and I would respectfully ask that, to the extent that it is the policy that’s being challenged, that there’s a proper venue — a larger court case that’s being handled right now.”

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Why community radio station WERA 96.7 has had lo-fi beats on loop for nearly two months

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington Independent Media in Clarendon (file photo)

Arlington’s local radio station has been playing the same music on repeat since December.

The continuous lo-fi beats, noted by listeners more than a month ago, are a result of aging equipment and financing delays complicating Arlington Independent Media‘s move into a new office building that is home to a transmitter critical to AIM’s operations.

The nonprofit community media outlet — which has TV and radio programming and offers media training courses — is mid-way through its move from its Clarendon outpost at the corner of N. Danville Street and Wilson Blvd, behind the Beyond Hello dispensary, to a new location at 2300 Clarendon Blvd.

Staff packed up and stored all AIM’s non-technical equipment in its new Green Valley outpost while its TV and radio broadcasting equipment sits in the lobby, awaiting contractors who can rewire it in 2300 Clarendon Blvd, a new space dubbed AIM Live!

It is a point of consternation for Alvin Jones, the station manager for the community media outlet’s radio station, WERA 96.7 FM.

“It’s been frustrating,” he told ARLnow. “I don’t get to hear, when I’m in my car, the great programming 50 producers are putting out.”

Former radio show producer Bennett Kobb says he has noticed the same music playing since Dec. 1, 2023. The beats are intended as a backup when interruptions arise, whether that is due to a power outage, a delayed DJ or problems with a station computer, he said.

“It is not permitted to broadcast ‘dead air’ for any significant length of time, that is, a radio signal with no content and no station identification,” he said. “Many radio stations have such arrangements in place… But this was never intended to go on for weeks as it has.”

As of Jan. 12, he had not heard of any communications to the public explaining what was going on. AIM did ultimately provide an update that listeners should expect the radio to go silent on Jan. 20, followed by TV on Jan. 24, as a result of the move. The post noted listeners “will continue to hear music through our transmitter on WERA 96.7 FM.”

The reason for the prolonged continuous loop is because the equipment that relayed microwave signals from AIM’s Clarendon location to the transmitter at 2300 Clarendon Blvd went down, says Jones. AIM will not need this equipment once it is set up in the same building as the transmitter. Jones likened fixing it before the move to upgrading the tires on a car just before trading it in for a new vehicle.

AIM originally had until Dec. 31, 2023, to move out but now predicts that full move-out will happen next week. The delays come down to finances, according to Jones and AIM CEO Whytni Kernodle.

They say they are waiting for Arlington County to approve the rest of a funding request from November for Public, Educational and Government (PEG) funds — subscription revenue that the county receives from franchise agreements with Comcast and Verizon.

These funds only cover capital expenses, which include hiring contractors to take down and rewire equipment.

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Hope files bill allowing form of government changes but County Board says more discussion is needed

By Jo DeVoe
Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (staff photo)

A new bill in the Virginia General Assembly would give the Arlington County Board the authority to change its structure without seeking further approval from state lawmakers.

Del. Patrick Hope’s HB 1225 would allow the Board to decide if it should retain its 5-member, at-large form of government or consider altering the size, to between three and 11 members, and changing to a district-based representation model. It would also allow the County Board Chair to be elected by popular vote for a 4-year term where currently, the practice is to rotate the chairship among members yearly.

Hope tells ARLnow he wants the County Board to have the same powers currently enjoyed by governing bodies of neighboring jurisdiction. As Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, local governments only have the powers conferred on them by the state legislature.

“The Arlington County Board is one of the weakest localities in Virginia. It is certainly the weakest of a locality of our size,” he said. “If the Board, this year, or the Board five years from now, wants to make these changes, they shouldn’t have to go to General Assembly and figure out who’s in control. They should have the power to make the decision how they want to run their government.”

The Board is not yet on board, however.

Members directed legislators last fall to “oppose any efforts that make changes to Arlington County’s form of government without the County Board’s explicit policy support.” Now, the Board is looking to punt on it until these questions can be put to the community as part of the year-long 2050 Visioning Process — where community members can envision what Arlington should look like in 26 years.

The visioning process is set to launch on Feb. 5.

“We are hopeful those who support such changes will engage more fully with the community during this process,” Board Chair Libby Garvey said in a statement. “Board members have connected with Delegate Hope to discuss our visioning process and the opportunities it offers to engage more fully with the community on H.B. 1225, to consider its implications, what it proposes to solve, and what the community thinks about it.”

“We believe continuing this bill to 2025 will provide the time needed to do that, and we offer the Arlington 2050 Initiative to help create the space for that discussion,” Garvey added.

Some of suggested changes in the bill are not new. Longtime former Arlington County Board member Jay Fisette said in 2017 that Arlington County should have an elected mayor and city council. Before that, in 2010, an attempt to enact district-based representation failed to gather enough valid petition signatures.

More recently, the Arlington County Civic Federation recommended making the Board bigger, among other changes, to improve diversity and competition.

Hope said the impetus now was the unexpected outcome of a 2022 bill, vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, that would have allowed the County Board to hire an independent policing auditor to oversee Arlington’s police oversight board — something other jurisdictions could have done without going to the state.

Arlington’s independent policing auditor now reports to County Manager Mark Schwartz, who also oversees the Arlington County Police Department. Hope and the Arlington branch of the NAACP, concerned about conflicts of interest, chafed at this decision.

“It’s not the Governor’s business, nor the House or the Senate, who Arlington County hires,” said Hope. He previously championed a 2015 bill, which passed, allowing the County Board to hire an independent auditor tasked with conducting performance reviews and finding inefficiencies in county government.

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County drops lawsuit against civic association, residents over attempt to block bus parking

By Jo DeVoe
ART buses move through the Quincy site in the Virginia Square neighborhood (via BVSCA)

There is a new twist in the stand-off between Arlington County and neighbors over bus parking on a county site in North Arlington.

Arlington County recently dropped litigation against three neighbors and the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, who tried to use the Board of Zoning Appeals process to block the county from parking 29 Arlington Transit (ART) buses on a county lot near Washington-Liberty High School.

The parking is a temporary arrangement while a new ART bus facility is built in Green Valley. The Arlington County Board allowed this when it approved a special exception use permit in the spring of 2022.

Nearly two years ago, the county zoning administrator determined the Dept. of Environmental Services could park the buses on the site — a requisite step for obtaining a use permit. One resident appealed the decision but a county staff member rejected it. A week later, the county sued him, his wife, a third resident and the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, alleging he used the BZA process improperly to block the parking use.

The defendants say the county sued them preemptively and that the bus activity would seriously undercut their property values and quality of life.

“This could and should become a case study in how not to run a county government and then considering your role you and not considering your unique role as owners of the site and how your actions may affect neighbors,” said Maurya Meiers during public comment on Saturday, when the Arlington County Board reviewed the special exception permit for the site.

A BZA appeal had been filed on Meiers’ behalf two years ago and she is named in the lawsuit, per meeting materials and court documents.

Some residents came to the defense of their neighbors and their legal plight.

“It’s a SLAPP [Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation] suit: a use of superior resources to haul citizens into court wear them down and demoralize them, perhaps even beggar them lest they become too vociferous and their concerns about pollution, noise and other avoidable nuisances, such as those which this permit enables,” said neighbor Thomas Viles. “So far your lawsuit has accomplished nothing expensive as it was it proved insufficient to shut these voters up.”

Indeed, Arlington County says it dropped its suit because the BZA is now set to hear the appeal case built by neighbors who live in homes overlooking the parking lot. The hearing will determine whether the county zoning administrator acted properly or if her decision runs afoul of zoning ordinances, a site plan and a 1985 deed of covenant.

Viles says the BZA agreed to take up the appeal after hearing about the suit in ARLnow.

“When they did learn, however, the BZA repudiated [county government] for having kept them in the dark,” he said.

This fracas is obliquely referenced in a resolution the BZA passed last September, directing the zoning administrator to avoid this situation again by sharing all appeals with members regardless of their merit.

“The BZA has never authorized any person to decline to accept an appeal on the BZA’s behalf,” the resolution says. “County staff did not consult the entire membership of the BZA before declining to accept any appeals of a zoning administrator determination, nor did County staff inform the BZA of its communications and actions in regards to any appeals filed between March 7, 2022 and the date of the adoption of this resolution.”

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BREAKING: Police charge fmr. W-L girls basketball coach with sex crimes involving players

By Jo DeVoe
George Porcha (courtesy ACPD)

Arlington police have charged a former Washington-Liberty High School basketball coach with sexual offenses and are seeking possible additional victims.

George Porcha, 53, of Winterville, North Carolina, is charged with carnal knowledge of a minor and taking indecent liberties with children, per an Arlington County Police Department press release sent out this evening (Tuesday).

ACPD started its investigation in October 2022 after receiving information about possible offenses Porcha committed, involving minors, between 2000 and 2003, when he coached girls basketball coach at Washington-Liberty, then named Washington-Lee.

As a result of the investigation, warrants were issued this month for offenses involving two female victims who were juveniles and students at W-L at the time of the incidents, per the press release, which noted additional information is restricted following Virginia code.

During his tenure at W-L, he was the 2001 National District Coach of the Year, according to InsideNova. Porcha went on to be the head girls basketball coach at T.C. Williams High School, now Alexandria City High School, from 2004-07.

About a decade later, he coached the boys basketball team at Woodbridge High School from 2014-16 before leaving for Ole Miss, InsideNova reported at the time.

Porcha has also made the rounds coaching at colleges and universities, including Virginia Tech, West Virginia University, Ole Miss and Boston College. He was let go from Virginia Tech in the fall of 2022, per the Roanoke Times.

This remains an active criminal investigation, ACPD says. Anyone who has additional information related to this investigation or has had past inappropriate encounters with this suspect is asked to contact Detective P. Pena at 703-228-4183 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

BREAKING: Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey to retire at the end of year

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Libby Garvey speaks at a press conference in 2023 (courtesy photo)

Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey is retiring at the end of her term in 2024.

She announced her decision near the top of a County Board meeting today (Tuesday).

“When my term ends in December, it will be 28 years of elected public service and about 17 primaries and general campaigns,” she said. “I’m loving this work. I love working with the staff, my colleagues and the residents. I mean, that’s the best part of this job, in many ways, but at this point, both my head and my heart are telling me it’s time I passed the baton.”

Garvey was first elected to the County Board in 2012, after previously serving on the Arlington School Board.

Continuing the relay analogy, Garvey says she intends “to sprint to the finish” and looks forward to accomplishing more for Arlington in the next 11 months, including leading the newly unveiled 2050 visioning process — a sweeping public engagement opportunity to envision what the county should look like in 26 years — and making Arlington more energy resilient.

“There will be time for more proper thank-yous and acknowledgments in the future,” she added in a statement to people who subscribe to her monthly newsletter, issued shortly after her announcement. “Please know that my friends and supporters have made it possible for me to do this work, which I love. And I look forward, as always, to your thoughts and suggestions as I continue to work for Arlington throughout this year.”

The acknowledgements have already started, however.

“We would like to thank Libby Garvey for her years of service on the County Board,” the Arlington County Democratic Committee said, in a statement posted on social media. “We know she’ll keep working for Arlington the rest of her term and beyond.”

So far, there are three candidates who have stepped up to fill her place, all vying to be the Democratic nominee selected in a primary this June.

Natalie Roy, who made her debut last election cycle on an anti-Missing Middle platform and received an endorsement from Garvey, is running for the second time. First-time candidate Julie Farnam, an Arlington Ridge Civic Association board member, is campaigning on improving public safety and taking what she calls a “smart” approach to planning and growth.

James DeVita, who ran for State Senate last election cycle, has also thrown his hat into the ring, according to Virginia Public Access Project.

Garvey’s decision follows that of fellow former County Board colleagues Christian Dorsey and Katie Cristol, who both announced last year they would not seek re-election. Cristol made her exit before her term ended while Dorsey saw out the end of his term.

Fresh Impact Farms reaps benefits of more farming space with eye toward expanding in the coming years

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza. 

One of Arlington’s only urban farms, Fresh Impact Farms, is continuing to enjoy success catering to the taste buds of high-end D.C. restaurants, from Seven Reasons to Oyster, Oyster.

Founded in 2017, the urban agriculture startup in a strip mall on Langston Blvd has experienced significant growth in the last year. With support from a state grant, it doubled the size of its indoor farm and began reaping the benefits of this expansion last year, says founder Ryan Pierce. As a result, its sales grew rapidly in 2023 — a pattern Pierce says he hopes to continue going into 2024.

“If 2024 goes as well as we hope it’s going to go, we’ll start looking for additional expansion space, with the goal of staying here in Arlington,” he said. “We have rather unique needs for real estate… [and Arlington] keeps us really close to our primary clientele.”

That has been and always will be D.C.’s pioneering chefs in the fine dining scene, who Pierce says are “the first movers in terms of new trends in food.”

This drives Fresh Impact Farms to keep trying out dozens of new and uncommon varieties of edible succulents and herbs as well as different color combinations of rare, edible flowers. Overall, the farm is home to well over 400 varieties of crops, he said.

Fresh Impact Farms growing area in a strip mall on Langston Blvd (courtesy photo)

“We’re always introducing new products,” Pierce said. “That’s something they expect. They’re always asking us, ‘What’s new? What can we get from you that we couldn’t get from you in the summer?’ Half of our job is finding out what we should be growing and then our team has to figure out how to grow it.”

Pushing the boundaries of edible plants requires highly skilled staff, he noted.

Fresh Impact Farms is taking a more modest, or cautious, approach to growth when it comes to adding clients — too many would strain his farm’s production levels — and incorporating new tech.

“There’s always the initial push to make everything as complicated as possible and get as much tech into the farm as possible,” Pierce said. “What we’ve found is that sometimes, the human approach works better. While we automate watering, lighting and climate control, we don’t automate harvest or seeding. For those, we’ve found, it’s better to have a human touch.”

Beyond Fresh Impact Farms, Arlington has one other urban farm, Area 2 Farms, located in a brick industrial building in Green Valley. While neither is in an office building, Arlington County has taken steps to make it easier for urban farmers to begin growing plants in vacant, underused and outdated office spaces by loosening its zoning restrictions.

Like the county, Pierce — who sits on Arlington’s Industrial Development Authority — says he is constantly thinking about how Arlington can fill its office space. Upfront building conversion costs, however, might make it difficult for more farms to take advantage of these looser zoning rules.

“How do you adjust the centralized HVAC to accommodate plants over people? While the temperature and humidity is about the same you’d want it in your house, the systems in which you do that are completely different. It’s a much different challenge than someone people realize,” he said.

The county has to attract new talent and to its credit, is doing so via its Innovation Fund, he said.

“As far as putting farms, that’s a real big challenge,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s one of those things where I want to look for solutions but it doesn’t mean my business is the solution for that particular problem.”

A mid-century relic of Rosslyn’s pedestrian infrastructure, next to the church-gas station, is coming down this summer

By Jo DeVoe
1/7

(Updated at 3:55 p.m.) One of Rosslyn’s few remaining skywalks is set to come down as part of an effort to realize a walkable corridor from one end of the neighborhood to the other.

Arlington County will be demolishing a skywalk over N. Nash Street, near the Arlington Temple United Methodist Church building and Sunoco gas station dubbed “Our Lady of Exxon.” The county applied for a demolition permit for this project last month, permit records show.

“This is part of the Rosslyn Sector Plan’s 18th Street Corridor,” says Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien. “The removal of the skywalk will help refocus pedestrian activity at the street level by replacing the remainder of the skywalk system with the envisioned 18th Street Corridor over time.”

Envisioned in the 2015 Rosslyn Sector Plan, the 18th Street Corridor is envisioned as a walkable thoroughfare extending from Rosslyn’s western edge, N. Quinn Street, to its eastern edge, Arlington Ridge Road. The corridor is intended to make Rosslyn more pedestrian-friendly by removing the skywalks, breaking up long north-south blocks and improving access to the Rosslyn Metro station, per the sector plan.

Some skywalks have already been removed as part of redevelopment projects changing Rosslyn’s skyline. Most recently, one that connected the now-demolished RCA building to the Rosslyn Gateway building was removed as part of plans to replace the building with apartments. Another over N. Lynn Street was removed in 2014 for the Central Place redevelopment that replaced a McDonalds.

The county is still working on the plans and obtaining necessary easements, O’Brien said. Demolition is expected to start this summer and take upwards of two months.

The demolition permit does not apply to the redevelopment project from Arlington-based Snell Properties, approved in 2021, to replace the Ames Center office building, formerly occupied by the Art Institute of Washington with two residential towers on the same block.

One tower would abut the Hyatt Centric hotel and another would surround the church and gas station, which will be completely rebuilt, according to a 2021 press release.

The new façade of Arlington Temple United Methodist Church at 1820 N. Fort Myer Drive (via Arlington County)

In advance of this project, Arlington Temple United Methodist Church has relocated to 1701 N. Bryan Street, just north of Courthouse, according to Rev. Martha “Marti” Ringenbach.

As for progress on this development, Snell did demolish 1820 Fort Myer Drive in October but a construction start date has not been determined, a spokeswoman for the developer tells ARLnow. She noted Snell was not aware of this demolition permit.

Once underway, the redevelopment will also advance the 18th Street Corridor by building up a segment from Fort Myer Drive to N. Nash Street, the 2021 release said.

In proposing a corridor that is partially inaccessible to cars, the sector plan admits that the 1960s-era skywalks were a bit of a failed experiment.

These skywalks were “designed to connect blocks, buildings and uses efficiently while keeping pedestrians separated from vehicular traffic,” the plan says. “The execution of the skywalk concept fell short of expectations in some cases, which combined with a renewed focus on directing pedestrian activity to the street level, has led to an incremental deconstruction of the system over the past 15 years.”

Rosslyn’s skywalks were declassé even before the new millenium, according to a scathing write-up in a 1999 study of Rosslyn.

“To the planners of the early 50’s and 60’s, presumably it seemed orderly and logical to separate the pedestrian flow with its erratic, unpredictable movements, from the fast-moving steel machines of the road,” a consulting firm wrote in the report. “Buried in the back of the planners’ minds perhaps lingered images of the piazza at San Marco in Venice or those of Rome. If so, in the instance of Rosslyn, something was lost in translation.”

Apartment building proposed for old Red Lion hotel site nears finish line

By Jo DeVoe
1/7

A redevelopment project near Rosslyn is teed up for Arlington County Board approval this weekend.

Reston-based Orr Partners proposes to build an 8-story apartment building with up to 446 units on a 2.2-acre site in the Radnor-Fort Myer Heights neighborhood.

The site at 1501 Arlington Blvd is currently home to the Red Lion Hotel, formerly the Best Western Iwo Jima hotel, which opened in 1958, as well as the Ellis Arms and Williamsburg apartments, which were built in 1954. It is bounded by Fairfax Drive to the south and the Parc Rosslyn Apartments and Belvedere Condominiums to the north.

The proposed building would add 418 net new units while still coming 62 feet under the height maximum allowed in this area, county planner Adam Watson told the Planning Commission last week. Its construction would eliminate surface parking lots and result in underground utility lines, new streetscapes and accessibility improvements.

Orr took over never-realized plans to build a 10-story condo tower and a 12-story hotel on the site, which the County Board approved in 2019.

After going through the county’s public review process, Orr changed the building’s form and design in response to staff and commissioner comments, says Watson. The developer made changes to the building at the corner of N. Pierce Street and Fairfax Drive to improve circulation on the sidewalk below, near a planned bicycle storage room.

It also added visual interest to gates along Fairfax Drive at the pedestrian level, intended to screen transformers from view and made design changes to give the lobby more prominence, he said.

Orr will replace existing market-rate affordable units with 24 on-site committed affordable units set aside for households earning up to 60% of the area median income. The units — seven 1-bedroom, 16 2-bedroom and one 3-bedroom — add up to 42 bedrooms, the same as currently exists.

Members of the Planning Commission urged the developer to consider trading some of the proposed 1-bedroom units for 3-bedroom ones.

“This would be a really great opportunity, as we rarely see 3-bedroom held market-rate affordable units that come before us,” said commission Chair Sara Steinberger last week. “You found one [3-bedroom unit]: I’m asking you guys to see what you can do to find one or two more. I do see some consensus in this body that that’s something that we would appreciate.”

Ryan Orr, the senior vice president of development, said his company is “happy to explore adding more 3-bedrooms in lieu of one or twos,” noting this would require “a holistic look” at the floor plans.

Representatives from the nearby Belvedere Condominiums owners association and the Radnor-Fort Myer Heights Civic Association expressed concern that the project will displace existing tenants of the market-rate affordable units.

Company chairman David Orr said he has heard these concerns from these neighbors since the kickoff of the project review process.

“We took that to heart. My son has met with every resident there — two didn’t open their doors — and we talked to them about their plans,” he said. “Some have had personal issues. Some are delinquent. We are not enforcing the leases and we are working with them in every way to bring them back to community.”

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New ice cream shop could move into Lyon Village Shopping Center this spring

By Jo DeVoe
The standalone building that used to house a bank and a barber shop in the Lyon Village Shopping Center in Spout Run (via Google Maps)

A Cold Stone Creamery location is moving into a vacant standalone building at the Lyon Village Shopping Center, permit records show.

It will take over the half of 3141 Langston Blvd — near Spout Run Parkway — that used to be home to a bank. The other half of the building was once home to a barber shop. This building is a few paces from the main strip, which is home to the Italian Store, Big Wheel Bikes and BGR Burgers Grilled Right, as well as a CVS, a Giant and a Starbucks.

Mohammed Haque, the owner of the forthcoming ice cream shop location, says he is looking to open sometime after May, taking into account six to eight weeks for getting permits squared away and three months to ready the space.

Haque, who used to live in Arlington, said he knows the area very well. After exhausting his options closer to Ballston, where he could not find sufficient space at an affordable rent, he settled on the old bank location in the shopping center.

While he awaits permits, the building already is seeing some signs of interior demolition. This will include taking down partitions, doors and finishes — including the columns outside — as well as some minor mechanical and electrical work, according to permit records.

Hat tip Chris Slatt 

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