The Arlington Children’s Center at 1915 N. Uhle Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Arlington Children’s Center at 1915 N. Uhle Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Arlington Children’s Center at 1915 N. Uhle Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Arlington Children’s Center at 1915 N. Uhle Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Arlington Children’s Center at 1915 N. Uhle Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
When a contractor for Arlington County embarked on work to renovate a county-owned childcare building near Courthouse, it ran into some costly problems.
The county contracted with Landivar & Associates in December to oversee plans to update the Arlington Children’s Center (1915 N. Uhle Street), which has housed a childcare facility for county employees for several decades. It will be updating the building to meet current daycare standards, comply with the Americans with Disability Act and provide an interior refresh.
Work began this April, but with just 10% of work done, the contractor has already blown through half of its allotted contingency funding — nearly $264,000 — “to repair unforeseen structural damages revealed during interior demolition,” per a county report.
Over the weekend, the Arlington County Board approved a $100,000 contract increase to “address additional unforeseen conditions that are likely to be revealed during the remaining 90% of the project,” the report continued.
Now, the total contract is worth $1.2 million, up from $1.1 million.
Although work began this spring, the building closed nearly two years ago. At the time, the county and the childcare service provider — which had been in the building for 17 years — could not reach an agreement over a contract extension with the renovation work pending.
This stressed some parents who found themselves scrambling to find daycare amid a shortage of options.
Arlington County expects the renovation work to wrap up and the facility to reopen in early 2024, according to a project webpage. The county already has a contract with a provider — the nonprofit Easterseals — which the Board approved this January.
“Enrollment preference will be given to children whose parent or guardian work for the County, followed by children whose parent or guardian work or live in Arlington County,” the webpage said.
Julius “JD” Spain Sr. canvassing (via JD for Arlington/Facebook)
Susan Cunningham canvassing (via Susan for Arlington/Facebook)
Jonathan Dromgoole canvassing at Acme Pie Co. (via Jonathan Dromgoole/Facebook)
Natalie Roy canvassing on her bike (courtesy photo)
Tony Weaver and supporters setting up signs (courtesy photo)
(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) They have participated in public fora, gone door-to-door, answered candidate questionnaires and submitted essays asking for your vote.
Now, the candidates for Arlington County Board are in the home stretch. On Tuesday, the polls officially open for the primary to determine which of the six will have the nomination of the local Democratic party — and whose bids come to an end. Early voting ends tomorrow (Saturday).
For this year’s County Board race, some of the top issues have been the fallout over the decision to allow 2-6 units in single-family home neighborhoods — also known as Missing Middle — as well as affordable housing, improved public transportation, sustainability and tackling the office vacancy rate.
One candidate, Maureen Coffey, has picked up the endorsement of Katie Cristol, the first County Board candidate to leave office this year. Coffey already has the support of Matt de Ferranti and Takis Karantonis, and a third-place vote from Vice-Chair Libby Garvey, meaning she enjoys at least partial support from most of the current Board.
Based on candidate websites and campaign finance records, it appears outgoing Board Chair Christian Dorsey has stayed out of endorsing or donating during this race.
Behind Coffey comes Julius “JD” Spain, Sr., who has the support of de Ferranti and Karantonis.
Spain also has the distinction of being one of the top three fundraisers this race, along with Susan Cunningham and Natalie Roy, who Garvey ranked first and second, respectively, on her ballot.
As for campaign fundraising, Cunningham emerged in the lead during the most recent filing period, besting Roy. Since April 1, Cunningham — who ran in 2020 as an independent — raised $41,810 and loaned herself $10,000.
“I am grateful for the broad support across Arlington — donations, volunteers, and early votes for Susan #1,” Cunningham said in a press release. “Voters I talk with every day are enthusiastic about my background and experience and what I can bring to the Arlington County Board.”
She picked up contributions from some 166 donors, per her campaign. She also was endorsed by four D.C. and Virginia organizations, including Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington and Virginia Chapter National Organization of Women.
Roy received contributions from some 120 new donors, according to her campaign.
“It has been incredibly exciting to see the culmination of months of campaigning as voters head to the polls and to hear from supporters as they return absentee ballots,” Roy said in a press release. “Just as I promise to listen to all Arlingtonians as a County Board member, I promise to keep working until the polls close at 7 p.m. next Tuesday.”
This round, a handful of unions led fundraising for Coffey and Spain, donating $9,500 to each. Coffey also received $2,500 from Cristol, whose last meeting as a Board member was on Tuesday. Candidates Jonathan Dromgoole and Tony Weaver trailed in fundraising this round, earning $3,142 and $2,555, respectively.
Campaign fundraising for Arlington County Board (by ARLnow)
A few more endorsements have come in, too. Coffey has the support of Lowell Feld, founder and editor of Blue Virginia.
“Coffey both has her priorities straight and has a positive VISION for Arlington’s future,” the outlet said, adding that she fits its criteria: smart, with growth potential, who share “our progressive, environmentalist values.”
Northside Social in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The makeshift outdoor dining areas that sprung up in the early days of Covid, and gradually took on a more permanent feel, could be here to stay.
On Tuesday, the Arlington County Board voted to hold hearings next month mulling zoning changes that would give most restaurants a way to add outdoor seating areas without special Board approval.
Restaurants were able to do this during the pandemic — adapting to social distancing and indoor gathering regulations — via a special county program that is ending on Aug. 15.
Under the proposed ordinances, temporary outdoor seating areas (TOSAs) that are on private property and on public sidewalks within rights-of-way would be approved administratively. Those on privately owned public spaces, like the patio outside the seafood spot Seamore’s in Clarendon, would require a County Board use permit.
How outdoor seating areas could be approved (via Arlington County)
Restaurants could go to the Board to have parking spots converted to outdoor dining space.
The proposed ordinance changes, which will be discussed in a Board meeting on July 15, have been under development for the last year. The county says the code changes support local businesses, about 100 of which have TOSAs, and account for livability concerns some residents raised.
“This is a huge body of work. A huge thanks to staff, who’ve been working on this comprehensively for a while,” Board Chair Christian Dorsey said. “I know it seems like a simple issue to some, but as you peel layers of the onion, you continue to find more complexity.”
The Board initially approved TOSAs early in the pandemic to help restaurants circumvent the typically lengthy process for getting an outdoor dining permit. These spaces were popular for offsetting revenue lost to closures and social distancing and for creating a safer dining experience.
As the pandemic wore on, the Board allowed TOSAs in common areas, such as plazas, and for restaurants to continue operating them at full capacity once the indoor capacity restrictions lifted.
“It was a life saver for our family and employees and continues to be a large part of our business,” Lebanese Taverna Executive Vice President Grace Shea said during a forum hosted by the Arlington Committee of 100 on Wednesday night.
Now, she says, it brings more people to the restaurant.
“Outdoor seating enhances the streetscape of where the restaurant is. It attracts people by creating a welcoming atmosphere,” she said. “It’s also additional revenue that we do not have to pay rent for.”
In 2021, Arlington County signaled plans to study early a dozen separate policies governing outdoor cafés to figure out how to make TOSAs permanent. That started in the fall of 2022, after a local Covid emergency order ended.
County staff say it heard both support and concerns from the community. One strong supporter is the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.
“The Chamber and the county both agree that we want to make this transition smooth for restaurant owners who want this outdoor dining,” said John Musso, the government affairs manager for the Chamber, at Wednesday’s forum. “We’re looking forward to continuing this conversation.”
Construction workers at Oakland Park in 2019 (file photo)
Arlington County, like the rest of us, is realizing $250,000 does not get you as far as it used to.
With inflation, gone are the days that a construction contract of any significance could realistically come in under that sum, the threshold for a project that requires Arlington County Board approval. Gone too are the days that most professional services contracts, for things like engineering work, would cost under $80,000.
So, on Saturday, the Board adjusted for inflation — and then some — greenlighting a new threshold of $1 million for capital construction contracts and professional services. Contracts under this sum will no longer need Board review and approval.
“Establishing a higher threshold corrects for these cost increases and provides some
insulation against future inflationary pressures, which is prudent given the infrequent nature of these threshold adjustments,” a county report says.
The two thresholds were last set in 2000 and since then, the impacts of inflation in the D.C. area construction market “have been particularly acute,” the report says.
“While different construction market indices reflect varying degrees of inflation, they consistently support that $250,000 in the year 2000 more closely approximates $500,000 [to] $600,000 in 2023,” it said.
Although $1 million is a higher threshold even after adjusting for inflation, the county says it is reasonable.
“The proposed $1 million threshold would still be the lowest among major counties and cities in the Northern Virginia region and among the lowest in the D.C. metro area,” per the report.
How much a contract has to cost in the region for a governing body to need to sign off on it (via Arlington County)
In fact, of all the 70 road, sewer and park projects between 2015 and 2022 that received bids — dubbed invitation to bid or ITB projects — none were under $250,000, the county says.
The majority, 62%, were more than $1 million — the kind of capital construction projects that “also tend to be those with the most complexity and public interest and impact,” the report said.
The cost of various proposed bids in Arlington (via Arlington County)
The Gazette Leader newspaper, however, lamented this as a loss for those seeking a more transparent government.
“The proposal likely will add more fuel to the fire among critics of the government like the Arlington County Civic Federation, which has contended that the government is failing the public on the transparency front,” editor Scott McCaffrey wrote.
The county has a different take, saying projects under $1 million are largely “minor renovations and smaller maintenance projects.” That includes minor sidewalk or park improvements, such as those recently undertaken at Towers Park Playground, Oakland Park and Edison Park.
These projects can generate public interest but, the report says, the county has existing engagement processes to respond to such interest.
A barbecue joint in Clarendon may have its occasional parties go up in smoke.
Arlington County says Smokecraft Modern Barbecue at 1051 N. Highland Street could lose its live entertainment permit because it does not comply with a local initiative requiring restaurants and bars to meet certain alcohol safety standards.
At issue: Since November, Clarendon venues with live entertainment permits need to comply with the Arlington Restaurant Initiative (ARI). One requirement is that establishments have certain written policies and procedures, which the award-winning, list-topping Smokecraft — which opened in 2020 — does not have.
The restaurant and its attorneys say they believe such written policies could make the restaurant vulnerable to litigation, meaning an increase in insurance costs of upwards of $10,000 a year.
“We are a safe establishment. We have been a safe establishment. We continue to plan to do so. Adopting these specific written policies isn’t going to change our commitment,” owner and pitmaster Andrew Darneille told the Board last night (Tuesday).
Further, he said, the live entertainment permit is not actively in use, all alcohol-serving staff are trained in how to serve safely, the restaurant has a “perfect alcohol safety record,” and alcohol only comprises 15% of sales.
Without compliance, the Arlington County Board says it will eventually revoke the live entertainment permit. In May, the county allowed Smokecraft to keep the permit and revisit the issue in a month while the parties cook up a solution.
Last night, the Board was poised to revoke the permit but instead voted to punt on the issue for one more month because negotiations are headed in the right direction.
Still, the patience of Board members appears to be wearing thin. Some seemed annoyed the issue had gotten to this point, where other restaurants found ways to make it work.
“I think you can get there without realizing the apocalypse your representatives see,” Board Chair Christian Dorsey said. “For my purposes, each month that we continue in this dance is another month where you continue to enjoy a permit without adhering to ARI standards — a luxury that the other establishments haven’t had.”
Dorsey said Smokecraft has the flexibility to write policies that meet a “minimal bar for compliance” and work for the business.
“One of the beauties of this is that the policies are not proscriptive — they’re illustrative,” Dorsey said. “It’s not like it’s going to require you to upend your operations.”
In response to the argument that Smokecraft should be able to follow the lead of other businesses, Darneille said that is an unfair argument.
“I recognize 50 other restaurants signed onto this but I can’t speak to why they made decisions to do what they’ve done,” he continued. “We’ve raised a concern here that’s valid for us. We are working to try and resolve that concern.”
He shifted blame to the county for not promptly engaging with the restaurant when these concerns first were raised. Then, after a meeting last month, he said it took two weeks to receive responses from the county.
County Board members did not address this point. ARLnow has previously reported on restaurateurs and other business owners having trouble reaching staff in a timely manner.
New stop sign at N. Vermont Street and N. Carlin Springs Road
New stop sign at N. Vermont Street and N. Carlin Springs Road
N. Glebe Road and Wilson Blvd (via Google Maps)
Route 50 and N. Meade Street (via Google Map)
Washington Blvd and N. Glebe Road (via Google Maps)
Langston Blvd and Fort Myer Drive (via Google Maps)
Langston Blvd and N. Lynn Street
S. Glebe Road and I-395 (via Google Maps)
S. Glebe Road and I-395 (via Google Maps)
Army Navy Drive from S. Eads Street to S. Joyce Street (via Google Maps)
Army Navy Drive and S. Joyce Street (via Google Maps)
Army Navy Drive and S. Eads Street (via Google Maps)
8th Road S. and S. Frederick Street (via Google Maps)
S. Hayes Street and 12th Street S. (via Google Maps)
23rd Street S. and Crystal Drive (via Google Maps)
2700 block of Richmond Hwy (via Google Maps)
Columbia Pike and S. George Mason Drive (via Google Maps)
On a Thursday morning two weeks ago, there was a notable police presence at the intersection of N. Vermont Street and N. Carlin Springs Road.
Officers were watching for people blowing through a new stop sign, which was added in late May at the site of a crash where a driver struck a mother pushing her baby in a stroller.
This is the latest update for the intersection, which has been an “ongoing” location for investigations due to the high number of crashes there, according to Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien.
Now, instead of two stop signs, the intersection has four.
“We made several improvements in early 2021 and have been monitoring the intersection,” O’Brien said. “Due to recent crashes and an updated safety analysis, we analyzed the intersection for an all-way stop and found that it met the conditions. The signs were installed end of May and we are continuing to monitor the intersection.”
Previous improvements included installing “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop” signs on the existing stop signs and installing additional “Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk” neon warning flags and upgraded existing pedestrian warning signs, DES spokesman Peter Golkin said.
Everything, basically, but adding new stop signs.
Now, with the new all-way stop in place, DES is working with the Arlington County Police Department to educate drivers about the traffic change, she said.
“This includes in-person education from officers and variable messaging signage,” she said.
In the relatively short time that ARLnow was out there two weeks ago, three or four drivers who blew the stop sign were pulled over. Now two weeks into June, the variable messaging sign boards alerting drivers to the change are still up.
As part of the county’s goal to end serious and fatal crashes by 2030, known as Vision Zero, this intersection has been investigated as both a “hot spot” and as part of the county’s “high-injury network,” two designations for places with high rates of crashes.
Meanwhile, ACPD has its own list of dicey intersections, collectively known as “Traffic Accident Reduction Program” or TARP intersections, to determine where to send officers and other resources.
These “are generally higherfrequencycrashlocations where enforcement is determined to be useful in reducing overall crash volume,” says ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage.
Some of these crash-prone intersections have pedestrians crossing multiple wide traffic lanes, or roads that merge with highways, along faded crosswalks. In others, cars have to navigate atypical traffic patterns.
The police department’s list of crash-prone “TARP” intersection includes the following. (more…)
Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti and her challenger, Josh Katcher (photo illustration by ARLnow)
In the race to pick the next Democratic candidate for Arlington and Falls Church’s top prosecutor, incumbent Parisa Dehghani-Tafti has topped her opponent, Josh Katcher, in fundraising.
A campaign financing report released yesterday (Monday) says she netted $356,220 in cash donations for her re-election bid from April 1-June 8. She raced ahead after falling behind Katcher in the last filing period. The Democratic primary is on June 20 and early voting started last month.
Most of the cash Dehghani-Tafti received — $295,000 — came from one progressive political action committee (PAC) founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. She also received nearly $75,000 in in-kind donations from a handful of other liberal groups, including $45,992 from New Virginia Majority and $23,435 from Justice and Public Safety PAC.
Katcher’s largest donation this round, $15,000, comes from the Arlington Coalition of Police. He still bests his opponent when it comes to number of donors above and below $100. He also has loaned himself $30,000, whereas Dehghani-Tafti reported no loans during this period.
Fundraising has yet to reach the nearly $1 million seen ahead of the June 2019 primary, when Dehghani-Tafti bested incumbent Theo Stamos and in one filing period received $515,492 in cash and in-kind donations from a Soros-funded group.
In a statement this morning, the campaign to elect Dehghani-Tafti celebrated these donations and went after Katcher for trying to discredit them.
There are those, like our opponent, who will seek to sow distrust in these upstanding organizations, who have already aimed to diminish their right to bring together the voices of those who are normally disenfranchised, and support both democracy and Democratic values; those who utilize Republican scare tactics, demonizing the hard work of members of these American institutions.
We do not agree with our opponent. We embrace not only the right these groups have to support our campaign, but we celebrate this support, accepting these contributions of time, money, and labor by hard-working Americans who are invested that ALL people in Arlington be treated equally under the law, that ALL people can expect justice under the law, and that ALL people here can expect a safe community for their families to grow, love, and prosper.
Katcher’s campaign lambasted his opponent today for omitting the $295,000 in what it says is “dark PAC money.” His campaign manager, Ben Jones, said the following:
Over the past month, our campaign has pointed to a clear pattern of behavior by Parisa Dehghani-Tafti where she refuses to tell the truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth to our community, even on the most elementary matters. Whether it is relating to information on crime statistics, how many vacancies are open in her office, how her office operates or even just an hour ago when talking about her campaign contributions, she has shown over and over again that she is incapable of transparency or even fidelity to the truth.
Jones argued that Katcher has more broad support from Democrats than his opponent, with 1,151 individual contributions in the past six months compared to the 822 contributions to Dehghani-Tafti over the last two years.
Echoes of the fundraising rhetoric can be heard in the ads for the two candidates. Some highlight their experience and high-profile endorsements while others demonstrate their Democrat bona fides and undermine those of their opponent.
A delivery driver on foot in Rosslyn (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Chefs in the La Cocina, now Kitchen of Purpose (courtesy photo)
“Ghost kitchens” on the parking lot eyed for redevelopment near the Whole Foods in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
In another bid to encourage business growth, the Arlington County Board has made it easier to open shared kitchens and catering and food delivery operations.
On Saturday, the Board voted to amend the zoning ordinance to allow these uses by right in mixed-use, commercial and industrial zones throughout Arlington County. The changes streamline the regulatory approval process for several food-related uses, according to a county report.
“The outcomes of expanding food delivery to a by-right use support small business resilience by relieving businesses of unnecessary work,” the report said. That includes going before the County Board to seek approval for each use.
The changes are part of a flurry of approvals in the last 14 months to allow more uses by-right in these zoning districts. So far, the County Board has greenlit uses such as breweries, micro-fulfillment centers, podcasting studios, indoor pickleball and other emerging businesses to operate where they previously could not set up shop or needed special permission to do so.
All these updates happened in quick succession because County Manager Mark Schwartz debuted a faster zoning approval process that streamlined community engagement. The intent was to help Arlington respond quickly to changing market conditions and, ultimately, tackle the high office vacancy rate.
Food service was the next candidate for an update because, the report says, local regulations treated delivery operations like it was still 1988. (The iPhone debuted in 2007.)
Per the report, the zoning ordinance “does not account for the present-day popularity of modern food delivery services,” requiring food delivery not to exceed 20% of a restaurant’s sales.
Restaurants were relieved of that kind of provision — borne from a concern about delivery vehicle congestion — during the pandemic, the report said.
Food delivery has become a permanent part of how Arlingtonians eat, even after Covid dining restrictions lifted. This new way of doing business was under threat by the expiration of the Covid-era Continuity of Governance ordinance that relaxed delivery regulations.
The changes approved on Saturday, then, came in the knick of time for new and existing businesses, as the ordinance is set to expire in August — meaning the county would have reverted to 1988 delivery standards.
Businesses would have had to obtain County Board approval to continue delivery, had the Board voted down the zoning change. Some already did — Foxtrot in Rosslyn, for instance, went before the Board earlier this year to continue delivering beverages, ready-made food and grocery items.
Saturday’s vote also is helping another player in the app-based food delivery ecosystem: trailer-based ghost kitchens, the kind of which you might see in a parking lot between Clarendon and Courthouse. Ghost kitchen operators will no longer need certain permits to continue cooking.
Renderings of the Arlington Career Center (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the Arlington Career Center (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the Arlington Career Center (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the Arlington Career Center (via Arlington County)
On Saturday, the Arlington County Board approved plans to redevelop the Arlington Career Center on Columbia Pike.
Arlington Public Schools will be building a new 5-story Career Center building at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive to house students in vocational courses, such as veterinary sciences. Also set to be built: a standalone 4-story parking garage.
Plans to update the building have gone through many iterations over the years and were most recently reprised last February in a process fraught with concerns.
In the end, four of the five Board members voted in favor of the $180 million project, with Takis Karantonis dissenting. The new facility will have capacity for up to 1,619 students.
The vote came after they heard, and in some cases echoed, concerns from representatives of civic associations and citizen commissions, as well as neighbors. Before Saturday, the Planning Commission was also divided, voting 5-4 two weeks ago with the chair abstaining after a weighty pause.
Board members who greenlit the project justified their decision using variations on the saying “the perfect is the enemy of the good.”
“The cost of the pursuit of a delay and the pursuit of a more perfect project are so high and the project brought before us — though not perfect — when delivered in its full vision… is going to be indeed a spectacular addition to an area that I think of as my broader neighborhood,” Board member Katie Cristol said. “And, more importantly, a home befitting of the incredible education happening within it.”
Some of the neighbors who spoke say they support the idea of the project and say they are not seeking perfection at all.
“The current APS plans, while ambitious, cut corners in ways that are unacceptable to the community and contrary to the our shared vision of a safe and equitable Arlington,” a coalition of leaders of civic associations along Columbia Pike said in a letter.
Top concerns from neighbors included the future of open space on the site and the environmental commitments of the proposed building. There were calls for sidewalks, undergrounded utilities and fencing that match those at other schools in Arlington, as well as a more forward-thinking solution to parking than a stand-alone, above-ground garage.
Former Arlington County Planning Commissioner Stephen Hughes said in a letter to the Board that the county should have deferred approving the use permit until APS addressed these issues.
“The Career Center site deserves to be the ‘Jewel of the Pike’; however, any claim of that today is disingenuous at best,” he wrote. “APS has failed for over a decade to address facility planning in a comprehensive way and besides the inclusion of the existing facilities on the [General Land Use Plan], we have no planning guidance to rely on with APS facilities.”
APS and the School Board intend to retrofit the current Career Center for the Montessori program now housed in the former Patrick Henry Elementary School. This building, in turn, would be torn down and turned into a green space.
Some people wanted these commitments included in the use permit that went before the County Board on Saturday. Otherwise, they say, no legal document binds APS to executing this vision and — absent funding and a plan — the Pike will lose a baseball diamond, basketball court and open green space with no commitments to recover them.
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that highlights Arlington-based startups, founders, and local tech news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn.
(Updated at 2 p.m.) Participants in a county-led tech pilot program graduated on Friday and nearly all of them have jobs lined up already.
The Arlington Talent Pilot Program, hosted by Arlington Economic Development, began in 2022 as a way to bridge the workforce gap in the tech industry, according to AED. It got its start with funding from the Covid stimulus package dubbed the American Rescue Plan.
It provides on-the-job training to aspiring software engineers who miss out on interviews owing to a lack of job experience.
During the program, the participants had temporary, full-time paid roles at the software company Exelaration and received mentorship from company developers.
AED says the company, which provides software solutions for organizations of all sizes, is the second-best tech and engineering internship provider in the U.S.
Working for Exelaration, participants saw an average pay increase of 26% and an average of 11 more hours per week of work. There were 11 participants — including one from Alexandria, who was admitted though technically separate from the program for Arlington residents. All 11 participants completed the program and 80% have jobs.
Local and state officials attended a graduation luncheon on Friday to congratulate the participants and stressed the need for more programs like this one, according to a press release from Exelaration.
The dignitaries present included Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Libby Garvey, Virginia State Sen. Barbara Favola and Rep. Don Beyer, as well as Exelaration CEO Steve Cooper.
“This program works because Northern Virginia companies stepped up to be clients of the program,” Cooper said during the event, per the release. “Our expert-led teams, staffed with our new engineers, built valuable working software that clients desperately need.”
Arlington Talent Pilot Program participant Eric Enkhbold Bayarsaikhan and Exelaration CEO Steve Cooper (courtesy Exelaration)
He praised Arlington for meeting a regional shortage of tech workers. The region is also pinning its hopes for a larger tech workforce on the forthcoming Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria.
“NoVA’s tech leaders said they needed experienced tech talent and Arlington is delivering it,” Cooper said.
AED highlighted the program and its participants in a recent video.
Units in the Marbella Apartments set for renovation (via Google Maps)
Units in the Marbella Apartments set for renovation (via Google Maps)
An aerial view of the Marbella Apartment buildings set for renovation (via Arlington County)
A rendering of the new Marbella Apartments to be constructed along N. Pierce Street (via Arlington County)
Renovations to the Marbella Apartments in the Radnor-Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood (via Arlington County)
Renovations to the Marbella Apartments in the Radnor-Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood (via Arlington County)
A collection of garden apartments near Rosslyn are set to be renovated this year.
On Saturday, the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing received the last approvals it needed to repair 62 committed affordable units across six garden apartment buildings in the Radnor-Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood.
These renovations are part of a two-phase redevelopment project of The Marbella Apartments along N. Queen Street near Route 50. Two 12-story, 100% affordable buildings will replace a three-story, garden-style complex north of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall while the other 62 units will be renovated.
These units will get updated windows and façades as well as interiors, new handrails and new wells that protect windows that are level with the ground from soil, known as window wells.
The project had nearly cleared the last design and permitting stages when it was discovered that the property does not conform with present-day Zoning Ordinance regulations, per a county report. That meant some of its repairs, including the window wells, could not proceed by-right.
The apartments were built by-right in the 1940s, a decade before the ordinance was enacted. The buildings now do not meet the ordinance’s requirements for how close a property could be to the street nor parking and density regulations.
Arlington County staff and the applicant argued against trying to make the buildings conform with current zoning rules.
“Bringing the existing buildings into conformance with current parking and setback standards would negatively impact existing units, mature trees, and open space, thus compromising the goals of affordable housing preservation and the historic qualities of the garden apartment property,” the report said.
Instead, on Saturday, the Arlington County Board designated the property with the Marbella Apartments as a “Voluntary Coordinated Housing Preservation and Development District.”
The property joins some eight other buildings in Arlington, the report says. They received this designation between 1992 and 2011.
The Board also approved a related use permit. These two moves allow the planned structural changes to the apartments without making them conform to zoning ordinances.
The buildings consist of mostly 1-bedroom apartments, with some studio, 2- and 3-bedroom units. They are available to people earning a mix of incomes up to 60% of the area median income.
Neither the report nor application materials indicated when renovations would begin.
