Author: Jo DeVoe

Debut of Long Bridge aquatics center makes waves among county swim classes

By Jo DeVoe
The 25-yard lanes, which can be turned into a 50-meter pool, in the Long Bridge Park Aquatics & Fitness Center (staff photo)

This year saw major changes to how Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools run community swim classes, to the surprise of some locals.

In July, Arlington Public Schools launched the APS Aquatics School for students and residents, while the county opened the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center in August.

APS’s new program prompted the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation to relocate most of its classes from local public high schools to the new facility near Crystal City. Since September, Long Bridge has been home to all county classes — save youth swim team practices — which officials say centralizes the county’s program and serves more people.

“Arlington County has long known the community demand for aquatics programs far exceeded the pool capacity in Arlington Public Schools,” said parks department spokeswoman Susan Kalish. “Opening a long-awaited community treasure is hard enough, opening it amidst a pandemic has been amazing. We are happy as to how the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center has been received. And with the opening, there are now more opportunities than ever.”

Until this fall, DPR scheduled all classes, competitive swim team training and public swim time in the pools at Wakefield, Washington-Liberty and Yorktown high schools. With Long Bridge and the new school program up and running, APS and DPR are hammering out a new policy for sharing facilities. In the meantime, folks are still learning about and adjusting to the changes, per social media and emails to ARLnow.

“This is huge,” one tipster tells us. “The neighborhood school pools are one of the silent gems of Arlington… I don’t think anyone thought the aquatic center would take neighborhood pool classes.”

The school system started its swim class program on July 14 to recover more of the costs to maintain the pools and offer affordable classes, APS spokesman Frank Bellavia said.

Initially, Kalish says the school system asked DPR to move all programs to Long Bridge, including practice for the youngest members of Arlington Aquatic Club — the county-run competitive swim program that helped train Olympic medalist Torri Huske.

“It became apparent that youth swim teams are more successful when their training base is close to home,” she said. “This school year, per [a School Board policy], APS is allowing five practice groups to train about 15 hours a week at Wakefield and W-L pools.”

DPR decides which groups to schedule at the high school pools and pays APS to use them, Bellavia said.

Today, APS offers drowning prevention and learn-to-swim classes for babies, toddlers, children and adults, and fitness classes for adults and seniors.

Classes are staffed and filling up, Bellavia says, despite difficulties recruiting lifeguards and swimming instructors — another impact of nationwide workforce shortages.

“[The] APS Aquatics School implementation plan is on schedule and both the Summer and Fall term have been fully staffed and the courses, especially PreK School and Swim School, have been fully subscribed with a few experiencing small waitlist,” Bellavia said.

Classes generally fill up within the first week of registration, which opens 30 days before the session starts, he added.

“We have a new teacher who is very good,” said one Facebook user of her experience in W-L’s water aerobics class. “I get a true workout.”

Likewise, Kalish says the Long Bridge aquatics programs are “very popular.”

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Toddler returns home from hospital after severe collision in Westover

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

(Updated 5:30 p.m.) The child who was struck by a driver a few weeks ago while riding his scooter in Westover has returned home, police say.

A Cadillac sedan struck the child in the afternoon on Nov. 17 as the driver exited a county-owned alley onto N. Longfellow Street. The boy was reportedly pulled from under the vehicle and was conscious when medics arrived to rush him to a local hospital.

“The toddler has been released from the hospital and is reportedly doing well,” said Ashley Savage, a spokeswoman for Arlington County Police Department, told ARLnow yesterday afternoon.

No additional details about the nature of the toddler’s injuries were provided, although initial reports indicated he had suffered a serious head injury.

The driver stayed on scene while police began their investigation, which Savage said Tuesday “remains an active and ongoing critical crash investigation.”

Following the crash the look of the alley has changed, as some thick hedges — one of a number of safety concerns neighbors articulated about the alley — have come down. Workers could be seen trimming back the hedges last Thursday.

Reached by phone Tuesday, a family member of the homeowner declined to comment about the hedges.

On the day of the crash, Arlington County’s code enforcement division received a complaint about the house with the hedges, spokeswoman Erika Moore told ARLnow Wednesday afternoon.

“Code enforcement cited the property owner under Chapter 10 of the County Code and sent a notice as required,” she said.

Chapter 10 covers trash, recycling and care of premises, and says the following: “It shall be the joint and several duty of each owner or occupant of property to cut back or remove trees or parts thereof, hedges, shrubs, vines and other vegetation which encroaches upon any sidewalk, alley, roadway, street or highway and which impairs or obstructs any pedestrian or vehicular traffic.”

Other safety threats in the area, according to residents, include drivers traveling at a high rate of speed on N. Longfellow Street and on the alley, which connects N. Longfellow Street and the cul-de-sac at 15th Road N. Additionally, streetlights on the alley were dim or out, making it hard to see after nightfall, though the crash occurred during daylight hours.

The crash led the Westover Civic Association to ask on Nextdoor for reports of similar accidents or incidents in the area, which the civic group intends to present to the Arlington County Board.

In conjunction with a fatal crash one week prior in Green Valley, near Drew Elementary School, the incident prompted Arlington County to launch a review of a common thread between them: alleys.

“Our team is evaluating the crash locations in detail now and will conduct a holistic assessment on alleys from now into the spring,” Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien told ARLnow on Tuesday.

In the other crash, a man who was reportedly speeding down an alley on his motorcycle collided with a school bus carrying children.

County pushes for more greenery, accessibility in Amazon HQ2 Phase 2 designs

By Jo DeVoe
1/11

(Updated 4:40 p.m.) County commissioners welcome Amazon’s latest revisions to plans for the second phase of its HQ2 in Pentagon City — but are pushing for more greenery and accessibility.

Designs for Phase 2, also known as PenPlace, are wending through Arlington County’s planning review process.

Phase 2 will be anchored by a lush, futuristic building, dubbed “The Helix,” and feature three, 22-story office buildings, three retail pavilions, a childcare center, a permanent home for Arlington Community High School, 2.5 acres of public green space, multi-modal pathways and underground parking.

Amazon is massaging out the details with county staff, commissioners and community representatives to ready the plans for Planning Commission and County Board review, possibly in the spring. The tech giant has already updated the three office buildings, pathways and green spaces in response to requests for more architectural diversity and plantings.

“The team has been careful reviewing all comments and believe together, we are making PenPlace a better project for the entire community,” said Joe Chapman, Amazon’s Director of Global Real Estate and Facilities, during a meeting last night. “We are committed to the process and to the community.”

Project designers presented their changes during a Site Plan Review Committee meeting last night (Monday). County staff, commissioners and community members asked for better accessibility for people with disabilities, more pedestrian safety features, increased tree canopy and even more plants.

“In general, everyone really likes the presentation and appreciates the refinements to the design from the [Long Range Planning Committee] to now, and from the comments raised in the online period,” Planning Commission member Elizabeth Gearin said. “There’s very strong and widespread appreciation for changes to the design, for the early incorporation of sustainability, biophilia and art.”

Still, commissioners recommended leveling the entrances to underground parking garages so drivers have clearer views of pedestrians. They and county staff asked Amazon to revisit a set of stairs leading from Army-Navy Drive to an “elevated forest walk” on the northern end of the site.

“We’d really like to see the stairs removed and replaced with ramp that everyone can use equally,” Gearin said.

A rendering of the “elevated forest walk” and stairs from Army-Navy Drive (via Arlington County)

Those suggestions follow up on changes Amazon made this summer to the Army-Navy frontage, “to greatly improve what was seen as a foreboding frontage,” county planner Peter Schulz said.

Others called for more and taller trees throughout the site — not just in the “elevated forest.”

“Anything less than towering oak will look out of place next to 22-story buildings,” said Arlington Tree Action Group member Anne Bodine.

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Tacombi taqueria to open its doors in Crystal City tomorrow

By Jo DeVoe
1/5

Tacombi in Crystal City will be opening its doors tomorrow (Wednesday).

The long-awaited New York City-based taqueria chain will be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. in the revamped Central District Retail shopping plaza, also known as “Crystal Square.”

The taco spot, with indoor and outdoor seating, is the newest retail spot to open within JBG Smith’s recently redone property at 1550 Crystal Drive. It follows on the heels of a CVS, a Mah-Ze-Dahr bakery and a Solidcore gym location. What appears to be an Amazon Fresh grocery store is still under-construction.

Tacombi’s Crystal City menu will reflect its NYC menu, says a spokeswoman. There will be a variety of tacos, including its classic fish tacos, as well as burritos and quesadillas, all of which can also be ordered online via Grubhub.

All will be served on from-scratch corn and flour tortillas shipped from NYC daily until they can be made in Crystal City, Eater DC reports.

To drink, there will be tequila-based cocktails, Mexican beers, sodas and agua frescas. There will not be any opening specials, we’re told.

The grand opening fell behind schedule, as construction and inspections extended beyond the originally anticipated September debut.

These last few weeks, however, the taqueria has not just been busy finalizing its Crystal City location, but also opening two other locations: a second spot in Queens, New York and a new location in Miami’s Design District.

The openings in Arlington and Miami will mark Tacombi’s first ventures outside of New York City, the spokeswoman said.

She added that a Bethesda outpost — originally anticipated to open in September — will open in the spring of 2022. Another D.C. location is set to come to 14th Street NW, according to Eater.

Arlington housing nonprofit AHC to step back from property management

By Jo DeVoe
AHC Inc. Interim CEO Susan Cunningham during a recent Arlington County Board meeting

(Updated 10:35 a.m.) Nonprofit affordable housing developer AHC Inc. announced today (Tuesday) that it will begin ceding management of all its properties to third-party companies in the new year.

The move comes less than a year after AHC transferred day-to-day management of the Serrano Apartments (5535 Columbia Pike) to an independent company, which Arlington County required in response to complaints of rodents and shoddy maintenance.

Meanwhile, AHC has also been considering whether the other buildings still under its own management arm should move to independent oversight.

AHC doesn’t have the scale to “consistently provide best-in-class service to our residents or the high-quality career opportunities and the training AHC Management employees deserve,” Susan Cunningham, AHC’s interim CEO, said in a statement.

“This decision comes after a thorough and careful examination of our residents’ and employees’ needs, current industry trends and AHC’s long-term strategic goals,” she continued. “For over 20 years, AHC Management has served thousands of families across dozens of properties. However, AHC Management’s relatively small scale combined with two years of pandemic challenges, supply chain issues and persistent labor shortages has made it clear this is the best path forward.”

Sixteen AHC properties are already overseen by third parties, says spokeswoman Celia Slater. This change will impact 35 properties spanning Arlington, Fairfax and Montgomery counties, the city of Alexandria and Baltimore, as well as 100 AHC property management employees.

Each company intends to retain onsite management staff with similar job titles, pay and benefits, says AHC.

This “will also create high-quality career opportunities for the AHC Management staff currently serving these properties,” Cunningham said.

The nonprofit expects to begin the transitions in January and finalize them by April, as it receives approvals from lenders and investors.

The selected companies are Drucker + Falk, which oversees the Serrano Apartments, as well as Harbor Group, Paradigm Management and WinnResidential. These companies operate where the nonprofit has properties and have experience managing the types of buildings it owns, AHC says.

“We believe that transitioning the management of AHC’s communities to a diverse group of well-respected third-party management companies with proven systems and track records will enhance residents’ experience,” Cunningham said.

Since Drucker + Falk took over management at the Serrano, there has been a flurry of activity to improve building conditions. As of a mid-November meeting with the County Board, apartments with recurring moisture have mostly been remediated, a number of convectors have been replaced, buildings are regularly treated for pests and extensive plumbing repairs are ongoing, Cunningham told Board members.

Tenant advocates have welcomed the building repairs, but say that trust in AHC is still lacking among residents.

AHC committed to working with the management companies to continue providing services and community engagement opportunities for residents.

Last week AHC distributed toys, provided by Amazon and Wakefield High School, to the children of the Gates of Ballston apartments and delivered Christmas trees, donated by St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, to residents at the Woodbury Park and Frederick apartments.

This transition to the new companies will happen in tandem with the selection of a new permanent CEO in the first half of 2022, AHC says. The CEO will take over for Cunningham, who stepped in after former CEO Walter Webdale retired amid the controversy at the Serrano.

County Board to consider speed cameras near schools

By Jo DeVoe

Arlington County could start cracking down on speeding near schools and highway work zones with newly-allowed speed cameras.

This weekend, the Arlington County Board is scheduled to set a public hearing for its Jan. 22 meeting on the question of whether to install speed cameras.

Currently, Arlington County only has cameras that capture red-light violations, but in 2020 the Virginia General Assembly allowed localities to install radar-based speed detectors around school crossing zones and highway work zones. Now, the county is poised to consider adding 10 movable cameras to these zones.

Cameras will improve street safety and make enforcement more equitable while reducing public interactions with police officers, according to a county staff report.

“Automated speed enforcement will significantly advance Arlington County’s transportation safety and equity initiatives as stated through the Vision Zero Action Plan and Police Practices Group Recommendations and leads to considerable reductions in speeding, crashes resulting in injuries, and total crashes — thereby making roadways safer for all users,” the report said.

“Automated speed enforcement also reduces unnecessary interactions between residents and police and further advances confidence in equitable outcomes by reducing or eliminating the possibility of race-and ethnicity-based disparities in traffic enforcement,” the report continues.

State code requires that localities post signs informing drivers of speed cameras and sets the threshold for enforcement at more than 10 mph over the speed limit. Fines cannot exceed $100, and speeding violations do not add points on a driver’s license nor are they considered for insurance purposes, per the state code.

Arlington is proposing a $50 fine for violations. It would match the current $50 fine for red-light violations captured by red-light cameras and fulfill a recommendation from the county’s Police Practices Group, according to the county report.

The group initially recommended calculating fines based on the speeding driver’s income and fixed expenses, the county report said. Since state law doesn’t currently allow such a sliding scale, the group suggested a lower fine and 30-day grace period after cameras are installed.

Before installing the cameras, Arlington County will focus conduct “a robust educational plan,” per the report.

“This plan will include significant outreach across the County to ensure a broad range of residents with different experiences and backgrounds receive information on placement and implementation,” it said.

An unscientific ARLnow poll this summer found that respondents are divided on traffic enforcement: about one-third of respondents wanted to see more speed cameras, while 45% wanted more red light cameras and just over half did not want more enforcement from either type of camera..

Arlington will hire transportation safety consultants to develop guidelines for placing cameras in school zones, using a $60,000 grant from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Camera placement can change in response to data on speeding, citations, crashes and transportation volumes.

The police department estimates installing and maintaining 10 cameras, and hiring a full-time employee to manage the speed camera program, will cost about $600,000 a year, the report said. Arlington County expects fines to offset the ongoing costs of the program.

Last year, the County Board asked the state to expand the use of speed cameras beyond school and highway work zones.

This week’s events in Arlington: ‘Stuff the Sleigh,’ Christmas tree lighting and a holiday latte competition

By Jo DeVoe

Holiday events are in full swing this week, with ample opportunities to support local vendors, sip seasonal hot drinks and give back to the community.

Some of the local event highlights for Dec. 6-12 are below. Submit your event to our event calendar by filling out this event submission form at least two weeks in advance.

Wednesday, Dec. 8

Comedian Josh Johnson at Arlington Drafthouse
Arlington Cinema Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike)
Time: 7 p.m.

Comedian Josh Johnson, who has appeared on The Daily Show, will crack jokes at Arlington Drafthouse with special guest and fellow comedian Logan Nielsen, who co-hosts the Josh Johnson Show podcast with Johnson.

Thursday, Dec. 9

Arlington Reads: Imbolo Mbue in Conversation with Diane Kresh
Online
Time: 7-8 p.m.

Join Arlington Public Library online for a conversation between novelist Imbolo Mbue and Library Director Diane Kresh about Mbue’s book “How Beautiful We Were.”

Rosslyn Tree Lighting
Central Place Plaza (1800 N. Lynn Street)
Time: 5 p.m.

Stop by Central Plaza to watch the lighting of a Christmas tree in Rosslyn. There will be beer, wine and spiked hot cider from Open Road, a photo-op in Santa’s chair, performances by the H-B Woodlawn Secondary School choir, a live mariachi band and raffle prizes. WJLA will lead a countdown to the neighborhood tree lighting, which will be live-streamed to Facebook. As a bonus, The View of DC will remain open until 9 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 10

Rosslyn Holiday Market
Central Place Plaza (1800 N. Lynn Street)
Time: 5-8 p.m.

For two days, folks can browse wares from local vendors selling crafts, handmade clothing, natural beauty products and treats, grab photo ops with Santa and sip festive drinks. Friday’s market will be dog-friendly and Saturday’s market, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will be family-friendly, capped by a special holiday performance of “The Miraculous Magical Balloon” by Synetic Theater at 3 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 11

BSA Troop 647 Food Drive
Church of the Covenant (2666 Military Road)
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Folks can donate unopened canned or packaged dry food to Arlington Food Assistance Center through this annual Boy Scouts food drive. The troop asks that donations are boxed up or bagged, and that donors avoid glass packaging and perishable items. Those who cannot get to the church can email [email protected] to see if scouts can pick up their donations.

Scouts will be accepting old worn-out American flags, as well as state, county and other national flags, to be properly “retired.” Flags should be brought in plastic bags.

Stuff the Sleigh
Animal Welfare League of Arlington (2650 S. Arlington Mill Drive)
Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Spread holiday cheer to animals and help AWLA “stuff the sleigh” (a transport van) by donating the most-needed supplies from its holiday wishlist. Donations will benefit animals at the shelter and pet families in the community who need a little extra support this holiday season.

Sunday, Dec. 12

Winter Bazaar at the Arlington Drafthouse 
Arlington Cinema Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike)
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Shop and support local and regional vendors at a holiday market hosted by Arlington Drafthouse. The bar will be open for those looking to sip while they shop.

Peppermint Mocha Competition
National Landing (2121 Crystal Drive)
Time: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The National Landing Business Improvement District is putting on its inaugural Peppermint Mocha Latte Competition, featuring local coffee shops that specialize in festive lattes. Guests will be able to sample signature holiday drinks from Commonwealth Joe, The Freshman and Origin Coffee Lab & Kitchen and vote for their favorite. There will also be a live DJ and branded coffee swag.

Crystal City to host voice technology conference this week

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 1812 N. Moore Street in Rosslyn.

VOICE Summit 2021, a conference highlighting the latest in artificial intelligence and voice technology, will kick off this evening in Crystal City.

Thousands of technology specialists, marketers and representatives from leading brands are expected to attend the event, which ends Wednesday evening. It is hosted by Modev, a Ballston-based company exploring the future of voice controls.

The event will highlight innovations in the retail, healthcare, travel and entertainment industries driven by conversational AI. It will focus on how tech companies can enhance customer experience and meet growing consumer demands and heightening expectations for conversational technology, like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

For the first time, the local startup’s conference, now in its fourth year, will be held in Arlington. VOICE 2018 and 2019 were both held in Newark, New Jersey and together attracted some 7,000 attendees. The conference was held virtually in 2020 due to the pandemic.

“We’re excited to bring the event to Arlington, Va. and to gather industry back together,” Modev CEO and founder Pete Erickson said in a statement. “Conversational AI has evolved a lot since the start of the pandemic and is now a core component of an overall general business and marketing strategy for brands and enterprises. Large investments are being made across industries to capitalize on voice driven strategy, and companies are committed to enhancing the customer experience.”

Modev says VOICE Summit is the industry’s flagship event, capable of shaping the future of voice technology, AI and “ambient computing,” or any computer activity so deeply integrated into daily life that humans don’t realize they’re using computers.

VOICE Summit 2021 promotional graphic (courtesy photo)

This is the first major tech event to relocate to National Landing — collectively, the Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard neighborhoods  — since Amazon announced it would build its second headquarters in Arlington in 2018, according to Arlington Economic Development.

The two-day event will be virtual and in-person at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel (2800 S. Potomac Ave). The event will feature keynotes, fireside chats, panels and breakout “conversations” that allow the audience to play an active role in the discussion.

Attendees will hear keynote speeches from Silicon Valley startup founders and tech leaders, including Rich Stern, the CEO of Tune-In; Andi Huels, the head of AI at Lenovo; and Audrey Arbeeny, a two-time Emmy Award winner and creator of sounds for the world’s top brands.

“We look forward to bringing leaders together to discuss this shift and helping them chart a path to success in the new year,” Erickson said.

Smart voice assistants Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are the event’s top sponsors.

Founded in 2008, today, Modev also produces the VOICE Global event, presented by Google Assistant, and the award-winning VOICE Talks internet talk show.

APS requests $15 million in federal funds for academic recovery programs

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated 1:10 p.m.) Arlington Public Schools is applying to the state for more than $15.6 million in federal funds to tackle pandemic-era learning loss.

The school system says it would use the money to provide more specialized instruction, before- and after-school tutoring and expanded summer school offerings.

This money would add to the $18.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III funds APS was allotted in April of this year.

“Every state received funds to distribute to school divisions as they saw fit,” Superintendent Francisco Durán said in a Nov. 16 School Board meeting. “We have heard from [the Virginia Department of Education] that school divisions, all of them, will receive some [money] if they apply.”

Applications were due last week, and the funds can be used through September 2024.

“We should know in January what funds APS may be awarded to support this work,” said APS spokesman Frank Bellavia. “We should know what grant funds we were awarded by the end of January.”

APS’s possible spending plan if it receives new grant funding (via APS)

Earlier this year, APS said that it would use the $18.9 million in ARPA funding it was allotted to balance the 2022 budget, which included paying for assessments, summer school, 12 reading and math coaches and a new Director of English Learners.

The bulk — $10.5 million — went to the new Virtual Learning Program, which had a bumpy start and today serves 630 children from diverse background. Of those students, 77% are Black, Hispanic or Asian, 60% are eligible for free- or reduced-price lunch, and 39% are English Learners, according to APS.

None of these expenses, however, increases instructional time for children, which is what parent advocacy group Arlington Parents for Education says the money should have been spent on. The organization formed last year to advocate for full-time, in-person learning while APS was remote, and now focuses on learning loss and ARPA spending.

The group had a lukewarm response to the additional instructional time outlined in the grant application.

“While any funds tied to additional instruction time are welcome, this application will likely be too little, too late. The state ESSER funding will not fund any new instruction until at least fall of 2022 and is expressly tied to providing expanded summer school, before and after school instruction, and tutoring,” APE said. “It is disappointing that APS must again (as with the reopening of schools in spring) be led by the state to do what it already has the resources to do and should already be doing, which is to provide more instructional time.”

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Long-awaited renovations to Ballston Beaver Pond begin

By Jo DeVoe
1/7

Work began yesterday (Wednesday) on the long-delayed Ballston Beaver Pond remediation project — but no busy beavers will be involved.

The $4.2 million, 18-month project approved by the County Board this summer will retrofit the pond, originally built in 1980 to collect stormwater runoff from I-66. Today, sediment in the pond prevents detention, and it instead has become home to abundant wildlife, including beavers, according to a county report.

The project, expected to wrap up in July 2023, aims to improve stormwater retention and the wildlife habitat by restoring native plant species and adding habitat features. There will be a new observation platform with educational signage, seating and a reconstructed trail with bike racks.

Arlington County says the new two-acre wetland area will provide stormwater treatment to 460 acres of land in the Lubber Run watershed, and “is among the County’s most effective opportunities to achieve its water quality objectives and meet its regulatory requirements.”

This month, the construction contractor will be setting up the site, county project manager Aileen Winquist tells ARLnow. Excavation will begin next year.

“From now until the end of the year, neighbors will see the contractor bringing in equipment and setting up the boundaries of the construction area,” she said. “In the new year, neighbors will begin to see dump trucks full of sediment removed from the pond leaving the site.”

Public access will be limited as well. The grass area within the park will be off-limits, as it will be used for construction. A bike and pedestrian detour will reroute trail users from Washington Blvd to the Custis Trail and along the south side of the pond.

The detour will be in place for the entirety of construction, Winquist says.

A bicycle detour around the Ballston Beaver Pond construction project (via Arlington County)

The project is divided into a few phases, as work can only occur on one half of the pond at a time, Winquist said.

First, workers will remove sediment from and re-grade a half of the pond while removing invasive plants.

After the second half of the pond receives the same treatment, construction will begin on a new observation platform, trail upgrades, native species planting and new habitat features, including basking stations for turtles, she said.

The project is a long time in coming.

After community engagement in 2011-12, the project was paused in 2013 until the necessary easements were obtained from property owners. A redesigned project with new permits went to the public in January 2019, but “COVID-19 and related budget concerns” again delayed the project, the report says.

Still, those nearby welcome the pond redo, according to the report.

“The community continues to be very supportive of the project and it is highly anticipated by Ballston area residents and businesses,” it said.

But once beaver baffles are installed to discourage these critters from returning — and damming the pond again, which could compromise water quality — the wetland area will need a new name.

“This beautiful natural area needs a name that fits its unique space,” says Department of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Martha Holland.

Next year, the county plans to ask the community for name ideas and provide an opportunity to comment on a list of potential names.

NEW: Arlington County Fair to remain at TJ Community Center site

By Jo DeVoe
Kids on a car ride at the county fair (staff photo)

The Arlington County Fair will be returning to Thomas Jefferson Community Center and grounds in 2022, the county parks department tells ARLnow.

The decision comes after the Arlington County Fair Board deliberated a change of scenery for the event for more than a year. Thomas Jefferson’s fields and community center space at 3501 2nd Street S. has been home to the fair for 45 years.

After hearing that a majority of folks did not support relocating the fair, and taking a closer look at the fair board’s preferred alternate location — Long Bridge Park — board members decided Thomas Jefferson is the best location.

“The 2022 Arlington County Fair will be held at Thomas Jefferson Community Center and Park (TJ),” said Laura Barragan, a Department of Parks and Recreation special events manager and spokeswoman. “Contributing factors for the site selection include that the community has enjoyed the fair at TJ for 45 years [and] 60% of the nearly 1,600 respondents of the site location public engagement preferred keeping the Fair at TJ.”

She added that “further review of the Long Bridge Park location indicated that it would not be able to accommodate the number and variety of rides the County Fair Board desires.”

Barragan directed further questions to the fair board, which was not immediately available to comment on the decision and whether it will remain at TJ beyond 2022.

In addition to Long Bridge, Arlington County considered multiple sites — including Virginia Highlands Park near Crystal City and Quincy Park near Ballston — but the board only expressed interest in Long Bridge.

One reason we’re told the fair board mulled the move was that fixing damage to the grass fields, which become muddy and rutted in the rain, is a problem for the county. The community center’s suburban location, meanwhile, is fairly central, but lacks Metro accessibility and has limited parking.

After County Board approval in September, a project is currently underway to replace the upper field at the TJ site with artificial turf. The field is expected to remain closed until mid-2022, but should reopen in time for the fair’s return.

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