Author: Katie Pyzyk

Fro.Zen.Yo Coming Soon to Rosslyn

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 1:35 p.m.) A new frozen yogurt establishment is making its way into Rosslyn. A Fro.Zen.Yo location will be going in on the 1700 block of N. Lynn Street, in the former “News and Necessities” space, according to the company.

There are two partners for the new Rosslyn franchise, and they think the idea of self service frozen yogurt is “perfect” for the busy location, according to a press release.

Fro.Zen.Yo has eight locations throughout the metro area, with Crystal City being the only one in Arlington so far. Last year, plans were announced for trying to build one in Ballston as well, but so far there’s no word on when that will be coming to fruition. We’re told 15 more franchises are on the way, but locations haven’t been announced.

The company says it offers a “healthy” product that “everyone can enjoy.”

“Fro.Zen.Yo’s frozen yogurt is low fat and low calorie,” according to the press release. “The Fro.Zen.Yo menu features 16 flavors of frozen yogurt and a variety of fresh fruit and candy toppings. Customers get to choose any combination of flavors and toppings.”

The Rosslyn location is expected to open by the beginning of the summer.

Ballston to Get Its First Bikeshare Station

By Katie Pyzyk

Ballston will be getting its first Capital Bikeshare station next week, as CaBi continues its westward push.

The station will have 19 docks, and will be set up on N. Stuart Street at 9th Street, in front of Welburn Square. The station is scheduled to be installed from noon to 2:00 p.m. next Monday, with a ribbon cutting event to follow.

“Ballston already has a number of transit options, and this is a great addition to that,” said Ballston BID Executive Director Tina Leone. “We see this as a great asset for Ballston, and for Arlington.”

CaBi stations have been popping up quickly throughout Arlington, particularly along the Orange and Blue Line corridors. The most recent additions came yesterday, when stations were installed along Key Blvd at N. Veitch Street in Courthouse, and N. Quinn Street in Rosslyn.

There’s an online map showing where future stations are expected to be built. CaBi takes suggestions for new station locations online.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Coming to Virginia Square

By Katie Pyzyk

A new restaurant is coming to Virginia Square. “Coming Soon” signs have gone up for a Tropical Smoothie Cafe at 3811 Fairfax Drive.

The chain restaurant highlights its use of fresh, simple ingredients. Fresh fruit and turbinado sugar are used in the smoothies, and the wraps, salads and sandwiches are also made with healthy ingredients.

Patrick McKiernan, Area Developer for Northern Virginia, Maryland and DC, said two partners who recently graduated from William and Mary College in Williamsburg were interested in bringing the franchise to the metro area. They liked what they saw in Virginia Square.

“They liked the mix of business and residential there, and the proximity to the Metro,” McKiernan said. “It’s our first location near a Metro, so we’re anxious to see how it goes.”

McKiernan stresses that the restaurant is more than just a place to grab a smoothie; the sales are about 50 percent smoothies and 50 percent food. He thinks the sandwiches, wraps and salads will bring in a good lunch crowd, while the focus on fresh foods will bring in those seeking health conscious options.

McKiernan says they’re pretty early on in the process, and hope to start construction next month if all the permits are obtained quickly. He said it’s tough to estimate an opening until things move along a little further, but he’s guessing sometime during the summer.

There are a number of Tropical Smoothie Cafes throughout Northern Virginia, but this will be the first location in Arlington.

Board Approves Loans for Buckingham Homebuyers

By Katie Pyzyk

At Saturday’s meeting, the Arlington County Board approved a measure to help low to moderate income Buckingham residents become homeowners.

The board’s unanimous approval will make $500,000 in Moderate Income Purchase Assistance Program (MIPAP) funds available to seven or eight first-time homebuyers who qualify. The loans will be made available to residents at Buckingham Village 3, and other Buckingham neighborhood families, to help with down payments and closing costs on homes.

County Board Chair Mary Hynes explained that there has been a plan in place to help Buckingham residents who had been displaced by development.

“We had intended to create a homeownership option in Buckingham Village 3 — but, as the economy changed due to the recession, that option became prohibitively expensive,” Hynes said. “The board is fulfilling the spirit of our commitment to these residents, who might not otherwise have been able to stay in our community as homeowners.”

Last month, the county scrapped a plan to sell some of the units at Buckingham Village 3 as condos. At that time, county staff was instructed to find new ways to help lower income residents buy homes.

To be eligible for the loans, Arlington residents must earn less than 80 percent of the area median income, which is listed as $86,000 for a family of four. They also must not have owned a home in the past three years. Buyers can qualify for a subordinated loan of up to 25 percent of the purchase price, with a maximum loan amount up to $90,700.

Homeowners are not required to repay the loan until the home is either refinanced or sold. At that point, the owner must repay the loan to the county, plus up to 25 percent of the difference between the purchase price and the appreciated sales price.

Currently, about $3.6 million in MIPAP funds has been used to help about 236 borrowers purchase their first homes in Arlington.

Ballston Mall Chosen for Site of New USPS Service

By Katie Pyzyk

Your days of waiting in long lines to pick up and send packages at the post office could be over. Ballston Common Mall is one of the first commercial locations in the country to debut a new program from the United States Postal Service called gopost.

The service is designed to make sending and receiving packages easier, because they’re delivered just like regular mail. There’s no need to bring a slip to the post office and wait in line to receive the item. Postal carriers pick up and drop off items at the boxes just like a regular mail box. There’s no additional fee to use the service.

Users set up an account online and choose which location they’d like a package sent to. They’ll receive an email or text message that their package has arrived. At the gopost site, customers check in on a computer and receive their items from the designated post office box. If a signature is required, the customer simply signs the computer screen with a finger.

Users who want to send a package will print postage from their home computers, attach it to the package and drop the package off at a gopost site. The onsite computer informs the postal service that a package needs to be picked up.

USPS spokeswoman Laura Dvorak believes the program will be popular because it’s convenient.

“Why do you want to wait for your package, when your package can wait for you?” Dvorak said. “This way, you don’t waste your time.”

Several post offices throughout Northern Virginia, including the Arlington South Post Office (1210 S. Glebe Road), have installed gopost boxes. Ballston mall is the first non-post office site to feature the service. Dvorak says the location was chosen due to its proximity to many businesses and hotels in the area, as well as the mall being open to the public most hours of the day. It has 80 lockers of three different sizes.

“It’s a matter of convenience,” Dvorak said. “Customers would have access nearly around the clock.”

Customers will need to make one trip to a post office while setting up their registration. A USPS employee will validate the person’s identity and give more information about what items are allowed to be shipped. When the user logs in from a personal computer, the postal services knows who’s requesting shipping services.

“We know the account, we know who that person is,” Dvorak said. “It’s a very important security feature for gopost.”

The service kicked off at Ballston mall last week. It will be expanding throughout Northern Virginia this year. Future gopost locations include grocery stores, pharmacies, transportation hubs and other shopping centers.

Courtesy photo

County Sewer System, Manholes to be Renovated

By Katie Pyzyk

Arlington’s aging sewer lines will be getting some updating in the coming months.

The County Board has awarded a $1.92 million contract to AM-Liner East, Inc., to reline sewer pipes throughout the county. That contract includes work to a main line that runs along Four Mile Run Drive, from Columbia Pike to Walter Reed Drive.

A second contract, worth $360,000, was awarded to AM-Liner East, Inc., to rehabilitate sewer manholes. The work prevents water from seeping into the system and overwhelming the treatment plant, which could force a release of partially treated sewage into Four Mile Run.

The county has 13,000 manholes, and the ones receiving first attention are located in Crystal City. Evaluations and repairs on others will follow.

Arlington’s sewer system is made up of 465 miles of mains. Each year, the county’s Capital Improvement Program funds rehabilitation on about 1.5 percent of the system, which typically covers seven miles of pipe.

Crystal Drive to be Converted into Two Way Street

By Katie Pyzyk

Crystal City’s main drag will be getting a major facelift. A contract has been awarded to convert Crystal Drive from a one way street into a two way street.

During its meeting on Saturday, the County Board voted unanimously to award the $1.9 million contract to Ardent Company, LLC. In addition to the street conversion, the three phase project will improve intersections along Crystal Drive with new traffic signals and ADA compliant ramps and crosswalks. A southbound bicycle lane will also be added.

The new design is expected to make the street safer and easier to navigate, as well as preparing the area for future development and a streetcar.

Construction for phase one is supposed to begin in June and is scheduled to finish by the end of this year. That covers the portion from 12th Street South to 15th Street South. Two other construction phases will follow — one from 23rd Street South to 26th Street South, and another from 26th Street South to 27th Street South.

The county will post notices about periodic lane closures before they happen. The goal is to only close down one lane at a time to minimize the impact to drivers.

Funding for the project was previously approved and appropriated in the Transportation Capital Fund.

H-B Woodlawn Students Learn Geography Via Cupcakes

By Katie Pyzyk

Eighth grade students at H-B Woodlawn sure found a sweet way to learn about geography and world issues. Today they unveiled the project that’s been in the works for weeks — a map of the world made out of cupcakes.

The 80 students each chose a country to write a report about, focusing on one particular issue in that country. They made signs for their cupcakes on the map, which correspond to the individual reports that are hung on the wall of the gym.

The students worked from 9:00 a.m. until about 1:00 p.m. to construct the map, which is made up of more than 2,500 cupcakes. Most of the sweets were made by students and their families, but some were also donated by Harris Teeter at the Lee-Harrison Center and by Sprinkles Cupcakes in Georgetown.

Tonight, the display is open to the public from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Students will be on hand to explain their research on the issues. Visitors who give a donation may take home some cupcakes. The money will go to the Arlington Food Assistance Center and the U.N. World Food Program.

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Changes Coming to Hayes Street in Pentagon City

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 3:30 p.m.) If the County Board approves the construction contract, work could start soon on a major road improvement project near the Pentagon City mall.

An agenda item is on the table to award a contract to Milani Construction LLC for the work along S. Hayes Street from S. 15th Street to Army Navy Drive. There will also be improvements made to the Pentagon City Metro station plazas. The contract is worth more than $9 million.

The project is designed to improve safety along the corridor for both pedestrians and drivers. Some of the changes in the area will include new bike lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks and lane markings, along with areas to cross the street mid-block. New ADA ramps and pedestrian crossing equipment will be installed at all intersections, as will upgraded traffic lights with new timing. Improved landscaping, including bioretention basins and rain gardens for stormwater runoff, will be installed, along with additional street trees and upgraded street furniture.

The two Pentagon City Metro stations will see some upgrades like new canopies, wider sidewalks and better lighting.

The county worked with members of the community, VDOT and WMATA to devise the design. As part of an agreement from 2006, VDOT will reimburse Arlington for 80 percent of the project costs, up to $5.9 million.

The County Board is scheduled to take up the issue at its meeting on Saturday.

Tea House Coming to Lee Highway

By Katie Pyzyk

Arlington will soon be home to a tea house. House of Steep (3800 Lee Hwy) is moving into one of the retail spaces at the Bromptons at Cherrydale property, which is now known as 3800 Lofts.

The store’s website highlights the calming tea house atmosphere, in which customers can enjoy tea, snacks and sandwiches. Interestingly, spa services will also be offered, with the signature treatment being an aromatherapy foot soak.

So far we only know of one other retailer that’s coming to the building: a Subway sandwich shop.

There’s no official opening date yet, but the website hints that the owners of House of Steep are aiming for June. Until then, customers can purchase items from the store online.

Meanwhile, the building’s management company is applying for a permit for outdoor seating. The seating area would be in front of the building, along Lee Highway.

County staff had previously raised concerns about the outdoor seating plan first put forth in 2003. In addition to trouble with the placement of tree pits, the layout reportedly didn’t provide corridors to the retail entrances and the residential exit stairs.

The plan redesign fixed the issues, so reviewers now recommend the County Board approves the outdoor seating permit at Saturday’s meeting.

Rosslyn Metro Improvement Plan Irks Some Neighbors

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) The county’s plans for renovating the Rosslyn Metro station are getting some flak from a nearby neighborhood association.

The North Rosslyn Civic Association (NRCA) opposes the decision to replace the existing escalators to the plaza level with a granite staircase. The county says the change is necessary to accommodate a Commuter Store that will be built on the ticketing level. The store essentially will be built under the current escalator area, which will not provide adequate access for performing maintenance on the escalators.

According to Lisa Maher, Development Plan Review Supervisor in the county’s Department of Environmental Services, staff pored over the plans for months trying to find a different place to put the store, but couldn’t locate an area that had the necessary amount of space.

In a letter to the county, NRCA said the two escalators — one up and one down — are “the only assistance provided to residents in negotiating the tremendous change in elevation between the center of Rosslyn and the adjacent community to the West.” The escalators are especially useful for Metro riders who have already made the excruciating climb up from the underground station and need a bit of a breather, residents said.

Maher says there’s been an ongoing conversation with residents in the area and attempts have been made to address concerns. However, the Commuter Store is still slated to go in, and the escalators are still slated be removed.

“The community said, let’s put it somewhere else in neighborhood,” Maher said. “But there’s just nowhere else to put it, and it’s most valuable when near the station.”

The Commuter Store is just one of the improvements that will be coming to the Rosslyn station. Since 2007, the county has been working with the developer constructing an office building adjacent to the Metro. As part of the permit approval, the developer agreed to provide renovations to the Metro entrance.

Some of the other improvements include providing an ADA accessible entrance on Ft. Myer Drive, adding more lighting to the station mezzanine, installing new tile flooring and renovating the existing skybridge.

On Saturday, portions of the agreement will come up for approval at the County Board meeting. The Board is expected to approve the measures, allowing the county manager to alter the number of public improvements the developer must provide.

Staff also recommends the Board approve the provision permitting the county to pay for a portion of the improvements if the cost exceeds the developer’s budget. The cost would be determined after the list of improvements is negotiated and finalized.

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