Author: Matt Blitz

H&R Block on Columbia Pike closed, as redevelopment of building nears

By Matt Blitz
1/3

The H&R Block on Columbia Pike has closed, even with tax season just around the corner.

The signage has been taken down from 2607 Columbia Pike and all the furniture is gone, leaving only beige carpet and scattered cords.

A company spokesperson tells ARLnow that the office is being relocated and is “working as quickly as possible to reopen,” but didn’t give a reason why the tax preparation company closed this particular location.

The closure likely has something to do with the approaching redevelopment of Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center, which housed the tax preparation company’s local storefront.

All the tenants at the shopping center, including Legend Kicks, Atilla’s Restaurant, and the Columbia Pike Partnership (CPP), received a notice to vacate by May 31 of this year, according to CPP’s deputy director Amy McWilliams.

Over the last two years, several have already moved out, including the Salsa Room in early 2020.

The plan is to replace the one-story aging structure, located just west of Penrose Square, with the Elliott, a multi-story, mixed-use building with about 250 apartments and 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. There will be a renovated CVS and a grocery store, according to Urban Turf.

There are rumors that the grocery store could be an Amazon Fresh location. The shopping center is located about two miles from Amazon’s under-construction HQ2 in Pentagon City.

Developer Insight Property Group says on its website that construction on the redevelopment project is expected to begin this year. ARLnow has reached out to the company for more information about plans and the project, but has yet to hear back as of publication.

A spokesperson for the county tells ARLnow the project could kick off as early as February. That’s when the County Board will likely consider a special use permit which will allow developers to finalize engineering, building, and landscaping plans, and demolition by the fall.

“In this scenario, construction would likely conclude by early 2025 at which point the new building could begin to be occupied,” writes Erika Moore, a spokesperson for the county’s Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development.

During construction, CVS is expected to move its pharmacy services to a trailer in the existing parking lot, notes Moore. The trailer will remain open until the project’s completion, at which point CVS will relocate into the new building.

The county couldn’t comment on the status of the other tenants.

Italian market Napoli Salumeria in Pentagon City appears to be closed

By Matt Blitz
1/4

It appears that the Italian market in Pentagon City has closed.

Napoli Salumeria on S. Joyce Street at Westport (formerly Pentagon Row) opened just over a year ago, but now it has seemingly served its last focaccia.

The windows are covered with brown paper, most signage is gone, and the storefront has seemingly been cleared out.

ARLnow has reached out to ownership for confirmation and to get a reason for the apparent quick departure, but has yet to hear back as of publication.

A spokesperson for Federal Realty Investment Trust, which owns Westpost, noted the market was always intended to be a pop-up and not permanent. It’s not known yet what might replace it.

Napoli Salumeria was owned by Antonio Ferraro and served Neapolitan street food — like focaccia and fried mozzarella — as well as sandwiches, homemade sauces, pasta, Italian meats, and cheese.

Ferraro also owned Napoli Pasta Bar in D.C., which was named a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in 2018. That eatery closed its doors in early 2021.

While a number of businesses in Westpost have closed in recent months, including Thaiphoon, the development is preparing for a big year of openings, including Nighthawk Pizza, Banditos Bar & Kitchen, and Target.

Hat tip to CartChaos22202

Photos: Arlington’s largest snowfall since 2019

By Matt Blitz
1/50

For the first time in nearly three years, Arlington experienced a significant snowfall.

Starting very early yesterday morning and finally tapering off in afternoon, preliminary estimates suggest that the county got close to seven inches of snow.

The storm brought power outages, closures, the suspension of bus service, cancellation of trash pick-up, and numerous skidding cars.

It was a very bad day to be on the roads, with the Arlington and VDOT crews unable to pre-treat the streets because the storm started off as rain.

As of Tuesday morning, Arlington County snow crews — their ranks thinned by Covid absences — were tackling neighborhood streets after spending most of Monday treating and clearing main roads.

Despite the challenges, with everything that the region has been dealing with lately, the snow also brought a considerable amount of joy to some.

“I love it,” Javed Malik told ARLnow, peering up at the falling flakes at Penrose Square. “It’s a beautiful, gorgeous day.”

In Ballston, kids and adults alike were spotted pulling sleds to the nearest hill. Pedestrians were reclaiming the covered streets as their own, snapping selfies and looking up at the snowy sky.

Persi George, from California, had never seen anything like it in person before.

“I’ve seen it before in the movies,” she said with a laugh standing in front of her apartment building along Columbia Pike. It’s a little softer than she expected, but that doesn’t dampen her enthusiasm as she prepares to make her first snow angel. “I’m in love with it.”

Yesterday was also set to be the first day back to school after the long holiday break with Arlington Public Schools continuing to commit to in-person instruction. That didn’t happen because the storm cancelled classes across Arlington and the region. School is cancelled today, too, with an expected refreezing overnight.

At least one teacher is breathing a sigh of relief. With Covid cases on the rise, likely due to holiday gatherings, the two extra days off provides more time for students to get tested.

“This couldn’t have been more well-timed. Coming back from the break, we are all worried about the rising case numbers,” Arlington high school teacher Josh Folb told ARLnow. “Hopefully, this gives people more time to get tested and… isolate, if needed. I haven’t talked to a teacher yet, and I’ve talked to a lot today, that isn’t grateful [about the snow days].”

There remains a chance it will snow again this week, Thursday night to Friday morning, though it’s not expected to dump as much snow as Monday’s storm.

County closures planned for Christmas and New Year’s

By Matt Blitz
Arlington County government headquarters in Courthouse

Nearly all county operations and services, including COVID-19 testing sites and vaccine clinics, are set to be closed during the Christmas and New Years holidays.

County government offices, courts, community centers, and libraries, will all be closed on Friday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve), Saturday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day), Friday, Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve), and Saturday, Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day).

The new Long Bridge Aquatics Center will reopen on Sunday, Jan. 2, though other community centers will remain closed that day.

For those looking for a booster shoot, county COVID-19 vaccine clinics will be closed Dec. 24 through Dec. 26 and Dec. 31 through Jan. 3.

The three Curative testing sites in Arlington will also be closed Dec. 24, Dec. 25, and Jan. 1 — and will close early at 2 p.m. on Dec. 31, even as lines to get tested remain long amid the current surger in Covid cases.

The sites will be open normal hours (9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) on Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, however.

Arlington Public Schools closed on Monday, Dec. 20 for the winter holiday break. The school system is currently set to reopen for classes Monday, Jan 3.

Trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will happen as scheduled on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31,

As for some good news, parking meters will not be enforced on Dec. 24, Dec. 25, Dec. 31, and Jan. 1.

WMATA and ART buses are also revising schedules for the holidays. On Christmas Eve, Metrorail is operating from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m., scaling back by three hours from a normal Friday. Metrobus will be operating on a Sunday schedule. Metrorail is reducing service by an hour on Christmas Day while keeping a normal Saturday schedule.

A select number of ART bus routes will operate on a Sunday schedule on Christmas Day, with the rest not operating.

New Year’s Eve will be different than in years past, with Metrorail staying open only until 1 a.m. as opposed to 2 a.m. Metrobus will operate on a Sunday schedule on that day and, on New Year’s Day, Metrorail will close an hour earlier than a normal Saturday.

ART buses will run its normal route schedule on New Year’s Eve, but a Sunday schedule on New Year’s Day.

Alcohol-free restaurant replacing Purple Lounge finally set to open early next year

By Matt Blitz
1/2

Eska, a family-friendly eatery and hookah lounge that is replacing the troubled Purple Lounge on Columbia Pike, is finally set to open around Feb. 1, the owner tells ARLnow.

The alcohol-free restaurant will highlight Arabic culture, owner Layth Mansour says. But its opening has been delayed by months, due in part to permitting issues and Mansour’s health.

While the restaurant received a county permit in September, a “stop work” order was issued a month later because of zoning ordinances and building code violations. As of Tuesday afternoon, the notice remained on the window of the building.

But all of that is in the midst of being resolved, Mansour assured ARLnow.

The “stop work” order was related to him not knowing that a permit was needed to throw out furniture and other trash left by the previous tenants, he says.

“The place was a complete dump when we got it,” Mansour says. “It’s also 9,000 square feet and huge… so, there was a lot of stuff.”

A county inspector, however, told ARLnow prior to the conversation with Mansour that the “stop work” order was actually due to work and construction being done without a permit that was potentially impacting the building’s structure and egress.

Mansour says that isn’t exactly what he understood it to be about, but says updated documents, plans, and blueprints are now with the county. He’s hoping to hear back soon about the needed permits so that he can continue necessary work in order to open the restaurant within the next six weeks.

Mansour understands the history of this property and why Arlington is being careful

“They told me before I did anything that this place had a lot of issues,” he says. “The permitting process is just slow because of Covid. Arlington is great and doing everything the right way. I can’t blame them [for being careful].”

Purple Ethiopian Restaurant & Lounge was the site of a number of incidents, including multiple shootings, fights, narcotics offenses, noise complaints, and destruction of property. All of this resulted in a bill being passed by the Virginia General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam that gave communities greater say over the issuance and revocation of liquor licenses.

The Purple Lounge finally closed and the former tenants vacated the property a year ago.

Shortly after, it was announced that Mansour would take over the lease and open a new business that the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (now, the Columbia Pike Partnership) said “embodies the spirit of Columbia Pike.”

Eska will be an “authentic celebration of Arabic culture,” Mansour told ARLnow back in April, with decor and a menu that reflect his Jerusalem roots.

Those plans haven’t changed, he says today, with more details coming in a few weeks.

Mansour is a former professional basketball player who recently had back surgery, part of the reason that Eska wasn’t able to open in June as originally intended.

He also owns Legend Kicks & Apparel, a store that resells high-end athletic shoes and gear, at 2609 Columbia Pike, and just a few blocks from Eska.

Initially, Legend’s lease was supposed to run out next month, but it has been extended until at least May. In the meantime, Mansour is continuing to look for a new location for the business since a new development is eventually coming to that block. He says he hopes the store can stay on Columbia Pike.

Hat tip to SRtwofourfour

The Highlander Motel is being demolished with a CVS set to open in its place late next year

By Matt Blitz
1/9

The Highlander Motel is finally coming down, with a CVS set to go up in its place.

Demolition has begun on the nearly six-decade-old, two-story motel on Wilson Blvd after it closed a year ago. The tear down is expected to be completed within the next several days, according to former owner Billy Bayne.

Video taken by a local filmmaker, below, shows a large excavator eating through the brick, siding, and metal of the old building.

Despite the motel turning into rubble, construction on the new CVS won’t actually start for a “few months” due to it being winter, a construction manager tells ARLnow. A tentative time frame for the building to be completed is mid-to-late August, but that deadline is weather-dependent.

The Atlanta-based Project Builders Inc. is the general contractor, as county permits show.

After the project is turned over to CVS, it likely will take at least a month for the store to open, notes the construction manager, putting an estimated opening date around late September.

There are currently at least three other CVS stores within about a mile of where the new one will be constructed, including locations in Clarendon and Ballston.

The plan to demolish Highlander Motel and replace it with a CVS has been in place since at least 2016, with permit applications being filed two years ago. Bayne still owns the land at 3336 Wilson Blvd and is leasing it to CVS.

As for the Highlander, Bayne admits watching it be demolished does conjure up emotions.

“I grew up running around there,” Bayne says. “Eating [Mario’s] pizza with Lefty and Joe, my father playing cards, the [Boozefighters’] big party every year. Lots of good memories there.”

But it’s time for it to go, Bayne says. The motel was struggling to stay afloat and had overstayed its usefulness, he says.

“My father would be happy since [leasing the property] is going to help out his children and grandchildren,” Bayne says, “Plus, having a CVS there is good for the neighborhood.”

Rookie Arlington cop is following in her NYPD ‘Superman’ stepfather’s footsteps

By Matt Blitz
Officer Brooke Chaco with Chief Andy Penn at her police academy graduation on Dec. 10 (courtesy of ACPD)

December 21, 2015 was the day that led Brooke Chaco to becoming an Arlington County police officer.

It was that day six years ago when her stepfather, New York Police Department detective Joseph Lemm, and five others were killed in action while serving in Afghanistan.

“It changed my whole life,” Chaco tells ARLnow. “It made me appreciate what law enforcement does even more.”

Chaco grew up in a family full of police and military veterans, but the profession didn’t much appeal to her until Lemm came into her life as a stepfather when she was about ten years old.

“I was a brat, for a lack of a better word, and didn’t want to give him the time of day,” she admits.

Lemm was a long-time New York police officer, serving for nearly 15 years, mostly in the Bronx. He was also staff sergeant in the Air National Guard and had been deployed multiple times. His stature may have been intimidating, but his demeanor was anything but.

In fact, his nickname among friends was “Superman,” due in part to sorta looking like the superhero’s alter ego Clark Kent and that Lemm could be all things to everyone he loved.

“He was just this big, gentle giant,” Chaco says. “He had a way with his words that gained people’s trust and got them to talk to him.”

In early 2015, Lemm was deployed again to Afghanistan and was looking forward to speaking with his family on Christmas with the hope he’d be home soon.

Four days before Christmas, however, a suicide bomber on a motorbike carried out an attack on his convoy during a patrol. Lemm was only 45 years old when he was killed and left behind his wife, then-16-year-old Chaco, and her four-year-old brother Ryan.

“I had to help raise [Ryan] after my stepfather passed,” she says. “He’s a very big part of my life and a big reason as to why I’m doing what I’m doing.”

The loss made headlines nationally and especially in the New York City area, where the New York Post wrote about how Brooke, a singer, paid a musical tribute to her fallen-hero dad at a memorial benefit for the family. (Earlier this year, the Post also wrote about a bridge in Westchester County being dedicated to Lemm.)

New York Post article highlighting Brooke Chaco’s tribute to her fallen stepfather

The tragedy helped Chaco find her calling.

She was hired into the ACPD — a force in much need of additional officers — this past April, even prior to graduating from James Madison University. Despite having a family full of officers, she’s the first woman in her family to join the police force. She loves New York and her family, but is looking to forge her own identity in Arlington.

“I didn’t want my peers to look at me any differently or my supervisors to look at me differently because of the sacrifice that my stepfather made,” Chaco says. “I wanted to make my own path.”

Chaco remains an officer in training. She graduated from the academy earlier this year and is now in the midst of field training, where she’s being paired with a more experienced officer. All in all, training to become a full time solo officer can take a little over a year. When that’s completed, and after a few years of patrol work, Chaco hopes to end up in the special victims unit.

(more…)

A new lobster roll eatery is rolling into Shirlington

By Matt Blitz
1/3

A new lobster roll restaurant is coming to Shirlington.

Annapolis-based Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls is set to open its third Virginia location in the Village of Shirlington at 4017 Campbell Avenue. Signs recently went up on the windows of the storefront, in the space formerly occupied by Nirvana Reflexology Spa.

“The 1,334 square-foot restaurant will feature a variety of authentic Maine fare including lobster roll options with mounds of lobster meat sustainably sourced from the waters of Maine on a grilled, buttery split-top roll,” says a press release from Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT), which owns the Village of Shirlington development. “Along with six varieties of rolls, customers will find items like lobster mac and cheese, creamy lobster bisque, authentic New England clam chowder and more.”

ARLnow asked FRIT about an estimated opening date, but has yet to hear back as of publication.

Over the last 18 months, the lobster roll eatery has started expanding across the D.C. area. That includes locations opening in Dupont Circle, Georgetown, and Foggy Bottom. In 2018, the restaurant opened at Reston Town Center as well. Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls also has restaurants in Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.

The menu consists of an assortment of lobster rolls, lobster grilled cheese, and lobster bisque. For those that are not into the red crustracien, there’s also clam chowder and shrimp rolls.

In recent weeks, there have been several other comings and goings in Shirlington. Both Bearded Goat Barber and popular D.C.-based Chinese and Korean eatery CHIKO opened in early November. Two weeks ago, ARLnow reported that Thai ice cream shop I-CE-NY has closed. Additionally, Astro Beer Hall is now set to open in the former Capitol City Brewing Co. space next summer.

Hat tip to Sean Killeen

Rattling steel plates and a gas leak on Columbia Pike are the work of a 5G contractor, officials say

By Matt Blitz
1/3

(Updated, 4:40 p.m.) Loose steel plates on Columbia Pike that are keeping residents up at night with the sounds of cars driving over them are the work of a general contractor doing 5G work.

The same contractor also damaged a gas line on the Pike causing a large gas leak last week, according to Washington Gas.

The plates were recently installed on the 1800 block of Columbia Pike, prompting complaints from residents who say that they are rattling and banging loudly when passing vehicles drive on them. The plates are the result of work done by contractor Crown Castle, a spokesperson for the Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services tells ARLnow.

“We’ve determined those annoyingly loud plates on Columbia Pike to be the work of a 5G contractor,” spokesperson Peter Golkin tells ARLnow. “Our Construction Management and Permits folks have been investigating and will work to get the plates secured and end the racket as soon as possible.”

The racket was first brought to both ARLnow’s and the county’s attention by rattled citizens on social media.

Crown Castle blames the rattling steel plates on a general contractor working for the telecom infrastructure company. The steel plates have since been removed and replaced it with asphalt, a company spokesperson has confirmed to ARLnow.

“Crown Castle continues to expand our infrastructure in Arlington to provide connectivity to the community. One of Crown Castle’s general contractors was conducting work to support network enhancements for our enterprise and wireless customers, including 5G,” wrote a company spokesperson. “The temporary steel plate has been removed and has been replaced with asphalt. Final restoration will be completed in the coming weeks as we coordinate with the county and account for holiday schedules.”

Washington Gas tells ARLnow that the contractor is also responsible for damaging a gas line near S. Scott Street during the course of this work. That resulted in Columbia Pike between Quinn Street and S. Walter Reed Drive being shut down for several hours.

“Washington Gas recently conducted repair work to a natural gas line that was damaged by a third party contractor on Columbia Pike,” a spokesperson for the natural gas provider wrote.

Crown Castle confirmed to ARLnow that its general contractor damaged the gas line.

“We coordinated with Washington Gas and the county to quickly address and repair the situation and restore service,” the spokesperson wrote.

A short distance away from the newly-repaired gas line, the rattling steel plates remained until at least Friday afternoon, when an ARLnow photographer observed the scene. While there, the photographer saw that crews had removed some of the plates to continue work below.

DES said at the time that it was investigating and asking the contractor to fix and secure the plates as well as lower the noise level in general. Golkin said the county appreciates the outreach from residents.

“We want [to] thank the nearby residents for alerting the County directly and through social media,” he said.

Modern Peruvian restaurant Inca Social opening tomorrow in Rosslyn

By Matt Blitz
1/10

Inca Social, a restaurant serving modern Peruvian cuisine in an elaborately-designed space, is set to open tomorrow in Rosslyn.

The eatery is opening in the 7,600 square foot space at 1776 Wilson Blvd formerly occupied by Kona Bar and Grill. This is the business’s second location; the other, in Vienna near the Dunn-Loring Metro station, opened in early 2019.

Inca Social is known for its modern take on Peruvian cuisine, but co-owner Fito Garcia told ARLnow last month that the Arlington location will focus on Nikkei cuisine — a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese that’s becoming popular in Peru.

That includes sushi and ceviche, combining Amazonian fish with Japanese ingredients and preparation methods.

For the moment, though, Arlington’s Inca Social will have the same menu as the one in Vienna while adding a “few special fusion dishes,” a spokesperson says. An Arlington-specific menu will be rolled out in January.

Traditional dishes on the menu include empanadas, Peruvian street style skewers of beef heart, causas (“potato salad on steroids“), and tres leches. There’s also set to be a to-go market with ceviche kits and bottles of Inca Social’s leche de tigre marinade for sale.

A large indoor bar, specializing in pisco sours, has windows that also serve the restaurant’s outdoor patio.

Decor is a large part of Inca Social’s vibe in Arlington.

While it does resemble the original location, the interior also has colorful murals, moss-lined walls, and cherry blossom trees meant to invoke Japanese culture. Globe lights and cooper lights spread out through the space are intended to symbolize the sun, which the Incas worshiped. The tables, if pushed together, depict the Amazon River and much of the art is supposed to be reminiscent of Nazca lines. Additionally, there’s wall art featuring llamas, an animal important in Peruvian culture.

“The interior… will tie together inspiration from Machu Picchu and the Inca civilization into the restaurant’s modern environment,” says a press release.

Inca Social co-owner Fito Garcia is an owner of Courthaus Social in Courthouse, just up the street. He told ARLnow in November that he always envisioned opening an Inca Social in Arlington.

County getting $35,000 for ‘traffic gardens’ to teach kids about road safety

By Matt Blitz
1/4

Arlington County is receiving $35,000 of assistance to design more “traffic gardens” to help kids learn about traffic safety.

Earlier this week, the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) awarded $250,000 of consulting services to five D.C.-area projects with the intention of improving “safety on the region’s roadways, especially for its underserved communities.”

One of those is a joint project from Arlington County and Prince George’s County to build traffic gardens at schools.

“Traffic gardens are miniature transportation networks with familiar roadway elements, in which children can walk, bike, and scoot to learn the rules of the road and practice their transportation safety skills,” principal planner Christine Baker for Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services writes to ARLnow.

The hope is that this project and the consulting services being granted will help develop universal guidance and templates so that schools can build its own gardens on “any budget” using a number of different materials and equipment.

Arlington has had two recent examples of temporary school-based traffic gardens, one at Key Elementary School in the Bluemont neighborhood and the other at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington View. Those schools used common, everyday materials — like spray bottles, measuring sticks, string, and chalk — to construct the roadway.

“We expect that schools will use the guidance to evaluate the traffic garden design possibilities for their own site,” says Baker. “Most schools take advantage of under-used hard surfaces outdoors, like blacktops, courts or other asphalt to create more permanent projects, while those with less capacity can retrofit gymnasiums with tape to create pop-up traffic gardens.”

Baker also notes that young students can take the lessons learned on these mini, safer roads and bring them back to their neighborhood.

“Traffic gardens not only help to educate children on the transportation system now but instill safety habits and transportation values that last a lifetime,” Baker says.

The TPB, which operates under the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), will in the coming months be hiring a consultant in the  that will be providing working with both counties on the project. It’s unclear at this point when the Arlington schools will have traffic gardens installed.

The initiative fits in with the county’s Vision Zero initiative, a plan to eliminate transportation-related deaths and serious injuries on county streets and trails within the next decade. This includes the recent implementation of “slow zones” near schools.

“Our Vision Zero transportation safety program is not just about engineering safety improvements on our roadways. There is a big emphasis on community engagement and education around safety,” says Baker. “Traffic gardens are an amazing way to educate our community members from a young age to embrace safe transportation practices.”

TPB approved four other projects for funding in nearby jurisdictions, all related to road safety and pedestrian improvements, including in the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, Prince William County, and the City of Falls Church.

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