A developer is seeking the Board’s approval the Bush Construction building at 2000 Clarendon Blvd to build a tower with 14 floors of apartments or condos, a rooftop terrace, ground floor retail and five levels of underground parking and storage.
At the Rappahannock Coffee site, developer B.M. Smith seeks a use permit to tear down a trio of buildings at 2330, 2342 and 2406 Columbia Pike and replace them with a six-story mixed-use building with 105 new residential units, 13,000 square feet of ground floor retail space and a 140-space parking garage.
County staff is recommending approval of both projects. The Board is scheduled to meet at 2100 Clarendon Blvd tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.
A large advisory firm will invest millions of dollars and create hundreds of new jobs by moving to a new home in Rosslyn.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe today announced that Grant Thornton LLP, a “leading U.S. professional-services firm,” will invest $15.75 million in Arlington when it moves here. The investment will create 348 new jobs in Arlington, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
“Retaining Grant Thornton in Virginia is a big win for the Commonwealth, as we continue to make Virginia the best place in the country for business and workforce development,” McAuliffe said. “The firm’s consolidation is a great testament to the business advantages of Arlington County and we are excited to announce that this project is, not only retaining nearly 1,000 jobs in Virginia, but also creating 348 additional jobs. I am pleased with our success and will continue to work with industry leaders to ensure the new Virginia economy is innovative, diverse, and competitive in the global marketplace.”
The county and the state competed against the District of Columbia for Grant Thornton’s new office. More from the press release, after the jump.
Rendering of the new middle school on the Stratford School site.
The alternative design without the contentious driveway feature
The Arlington County Board, during an hours-long meeting on Saturday, debated whether to include a controversial driveway feature in the design for the forthcoming Stratford Middle School in Cherrydale.
Though the Arlington School Board approved the school’s design in November, the project’s designers, county staff and some neighbors have come to an impasse on whether that design should include a one-way driveway connecting N. Vacation Lane and Old Dominion Drive.
Proponents of the plan with the driveway — including its designers and some locals — argued the one-way avenue is needed to mitigate traffic in the area and would give the new school a much-needed area for pickup and drop-off. But opponents of the plan said building the driveway would negatively impact the environment by removing 166 trees from the site and would send hundreds of vehicles directly onto Old Dominion Drive, among other concerns.
Among those arguing against building the driveway is Dennis Leach, deputy director of transportation for Arlington County.
“The driveway causes adverse environmental impacts to the site and is not essential for transportation access,” he said.
But Vern Torney, a traffic expert hired by a community organization dubbed the Coalition for a Safe Stratford, said the driveway plan would actually help the environment, albeit in a different way.
“With the driveway, you’ll see that the fuel consumptions seven percent less and the noxious emissions range from one to ten percent less than the without driveway scenario,” argued Torney. “It’s my professional opinion that the with driveway scenario offers an advantage over the alternative.”
Members of Arlington Public Schools’ Building Level Planning Committee (BLPC) also supported the plan to build the driveway, citing reduced risk of pedestrian and cyclist injuries and better accessibility and emergency access.
After hearing hours of concerns and comments from members of the community and other interested parties, the Board’s members made their opinions known.
“It’s clear to me that reasonable people with good motives can still have profound disagreements about an ultimate proposal that’s before you,” said Board member Christian Dorsey. “I am comfortable with the driveway option as being the most prudent to address all of the concerns that the renovation of stratford has at this point.”
Board members John Vihstad and Katie Cristol also agreed that building the driveway was ultimately the right course of action in a complicated decision.
The lone voice of dissent came from Board member Jay Fisette.
“I think we can accomplish and maximize the benefits in the longer term… by not including the driveway,” Fisette said. “The best way to do that is changing the modal split.” But Fisette acknowledged that, “either way, we’re going to have a much better outcome.”
County Board Chair Libby Garvey had the last word on the matter.
“I do believe in the end that building the road will be helpful to the environment, will improve safety and will encourage more students and their families to be walking instead of driving to school,” Garvey said.
In total, the Board spend about 4.5 hours on the discussion, even though it was just a “Request to Advertise” on the “Consent Agenda” for non-controversial items. Most of the time was spent in an impromptu County Board work session; a vote on the matter is expected to take place at a subsequent Board meeting.
The Stratford school building is slated to be renovated after its current primary occupant, the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, moves to the Wilson School in Rosslyn.
Panelists, left to right: Katie Cristol, Chris Slatt, John Murphy, Michael Garcia
ARLnow columnists Peter Rousselot, Larry Roberts, and Mark Kelly speak at an event in 2016 (staff photo)
(Updated at 2:46 p.m.) What happened to the Columbia Pike Streetcar project? What can be done about crowded local schools? How can we incorporate affordable housing and public amenities into future development?
The first half of the night was filled by a discussion among our opinion columnists — Mark Kelly (The Right Note), Peter Rousselot (Peter’s Take) and Larry Roberts (Progressive Voice) — on countywide issues.
The first question of that discussion, asked by host Amanda Fischer, was whether the columnists felt like the streetcar project’s cancellation was the right decision and what the county’s biggest transit priorities should be in 2016.
“I believe the cancellation of the streetcar was the right decision,” Rousselot said. “[The] most important one coming for Arlington is the Columbia Pike corridor and premium bus service.”
“On the regional level, this was going to be connected to other projects,” Roberts said. “[If you go to the] Pearl District in Portland, you will see everything that could have been in Columbia Pike.”
Kelly said the project, overall, had a “common sense problem,” and added that he was “pleased” when the project got the ax.
He added that he thought the county’s number one transit priority should be exerting its influence “to get to real reforms for Metro.”
If you’re not a true “Belieber,” you might want to steer clear of A-Town in Ballston this Friday night.
The bar and grill at 4100 Fairfax Dr. will host parties before and after Justin Bieber takes the stage at the Verizon Center that night.
“Join us for happy hour to pregame for the show or come back after as we’ll be rocking to Bieber beats and asking what you mean both times,” reads a Facebook page for the event. “We’ll be kicking things off at 5:00pm for happy hour. Hope to see all our fellow Beliebers before or after the concert!”
Celebrity chef Mike Isabella will host a Greek Orthodox Easter festival at Kapnos Taverna (4000 Wilson Blvd.) this weekend.
Patrons will celebrate the holiday with “spit-roasted meats, homemade spreads and flatbread, live Greek music, [and] Greek wine,” according to an event listing.
“Easter is one of the most important events on the Greek Orthodox calendar, and this year Kapnos Taverna is hosting our first annual Greek festival in honor of the holiday on Sunday, May 1,” the listing reads.
The festival starts on the Kapnos patio at noon. Tickets cost $70.
(Updated on 12/23/21 at 11:15 a.m.) Police arrested a man who allegedly masturbated near two people, then chased them down S. Walter Reed Drive early this morning.
A man and a woman spotted [name redacted], 24, masturbating on the 900 block of S. Walter Reed Drive around 3:55 a.m. this morning, authorities said. The man approached the victims, had a “brief conversation,” then began to chase them, according to police. The man and woman eventually outran [redacted], and officers arrested him a short time later.
MASTURBATING IN PUBLIC, 160427006, 900 block of S. Walter Reed Drive. At approximately 3:55 a.m. on April 27, a male and female victim witnessed a male subject masturbating in public. The subject approached the victims and they had a brief conversation. The subject then began to chase the victims until they eventually lost sight of him. Officers conducted a search around the area and located the subject. [redacted], 24, of Arlington VA, was charged with masturbating in public and was held on a secured bond.
Police are also on the lookout for a man who grabbed a woman’s buttocks late last night:
SEXUAL BATTERY, 160426061, 800 block of N. Pollard Street. At approximately 10:45 p.m. on April 26, a female victim advised that her buttocks was grabbed by an unknown male subject as he passed her on the street. The suspect is described as a black male in his 20-30’s, approximately 6’0″ tall and weighed 180 lbs. He was wearing a white t-shirt and tan pants at the time of the incident.
Additionally, authorities are searching for a burglar who forced his way into a locked storage area:
LATE BURGLARY, 160426019, 1000 block of N. Fillmore Street. At approximately 10:00 p.m. on April 19, an unknown male subject forced entry into a locked storage area and stole numerous items. The suspect is described as a white male, 30-50 years old. He was wearing a light colored shirt and long pants.
One of Clarendon’s newer pizza restaurants has closed its doors after only half a year in business.
Brixx Wood Fired Pizza, which opened at 1119 N. Hudson Street on Oct. 26, is now closed, the North Carolina-based company said in a Facebook post earlier this afternoon.
“Arlington friends, we have enjoyed serving you, but have decided to close our restaurant in Clarendon,” the post reads. “We will miss you, but hope you’ll visit us in Woodbridge or Virginia Beach. Thank you for your patronage and your kindness.”
The company did not say why it closed the pizzeria and a representative for Brixx did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Calls to the Clarendon location went unanswered earlier this afternoon.
Hat tip to a tipster for sending news of the closure our way
A police tip earlier this month led to the arrest of a man suspected of slashing another man in the face after an argument last June, police announced this morning.
According to the authorities, a tip received through Arlington County Crime Solvers led to the arrest of 24-year-old Ramon Calderon on April 14.
Calderon is suspected of brandishing a pocket knife, then cutting another man across the face at the Gunston Middle School soccer fields in June. The attack caused “a fairly large laceration,” on the victim’s face according to police, and resulted in significant bleeding due to a cut minor artery. The man was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where he received 60 stitches.
Police said last June that the two men were arguing about the “worth and importance of a college education” before the attack, but they did not specify whether the suspect was arguing for or against the value of higher education.
Metro will close its rail system to riders for a full 24 hours starting tonight at midnight, the transit agency announced the news at a press conference this afternoon.
The Metrorail system will close at midnight tonight and remain closed until 5 a.m. Thursday, according to officials. All six Metrorail lines and all 91 stations will be closed on Wednesday.
More information from Metro:
Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld, with support from the Authority’s Board of Directors, today announced the full closure of the Metrorail system on Wednesday, March 16, for emergency inspections of the system’s third-rail power cables following an early morning tunnel fire yesterday.
The inspections of approximately 600 “jumper cables” will occur along all tunnel segments on the Metrorail system. At the conclusion of the inspection process, there may be a need for additional rail service outages. Any further service impacts will be announced to the public as soon as they are known.
The news also appeared to crash the WMATA website earlier this afternoon.
The number of PreK-12 students enrolled in Arlington Public Schools is expected to surpass 30,000 in 2022 after steadily rising for years, according to APS in its newly released enrollment report.
School officials say 25,238 students were enrolled as of Sept. 30, 2015, the first time since 1969 that APS has reached the 25,000 student milestone. By 2017, the school projects 27,491 students will have enrolled, an increase of 4.5 percent over the previous year. And steady growth continues from there: The school says its student body will grow by at least 2.5 percent until the 2021-2022 school year, when it’s expected to surpass 30,700 students.
According to APS, the total number of enrolled students “has risen at an unprecedented high growth pattern since 2008.” Since fall 2005, the number of students has grown by more than 6,800 students, an increase of about 37 percent.
Growth will likely slow to 1.7 percent by 2023 and continue to wane thereafter, APS adds. By 2026, the school’s student body is projected to grow only by 0.6 percent and reach an enrollment total of 32,807.
Overall, the school expects to add nearly 7,600 students between now and 2026.
Though all other alternative projections put the school over 30,000 students by 2024 at the latest, APS says it’s possible that the number of enrolled students could shrink instead of grow by that time. One projection says the school could lose 1,181 students between 2021 and 2025. But the school cautions that such alternative projections “are not statistical confidence limits, but instead represent judgments made by planning staff as to reasonable upper and lower bounds.”
Among the factors used to project school enrollment was historic birth rates in Arlington County, which are used to project the number of future incoming kindergarten students.
An average of 2,800 live births per year were recorded in Arlington between 2004 to 2008. Between 2009 and 2013, a period APS refers to as “the wave,” about 3,100 births on average were recorded each year. As children born during “the wave” grow up, they’re expected to crowd schools as they advance through elementary, middle and high school.
In response, APS has in the past undertaken several actions to mitigate school crowding, like hiring 387 new teachers last summer and utilizing trailer classrooms.
