Feature

Arlington Startup Promoting Women in STEM Headed to National Finals in Pitch Competition

By Vernon Miles

Startup Monday header

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

Fresh off a win at the Small Biz Challenge, Arlington startup Boolean Girl is now headed is to Nationwide’s “Pitch to Win” contest as a finalist.

The company sells classroom kits aimed at getting young women interested in coding as part of an effort to combat the gender disparity in the tech industry.

The Pitch to Win competition is scheduled for Oct. 3 and includes an all-expenses-paid trip to the insurance company’s headquarters in Ohio, where the groups will present their business proposals to a panel of judges. The winning business will be awarded $100,000, with the runner up receiving $20,000 and third place earning $10,000.

Co-founder Ingrid Sanden said the winnings from Pitch to Win would help the company expand into middle-school-age sets.

“Winning the Pitch To Win competition would propel Boolean Girl Tech’s efforts to keep middle school girls engaged and excited about moving from basic coding to complex, real-world projects,” said Sanden. “Typically, there is a dramatic drop off in participation in STEM and computer science classes in middle school, so bridging the gap from elementary to high school and beyond is a crucial step as we close the gender gap in STEM careers.”

Boolean Girl will be competing with six other companies from across the country, from a skateboard grip tape business to a company that makes AI-enabled digital stethoscopes.

Boolean Girl launched in 2014 around the same time Google’s lack of diversity was making headlines. Since then, the company has developed a build-it-yourself box set for $169.99 and a kit that including ten boxes, ten monitors and a variety of accessories for $5,000. The company also offers a coding summer camp in Arlington.

Photo courtesy Boolean Girl

Rethink Energy: The Climate Change Challenge, Arlington’s Plan

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This regularly-scheduled sponsored column is written by the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy team (AIRE). This county program helps you make smart energy decisions that save you money and leaves a lighter footprint on the environment.

Climate change is serious. Businesses, residents and governments must act.

Today, the Arlington County Board has adopted sweeping updates to the Community Energy Plan setting ambitious targets for transforming the County’s energy sector.

Some highlights of Arlington’s Community Energy Plan include:

  • Sets goal of a carbon neutral Arlington by 2050
  • Government operations to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2025
  • Community to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2035
  • Considering energy equity during implementation

“This plan is bold, because nothing less than a bold response from every community across this nation and across the globe is essential to address the dire threat to our planet posed by climate change,” Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said.

“Arlington’s updated Community Energy Plan is based on the latest climate science and views energy decisions through the lenses of energy security, economic competitiveness, environmental commitment and equity. It will maintain Arlington County’s position as a leader in America on climate change mitigation and adaptation.”

The plan incorporates goals for buildings; resilience; renewable energy; transportation, County government actions, and education and human behavior. It envisions an Arlington that by 2050 will be more resilient, where all electricity will come from renewable sources, where more residents will drive electric vehicles and more will use transit, and where homes and buildings will be more energy-efficient.

Just this week similar announcements were made by Governor Northam to achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050 for all of Virginia as well as an announcement by Amazon to fight climate change by achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.

We are proud of the work we’ve done to date to save money and energy. We are equally energized about the work ahead to reach carbon neutrality in Arlington by 2050.

Some simple actions you can take today to act and stay connected:

Please join us as we move forward. Every action makes a difference.

Together we can create a carbon-neutral Arlington by 2050.

New Homes in Arlington: September 20

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Welcome to New Homes, a biweekly column highlighting the new construction real estate market, written by Conor Sullivan and Dave Moya of Three Stones Residential at Keller Williams Realty. We are here to share our experience and expertise in lot acquisition, financing and construction of custom homes. 

Quick Ways To Make Your Home “Smart”

New construction homes are popping up everywhere in Arlington County.

These homes are beautiful and updated with all the bells and whistles of “smart-home” technology, but may not be the perfect fit for everyone. To help your home compete against the new construction in the marketplace, there are a few simple upgrades to make your home smarter, safer and more efficient.

  • Ring Doorbell: This motion activated video doorbell system allows you to view your front doorstep while you are away, or even speak to visitors remotely, all through the app. Keep an eye on packages that have been delivered, or who comes to your front doorstep while you’re not home.
  • Smart Light Bulbs: These Wi-Fi enabled LED light bulbs allow you to access the lighting in your home from anywhere using an electronic device or smart speakers. Forgot to turn that kitchen light off before leaving? No problem — turn it off from your phone!
  • Smart Speakers: Smart devices like Google Home or Amazon Echo can sync to your smart electronics via Wi-Fi letting you control them with your voice. Turn off your lights or the heat up hands free!
  • Nest Thermostat: Installing this sleek new thermostat in your home is not only visually appealing, it’s convenient! Control the thermostat remotely from your smartphone using all the Nest technology features. The device will eventually learn the climate of your home and automatically adjust the temperature when conditions change.
  • TP-Link Smart Plug: If your appliances don’t have Wi-Fi, you can use this adapter to easily control them from an app. Turn on your coffee maker before you even get out of bed!

Having these tech-savvy upgrades will not only bring your home to the 21st century and boost it’s value, it will give you peace of mind knowing you have security in place for when you’re out of town.

It could also help save money, if you forgot to turn off your lights or turn down the heat, it is now just an easy click away from your smartphone. If you have any questions about these upgrades or your home’s market value, please contact us at [email protected] or 571-429-7670.

Below is a list of new homes currently on the market in Arlington.

Want to learn more about financing a New Home build? McLean Mortgage (NMLS ID: 99665) can handle all of your construction financing needs. You can build your new home with as little as 5% down. Contact construction loan expert Troy Toureau (NMLS ID: 5618) at 301-440-4261 or AnyHomeLoans.com to learn more.

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Looking for a home? There are plenty of houses and condos open for viewing this weekend.

Check out the Arlington Realty website for a full list of homes for sale and open houses in Arlington. Here are a few highlights:

705 N. Barton Street
6 BD/5 BA single-family home
Agent: Compass
Listed: $1,795,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

3228 N. Pershing Drive
4 BD/3 BA single-family home
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc
Listed: $1,150,000
Open: Saturday 2-4 p.m.

 

1418 N. Rhodes Street, B102
2 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath condo
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $949,949
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

5209 16th Street N.
4 BD/3 BA single-family home
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $849,900
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

3919 7th Street S.
3 BD/2 BA single-family home
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $650,000
Open: Saturday 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

 

820 N. Pollard Street #405
1 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $524,900
Open: Saturday 1-4 p.m.

 

1024 N. Utah Street #325
1 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc
Listed: $395,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

Just Listed in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Just Listed highlights Arlington properties that just came on the market within the past week. This feature is written and sponsored by Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”

Arlington’s fall real estate market appears to be getting off to a slow start.

It’s not bad. But it’s not great either.  It’s just sort of okay, which indicates something may be going on that’s not clear yet.

Sellers listed 71 homes this week, which is good. But buyers seem to be dragging their feet with only 51 ratified contracts. Of those, some 30 homes sold within seven days on the market.

Compared to last year, these numbers are ho hum. In the last three weeks of last September, buyers ratified 55, 65 and 54 contracts each week. And sellers really did their part by listing 96, 95 and 65 homes each week. Numbers tell a story.

Perhaps it has something to do with consumer confidence. The Fed on Wednesday dropped its overnight rate by .25% as a measure to bolster signs of a slowing economy. It cited concerns of a slowing global economy influenced by the US-China trade war and Britain’s exit from the European Union. The Fed wants consumers and businesses to maintain their level of spending while keeping inflation at its current rate of 1.6%

If you read this blog regularly, you may recall us telling you to grab the low mortgage rates to buy or refinance several weeks ago. Hope you followed the advice. Mortgage rates, which are NOT directly linked to the Fed rate, jumped this week with quotes varying from 3.73% to 4.01%. And they’re likely to rise more.

The good news for buyers this week is that the housing inventory level is at its highest in a year at 1.3 months. That gives buyers more to choose from, and strengthens their negotiating power

Click to see all the fresh new inventory in MRIS and call Team Cathell (703-975-2500) when you find a home you like.

Large Property Next to Glebe Elementary School For Sale for $8.8 Million

By Kalina Newman
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There’s precious little open, developable land left in Arlington, but one of the bigger privately-owned properties is now for sale.

A 1.72 acre property at 1722 N. Glebe Road, adjacent to Glebe Elementary School and Capital Life Church, is listed for sale at $8,820,117. Previously home to Hill’s Nursery and Camellia Garden, the property includes a boarded-up house built in 1941 but is otherwise mostly trees and empty land across three connected lots.

“It’s the largest property on the market in Arlington right now, even though it’s listed online as 1.32 acres, across all three lots it’s actually 1.72,” said the listing agent, Jeena Ingraham of Samson Properties.

The asking price has been marked down from $9.9 million when it was first listed on July 23.

“Rarely available, tear-down and build in North Arlington, very close to D.C. Previously the Hill Nursery, the property is being sold as is,” the listing says, adding that it’s “7 miles from Amazon’s HQ2.”

Though the property is adjacent to Glebe Elementary, an Arlington Public Schools spokesman said the school system has no plans to purchase it.

There are also no plans for Arlington County to acquire the lots, a spokeswoman for the Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services said, even though the county has been actively trying to acquire properties for public use.

The minimum lot requirement for a single-family home in Arlington’s R-6 zoning district is 6,000 square feet, so 12 homes could potentially fit in 1.72 acres. However, it would require a lengthy subdivision process with the County, which Ingraham said she has not begun.

“We’ve had plenty of interest from investors and developers looking to build their family-home portfolio, but nothing confirmed yet,” she said.

Nearby homes listed on real estate website Redfin average in the $1 million range, suggesting that whoever purchases it will likely need to build several properties to turn a profit.

As for the owner and the nearly $9 million listing price?

“He’s a native to Arlington, and it’s his vision,” Ingraham said.

Image 1, 3 via Google Maps, Image 2 via Samson Properties

Arlington Pet of the Week: P

By ARLnow.com
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This week’s Arlington Pet of the Week is P, who is very excited to be a part of her owners’ upcoming wedding.

Here is what P’s owner, Matthew says that she wants to say about her life here in Arlington:

Hello, everyone. My name is P and I am almost two years old. I am parts Terrier, Lab, Shepherd, Bulldog, and Chow Chow. My parents adopted me in the summer of 2018 to complete their engagement and they are getting married this weekend. They have told me if I promise to make grown-up decisions I will get to walk down the aisle and take pictures with them.

However, I was reminded that these decisions do not include chasing squirrels, bunnies, or birds — which I am exceptionally fond of doing. I also love waking my parents up in the morning before sunrise so that I can fetch balls as the sun pops up over the horizon. And I am a big fan of sunbathing on our balcony. Dislikes include brushing my teeth and Chihuahuas.

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of eight consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.

Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.

Small Biz Focus: Why Online Reviews Matter — The Obvious and Not So Obvious

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
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This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development. This is a guest SmallBiz Focus post written by Justin Gooderham, owner of Dalton Digital in Arlington.

For small businesses, your online reputation can make or break you.

This is especially true for local businesses. About 88% of Google searches on mobile devices are for services or goods in the area, which means that a large number of potential customers who are looking for information on local businesses can be persuaded one way or another based on online reviews.

So, what exactly is an online review? It’s a digital rating of a business or product created by a consumer that appears on a website. Reviews can appear on the company’s own website — think Amazon ­– but review aggregator services like Yelp and Google My Business are just as popular. For home service providers like painters, handymen and landscapers, websites like HomeAdvisor are popular places for customers to leave reviews — good and bad.

Below are three reasons why online reviews matter, and how you can leverage them to grow your business.

1. Digital Word-of-Mouth

In the days before the internet, if you had a positive­ or negative­ experience with a business, you would tell a friend or two and they might tell a friend or two. Nowadays, your online review for a business can be seen by thousands. These ratings are an important factor in a customer’s decision on whether to hire or patronize a business.

According to one study:

  • 90% of consumers read online reviews
  • 88% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
  • 31% are likely to spend more on businesses with “excellent” reviews
  • 72% say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more
  • 94% of online shoppers say that they will avoid a business with negative reviews

Take Action Today

Set up a Google My Business listing (GMB). It’s a free and easy way to showcase your business and provides a convenient forum to start gathering reviews. Ask customers to review you by simply sending them a brief, friendly mail and linking to your GMB listing.

If you have more of a niche business, there is likely a review aggregator website specific to your industry, like Angie’s List. Find yours, create a profile and ask customers for reviews.

2. Online Reviews are a Two-Way Street

Consumers today expect companies to respond to their comments. While no company looks forward to a negative review, it can represent an opportunity to connect, clarify or gather feedback that can ultimately help your business in the long run. Be sure to consistently monitor your online review channels and websites and take the time to respond to good and bad reviews­ alike.

While most websites do not let you alter or remove negative comments or reviews, they will usually let you respond. Doing so in a timely, non-defensive and cordial way shows that customer — and potentially hundreds of others — that you care and are responsive to your customers.

Take Action Today

Google yourself and your company name or go to Yelp or your industry-specific review website and do a search. Websites like Yelp allow customers to provide a review about a business, even if the business has not set up a profile.

If this is the case, you can “claim” the page as the owner, which gives you the ability to reply. Identify all the websites that are showing reviews about your business and respond accordingly. Again, be sure to thank happy customers for their review. This goes a long way when others are reviewing the comments.

If there are negative comments, do your best to understand where the customer is coming from and offer to make things right. Don’t lose your cool, as this can reflect poorly on you by others who are monitoring.

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Just Reduced Properties in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Each week, “Just Reduced” spotlights properties in Arlington County whose price have been cut over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by licensed broker Aaron Seekford of Arlington Realty, Inc. GET MORE out of your real estate investment with Aaron and his team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6116 today!

Please note: While Aaron Seekford provides this information for the community, he may not be the listing agent of these homes.

In case you haven’t heard, we have a big, new neighbor: Amazon.

Yesterday (Tuesday, September 17), the company held a career day in Crystal City. Currently, according to the Washington Post, there are currently 170 Amazon jobs open in Arlington and the company has a goal of hiring 400 folks in the county by year’s end.

Surely, there will be more career fairs and more employment openings as construction begins on its HQ2 in the first quarter of 2020. We’ll certainly keep an eye on it and keep you in the loop.

In the meantime, the “Amazon Effect” in our area remains strong, with Arlington and Alexandria recently topping Redfin’s list of the most competitive real estate markets in the nation.

To navigate these interesting (and exciting!) times, you’ll need a reliable team advocating for you. When you’re ready to roll, Arlington Realty has been the area’s family-owned, trusted choice since 1984. Let’s make your real estate dreams a reality, regardless of what end of a transaction you may be on.

As of September 16, there are 149 detached homes, 29 townhouses and 105 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 22 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week:

Please note that this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Aaron Seekford.

Ask Eli: 71% of Homes Sell Within Ten Days

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: How fast are homes selling in Arlington this year and how does that compare to previous years?

Answer: Days on Market measures the number of days between a home being listed for sale and when it goes under contract. Low days on market is one of the leading indicators of a hot market and signals future price appreciation.

The most common way to measure this is average or median Days on Market, currently 33 days and 9 days over the last six months in Arlington, but I also like to track the percentage of homes that go under contract within the first ten days. I generally find that this metric gives buyers and sellers a better feel of the market.

Fast & Furious 2019

The percentage of homes that go under contract within ten days has skyrocketed in 2019, doubling the rate seen in 2015 and 2016. Below, you can see how demand for South Arlington homes has been increasing relative to North Arlington over the last three years, not just since the Amazon HQ2 announcement in November 2018.

The table below breaks the market down a bit further by number of bedrooms within each market. Note the incredible demand of one and two bedroom homes (mostly condos) in South Arlington, with well over 80% going under contract within ten days. Even more impressive is that only about 25% of one bedroom South Arlington properties were selling within ten days as recently as 2015 and 2016. If you bought one before the madness, congratulations!

Prepare To Pay

Sellers control the negotiations during the first ten days of a sale and the price paid on homes going under contract within the first ten days reflect that, with an average purchase price well above the asking price.

The table below breaks the market down a bit further by number of bedrooms within each market. It is based on net sold price (sold price less any seller credits). In South Arlington, homes that go under contract within the first ten days on market are averaging a net sold price nearly 2% higher than the seller’s asking price.

One important takeaway from this data is that in 2019 buyers making an offer on a property that has recently hit the market have become accustomed to including escalations, which is why you see average prices well above the asking price.

What Does It Mean?

Unsurprisingly, some national studies have determined that Arlington and Alexandria are the country’s hottest real estate markets. That’s great news for home owners, especially those looking to make a move into a less expensive market, renting, or downsizing. The frustration for buyers comes from all sides as well. There’s very little inventory to choose from and, as detailed above, good inventory moves quickly and for a premium.

If you’re considering selling, it’s important to understand just how high you can price your home without overpricing and missing the market, which can lead poor results.

If you’re hoping to buy a home, planning and preparation are critical. Despite the market conditions, I have worked with a lot of buyers this year who have found success in Arlington, but it requires the right approach.

I am available every day of the week to meet or schedule a call if you’d like to discuss your options to buy, sell, or rent in Arlington or the surrounding Northern Virginia, D.C., and Maryland Suburb communities. Just send me an email at [email protected] to schedule some time to talk.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to set-up an in-person meeting to discuss local real estate, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

Arlington Startup Patents All-In-One Bike Pump and Lock

By Kalina Newman

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

(Updated at 12:20 p.m.) What do you get when you take a patent lawyer with a background in mechanical engineering and you add a passion for cycling?

It turns out you get AirLock, the world’s first all-in-one bike pump and lock brainstormed by Arlington local Joe Edell.

Together with his sister, Joe founded the startup Edellocks in March with the goal of eliminating the hassle of carrying a separate air pump along with a bike lock.

“It’s a patented idea I came up with in 2015, and we’re confident that our current version is that best we’re gonna get,” said Edell, who manufactured the design utilizing 3D-printing technology.

It took Edell 20-plus prototypes to get the design right, resulting in an ultra-lightweight product that weighs a little over a pound. The final product will be manufactured in Taiwan, while Edell and his sister will work on marketing, packaging, and shipping from a home in Pentagon City.

Customers have the option of selecting an AirLock with either of the common Schrader or Presta air valves.

It took a bit of trial and error to find the right customer base for the AirLock, because uber-passionate cyclists often have high-end bikes that require specialty pump valves. However, Edell hopes the product will end up in stores like REI and local bike shops.

“A lot of people who would be interested in this we would call ‘casual cyclists,’ so we need to work hard to make sure the price and the product is right,” said Edell.

Currently, the product is in its Kickstarter stage, with less than two weeks to go. As of today (Friday), AirLock has earned $7,791 with a goal of $20,000.

Those interested can either pledge any minimum to support the startup, or $58 or more, which gets you the finished product.

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