Police investigating a death at Lacey Woods Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Police investigating a death at Lacey Woods Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 9:30 a.m.) Someone died in Lacey Woods Park, prompting a police investigation.
The park at 1200 N. George Mason Drive, west of Ballston, includes wooded trails, athletic fields and courts, and a popular playground. Police tape could be seen across the entrance to one of the trails.
Arlington County police tweeted just before 8 a.m. that “there is no known threat to the community related to this incident.” Police are still on scene investigating the circumstances of the person’s death.
ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage told ARLnow that “the death does not appear suspicious.”
“Cause and manner of death will be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner,” she said.
Firefighters were dispatched to the park around 9:15 a.m. to assist with a cleanup at the scene.
ACPD is conducting a death investigation in the 1200 block of N. George Mason Drive. Based on the preliminary investigation, there is no known threat to the community related to this incident. Expect continued police activity in the area. https://t.co/6yFgVl84oz
Police Ask for Help Finding Suspect — “The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is seeking the public’s assistance identifying and locating a malicious wounding suspect who was captured in surveillance images… The investigation determined the victim and an unknown male suspect had been involved in a verbal dispute, during which the suspect assaulted the victim, stole his jewelry and broke his phone.” [ACPD]
Large Water Main Break Causes Sinkhole — “A water main break in Arlington created a sinkhole Thursday evening, diverting traffic as water flooded the roadway. Long Bridge Drive between 6th Street South and Boundary Channel Drive is blocked and officials are telling drivers to prepare for a possible prolonged closure.” [WJLA, Twitter]
Aquatics Center Expects to Reopen Today — “Long Bridge Park Aquatics & Fitness Center is closed due to a water main break. We expect the facility will open on time on tomorrow.” [Twitter]
Alamo Drafthouse Sign Arrives — “Marquee going up at the new [Alamo Drafthouse Cinema] in Crystal City today!” [Twitter]
Arlington GOP Opposes Bonds — “The Arlington County Republican Committee on Sept. 27 voted to oppose the six county bond referendums, totaling approximately a half-billion-with-a-b dollars, on the Nov. 8 ballot… Arlington voters have not turned down a county bond since 1979, and the last time there was a blanket rejection of the majority of a bond package was in 1975.” [Sun Gazette]
Rescue Org Prepares for Hurricane Pups — “While Southern states brace for the impact of Hurricane Ian, Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF), a pet rescue organization, has been preparing their Rescue Care Center for an emergency intake. In partnership with BISSELL Pet Foundation, LDCRF has committed to taking in 60 dogs and cats from southern partners to allow for the critical sheltering of homeless pets from the storm.” [Press Release]
Research Company Relocates in Ballston — “Apogee has signed a lease to move its Arlington, Virginia, office three buildings down Wilson Boulevard to Ballston Exchange I.” [Costar]
WMATA Manager Pleads to Scheme — “A former senior manager for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) pleaded guilty today to carrying out a scheme in which he and others manipulated the agency’s procurement process in favor of a company that was paid more than $1.3 million for items and services over a period of more than nine years. Scottie Borders, 61, of Arlington, Virginia, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.” [Dept. of Justice]
It’s Friday — Rain in the evening and overnight. High of 62 and low of 54. Sunrise at 7:05 am and sunset at 6:54 pm. [Weather.gov]
The Barnes & Noble store in Clarendon (via Google Maps)
The Barnes & Noble store in Clarendon was the scene of an alleged armed robbery today.
Police responded around noon to the bookstore at 2800 Clarendon Blvd, in The Crossing Clarendon shopping center, after a caller reported a crime that happened earlier that morning.
“At approximately 12:06 p.m. on September 29, police were dispatched to the late report of an armed robbery inside a business,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 10:50 a.m., the unknown male suspect began to conceal merchandise inside a bag. When employees confronted the suspect, he displayed a pocket knife before exiting the business with the stolen merchandise.”
“No injuries were reported,” Savage added. “The suspect is described as a Black male in his 40’s or 50’s, 5’10” tall, 240lbs with black hair. He was wearing a cream colored sweater, tan khaki pants, brown boots and black rimmed glasses. The investigation is ongoing.”
A rendering from a conceptual redevelopment application for Ballston Gardens at 4314 N. Carlin Springs Road (via Arlington County)
Ballston Gardens at 4314 N. Carlin Springs Road (via Google Maps)
A rendering from a conceptual redevelopment application for Ballston Gardens at 4314 N. Carlin Springs Road (via Arlington County)
Proposed building massing for the Ballston Gardens, next to existing multifamily buildings (via Arlington County)
An aerial view of the site of Ballston Gardens (via Arlington County)
A nondescript garden apartment building in Ballston has attracted the interest of a potential developer.
The developer has filed a conceptual site plan for Ballston Gardens, located at 4314 N. Carlin Springs Road, around the corner from the Harris Teeter at 600 N. Glebe Road. The brick apartment building was constructed in 1961 and has a mix of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units, according to property records.
The preliminary proposal describes a 107-unit building, with two townhouses and 84 parking spaces, partially above and below ground.
Ballston Gardens is noticeably shorter and older than the two multifamily buildings surrounding it: The Springs, a five-story, 104-unit building owned by Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing and completed in 2016, and the Carlin Senior Apartment Community, which was built in 1996 and recently renovated.
Arlington County planning documents envision greater heights for a new residential building. A building on the Ballston Garden site could be up to six stories tall, while The Springs site is zoned for five stories and the Carlin senior apartments site for nine stories, according to an addendum to the 1995 North Quincy Street Plan, approved in 2013.
Developers have the option to file conceptual site plans before official site plan applications so they can work with a team of county staff to iron out any major zoning, code or process issues with their plans, per the county website.
When reached by phone, the developer declined to comment on the conceptual plan.
A side view of a conceptual proposal for Ballston Gardens (via Arlington County)
Covid cases in Arlington as of 9/28/22 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)
(Updated at 9:50 a.m.) Covid cases have held relatively steady in Arlington for most of September, as the weather turns cooler and flu season looms.
Just under 50 cases per day are being reported on average over the past week, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. The test positivity rate has been falling and now stands at 11.6%.
The last month with generally lower case totals was March, after which cases started gradually rising before peaking around Memorial Day and starting an even more gradual decline.
In his weekly public Facebook post last week, VHC Health emergency department chief Dr. Mike Silverman said the hospital is also seeing lower levels of Covid.
We saw a noticeable decrease in the number of new COVID diagnoses we made this week in the ER and the percent positive rate dropped. We’ve been seeing a general decline in the COVID cases since late August but among symptomatic patients, this past week was one third lower than the last several weeks and less than half the number we were seeing in mid-August. The percent positive rate for our “symptomatic” patients was about 30% in mid-August and was just below 17% this past week. Among all comers, despite testing more than in mid-August (our ER volume is higher), our percent positive rate has dropped from approximately 13% to 6.4% and we’ve seen about a 40% drop in the number of patients we diagnosed with COVID this week compared to mid-August. We are 30-40% less than we were seeing the last few weeks. We also have a few less people requiring hospitalization this week compared to recent weeks. One week doesn’t make a trend but the numbers are similar to previous declines we’ve seen so I’m optimistic we’re on the downward slide of the curve for now.
Silverman said he’s also optimistic about the positive effects of the new bivalent vaccine booster shot, which are designed to be more effective against the current Omicron strains of the virus. Arlington County has been offering the shots, which are also available in pharmacies and elsewhere, for just over two weeks.
Despite optimism, cooler weather and increased time indoors typically brings a rise in respiratory disease.
October often marks the start of flu season, and this year’s flu season may be especially bad. There are also anecdotal reports of an uptick in cold-like illnesses currently circulating in the area.
Arlington, meanwhile, has seen two consecutive years in which Covid cases spiked in the fall or winter. In 2020, the rise started in late October or early November. In 2021, it started in early December.
Pumpkins for sale at the Whole Foods in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Groundbreaking for I-395 Project — “Arlington County officials and representatives from VDOT and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority broke ground Wednesday on a $19.9 million project to improve bike and pedestrian access at the Boundary Channel Drive and I-395 interchange.” [Patch]
Ribbon Cutting for Affordable Apartments — “The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) recently marked the grand opening of Lucille and Bruce Terwilliger Place, the nonprofit developer’s new affordable-housing development and new home to American Legion Post 139 in the Virginia Square neighborhood. APAH was joined by its partners, funders, supporters and the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs to cut the ribbon and commemorate the building’s opening.” [Sun Gazette]
Oktoberfest Event Postponed — “National Landing Oktoberfest has been POSTPONED to Saturday, October 22 due to inclement weather in the forecast on Saturday, October 1.” [Twitter]
Pedestrian Crash Stats in Arlington — A new stats compilation by a law firm lists a number of Arlington neighborhoods as being in the top 25 for the highest number of pedestrian crashes in Virginia from 2015-2022. Among them, in order, from most crashes: Clarendon, Ballston, North Rosslyn, Columbia Pike corridor, Crystal City, Wilson Blvd corridor and Courthouse. [ALXnow]
Pupatella Expanding to Capitol Hill — From the Washington Business Journal’s Michael Neibauer: “Permit issued to build out @PupatellaPizza Capitol Hill, 301 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Restaurant and bar totaling 4,020sf, with seats on the first, second and third floors. Total occupancy of 115.” [Twitter]
It’s Thursday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 68 and low of 51. Sunrise at 7:04 am and sunset at 6:56 pm. [Weather.gov]
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Wells Harrell, of East Falls Church, during the Sept. 17, 2022 County Board meeting (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
Slide from Langston Blvd concept plan (via Arlington County)
(Updated 09/30/22) As Arlington County continues collecting feedback on the preliminary concept plan to turn Langston Blvd into a “Green Main Street” over several decades, a few disagreements have emerged.
Some say county staff need to coordinate more with existing plans for two neighborhoods along Route 29, as well as the Missing Middle Housing Study. Others say the building heights should be taller — to allow for more affordable housing — or are too tall already.
Late in August, Arlington County released a draft plan showing what Langston Blvd, formerly Lee Highway, could look like if the county encouraged denser housing and more walkable, greener streets, and planned for future infrastructure, transportation and facility needs. Since then, the county posted an online feedback form and launched in-person feedback opportunities called Design Studio sessions and virtual neighborhood meetings.
More than 200 people have attended the three virtual community meetings and Design Studio sessions, and more than 200 people have responded to the feedback forms, Rachel LaPiana, a staff member with the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development, tells ARLnow.
“We encourage the community to provide feedback on a set of specific questions about what is proposed in the PCP and attend one of the upcoming community events,” she said.
There are still a number of opportunities to learn more about Plan Langston Blvd and provide feedback, which staff will collect through early November. This Saturday, the Langston Boulevard Alliance will host a walking tour, during which county planners will be able to answer questions. Another tour will be held on Sunday, Oct. 16.
The Langston Boulevard Alliance is also hosting three Design Studio sessions, held from 12-2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7 and 21 and Nov. 4 at its office (4500 Langston Blvd). A fourth virtual community meeting discussing housing, stormwater and transportation will be held Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 7-9 p.m.
It’s too soon to summarize the substance of the feedback that has been collected, LaPiana said.
“Once the engagement period ends, we will compile and analyze all of the community feedback,” she said.
Differing takes have since surfaced during a debate for County Board candidates held by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, as well as during this month’s County Board meeting.
“I’ve largely heard muted feedback, and that is not always the case with plans,” said County Board member Matt de Ferranti, who’s running for re-election this November, during the debate earlier this month. “I have heard a number of compliments. I actually think the plan is in decent shape.”
But, he said, the plan challenges the county’s ability to advance multiple planning fronts simultaneously, including the controversial Missing Middle Housing initiative, in which the county is considering whether to allow townhouses, duplexes and other low-density housing types in residential areas zoned exclusively for single-family homes.
“We have to, at least in my view, do them separately, because we can give our community full chance for engagement,” he said.
“We have something called a siloed process, where we have three plans, each ignorant of each other, that will increase housing on a massive schedule. That doesn’t make sense,” Clement said. “These plans should not be developed in a vacuum, but that appears to be what is happening right now.”
East Falls Church homeowner Wells Harrell told the County Board this month that Plan Langston Blvd ought to examine why development has lagged in East Falls Church and Cherrydale, despite the fact both underwent planning efforts in 2011 and 1994, respectively.
“Metro today remains surrounded by parking lots at the East Falls Church Metro station, and so far, there’s only been one — one — residential development since the plan was adopted in 2011,” Harrell said. “We need to take stock of why we haven’t achieved the goals set forth in the Cherrydale and East Falls Church area plans… in order to not just learn from the lessons we had there, but to guide us going forward and make sure we achieve the visions for Langston Blvd.”
A detached garage across from the East Falls Church Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
County planners previously told ARLnow that they need the County Board’s go-ahead to revisit the East Falls Church plan. Further discussion about encouraging development in the area could come after the Board adopts a final Plan Langston Blvd document.
For now, plan authors say a final Plan Langston Blvd draft will recommend whether the existing redevelopment roadmaps for East Falls Church and Cherrydale need to be reviewed and refined.
Building heights are another source of disagreement. Plan authors write that building heights were lowered in response to some critical community feedback. That criticism also suggested the changes would diminish the stock of market-rate affordable apartments, lower property values, change neighborhood character and push out small businesses.
County staff say that lower heights may satisfy some residents, but it will slow down redevelopment.
“Staff believes the proposed concept plan will offer incentives for redevelopment, however, the levels are only moderately different from what is allowed for by-right development and site plan projects,” county planner Natasha Alfonso-Ahmed said in a video introducing the plan. “This means that we may see more by-right development, and improvements such as streetscape enhancements may take longer to be realized or happen in a fragmented way.”
And the changes dismayed pro-density advocates, including Harrell and independent County Board candidate Adam Theo.
“I am disappointed to see that the most recent draft has scaled a lot of that back,” Theo said.
De Ferranti, meanwhile, says there is one neighborhood where the heights may still be “a touch too high” — the area near Spout Run Parkway, where plan calls for buildings 12-15 stories tall.
“That decision is one we have to engage as a community on,” he said.
Office buildings, including the Nestle building, in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated 11:20 a.m.) Arlington has the second highest work-from-home rates in the nation, U.S. Census Bureau data from 2021 show.
The county falls just behind Fremont, a city in California’s Silicon Valley that is home to numerous tech companies, while D.C. ranks third. And within the metro D.C. area, the remote work population in northern Arlington specifically is second in size only to the central and downtown parts of the District.
People who study these trends, like Economic Innovation Group economists Adam Ozimek and Eric Carlson, say Arlington’s high ranking does not surprise them. They analyzed data on remote work for ARLnow, comparing the 46 commuting zones that make up the D.C. area.
At 55%, “North Arlington has one of the highest work-from-home rates in the D.C. region,” said EIG Chief Economist Ozimek. “Even South Arlington does pretty well in terms of the region overall, 43% is high overall, even though the income divide you can see.”
Looking at five-year population estimates, they found that the D.C. area as a whole topped the charts with a 34% telework share overall, followed by San Francisco (33%) and Austin (32%). San Jose and Seattle came in fourth and fifth, and much larger cities, including Chicago and New York City, ranked 18th and 20th with teleworkers comprising around 23% of the workforce.
“The D.C. area is just about as work-from-home as we would expect based on underlying factors,” Ozimek said. “Higher-educated places have more work from home. More expensive places have higher rates of working from home. And occupation matters: you’ve got a lot of skilled workers in general. The more skill, the more likely it is to be remote.”
Arlington, he said, has some of the highest average home values and education levels in the region. In addition, nearly half of jobs in the D.C. area can be done remotely, compared to other parts of the country, like Las Vegas and Grand Rapids, Michigan, where 30% or fewer jobs can be done remotely, they found.
While the pandemic precipitated this pivot to remote work, working from home — at least a few days a week — appears to be settling in as a permanent fixture of how many Arlingtonians get their jobs done.
And that is impacting Arlington County’s record-high office vacancy rate, which reached 20.8% during the second quarter of 2022. The county generates 45% of its property tax revenue from taxes on commercial properties like office building, helping to fund Arlington schools and county services while taking some of the pressure off of homeowners.
The office vacancy rate is higher now — with masks no longer required and vaccines and boosters readily available — than it when the pandemic first took hold (16.6%) and at the beginning of 2021 (18.7%).
“The challenges are really deep,” County Manager Mark Schwartz told the County Board last week. “Long-term leases are becoming rarer. To ask people who used to come to the office five days a week to do so again… might not be met with universal acclaim from those who used to drive into the office five days a week.”
A fisheye view of clouds over the U.S. Air Force Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
‘Coffee with a Cop’ Next Week — “Wednesday, October 5 is National Coffee with a Cop Day and the Arlington County Police Department’s Community Engagement Division is hosting two events to celebrate. Community members are invited to join officers at these informal events to ask questions, voice concerns, get to know their neighbors, interact with the Community Engagement Division and meet officers from other sections of the department.” [ACPD]
Trespassing at Vacant Hotel — “1600 block of Arlington Boulevard. At approximately 9:20 a.m. on September 26, police were dispatched to the report of a burglary. Upon arrival, it was determined a security guard was doing a check of a vacant property when he observed the two unknown suspects inside. When the security guard confronted the suspects, they left the scene on foot. Suspect One is described as a white female, approximately 45 years old, 5’4 wearing a light brown trench coat, white shoes and carrying a brown backpack.” [ACPD]
It’s Wednesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 67 and low of 50. Sunrise at 7:03 am and sunset at 6:57 pm. [Weather.gov]
Leaves have started to turn on a tree in Rosslyn’s Freedom Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
MdF Fixes to Nix Six Plexes? — “Arlington County Board member Matt de Ferranti says he is opposed to including eight-plexes as part of plans to eliminate single-family zoning across much of the county, and is still up in the air on whether six-plexes should be included… De Ferranti’s is the lone County Board seat on the Nov. 8 ballot, and he is hoping to retain it for a second term.” [Sun Gazette]
Early AM Fight in Crystal City — “500 block of 23rd Street S. At approximately 2:45 a.m. on September 25, police were dispatched to the report of a fight in progress. Upon arrival, officers located the male victim who was transported to an area hospital for treatment of injuries considered serious but non-life threatening. The investigation determined the victim and an unknown male suspect had been involved in a verbal dispute that escalated into a physical altercation. The suspect fled the scene on foot prior to police arrival.” [ACPD]
Student Walkouts Planned Today — “Students at nearly 100 schools across Virginia are planning to walk out of class Tuesday in response to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed policies that would change how schools in the commonwealth treat transgender students. The student-run Pride Liberation Project is organizing the walk-outs on Tuesday. A list of participating schools shows several high schools in Arlington, Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties.” [WUSA 9]
W-L Whomps Winless Wakefield — “Washington-Liberty (2-3, 2-0) led 33-0 at halftime, eventually winning, 39-0, over winless Wakefield (0-5, 0-1) in the Liberty District clash. The victory was the first for W-L against Wakefield since the 2014 season, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Warriors.” [Sun Gazette]
Baltimore Also Eyes Zoning Changes — “A new proposal before the Baltimore City Council could dramatically rewrite the city’s building regulations, banning single-family zoning policies that advocates argue have driven housing scarcity and more than a century of segregation. Dubbed the Abundant Housing Act, the proposal follows legislation recently introduced or adopted by numerous local governments around the country and would open residentially-zoned districts across Baltimore to multi-unit housing — a tool supporters say would cut housing costs and increase residential density in neighborhoods with quality housing and access to jobs, amenities or transportation.” [Baltimore Banner]
It’s Tuesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 69 and low of 55. Sunrise at 7:02 am and sunset at 6:59 pm. [Weather.gov]
The non-profit arts organization at 3550 Wilson Blvd in the Virginia Square area is one of the largest non-federal venues for contemporary art in the D.C. area, per its website.
But the center’s leaders say it needed a new name to elevate its work to show contemporary art, support artists-in-residence and organize art classes.
“Our new name will help us increase our visibility and reflect our position as a premiere hub for contemporary art and artists and as the only art museum in Arlington County,” Catherine Anchin, its executive director, said in a press release. “Our mission to connect you with contemporary art and artists through exhibitions, education programs, and artist residencies remains the same.”
Over the last year, those involved in the rebranding initiative conducted research and interviews to see how the arts center could improve how it communicates its mission.
Last winter and spring, the arts center searched for and hired a new executive director likewise charged with raising its visibility.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington will be one of the few museums in the D.C. area without a permanent collection on display. Anchin says this will allow “MoCA Arlington” to keep up with contemporary art as it evolves.
“It is our goal that, when you visit the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, you will experience some of the most cutting-edge art by local, regional, national, and international artists, explore the power of your own creativity, engage with living artists, and further embrace Arlington’s place within a global contemporary art sector,” she said.
M0CA Arlington will reopen under its new name on Saturday from 12-8 p.m. with two new exhibits to peruse. The reopening day celebration will feature curator-led tours, art-making activities and visits to the studios of its artists-in-residence.
The first exhibit, “Assembly 2022: Time and Attention,” highlights trends in concepts and materials among today’s working artists. It features 12 artists from nine states, including Virginia, who were nominated by curators at peer organizations around the nation and selected by Blair Murphy, the curator of exhibitions for MoCA Arlington.
The second, “Let Them Kids Be Kids” by resident-artist Lex Marie, uses the playground as “a framework with which to examine the joys of Black childhood and the ways in which issues of race and equity are inscribed on the site,” Anchin said.
After Saturday’s grand reopening, the museum will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 12-5 p.m. through Dec. 18. Meanwhile, registration for fall art classes has opened.
Galleries reopened in spring 2021 and have had several exhibitions since then, Anchin told ARLnow. The museum has been closed so staff could install the forthcoming exhibits.
After the show ends in December, the center will close for two to three weeks to set up for its second show, she said.
MoCA Arlington was founded in 1974, has undergone several name changes and is located in the historic former Maury School. The building is leased through a partnership with Arlington County and holds nine exhibit galleries, studio space for artists, three classrooms, offices, and event rental space.
