News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Worker Rescued from Memorial Bridge — A man working on the Memorial Bridge rehabilitation project was injured this morning and transported to the hospital via fireboat and then ambulance. The injuries were reported to be non-life-threatening. [Twitter, Twitter, Twitter]

More Worries About Real Estate Prices Post-Amazon — “Amazon’s possible arrival in Northern Virginia and Queens, New York, has already sent shockwaves through surrounding real estate markets. Mara Gemond, a longtime Arlington, Virginia, realtor… Crystal City — until news broke that Amazon might be splitting its 50,000-employee second headquarters between there and Long Island City in New York. All of a sudden, the two-bedroom condo in a 1980s-era building that had been sitting on the market for nearly three months with no offers, even after a price cut, had a flood of interest.” [CNN, Washington Post, ARLnow]

Metro Closure Causes DCA Gridlock — The closure of the Crystal City and National Airport Metro stations prior to Friday’s evening rush hour, amid a rush to get out of town for the holiday weekend, caused gridlock around the airport, the GW Parkway, Route 1 and other nearby roads. Arlington County Police were dispatched to the area to help with traffic control. [NBC 4, Twitter, Greater Greater Washington]

Chamber Welcomes Amazon — Among those welcoming Amazon to Arlington is the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. “This addition to Arlington is a significant step toward enhancing and maintaining the strength of Arlington’s commercial sector and diversifying our economic base,” the Chamber said in a statement. [Arlington Chamber]

Restrictions for West Glebe Road Bridge Traffic — “A routine inspection of the bridge on West Glebe Road at South Four Mile Run has uncovered deterioration, which will require a vehicle weight restriction of 5-tons, and closure of the sidewalks in both directions. Because safety is the priority, the restrictions are effective immediately.” [Arlington County]

Marymount U Prez Dances with Local Stars — “Dr. Irma Becerra has many accomplishments to her name. Dancing is not one of them, but D.C.’s Dancing Stars Gala could soon change that. Marymount University’s new president is one of eight local celebrities who will vie for $10,000 [this past] Saturday when the annual fundraising competition is held at The Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner.” [Fairfax News]

Arlington Resident Buys Airline — Sanford Rederer, a resident of North Arlington and Sarasota, Florida, has purchased Florida-based Island Air Charters. [Business Observer]

Pictured above: Crystal City as it once was — building and wayfinding sign in 2011 (Flickr pool photo by Chris Reed)

BREAKING: Amazon Will Split ‘HQ2’ Between Crystal City, Long Island City

By Alex Koma

(Updated at 10:35 a.m.) After months of breathless speculation, Amazon has made it official and announced that it is coming to Arlington — but the county isn’t alone in winning the tech giant’s second headquarters.

The tech giant announced today (Tuesday) that it will split its $5 billion investment for an “HQ2” between Crystal City and Long Island City in Queens, confirming earlier reporting of the last-minute switch. Nashville will also receive 5,000 jobs as part of the arrangement.

A press conference has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Pentagon City.

Amazon will now set up roughly half of the new headquarters on a site in Crystal City a bid championed by state and county officials, as well as JBG Smith, the region’s biggest real estate owner.

In a press release, Amazon dubbed the site as “National Landing.” A county spokeswoman tells ARLnow that “National Landing” refers to the Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard area, which together will make up the footprint of Amazon’s local campus. A map included in the announcement also refers to the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor as “Downtown Arlington.”

More from Amazon’s announcement:

As part of Amazon’s new headquarters, Virginia and Arlington will benefit from more than 25,000 full-time high-paying jobs; approximately $2.5 billion in Amazon investment; 4 million square feet of energy-efficient office space with the opportunity to expand to 8 million square feet; and an estimated incremental tax revenue of $3.2 billion over the next 20 years as a result of Amazon’s investment and job creation.

Amazon will receive performance-based direct incentives of $573 million based on the company creating 25,000 jobs with an average wage of over $150,000 in Arlington. This includes a workforce cash grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia of up to $550 million based on $22,000 for each job created over the next 12 years. Amazon will only receive this incentive if it creates the forecasted high-paying jobs. The company will also receive a cash grant from Arlington of $23 million over 15 years based on the incremental growth of the existing local Transient Occupancy Tax, a tax on hotel rooms.

The community and Amazon employees will benefit from the Commonwealth investing $195 million in infrastructure in the neighborhood, including improvements to the Crystal City and the Potomac Yards Metro stations; a pedestrian bridge connecting National Landing and Reagan National Airport; and work to improve safety, accessibility, and the pedestrian experience crossing Route 1 over the next 10 years. Arlington will also dedicate an estimated $28 million based on 12% of future property tax revenues earned from an existing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district for on-site infrastructure and open space in National Landing.

“This is a big win for Virginia – I’m proud Amazon recognizes the tremendous assets the Commonwealth has to offer and plans to deepen its roots here,” said Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia. “Virginia put together a proposal for Amazon that we believe represents a new model of economic development for the 21st century, and I’m excited to say that our innovative approach was successful. The majority of Virginia’s partnership proposal consists of investments in our education and transportation infrastructure that will bolster the features that make Virginia so attractive: a strong and talented workforce, a stable and competitive business climate, and a world-class higher education system.”

“We are proud that Amazon has selected National Landing for a major new headquarters. This is, above all, a validation of our community’s commitment to sustainability, transit-oriented development, affordable housing, and diversity,” said Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol. “The strength of our workforce coupled with our proximity to the nation’s capital makes us an attractive business location. But Arlington’s real strength is the decades of planning that have produced one of the most vibrant, civically engaged communities in the world. Those plans have paved the way for this investment, and we look forward to engaging the Arlington community about Amazon’s plans and how we can grow together.”

JBG Smith owns huge swaths of property throughout the neighborhood, which was long thought to be a key factor in Arlington’s favor. The company has launched a new website in conjunction with the announcement: Nationallanding.com.

Crystal City’s high office vacancy rate, long a thorn in the side of county leaders that will now be alleviated virtually overnight, also provided plenty of open space for the company to work with as it plans a new campus.

While communities across the country were vying to earn HQ2 as part of an unusual public bidding process, the D.C. region was widely viewed as a favorite to earn Amazon’s new headquarters after the company listed Northern Virginia, Maryland and D.C. among its 20 finalists in January. Even still, the company announced late in the process that it would seek to split HQ2, noting that executives didn’t believe that any of the finalists had enough “tech talent” to fill the contemplated 50,000 jobs for the new offices.

Arlington was long viewed as a particularly strong contender after the county submitted both the Crystal City site and locations along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor for consideration. Amazon officials subsequently toured those locations this spring, and even linked many of its employees to a particular ARLnow article about the county’s environmental accolades.

With the decision finally made, Arlington officials will now have to grapple with the impact of the company’s arrival — especially now that the company won’t be bringing quite the same investment as it originally promised.

The rosiest estimates of HQ2’s impact suggest the company will create a “prosperity bomb” in the region, offering tens of thousands of high-paying jobs and filling up the coffers of local governments.

But many critics have spent months warning that HQ2’s arrival could exacerbate many of the problems already plaguing Arlington. They reason the arrival of so many wealthy Amazon workers could cause housing prices to skyrocket and make it virtually impossible for low-income people to afford to live in the area, or even strain the region’s already challenged transit systems.

Others still worry that the county has offered a series of lucrative tax breaks and cash incentives to the company, dampening whatever economic benefits HQ2 may offer — the county has steadfastly refused to offer any details of its offer to Amazon, as the company has sworn HQ2 bidders to secrecy. There’s also no telling if the county and state might look to revise its incentive offer, now that Amazon has split up HQ2.

County officials have long insisted that they’re prepared to meet these challenges, however, and with Apple still weighing its own move to Arlington, it seems quite likely that such conversations will dominate their attention in the coming months.

Arlington County and the City of Alexandria trumpeted the selection in a joint press release issued shortly after Amazon’s announcement.

The press release says Virginia Tech will now establish an “Innovation Campus” in Alexandria near the new headquarters, while Arlington and Alexandria public schools will “have access to new resources related to computer science education, to be made available statewide” and George Mason University’s campus in Virginia Square will expand. Also funded thanks to Amazon’s arrival: the long hoped-for second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station and a new High Line-like pedestrian bridge from Crystal City to Reagan National Airport.

(more…)

BREAKING: Media Staging Area Being Set Up in Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com
1/6

(Updated at 12:45 p.m.) As Arlington and the D.C. area anxiously await the “imminent” announcement that Amazon will be coming to Crystal City, a media staging area is being set up in Pentagon City.

The staging area is on the 1300 block of S. Eads Street, where ARLnow previously saw a large event space being set up then taken away. There is also a police presence on the site and temporary no parking zones — from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today — nearby.

So far no press conferences have been announced. A press conference is scheduled at the site at 1:30 p.m.

WSJ: Amazon HQ2 Announcement ‘Imminent’

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 9:45 p.m.) Amazon will be announcing its “HQ2” plans as soon as Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday night.

The paper says New York City and Crystal City will be chosen. Per the WSJ:

Amazon is dividing the second headquarters evenly between New York’s Long Island City and Arlington County’s Crystal City neighborhoods, which are both located directly across from the major city centers… Amazon executives concluded it could recruit more of the best tech talent if it spread the office over two locations. And by halving the size, Amazon would help ease potential issues with housing, transit and other areas where adding tens of thousands of workers could cause problems.

Citing anonymous sources, the New York Times, NPR and others have also previously reported that Crystal City will be one of two destinations for Amazon, as the company splits HQ2 between two cities.

Thus far no Amazon-related press conferences have been scheduled in Arlington.

Fitness Club in Ballston Quarter Completes $2 Million Makeover, Gets a New Name

By Catherine Douglas Moran
1/5

(Updated at 8:45 a.m.) The gym formerly known as Sport & Health in Ballston Quarter now has a new name, to go alongside a bit of a refresh.

US Fitness, the company that owns the fitness club, wrapped up a $2 million renovation of the newly christened “Onelife Fitness” on Tuesday (Nov. 6). A grand opening for the refurbished gym is now set for next Tuesday (Nov. 13) at 5 p.m. to celebrate the completed makeover, according to a press release.

US Fitness operates primarily under the Onelife Fitness brand, but also operates all of the Sport & Health clubs around the D.C. area. “Our brand’s success is driven by our passion and commitment to provide solutions and results for our members. We are always looking for how we can improve by developing or adopting cutting-edge programs and solutions,” Kirk and John Galiani, co-chairmen and founders of US Fitness, said in a statement.

New gear from the makeover includes:

  • cardio equipment
  • treadmills
  • ellipticals
  • stair climbers
  • bikes
  • rowers
  • strength equipment including free weights, circuit and functional training equipment
  • indoor and outdoor turf training spaces

In addition to locker rooms and amenities, the fitness club will also offer an expanded club with a maze for children; a cycle studio with Coach by Color bikes; a new studio with yoga, barre and Pilates; high-intensity training; and a group fitness studio.

The gym remained open during the renovation, which is now complete, Kirk Galiani told ARLnow. The gym is on the third floor of Ballston Quarter (4238 Wilson Blvd), which Forest City is currently revamping. The mall blew past its opening date twice — once in September and again in October.

Virginia is home to more than half of the 30 total Onelife Fitness clubs, which span four states.

Just a few months ago, the American College of Sports Medicine’s American Fitness Index crowned Arlington as “America’s fittest city” for “achieving a balance of both healthy behaviors and community infrastructure.”

Metro Shuts Down Crystal City, Reagan National Stations Over Holiday Weekend

By Alex Koma

Expect major delays on Metro’s Blue and Yellow lines this holiday weekend, as the rail service is shutting down both the Crystal City and Reagan National Airport stations to allow for some major construction work.

Starting today (Friday) and running through Monday, Metro will run shuttle buses between the Pentagon City and Braddock Road stations to compensate for the closures. Trains will operate on substantially extended headways as well, particularly on Saturday and Sunday, and Metro is warning of heavy delays across the two lines.

Metro plans to upgrade several switches leading up to the airport station, as well as “install new concrete grout pads beneath the rails along the aerial structure there,” according to a press release.

Full details from the release:

On Friday & Monday:

  • Blue Line trains will operate in two segments: between Franconia-Springfield & Braddock Road every 12 minutes during daytime hours and between Pentagon City & Largo Town Center every 12-16 minutes.
  • Yellow Line trains will operate in two segments: between Huntington & Braddock Road every 12 minutes during daytime hours and between Pentagon City & Mt Vernon Square every 12-16 minutes.
  • Buses will replace trains between Braddock Rd, National Airport, Crystal City and Pentagon City. Additional Express shuttle buses will operate between Braddock Road and Pentagon City from 5 a.m. – 8 p.m. and between Franconia-Springfield and Pentagon from 5 a.m. – 8 p.m.
  • Rush Hour Promise will not be in effect for trips on the Yellow and Blue lines on Friday, November 9, but will remain in effect for customers on other lines.

On Saturday & Sunday:

  • Blue Line trains will operate in two segments: between Franconia-Springfield & Braddock Road every 12-15 minutes during daytime hours and between Pentagon City & Eastern Market every 24 minutes all day.
  • Yellow Line trains will operate in two segments: between Huntington & Braddock Road every 12-15 minutes during daytime hours and between Pentagon City & Mt Vernon Square every 24 minutes all day.
  • Buses will replace trains between Braddock Rd, National Airport, Crystal City and Pentagon City. Additional express shuttle buses will operate between Braddock Rd and Pentagon City from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Saturday and from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Metro scheduled the shutdown for Veterans Day weekend, after originally planning it for last weekend, in order to reduce the impact on commuters. However, some stations still saw big crowds on Friday as people adjusted to the closures:

Metro recommends that commuters turn to local bus service if possible, or even VRE train service between Franconia-Springfield, Crystal City or King Street in order to reach L’Enfant Plaza or Union Station.

Anyone heading to DCA this weekend may also want to allow for extra time. The airport is already facing transportation challenges associated with “Project Journey,” major renovations primarily impacting Terminal B/C, and the Metro closure could worsen those conditions substantially.

Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick

Old Glebe Civic Association Angles to Expand Its Boundaries

By Alex Koma

The Old Glebe Civic Association is eyeing an expansion, planning to scoop up a few additional streets from neighboring Country Club Hills.

The group is currently hoping to add about three blocks to its boundaries, targeting homes that aren’t currently part of any civic association. In particular, the OGCA is looking at adding homes along Dittmar Road as it meets 35th Street N., N. Abingdon Street as it meets 36th Street N. and two cul-de-sacs off N. Vermont Street (one on 35th Road N. and one on 36th Street N.).

OGCA President Rich Samp told ARLnow that those streets are “one of the few areas in the whole county not included in any civic association,” after residents there decided decades ago decided not to join one. But considering that the streets sit adjacent to Old Glebe’s current boundaries, with part of Dittmar Road already ensconced within the civic association, Samp felt it made sense to push for the minor expansion.

“It’s a good idea to have all the neighborhoods in Arlington engaged with the local community… and we’re always trying to do things to make the neighborhood more cohesive,” Samp said. “And having entire streets, such as all of Dittmar Road, in the civic association probably helps to create more of a cohesive neighborhood sense.”

Samp says civic association members started knocking doors in the proposed expansion area a few weeks back to gauge neighbors’ feelings on the mater, and the reaction was broadly “positive.”

“The worst we heard was that some people expressed indifference, but the majority view was, ‘We’d love to join,'” Samp said.

The Arlington County Civic Federation requires civic associations to collect signatures to kick off the expansion process, so Samp says his group did just that. Now, he’ll need to win a green light from from both the civic federation and, eventually, the County Board to make it official.

“I don’t have a great sense for how long it’ll take,” Samp said. “But knowing how slowly the wheels of our group, and the government generally, turn, it’ll probably be a couple of months.”

Samp admitted that adding these neighborhoods is “hardly an earth-shattering step” for his group, but he does hope it can be the first expansion of many to come for the civic association.

“To go to more homes, it would’ve taken just huge amount of canvassing,” Samp said. “So we thought this would be a nice way to start it.”

Photo via the Old Glebe Civic Association

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

WWI Commemoration Sunday — “At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, World War I ended with the signing of the armistice. One hundred years later, we are gathering to commemorate the end of the Great War with a ceremony at the Clarendon War Memorial to mark the hour and day the armistice was signed.” [Arlington County, Arlington County]

County Board Election Map — In Tuesday Arlington County Board election, John Vihstadt captured most of the precincts in residential North Arlington, as well as few in South Arlington — including Aurora Hills and Fairlington — but Matt de Ferranti won by capturing the precincts along the Metro corridors and around Columbia Pike. [Blue Virginia]

De Ferranti Says Economic Development is Top Priority — “My top priority will be to work on bringing down the office-vacancy rate so that we can afford to invest in our schools and Arlington’s future,” de Ferranti told the Sun Gazette. “The other priorities – housing affordability, renewable energy and child hunger – will also be areas I will work on, but the majority of my time preparing to serve will be thinking about how we can grow and attract businesses to help us grow and afford the investments we need for our future.” [InsideNova]

Arlington Spots Make ’50 Best Restaurants’ List — Half a dozen Arlington establishments made Northern Virginia Magazine’s 50 Best Restaurants list for 2018. They are: Ambar, Green Pig Bistro, Nam-Viet, Peter Chang, Ray’s the Steaks and SER. None, however, cracked the top 10. [Northern Virginia Magazine]

Arlington Ranks No. 2 on ‘Hardest Working’ List — Arlington is the No. 2 hardest-working “city” in America, second only to the San Francisco suburb of Walnut Creek, according to a new study. Arlington residents spend an average of 41.8 hours per week working and another 4.9 hours commuting, with 16.3 percent of the population leaving work before 7 a.m., the study found. [Haven Life]

ACPD Participates in Alzheimer’s Awareness — “Each year, the Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) encounters memory-impaired individuals, including regular contact with those enrolled in the Project Lifesaver program… Recognizing the importance of education and awareness about this disease for both officers and the community, ACPD is joining the many landmarks, cities and agencies who are members of Project Lifesaver around the globe taking part in Light the World Teal Day by wearing teal ribbons on their uniforms on November 8.” [Arlington County]

Demonstration at Courthouse Plaza — Activists planned a demonstration at 5 p.m. last night in Courthouse Plaza “in support of protecting the Mueller investigation” [Twitter, Twitter]

HQ2 in Crystal City Would Benefit Tysons, Too — The Tysons area is expected to see increased demand for housing and commercial real estate should Amazon open a large new office complex in Crystal City.  “I think Tysons will reap the benefits without having to suffer from the traffic issues that may come as a result,” said one university professor. [Tysons Reporter]

JUST IN: Two Washington-Lee Students Charged for Posting Baseless School Shooting Threats

By Alex Koma

A pair of students at Washington-Lee High School are now facing criminal charges after they allegedly posted baseless threats to carry out a shooting at the school on social media.

Arlington Police say the two students posted a Snapchat video last Wednesday (Oct. 31) which “contained verbal and written threats of a possible shooting at the school.”

Police then worked with school administrators to identify the students, and “detectives determined that the students did not actually have the means to carry out the threat.”

The department declined to release the names of the students, saying only that they’re under the age of 18, and said both were charged with threatening to commit serious bodily harm to persons on school property, a felony.

“The Arlington County Police Department is committed to working with Arlington Public Schools to ensure the safety of our entire school community,” police wrote in a news release. “We encourage parents and guardians to talk to their children about the serious nature of making threats. All reports of threats made at our schools and in our community are thoroughly investigated by law enforcement and where appropriate, charges will be sought against those responsible.”

Westmont Shopping Center on Columbia Pike Could Soon Be Torn Down, Redeveloped

By Alex Koma
1/6

The Westmont Shopping Center, located at the intersection of S. Glebe Road and Columbia Pike, could soon be torn down and redeveloped into a new mixed-use building.

A developer has submitted plans to the county looking for permission to build a six-story building on the lot, long home to shops and restaurants including a Boston Market and an INOVA Urgent Care. The proposal calls for about 250 new apartments on the site, sitting above 23,225 square feet of retail space.

The new development would also include an underground parking garage for residents with about 285 spaces, and another 60 surface parking spots for visitors. The project is backed by Republic Properties Corporation, the developer of a variety of projects around the D.C. area. Perhaps its most notable effort is the sizable Potomac Mills mall in Woodbridge.

The proposal calls for the current shopping center to be razed in its entirety, but it would generally preserve the existing traffic pattern in the area — for instance, visitors would still be able to reach the parking lot via a left-hand turn lane on S. Glebe Road. It also includes some streetscape improvements along Columbia Pike and S. Glebe Road, including the addition of new trees, benches and trash bins.

Though the development would bring plenty of new residents to the Pike, an area notorious for its transportation challenges, the county’s traffic consultants wrote in an August report it would still be a good fit for Arlington’s vision of “creating a mixed-use environment focused on multimodal transportation.”

They added that the redevelopment would result in only “minor increases in delay” at major intersections in the area, with differences of just a few seconds at each traffic signal.

County planners are still in the preliminary phase of reviewing the development, though the traffic analysis notes that the developer hopes to have it “complete and fully occupied by 2020.”

H/t Chris Slatt

As Pentagon City Transitway Expansion Gains Steam, County Convenes Open House Tonight

By Alex Koma
1/3

Arlington is gearing up to extend its bus rapid transit system to better connect Crystal City to Pentagon City, and county officials are inviting people to learn more about the project at a meeting tonight (Thursday).

The county is holding an open house to show off details of the planned Crystal City-Potomac Yard Transitway extension, running from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Crystal City Shops (2100 Crystal Drive).

The Transitway currently operates between the Crystal City Metro station and the Braddock Road station in Alexandria, with dedicated bus lanes and stations covering about 4.5 miles in all. The expansion would add another .75 miles to the route, linking the Pentagon City Metro to the Crystal City stop.

The $27.7 million project is part of ongoing efforts to better connect the two neighborhoods, and the county recently earned millions in regional transportation funding to make it possible. The effort will involve the construction of seven new bus stations by the time it’s wrapped up.

It also includes new dedicated bus lanes set for the following streets, per the county’s website:

  • Crystal Drive from 15th Street S. to 12th Street S. and Long Bridge Drive (Includes curbside rush hour bus lanes and two stations, one on northbound Crystal Drive at 15th Street S., and one on westbound 12th Street S. at Long Bridge Drive).
  • 12th Street S. from Long Bridge Drive to S. Hayes Street (Includes exclusive bus lanes in the median, mixed traffic lanes, traffic signal upgrades, signage and pavement markings and three stations: east and westbound 12th Street S. at Elm Street, and eastbound 12th Street S. at S. Hayes Street)
  • S. Hayes Street from 12th Street S. to Army Navy Drive (This segment will connect to WMATA’s planned Pentagon City Center bus bays project on Army Navy Drive)

The Crystal Drive segment is currently the farthest along, with transportation planners currently in design discussions for the effort. The county is still in more conceptual discussions about the other two segments.

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