News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

PenPlace Plan Revived with Apartments — JBG Smith plans to revive its stalled PenPlace project in Pentagon City by building apartment buildings rather than office buildings in the first phase of the project. The updated plans will be open to community input during a new site plan review process. The original plans were approved in 2013 over the objections of some nearby residents. [Washington Business Journal]

Traffic at DCA to Get Heavier During Construction — “Drivers heading to Reagan National Airport might soon begin to feel the impact of a major project to transform the facility. Construction crews will begin overnight work in the lower-level roadway in the next couple of weeks, and that work will spill into daytime hours come spring.” [WTOP]

More Dirt Coming to DCA — Another portion of the expansion project at Reagan National Airport will bring a big mound of dirt to the airport grounds. The dirt is needed to support the weight of a new regional jet concourse. DCA was built on land reclaimed from the Potomac River. [InsideNova]

Photo by Anna Merod

UPDATED: Northern Virginia, D.C. on Amazon ‘Top 20’ List for HQ2

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 5:05 p.m.) Amazon has just revealed the top 20 finalists for its second headquarters, and the D.C. area figures in prominently.

Northern Virginia, D.C. and Montgomery County are all included in the list, below. Arlington is not explicitly mentioned but is included within “Northern Virginia,” a county spokeswoman confirmed to ARLnow.

“Amazon reviewed 238 proposals from across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to host HQ2, the company’s second headquarters in North America,” the company said in a press release. “Today, Amazon announced it has chosen the following 20 metropolitan areas to move to the next phase of the process.”

The list of areas is below.

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Austin, TX
  • Boston, MA
  • Chicago, IL
  • Columbus, OH
  • Dallas, TX
  • Denver, CO
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Miami, FL
  • Montgomery County, MD
  • Nashville, TN
  • Newark, NJ
  • New York City, NY
  • Northern Virginia, VA
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Raleigh, NC
  • Toronto, ON
  • Washington D.C.

Arlington is actively competing for HQ2, as is D.C. and other local jurisdictions. Among the locations in Arlington that are being floated as potential homes for Amazon are Rosslyn and Crystal City.

“We’re pleased that Arlington and our partners in Northern Virginia are being considered for Amazon HQ2” County Board Chair Katie Cristol said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to showcase why Arlington’s excellent workforce, schools, transit options and proximity to the nation’s Capital make it an ideal location for innovative, field-leading businesses.”

In all, 238 communities in North America submitted proposals.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s office sent out a press release touting the top 20 selection Thursday afternoon. An excerpt:

The Northern Virginia proposal included four sites for consideration in Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, and Loudoun County. Northern Virginia is a region positioned at the cutting edge of innovation and technology, comprised of bustling mixed-use developments; 11 Fortune 500 companies; thousands of top technology firms; a top-five talent base; a hub of innovators, entrepreneurs and investors; diverse cultural amenities; and one of the friendliest business climates in the U.S.

“We couldn’t be prouder that Northern Virginia has been selected as one of 20 candidate locations for this historic project,” said Governor Northam. “The Commonwealth’s strong proposals for the Amazon HQ2 project represent an unprecedented level of local and regional collaboration, as well as strong support from Governor McAuliffe’s Administration and leaders in the Virginia General Assembly. Virginia’s outstanding business climate and world-class workforce make our Commonwealth the right place for Amazon to place this key base of operations. We look forward to a continuing partnership with our Northern Virginia communities to show Amazon and job creators all over the world that the Commonwealth is the best place to locate and grow.”

[…]

“This is an exciting time for Virginia,” said Victor Hoskins, Director of Arlington Economic Development. “The opportunity to showcase Northern Virginia’s incredible assets, from our top-notch workforce and unparalleled transportation access to our vast residential opportunities and proximity to the nation’s Capital, to Amazon’s top executives is truly a win for all of us, and it would be a win for all of us. We in Arlington look forward to working together with our Northern Virginia partners to demonstrate to Amazon that the Commonwealth is indeed the ideal location for HQ2.”

More from an Amazon press release, after the jump.

(more…)

Meanwhile in D.C.

By Christina Sturdivant-Sani
Photo by Panokarina

A drive-by shooting injures four people, how D.C. is luring Amazon, homeless residents ousted to make way for art, and other news of the day over in the District.

Beyer Blasts Bill Renaming Gravelly Point Park for Nancy Reagan

By Chris Teale

Rep. Don Beyer (D) criticized a bill that would rename Gravelly Point Park for former First Lady Nancy Reagan as it passed a U.S. House of Representatives committee earlier today.

The bill failed once in the House Natural Resources Committee, but then was brought up again and passed 18-16 on a party-line vote.

It now heads to the House floor for debate and a final vote, with similar actions required by the U.S. Senate before it can be signed into law by President Donald Trump.

But Beyer, a committee member whose district includes Arlington County, took exception to the efforts to rename the park near Reagan National Airport’s main runway as Nancy Reagan Memorial Park. The bill, H.R. 553, is sponsored by Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) and has 51 Republican co-sponsors.

In remarks to the committee today (Wednesday), Beyer criticized the bill for not taking sufficient public input from residents of Arlington and Alexandria, the communities closest to Gravelly Point.

“[This] bill is the equivalent of someone coming in and changing the furniture in your house without asking you,” he said. “First, you would have liked them to ask you, and even if you do like the furniture, you probably would have wanted input since it’s your house…Gravelly Point is not a national tourist attraction, it’s where local families go to have a picnic, throw a ball around, put a blanket down and watch the planes coming in and out, and it’s also where almost every Northern Virginia Uber driver sits to wait for a pickup.”

Beyer also called the bill a “pet project” by conservative advocacy group Americans For Tax Reform, which looks to minimize “the government’s power to control one’s life.”

“This is what some call Washington at its worst — when we ignore the will of the local community to appease the desire of a moneyed, special interest,” Beyer said.

In response, Hice said there was “no better way” to honor Reagan by naming the park after her.

Beyer’s full remarks on the bill, including a video clip, are after the jump.

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Trash Collections Suspended, Shifted by One Day After Overnight Snow

By Chris Teale

Trash pick-up is suspended for the rest of today (Wednesday) due to road conditions from the overnight snow, with all collections pushed back by one day.

In a tweet this morning after about an inch of snow fell on Arlington County last night, staff from the county’s Department of Environmental Services said roads were particularly difficult in hilly sections.

A DES spokesman noted in an email that “Wednesday routes tend to be in the hilly part of north Arlington.”

Instead, all collection routes will take place a day later than planned. Those who would normally have trash collected today will have it collected tomorrow (Thursday); Thursday collections will be handled on Friday (January 19); and Friday’s will be done on Saturday (January 20).

That decision followed what could have been a weather-related crash by a garbage truck this morning. According to scanner traffic, the truck hit a utility pole on the 4600 block of 27th Street N., near Marymount University and brought down some power lines. There were no injuries.

Photo via Department of Environmental Services

Residents Launch Petition to Change Zoning Ordinance After Home Extension Denied

By Chris Teale

Two residents have launched a petition to try to change the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance after the Board of Zoning Appeals denied their plan to add a story to their home.

John and Gina Quirk, who live on 20th Road N. in the North Highlands neighborhood north of Rosslyn, had an application to convert an unused attic at their duplex home (pictured above) into a third-story bedroom rejected by the BZA late last year.

John Quirk said the “minimal” addition to make more room for their expanding family had the support of all their neighbors. It also had the support of some BZA members, who said at their December meeting that the fact that it stayed within the property was laudable.

“I think this is a really wonderful attempt to gain more space without increasing the footprint, and if we don’t grant these kinds of variances, then we’re faced with variances where they want to expand with the footprint,” said BZA member Charles Smith. “I think this gives developers and builders a [really] good model on how you can gain more with less.”

But the BZA voted down the proposal by a 3-2 margin on the grounds that the R2-7 zone for the property, a residential zone for townhouses and two-family homes, does not allow for such expansions by homes that were built before the Zoning Ordinance took effect. This home was built in 1939.

Such extensions are allowed for homes in other, similar residential zones, but in the Quirks’ zone it requires a special exception from the BZA.

In denying the extension, BZA members urged the Quirks to petition the County Board to change the Zoning Ordinance to allow the extensions in the zone where their home is.

“There’s hundreds like you, so maybe it could be a worthwhile community project for you to be the poster child for,” said BZA member Peter Owen, who also said the Zoning Ordinance is “broken.”

So the Quirks have done just that, and launched an online petition that has 91 supporters so far. The pair said their efforts could help the county address its lack of affordable housing and help people not be priced out of the county when they need more space.

“New county initiatives champion Missing Middle Housing as a strategy to support walkable, urban neighborhoods,” they wrote. “Duplexes are a perfect example of Missing Middle Housing if they can be improved to be compatible in scale to single family homes.”

Image via John and Gina Quirk

Virginia Hospital Center Expansion Plans Arrive for Public Scrutiny

By Chris Teale
1/5

A proposal to add a major expansion to Virginia Hospital Center has been opened up for public discussion ahead of a possible approval in the near future.

A walk-through of the site by the county’s Site Plan Review Committee had been planned for January 6 but has been postponed, with a new date yet to be confirmed.

SPRC held its first meeting on the project on December 18, 2017. It will review the plans and then make a recommendation to the Planning Commission, and also provide a first forum for public comment.

VHC is proposing a more-than 230,000-square-foot, seven-story outpatient pavilion for walk-in patients.

The plans would also convert around 120,000 square feet of existing outpatient space to 101 hospital beds and build a 10-story parking garage with just over 2,000 spaces.

The extension to its campus would replace the county-owned Edison Center on the 1800 block of N. Edison Street, to the north of VHC’s main site. The Edison Center is currently home to some county offices and an Arlington County Refugee Services location.

The County Board voted in July that it wants to acquire the hospital’s property at 601 S. Carlin Springs Road and use the site on N. Edison Street as part of the purchase price.

The county hosted a kick-off meeting for the project on November 16, 2017. According to a meeting summary posted online, feedback was generally positive, with questions raised about traffic and parking issues but also noting the project’s importance.

“This isn’t just some ordinary expansion,” one commenter wrote on a feedback card. “This is a vital resource to this County. No one wants something in their backyard. The renderings are beautiful and definitely better than what exists on Edison Street.

Images by HDR.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Garbage Truck Crash — Among a number of other potentially weather-related crashes this morning, a garbage truck ran into a utility pole on the 4600 block of 27th Street N., near Marymount University. Dominion crews responded to the scene for a report of downed power lines. No injuries were reported.

Four Mile Run Valley Meeting Cancelled — A meeting of the Four Mile Run Valley Working Group, scheduled for tonight, has been cancelled. The cancellation is due to county staff reviewing “key pieces of the 4MRV transportation analysis,” the county wrote. “Staff will provide an update on the process schedule and timeline at the next scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 6.” [Arlington County]

Lee Highway Planning Moving Forward — “Funded with two county grants, donations and sponsorships, the Lee Highway Alliance is now back on the front burner of Arlington’s planning agenda, said county board Chairman Katie Cristol, who promised forward movement in the next couple of months.” Meanwhile, businesses along Lee Highway are generally supportive of redevelopment, according to the alliance. [Falls Church News-Press]

ACFD Helps Battle Fairfax Fire — Arlington County firefighters assisted Fairfax County on an apartment fire near Tysons Corner early this morning. About 34 residents were displaced by the fire. [Twitter, Twitter]

Photo courtesy Dennis Dimick

Meanwhile in D.C.

By Christina Sturdivant-Sani
Photo by Jason Vines

A bilingual education fair, a Capitol Hill stalker, findings from the Ballou High School audit, and other news of the day over in the District.

Card Skimmer Found in Clarendon ATM

By Chris Teale

Arlington County Police said they recovered a “skimmer” device designed to steal credit and debit card information from a Clarendon ATM late last week.

ACPD said officers responded to the 3000 block of Wilson Blvd just after 11 a.m. on Friday, January 12 after hearing reports of the device. Police determined that it was installed at some point between the previous afternoon and that morning.

Police did not specify which ATM the device was installed at. That block is home to a BB&T bank branch and ATM.

The skimmers have recently been discovered inside pumps at local gas stations, while AAA warned of a spate of the devices across the region last year.

In a tweet, ACPD warned ATM users to monitor their bank statements and report any activity that appears to be fraudulent.

More from an ACPD crime report:

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES (Significant), 2018-01120112, 3000 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 11:11 a.m. on January 12, police responded to the area for the report of a skimming device located inside an ATM. Upon arrival, it was determined that between 4:30 p.m. on January 11 and 10:30 a.m. on January 12, an unknown suspect placed the device inside the machine. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

Photo via Google Maps.

Lopez Announces Formation of Virginia Latino Caucus in General Assembly

By Chris Teale

Del. Alfonso Lopez (D) announced last week the formation of the Virginia Latino Caucus in the General Assembly.

Lopez, who represents the 49th District in the Virginia House of Delegates, a district that includes swathes of south Arlington, said the bipartisan caucus will initially include Del. Jason Miyares (R-Virginia Beach) and first-term Dels. Elizabeth Guzman and Hala Ayala (both D-Prince William).

“Latinos make up 9 percent of Virginia’s total population,” Lopez said in a statement. “It’s long past time that we have more representation in the General Assembly to reflect that reality. I’m honored to welcome Delegates Guzman and Ayala to the House of Delegates and look forward to working with them to represent Virginia’s Latino community.”

Lopez announced the caucus’ formation on the House floor on Friday, January 12. The caucus is open to all members, regardless of ethnicity.

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