News

JUST IN: Matchbox, Sugar Factory Coming to Pentagon City

By ARLnow.com

Matchbox (photo via Facebook)Matchbox, the popular D.C. pizza restaurant, is expected to open a new location in Pentagon City next spring.

The restaurant, noted for its wood-fired pizza and craft beer selection, will be located in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, in a yet-to-be-built two-level expansion near the mall’s current S. Hayes Street main entrance.

The new Matchbox will be a whopping 11,000 square feet, with outdoor seating along Hayes Street.

Also expected to open in the spring of 2016 is Sugar Factory, a “famed candy and sweets purveyor.”

Rendering of changes to the Fashion Centre at Pentagon CityThe Sugar Factory location will have both “retail features and an upscale dining area.” The dining area will serve “classic American fare and incredible sweet treats, including the King Kong Sundae, a dessert with a whopping 24 scoops of ice cream, two cupcakes, heaping of toppings, lollipops and sparklers.”

Matchbox is in the midst of an expansion and now has half a dozen locations in D.C., Maryland, Virginia and California. Sugar Factory has stores and restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Miami and Orlando.

Fashion Centre owner Simon Property Group announced the new retail and restaurant additions this afternoon, along with several other store changes. The mall is currently undergoing a $70 million renovation project that includes the new S. Hayes Street storefronts.

The full press release, after the jump.

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Snowball Fight Turns Violent Outside Carpool

By ARLnow.com

Arlington police car parked in the snow (file photo)Police had to break up a fight outside Carpool (4000 N. Fairfax Drive) over the weekend after some snowball throwing turned violent.

Police say two men in their mid-20s were chucking snowballs near the entrance to the Ballston bar early Sunday morning when a couple approached.

The male half of the couple asked twice that the men stop throwing the snowballs so he and his girlfriend could safely enter the establishment.

“[Expletive] your girlfriend, and [expletive] you,” was the reply, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

At that point, one of the suspects threw a snowball that pegged the woman in the back. The boyfriend, 30, and the snowball tosser then came face-to-face, police say, at which point the suspect “threw a haymaker” at the boyfriend. The boyfriend responded by dodging the punch, then landing a punch of his own, breaking the suspect’s nose, Sternbeck said.

The suspect’s acquaintance, who moments earlier tried and failed to break up the fight, then allegedly stepped in and attempted another wild punch. The boyfriend dodged that punch, as well, then “body slamed suspect No. 2 to the ground,” according to Sternbeck.

Shortly thereafter, Arlington police officers arrived and broke up the fight.

Neither suspect required an ambulance ride to the hospital, Sternbeck said. All parties involved declined to prosecute and were subsequently released without any charges being filed.

Jogger, Driver Tangle During Alleged Road Rage Incident in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com
File photo

(Updated at 3:30 p.m. on 12/23/21) An Arlington man is being accused of almost running over a jogger during a fit of road rage near Courthouse.

The alleged incident happened Saturday around 10:15 a.m. Police say a jogger was crossing 10th Street at N. Barton Street when a man driving an older BMW  “nearly struck” him in the crosswalk.

A verbal exchange ensued and in a “fit of rage” the driver “proceeded forward” with the jogger still in front of the car, said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

“The driver proceeded forward causing the victim to jump on the hood and was driven approximately 20-30 feet before hitting the brakes and throwing the victim to the ground,” according to the crime report. “The victim did not sustain injury and the suspect fled the scene, located at his residence a short time later. Geoffrey [Redacted], 65, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with attempted unlawful wounding. He was released on a $5000 unsecured bond.”

A witness told police that the jogger had the walk signal when he was initially almost struck.

Market-Rate Affordable Housing in Arlington May Disappear by 2020

By Ethan Rothstein

A chart showing the trends of affordable housing in Arlington since 2000In five years, there could be virtually no market-rate affordable apartments left in Arlington, according to county planning staff.

In 2000, 19,740 apartments owned by for-profit property owners in the county were affordable for someone making up to 60 percent of the region’s area median income, according to findings from the county’s three-year Affordable Housing Study. In 2013, there were 3,437 “MARKs,” as they’re called.

(“Affordable” is defined as costing less than 30 percent of a household’s income.)

If the trend holds, there will be a “negligible” amount around the county by 2020, according to Russell Danao-Schroeder, senior housing planner in the county’s Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development.

“If you just look at that chart [above], and if you do a trend line analysis projecting that out, it’s easy to see where that goes,” Danao-Schroeder said. “It crosses zero before 2020.”

That is the reality the Arlington County Board will grapple with as it works toward adopting an Affordable Housing Master Plan in July. The affordable housing study has completed its research and staff, along with the Affordable Housing Study Working Group, released findings and recommendations last month in a draft master plan.

While affordable, market-rate housing is drying up, the county could try to kick-start committed affordable housing development to balance the scales. The county currently has 6,731 committed affordable units (CAFs) rented or leasing, with another 220 being developed, less than 10 percent of total apartment stock.

The draft master plan sets a goal of making 17.7 percent of all housing units in the county affordable at 60 percent AMI. If county projections hold true, that would mean asking developers to build 15,800 CAFs in the next 25 years. Even Danao-Schroeder, who helped draft the plan, admitted the goal isn’t pragmatic.

“That 17.7 percent number is what we would need to have sufficient housing for households at all income levels,” he told ARLnow.com on Friday. “That’s an awful lot. It’s going to be hard to hit that, but that’s the mark that we need to aim for.”

Members of the County Board have time and again reaffirmed their commitment to affordable housing, and a county-run survey of Arlington residents indicates the community approves of the Board’s efforts. In 2012, the Board launched the study with a charge of creating “a shared community vision of Arlington’s affordable housing as a key component of our community sustainability.”

The occupations of residents in Arlington's committed affordable housingProponents of affordable housing often say it’s necessary for Arlington to have places for people like teachers, policemen and firefighters to live within the county. However, according to a survey of 336 CAF residents — 5 percent of the county’s CAF population, “a fairly large sample size” Danao-Schroeder said — only 1.8 percent work in education. Of those respondents, none were Arlington teachers or classroom aides.

There is no data for public safety employees, CPHD staff said. If any live in CAFs, they would be among the 6.3 percent who responded “other” to the survey.

“Arlington County pays their teachers well and pays their public safety people well,” Danao-Schroeder said. “Other areas in other service sectors that we all depend upon in our daily lives are the primary clients and tenants of affordable units.”

The largest industry represented in CAFs is restaurant and food service at 16.7 percent. Construction workers account for 11 percent of CAF residents, with office workers like receptionists in third place at 9.2 percent, followed by taxi and other drivers at 8.3 percent.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Construction worker stands on a beam

School Board Candidates Sound Off — The two candidates for the Democratic endorsement for Arlington School Board, Reid Goldstein and Sharon Dorsey, formally announced their candidacies last week, making the case to fellow Democrats for why they should be on the board. The Democratic School Board caucuses will be held in May. [InsideNova]

Arlington Explains Salt Shortage — Updated at 1:15 p.m. — Arlington County officials are explaining last week’s road salt shortage. County officials say a 4,000 ton order for salt placed by the county on Jan. 19 was never filled, due to high demand for salt among eastern seaboard states that have been buried by heavy snowfall this winter. The county was expecting a 2,000 ton salt delivery from Pittsburgh Friday evening. An Arlington official explained the shortage but did not apologize for it, as earlier reported, according to a county spokeswoman. [WTOP]

100 Montaditos Files for Bankruptcy — The company that owns 100 Montaditos, the Spanish mini-sandwich restaurant in Rosslyn, has filed for bankruptcy. No word yet on whether the restaurant or its other chain locations, in Florida, will remain open. [Miami Herald]

Barbershop Owner Profiled — Jim Moore, the owner of Moore’s Barber Shop on Lee Highway in the High View Park neighborhood, is profiled in an article that also chronicles the shop’s 55 year history. [Arlington Connection]

County Board Candidates Promise Change, Progressive Values

By ARLnow.com
1/7

(Updated at 5:35 p.m.) Change and a fresh perspective is needed on the County Board — that was the overall message from the five Democrats seeking the nomination for two open board seats.

While all of the candidates touted their “progressive values” at Wednesday’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting, most suggested that the Democratic status quo is in need of a refresh.

Katie Crisol“The County Board needs new insights and perspectives… we need leaders with renewed energy and optimism,” said Katie Cristol, a relative unknown in political circles who delivered an energetic speech to the standing room only crowd. “I am running to bring a fresh start to Arlington County.”

Cristol, an education policy consultant who serves on the Arlington Commission on the Status of Women, said she would remain true to Arlington’s “vision of inclusion, diversity and smart growth.” She spoke of the county government’s need to communicate more effectively with its citizens and to seek out the perspective of younger residents and renters, while also spurring the local economy.

“We can build an agile county government that is responsive to residents,” Cristol said. “As a County Board member I will seek to drive economic redevelopment that preserves our core values of transit-oriented smart growth and the distinctive character of our neighborhoods.”

Cristol also spoke of her advocacy for women’s reproductive rights and on behalf of survivors of sexual assault.

“I will be an unrelenting voice for women and for families,” she said. So far, Cristol is the only woman seeking the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Board members Mary Hynes and Walter Tejada.

Christian DorseyChristian Dorsey, who sought and lost the Democratic nomination to Chris Zimmerman and Walter Tejada in 2002 and 2003, said he has decided 2015 is the right time to try again and “propel the next progressive wave in Arlington.”

“We are an extremely well-planned community… but even in a well-planned community like Arlington we still face challenges, and those challenges are immense,” Dorsey said, adding that he has “the right set of skills and perspectives for this point in time in Arlington.”

That perspective includes having served on the board of the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, as chair of the Arlington Tenant-Landlord Commission and as executive director of the Bonder and Amanda Johnson Community Development Corporation in the Nauck neighborhood.

“We have to be honest, Arlington is a privileged place but we still have people who are suffering from stagnating wages, many people in our community are on fixed incomes… people don’t have the means that they used to,” Dorsey said. “That means that we have to deliver good government at maximum value, but also come up with innovative ways of making it a little easier for people to go through life.”

“You can save money by doing good,” Dorsey said. “Progressive values often make very sound fiscal sense.”

Andrew SchneiderAndrew Schneider, president of the Yorktown Civic Association and a life-long Arlingtonian, has made “listening” and “solving old problems in new ways” central tenets of his campaign.

“If we’ve learned anything over the past twelve months, it’s been that the public confidence in Arlington has been shaken,” said Schneider. “My candidacy is founded on helping to restore that confidence. You do not restore the public confidence through the sandbox politics and knee-jerk opposition that has characterized our community dialogue over the past two years.”

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Sinkhole Swallows Up Dog in Lyon Park

By Ethan Rothstein
1/2

A dog fell into a sinkhole that opened up right under its tiny feet in Rockwell Park on Wednesday, according to a witness.

The park, which sits at the intersection of N. Cleveland, Edgewood and 1st Streets, is popular for dog walking in the Lyon Park neighborhood. Resident Elsie Frasier told ARLnow.com that two days ago she and her husband “heard someone screaming” at the park from their adjacent house. Someone walking their dog said it had fallen into the hole.

“We initially thought she was talking about the storm sewer openings, and only later, when we went out to the park, did we find out that a sinkhole had opened up right under her dog while they were out for a walk,” Frasier told ARLnow.com in an email. “The dog was on a leash so she was able to haul it out herself.”

The dog was unhurt from the fall, Frasier said.

The sinkhole is right next to the Washington Blvd bike trail, and was caused by a sewer line break, according to Dept. of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish. County water and sewer crews cordoned off the area Wednesday night and have been pumping water away from the line since then.

Repairs to the line have been delayed due to weather, Kalish said, but the pumping has prevented the line from leaking into the surrounding area. As of Friday afternoon, Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Jessica Baxter said crews are now working on repairs.

“We have crews there actively repairing it,” Baxter said. “The area is secure and the leak is not causing backups. We do not have an estimated time of repair just yet.”

Another winter with persistent sub-freezing temperatures has led to breaking water and sewer lines all over the county. Along with those line breaks have come rapidly forming sinkholes: a large hole created a substantial hazard on Williamsburg Blvd early last month and a sinkhole formed and caused water and mud to flood nearby properties in north Arlington ten days ago.

Lyon Park Resident Finds Drunk Man Sleeping on Porch

By ARLnow.com

Police car lightsAn 37-year-old Arlington man was arrested early Thursday morning after he was found sleeping on the porch of a Lyon Park home.

A homeowner on the 200 block of N. Fillmore Street says he woke up just after midnight to the sounds of someone trying to open the front door. He went downstairs and discovered a man apparently passed out on the porch.

After trying but failing to wake him up, the homeowner called police. In an email, he described to ARLnow.com what happened.

Last night at 12:05 am (early Thursday morning 3/05/15) I was woken up by what sounded like somebody trying to operate the handle on my front door. That was followed by a ring of the doorbell. I walked downstairs and turned on my porch lights to discover somebody slumped over on my porch furniture. I turned on all of the outside lights hoping that would force him to move, but it didn’t work so I called 911 to report it. The operator said she would send medics and police.

A few minutes later one fire truck, one ambulance and one police car arrived. It took them a few minutes to get the man to respond to them. I overheard him tell the officer that he lives at “Pottery Barn,” but eventually I’m pretty sure he said he lives somewhere on Lee Highway.

He was placed in the back of a police cruiser and presumably taken to jail. He was VERY inebriated.

According to Arlington County police spokesman, the man was arrested, charged with being drunk in public and held at the jail until sober.

This past Saturday, in a similar incident, a homeowner in nearby Ashton Heights woke up and discovered a 22-year-old Arlington man asleep and covered in vomit in his dining room.

Tejada: Democrats Must Prevent ‘New Arlington of Rich, Entitled People’

By ARLnow.com

Walter Tejada at the Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting, March 4, 2015When Arlington County Board member Walter Tejada retires at the end of his term this year, he hopes his replacement represents the same “progressive values” he worked toward in 12 years on the dais.

Tejada is the last member of the County Board who still defends the now-canceled Columbia Pike streetcar “unapologetically and unequivocally.” He has been one of the more vocal supporters of adding affordable housing and providing immigrants safe haven in the county.

“I will never apologize for these efforts,” he told the Arlington County Democratic Committee Wednesday night.

Tejada touted Democratic accomplishments during a 14-minute-long speech, including the county’s triple-AAA bond rating, its low crime and unemployment rates and a host of recognitions as a great place to live. He challenged the criticism that the County Board has ruled with a “groupthink” mentality; he said it’s been a good thing for the county.

“The group-thinking mentality that was created got us to be one of the best communities in the United States,” he said. “And yes, we have some genuine challenges to confront ahead. Yet, some of our problems are first-world problems to tackle. Are we victims of our own success?”

Among Arlington’s problems are a school capacity crisis that seems to grow every year, one that some critics say the County Board and School Board have not acted swiftly enough to fix. The county’s urban corridors are redeveloping with increasing density, in some cases threatening open space and forcing even more tough decisions from county leaders. Then there are rising housing costs, which have prompted Tejada and his Board colleagues to place affordable housing among their chief priorities.

While the county faces these challenges, the voting landscape appears to have shifted to favor “change” candidates. Independent John Vihstadt was elected twice in 2014; Tejada reminded the partisan crowd that Vihstadt “has been named Republican volunteer of the year, who ran on an anti-government agenda and who does not share our Democratic values.”

Tejada expressed concern that Democrats’ reaction to last year’s elections will make them stray from the “progressive and Democratic values” he holds dear; he repeated that phrase a half-dozen times during his remarks.

“What are we, as Democrats, going to do about it,” he asked, “when we allow ourselves to become a new Arlington of rich, entitled people, lacking in compassion, empathy and a sense of community, viscerally opposed to government of any kind, opposed to everything in alleged overspending on every front?”

Tejada and County Board Chair Mary Hynes are both retiring at the end of their terms in December.

Just Listed in Arlington

Just Listed banner

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.”

Is this déjà vu all over again? Didn’t we go through an endless winter last year? This week’s snow storm hasn’t stopped the real estate market in Arlington.

Sellers this week put more properties on the market than any week so far this year with 65 new listings ranging in price from $120,000 to $1.9 million. Buyers should be thrilled with lots of new inventory, mostly condos. With spring officially just two weeks away, buyers this week are not waiting for the cherry blossoms.

They ratified 59 contracts this week ranging from $180,000 to $3.9 million, a glitzy Turnberry Tower condo in Rosslyn. The average list price of ratified contracts was $587,000 and the average days on market was 46.

Interest rates edged a tiny bit lower this week but still hovering right at 3.75 percent for a 30-yearr fixed rate. The mortgage industry has recently seen some new products, and return of some old products as well, such as no-doc loans. If you are a buyer, be sure to ask your lender about new products that might be just right for you.

You can access all active listings in Arlington on the Cathell Team website.

DEVELOPING: Arlington County Nearly Out of Road Salt

By ARLnow.com

Salt truck (file photo)(Updated at 6:00 p.m.) Arlington County has nearly run out of road salt during today’s snow storm.

We hear that county roads crews have been unable to fully treat some treacherous stretches of roadway this afternoon due to the salt shortage, leaving drivers stranded on hills and frustrating police officers trying to reopen roads where there have been accidents.

Jessica Baxter, spokeswoman for the Dept. of Environmental Services, confirmed the salt shortage in an email to ARLnow.com this evening.

It’s been a really rough winter season, not only in our region but across the nation. The County is experiencing end of season low inventory levels of salt. Stock piles from our regional contractor are near depleted. We received mid-season resupply, but it was not enough due to the severity of this winter. We’re doing everything we can to receive additional tons as soon as possible.

Crews are working around the clock and their primary effort will be to plow snow from the streets. We’ll use salt conservatively and supplement with sand.

The problem is apparently impacting some other jurisdictions in the region as well. Additional information from Baxter:

We utilize a regional contract [for salt]. Almost all salt in our region comes from the port of Baltimore. We believe all jurisdictions are working carefully to manage their remaining supply.

Arlington has two salt storage facilities, one north side and one south side. Our maximum capacity is about 8,000 tons. We start the season each year at full capacity and refill during the winter.

About 5-6 inches of snow has fallen on Arlington so far today, with the snowflakes beginning to taper off. The snow has caused numerous accidents, stranded drivers, temporarily blocked roads and even the GW Parkway, and forced businesses to close early.

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