News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Birds in a tree in winter (Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley)

Arts Center Gets Warhol Grant — The Arlington Arts Center has received a $70,000 grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. “Funding from the Foundation will increase AAC’s capacity to support and present the work of new artists and spur the development of new initiatives and exhibitions,” AAC said in a press release. “Programming support of this scale makes new programs possible, like one for rising curators, while also furthering the ongoing work of the arts center.”

Bicycle Billboard Towers Sought — The Washington Area Bicyclist Association and BikeArlington are seeking bike ambassadors for a safety campaign. Volunteers will ride around Arlington while towing a large, wheeled billboard that tells drivers to pass bikes with at least three feet of space. The sign also encourages all road users to be predictable, alert and lawful. [WABA]

Arlington Couple Get Baby Wish Times Three — The Washington Post’s “This Life” feature profiles an Arlington couple who had trouble conceiving a child when, all of a sudden, fate blessed them with three via various means. [Washington Post]

Voting Machines May Go Old School — As part of a state-wide switch, Arlington election officials are considering replacing all touch screen voting machines with digital optical scan machines in time for the 2016 presidential election. The new machines will utilize what is fundamentally an old-school voting method: scanning paper ballots, which then leaves a paper trail for recounts. [InsideNova]

Jane Goodall to Speak at Marymount Benefit — Famed primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall will speak at a benefit event for Arlington’s Marymount University this spring. The event is taking place at DAR Constitution Hall on Friday, April 17. Ticket proceeds will “help establish a fund at Marymount that will enhance the work of volunteerism and community engagement.” [Marymount University]

Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley

Firefighters on Scene of Rosslyn Apartment Fire

By ARLnow.com
1/2

Arlington County firefighters are on the scene of an apartment fire in the River Place condo complex in Rosslyn.

The fire broke out in the kitchen of a 12th floor unit in the River Place building at 1021 Arlington Blvd. It was quickly extinguished once firefighters were able to ascend the stairs and reach the apartment.

A second alarm was sounded but the fire was out by the time the additional units arrive. No injuries have been reported and the flames did not spread to surrounding units.

Firefighters are now working on ventilating smoke from the building.

Photo courtesy @ACFDPIO

Columbia Pike in Line for 229 Affordable Aparments

By Ethan Rothstein
1/3

(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing is planning on building two, eight-story apartment buildings near the western end of Columbia Pike.

APAH is planning on replacing a surface parking lot at 1010 S. Frederick Street with the two buildings, which will contain 229 units of committed affordable housing. All of the units will be affordable up to 60 percent of area median income, with some units as low as 40 percent AMI.

To replace the surface parking, a three-level underground garage will be built.

The development is on this month’s agendas for the county’s planning and housing commissions, and is expected to go before the Arlington County Board at its meetings later this month. The project would be one of the first of its kind to go before the County Board under the Columbia Pike neighborhoods form-based code, approved in 2013.

Some in the community have expressed concern about a concentration of affordable housing on the western end of Columbia Pike, where this project is situated. County Board member John Vihstadt addressed some of those concerns at the Arlington Civic Federation meeting on Tuesday night.

“Certain people have concerns about an over-concentration [of affordable housing] on the west end of the Pike and not enough on the east end,” Vihstadt said. “It’s something that we’re going to have to come to grips with. I think we all want a mix of income in all neighborhoods as much as possible.”

APAH CEO Nina Janopaul told ARLnow.com that those concerns pale in comparison when compared to the concerns over the lack of affordable housing overall in the county. She said the civic association in which the new project is located, Columbia Forest, has lost 750 units of affordable housing in the last 15 years.

“The Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Plan calls for preserving or replacing the 6,200 affordable units, most of which are market-rate affordable and vulnerable to redevelopment,” she said. “We need to take advantage of the moment now, when the interest rates are low, to build affordable housing that will still be there in 60 years.”

The development, if approved, would add the 229 affordable units right next to APAH’s expansive, 208-unit Columbia Grove apartments. Of those units — on the 8-acre, 14-building campus — 131 are committed affordable housing. Janopaul said the buildings are Columbia Forest’s only affordable housing “at all.”

The project, dubbed “Columbia Hills,” will cost an estimated $85 million, according to APAH’s application to the county. APAH is requesting the county contribute $18.5 million from its Affordable Housing Investment Fund, which, along with the form-based code application, the County Board is expected to debate granting this month.

APAH is also planning to submit a Low Income Housing Tax Credit application next month. If all goes as Janopaul hopes, the federal government would approve the loan in the first quarter of 2016, after which construction can begin.

Image (top) via Arlington County. Photo (bottom) via Google Maps

UPDATED: New Apartment Complex, Park Coming to Courthouse Area

By ARLnow.com
1/7

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) A new 2.17 acre apartment development is likely coming to the Courthouse area.

Gables North Rolfe Street is planned as a two building, 400,000 square feet, 395 unit apartment complex on the 1300 block of N. Rolfe Street, in the Radnor / Fort Myer Heights neighborhood, just off of Route 50.

The tract of land on which the project will be built is steep, wooded and also includes a handful of older single family homes and small apartment complexes. Because Arlington County owns three parcels of land on the site, it has been able to work with developer Gables Residential on a number of public benefits.

Among the the benefits, to be paid for by the developer:

  • A new, 8,000 square foot public park that will include a 200-year-old tree
  • LEED Gold certification for the apartment complex
  • Thirty-nine units of committed affordable housing
  • A stand-alone, 14-unit transitional living facility, for those recovering from substance abuse. This will replace the existing Independence House facility on the site, according to Arlington Dept. of Human Services spokesman Kurt Larrick.

The project is expected be considered by the County Board at its February meeting, in two weeks.

Discussing the project at last night’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting, County Board Chair Mary Hynes said the benefits from such projects represent key Democratic values.

“Affordable housing furthers diversity, inclusivity and sustainability, all of which are values… that have driven this community,” she said.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reflected County Board Chair Mary Hynes’ remarks that the planned transitional living facility was for those who were just getting out of jail. A county spokesman says that is incorrect, and that the facility will be for substance abuse recovery.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Food trucks and a bike in Courthouse (Flickr pool photo by Chris)

Scammers Threatening to Kill Wives, Kids of Doctors — Scammers are calling Arlington doctors and pretending to hold one of the doctor’s family members hostage. The scam usually includes a woman screaming on the other end, pretending to be the doctor’s wife or daughter, and the supposed hostage taker making threats to kill her. So far this week at least two Arlington doctors have received the call. [MyFoxDC]

Hit-and-Run Driver May Have Been Intoxicated — Police are investigating whether the woman who ran over a man in a Columbia Pike parking lot may have been drunk and/or on prescription medication at the time of the incident. [NBC Washington – WARNING: Auto-play video]

Arlington’s Bike Path Snow Removal — With its new policy of clearing bike trails and bike lanes of snow, Arlington County is now “becoming a national leader in snow clearing,” said one county official. [Washington Post]

Dems to Hold Primary — The Arlington County Democratic Committee last night voted to hold a primary for the upcoming County Board race. The primary will be held June 9, and the first day for candidate filing is March 9. A School Board caucus, meanwhile, will be held May 14 and 16.

D.C. Streetcar System in Jeopardy — The D.C. Council is considering scaling back or ending the city’s streetcar program. The long-delayed, problem-plagued H Street NE line still does not have an opening date scheduled. [NBC Washington -WARNING: Auto-play video]

Flickr pool photo by Chris

Four-Story Condo Building Coming to Columbia Pike

By Ethan Rothstein
1/4

(Update at 6:25 p.m.) A new, mixed-use development is in the works for the western end of Columbia Pike.

Pillars Development Group, which built The Berkeley condominium in Ballston, is planning on constructing 78 condominiums and 8,000-square feet of ground floor retail at 4707 Columbia Pike, next to S. Buchanan Street, in the location of the now-closed El Tutumaso Bolivian restaurant.

That restaurant — previously home to a second location of Bob and Edith’s Diner and Sauca, which closed within a year of opening in 2012 — will be bulldozed for the incoming development. Pillars has applied for its first building permit on the site, and Operations Director Marwan Shahin told ARLnow.com today that the company hopes to start digging in May or June.

“We’re hoping we can start having people living in the building 18 to 24 months after that,” Shahin said.

The retail space does not have a prospective occupant yet, but Shahin said the company is looking to sell, not lease, that space to whoever wants to open a business in the first floor. The retail would front onto Columbia Pike and the residential entrance would be off of S. Buchanan Street.

Shahin said there will be a combination of underground and surface parking. The building will be developed (and has been approved) under the Columbia Pike Form-Based Code for commercial districts, which allows some projects to be approved without a hearing before the Arlington County Board.

Crime Report: Woman Bound, Robbed in Buckingham

By ARLnow.com

Arlington police carA woman was bound and robbed after leaving her apartment in Buckingham last week, according to the latest weekly Arlington County crime report.

Police say the woman had just left her N. George Mason Drive apartment Thursday afternoon when a masked man forced her back into the apartment, bound her hands and stole her money and cell phone. After the man fled the scene, the woman managed to escape, hail a cab and go to a friend’s house, from which she called police.

From the crime report:

ROBBERY BY FORCE, 150129025, 100 block of N. George Mason Drive. At 2:17 pm on January 29, as a female victim was exiting her apartment she was allegedly confronted by a masked subject. The subject directed back into the apartment, bound her hands together and robbed her of cash and cell phone. Once the suspect fled, the victim ran outside and sought assistance from a cab driver. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, approximately 5’5″ – 5’7″ tall and 190 lbs. He was wearing a black jacket and mask.

Also last week, someone smashed the windows of at least 17 cars in a Rosslyn parking garage, stealing “numerous items” from inside.

LARCENY FROM AUTO (series), 150201014, 1900 block of N. Lynn Street. Between 11 pm on January 31 and 8:30 am on February 1, an unknown subject(s) entered a parking garage and broke into and/or damaged at least seventeen vehicles by smashing a window. Numerous items of value were stolen. There is no suspect(s) description.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

(more…)

County Board Chair Hynes Announces Retirement

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington County Board Chair Mary Hynes speaks to the Arlington Civic Federation 2/3/15Arlington County Board Chair Mary Hynes won’t seek re-election this November, becoming the second County Board member in a week to announce their retirement.

Hynes, 59, will serve out the rest of her term in 2015 before stepping down. Her decision, along with County Board member Walter Tejada’s announcement last Wednesday, paves the way for the first County Board election with two open seats in decades.

“After nearly 20 years of elected service to our community, it’s time for a new chapter in my life.  It has been a privilege to serve this community, and I am incredibly optimistic about Arlington’s future,” Hynes said in a press release. “Arlingtonians are involved, thoughtful, and hardworking.  I know they always have — AND always will — find ways to make our community a special place for those who choose to live, work, play, and learn here.”

Hynes’ retirement plan is another shakeup in Arlington’s politics, following the groundbreaking election of John Vihstadt in 2014 — the first non-Democrat elected to the Board in a general election in 31 years — and the cancellation of the planned Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcar system.

Hynes was first elected to the County Board in 2007 and is serving her second term as chair this year. Before that, she served 12 years on the Arlington School Board — including three stints as chair — after winning the first School Board election in almost 40 years.

Hynes said she is retiring to spend more time with her family; she has previously stated that 2014 was the hardest year she’s experienced since being elected to public office. She, along with then-chairman Jay Fisette, cast the deciding votes in canceling the streetcar. Hynes told the Washington Post that “bitter disagreements over spending” did not influence her decision to retire.

Hynes declined to discuss rumors of her retirement this morning, when an ARLnow.com reporter encountered her chatting with a constituent at a Columbia Pike coffee shop. She also did not give any hints about her impending retirement decision while addressing the Arlington County Civic Federation last night.

“This is a county with good, strong bones,” she told the Civic Federation. “It’s one of the best communities in the country by lots and lots of measures. It doesn’t mean we don’t have things to work on. We’ve had a rough couple of years. there’s a lot of external forces at play.”

This year, Hynes has thus far focused her efforts on the new Facilities Study Committee, her effort to refresh “The Arlington Way” of lengthy public debate to reach consensus for big-ticket projects.

After the jump, the full press release announcing her retirement. (more…)

Mountains of Dirt Next to Rt. 50 ‘Aren’t Going Anywhere’

By Ethan Rothstein
1/4

The two large mounds of dirt at the Route 50-Washington Blvd interchange “aren’t going anywhere,” the Virginia Department of Transportation says.

Ellen Vogel, VDOT’s district landscape architect, told the Arlington Civic Federation last night at its monthly meeting that the twin mounds of dirt are too expensive to move.

The mounds are made up of construction debris covered in 4 feet of soil at the minimum. The debris is from the recently completed Route 50-Courthouse Road-10th Street N. interchange project. As for why the mounds never appeared in the plans for the interchange — and residents weren’t told the mounds were to become their new neighbors — Vogel said “nobody knew about it except for the construction folks on site.”

“They cost millions of dollars to move,” she said. VDOT tried to find a suitable location to dump the debris in Maryland but “they didn’t want it.”

With a dearth of landfills accepting that much dirt and debris in Northern Virginia, there are no viable options to transport the mounds, we’re told. It will stay where it is, next to the ramps from Washington Blvd to westbound Route 50 and from eastbound Route 50 to northbound Washington Blvd.

“I guess we have a new mountain in Arlington,” one Civic Federation member said. Many of the dozens in attendance laughed at Vogel’s honest answers about the new mountains’ origins and future. Some expressed concerned over environmental hazards, which Vogel dismissed.

“Most of it is fill dirt and concrete from the bridge,” Vogel said. “There are no toxins, it’s all inert material. It’s unsuitable for road construction, but it’s not unsuitable to plant in.”

The two mounds take up almost 100,000 square feet of surface area between them, and, starting in the spring, VDOT is committing to planting hundreds of trees on the site, including 24 red maples, 47 scarlet oaks and 52 Jefferson elms.

Vogel said there would be no such mounds around the under-construction Washington Blvd bridge over Columbia Pike, another VDOT project. Most of the major excavation work has been done, she said, so there’s no dirt to be piled.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Aerials youth gymnastics invitational (Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick)

Arlington’s Population Rises — The latest population estimate for Arlington is 229,302, an increase of 21,675 residents in just four years. [InsideNova]

ACPD Detective Profiled — ABC 7 recently profiled Arlington police Sgt. Angela Comer as part of its Working Woman segment. The detective, who has been with ACPD for 17 years, decided to follow her father’s footsteps into law enforcement, leaving an early career in banking and business. [WJLA]

New Police Badges — The Arlington County Police Department has a new badge, in honor of its 75th anniversary this year. [Twitter]

Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick

Teen Groped While Walking Home from School

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County police carPolice are looking for a man who grabbed the behind of a teen who was walking home from school Monday afternoon.

The incident happened around 4:15 p.m. on the 4100 block of Four Mile Run Drive. Police say a 17-year-old girl was walking home from Wakefield High School when a man ran up to her and grabbed her buttocks.

“The suspect fled on foot and is described as a Hispanic male in his twenties, approximately 5’11” tall and 140 lbs,” according to a crime report item. “He was wearing a blue beanie, long sleeve gray t-shirt with blue sleeves and jeans.”

Arlington County Police are encouraging students to be aware of their surroundings while walking home. The victim in this case was wearing headphones at the time of the assault.

“If you’re going to be wearing headphones, take one of the earbuds out,” suggested a police spokesman.

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