An SUV crashed into a bank in Pentagon City (photo courtesy Steve Brusk)
The man driving the Jeep that seriously injured a pedestrian before slamming into a Pentagon City bank is likely to face charges, police say.
The driver, who has not yet been identified, “was attempting to turn from S. Hayes Street onto 12th Street S. when he exited the roadway onto the sidewalk, struck a pedestrian and crashed into a closed bank,” an Arlington County police spokesman says.
The crash, which happened around 7 p.m. Wednesday, heavily damaged the front of the Chase bank branch at 710 12th Street S., next to the Metro station.
The man struck by the Jeep was seriously injured but is expected to survive. Charges are expected to be filed soon against the driver.
“The pedestrian, an adult male, was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries and is currently in stable condition,” ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “The driver of the striking vehicle, an adult male, was not injured and remained on scene. The investigation into the circumstances of the crash is ongoing and charges are pending.”
The crash was witnessed by New York Times reporter Ken Vogel, who posted on social media this morning that the injured man was bleeding from the head and fading in and out of consciousness.
The pedestrian was sprawled on his back on the sidewalk, blood coming from his head.
As he faded in & out, I urged him not to try to move, told him help was coming (someone had called 911) & that he would be ok.
I hope he was.
(I took the above photo after police/EMTs arrived)
Traffic fatalities, including pedestrian deaths, are up sharply nationwide compared to pre-pandemic levels. The Times recently published an investigation (and a podcast) looking into U.S. pedestrian deaths, which are on the rise — especially in nighttime crashes.
Office buildings, including the Nestle building, in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington’s office vacancy rate remains high but may be stabilizing after an initial, sharp increase due to Covid remote work policies.
As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the countywide office vacancy rate stands at 24.4%, according to a new report from commercial real estate company Colliers.
Since 2020, Arlington’s overall vacancy rate has risen 4.3% points, per the report, prompted by the pandemic-era shift to remote work and in defiance of return-to-office efforts. The county saw a 3-percentage-point jump between 2020 and 2021 followed by a more modest 1-percentage-point increase over the last year.
“The big story last year was the delivery of Amazon’s HQ2 which drove absorption earlier in the year,” Colliers Research Manager Miles Rodnan tells ARLnow. “Sublet space across the D.C. region has leveled off, which has helped slow down vacancy increases.”
“Additionally, as companies continue to settle into their return-to-office/hybrid policies, the decisions to offload space have been made in many instances,” he continued. “As leases continue to expire, there will be downsizes, but the rate should taper off.”
The vacancy rate in Arlington since 2015 against the average asking rent price (courtesy Colliers International)
(Arlington County also tracks its vacancy rate and, notably, it reported a rate hovering around 21.5-22% this fall. This discrepancy may be because the county and Colliers have different numbers for total office buildings and rentable square footage. Graphs tracking rates over time, from the county and Colliers, have similar trend lines.)
At the end of 2023, the Colliers report says vacancy rate was slightly higher for the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, at nearly 25%, than for National Landing — Pentagon City, Crystal City and Potomac Yard — at 24%.
While the difference is marginal, the rate is trending down in National Landing dropping 0.7% point over 2023, while the rate increased 0.8% point on the R-B corridor, the report said.
Compared to National Landing, where all the new office construction was tied to Amazon, the R-B corridor saw more speculative office projects: 3901 Fairfax Drive in Virginia Square, slated for delivery next year, as well as George Mason University’s FUSE at Mason Square building, which will house university programs in addition to private office space.
Overall, however, these projects contribute less than a million square feet of leasable office space. Rodnan says this could be a saving grace, given predictions that vacancy rates will continue to rise.
“A breath of fresh air comes from the restrained construction pipeline, which will hopefully allow vacancy rates to stabilize in the region as negative absorption is still anticipated in the near future,” he said.
Generally, newer office buildings — which real estate analysts dub “Class A” — are attracting tenants who are willing to pay upwards of $2 more per square foot to get out of dated office stock, or so-called “Class B/C” buildings.
This is a trend playing out across the region, Rodnan said, not attributing the submarket-level upticks to any tenants in particular.
Amid the well-established “flight to quality,” Arlington County is working on several initiatives to make it easier to reposition these obsolete buildings from which people are moving.
“The work is cut out for us: zoning needs to become reasonably more flexible and less burdensome,” Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Takis Karantonis said during his New Year remarks this week. “We need to be innovative and courageous in repositioning and reusing obsolete buildings.”
County Board member Matt de Ferranti spelled out what this office vacancy rate means for the county budget.
“We depend on our office vacancy rate, which leads to a lower tax rate than our surrounding localities in northern Northern Virginia,” he said, noting that commercial real estate comprises a greater percentage of Arlington’s budget than that of neighbors.
Either this month or next, Arlington County will learn the extent of the impact of decreased office property values on the expected budget deficit, which is preliminarily projected around $20-$40 million.
“That will be sobering news, or perhaps hopeful news,” de Ferranti said.
Through April, the 2024-25 budget process will address the ongoing challenge of high office vacancies.
“Why is this budget more difficult than our last? Haven’t we known about the work-from-home paradigm shift for two years?” said de Ferranti. “Well, we have, but the office assessment process and that market is based on 5-, 10- and 15-year leases. So this year, we’re seeing the reality come home to us.”
Snow falls in the Westover neighborhood on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 1:45 p.m.) This weekend’s coastal storm is expected to fall as mostly rain in Arlington, but the county is preparing just in case.
If you were among the 76% of ARLnow readers to predict less than an inch of snow in Wednesday’s poll, congratulations — one day out, the forecasters agree with you. The storm is currently expected to start as snow Saturday morning, leaving maybe a coating of accumulation locally before switching to sleet and heavy rain.
Even a coating could cause problem on some roads, though, and on the off-chance the storm overperforms in terms of snowfall, prep work could give crews a head start. To that end, Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services is applying brine lines to “hills, bridges and known trouble spots” today.
“Brining the tricky spots,” DES spokesman Peter Golkin confirmed to ARLnow in a brief email. “As per usual, best that people stay off the roads until a winter storm passes.”
Crews today will be applying brine to known tricky stretches, i.e. hills and bridges. No matter how tomorrow goes, apply common sense: Avoid driving during any winter storm. The phases of storm response: https://t.co/4wMpLIjBHT. #ArlWXpic.twitter.com/PS46stJmXK
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) January 5, 2024
VDOT, meanwhile, said Friday afternoon that it is gearing up for the storm, too.
“Northern Virginia District crews are ready for snowfall, wintry precipitation, and rain that is forecast to impact the region Saturday,” the department said. “As always, residents are asked to monitor forecasts, change travel plans if conditions worsen, and be aware of the potential for black ice and refreezing as temperatures remain low.”
Golkin also had a message for Arlington residents: don’t overdo it when putting down salt on sidewalks and driveways.
“We hope folks go easy on the salt,” Golkin wrote. “A little does a lot.”
Flyover Planned This Morning — From AlertDC: “The US Military will be conducting a Flyover at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday January 5, 2024 at 9:10 AM.”
Protest at Blinken’s House — “Pro-Palestinian protesters targeted Secretary of State Antony Blinken with ‘fake blood’ outside his suburban Virginia home on Thursday. Activists surrounded his SUV as it rolled through the gates of his house in [Arlington, near the McLean border] and spilled red paint on the driveway as he left for work. The demonstrators shouted ‘shame on you’ and ‘war criminal’ and told the U.S. to stop the ‘genocide’ Gaza.” ACPD responded to the scene to assist the Diplomatic Security Service around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. [Daily Mail]
Public Safety Radio Issues — From Dave Statter: “Arlington County’s public safety radio system failed tonight. They went to a backup system, switching over to Fairfax County’s radio channels. That’s an important advantage of the long-standing interoperability in much of the region. It appeared to go down shortly after 6:30 p.m. This also impacted the Falls Church Police Department. FCPD shares Arlington’s radio system.” [Twitter]
Errant SUV Busted Bike Box — A driver who rammed into the Chase Bank in Pentagon City on Wednesday night “also completely took out the covered bicycle boxes that were there.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Final Report on Metro Derailment — “The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the October 2021 Blue Line train derailment, which led to more than half of Metro’s fleet of trains being pulled off the tracks and drastically reduced rail service.
The NTSB’s final report said Metro was aware of a problem that caused the wheelsets on its new 7000-series trains to drift too far apart but that officials in the transit agency didn’t properly address the hazard before a Blue Line train derailed near the Rosslyn Metro Station.” [WTOP]
Significant Snow Unlikely — “Earlier in the week, we said the odds favored more rain than snow for a storm expected in the D.C. region this weekend. That remains the case, with most areas probably only seeing a little snow and sleet Saturday morning before changing to mostly rain in the afternoon.” [Capital Weather Gang]
It’s Friday — Expect a sunny day with a high around 42 and a northwest wind around 6 mph, shifting to southwest in the afternoon. As night falls, anticipate increasing clouds and a low temperature of approximately 30, accompanied by a gentle south wind. [Weather.gov]
Arlington School Board Vice Chair David Priddy during the Jan. 3, 2024 meeting (via Arlington Democrats)
Arlington School Board Vice Chair David Priddy says he will not be seeking another term.
He was elected in 2020 along with Cristina Diaz-Torres, who currently serves as the School Board Chair and last month announced that she too would step down after one term. Both of their terms expire at the end of this year, meaning two seats are up for election this year.
“Although I’m making this announcement tonight, there is still one year left on my term,” Priddy told Arlington Democrats during the party’s reorganization meeting last night (Wednesday). “So I will continue to stand on the pillars that you put me in office to enact. Thank you for allowing me to serve the Arlington community.”
Priddy said he would not repeat the “litany of accomplishments and the progress that we have made on the School Board” that Diaz-Torres mentioned in her farewell speech. Instead, he rallied Democrats around the presidential election year ahead.
“The Arlington Democrats are truly a force to be reckoned with,” he said, pointing to the work local Democrats have done, in Arlington and beyond, to promote the values of the Democratic Party. “I bring this up because this year is a presidential election year, which means it’s time to mobilize and elect the right people for office.”
Priddy noted School Board hopefuls have until Feb. 16 to file with Arlington Democrats. The party cannot officially nominate a candidate but it can opt to endorse candidates who pledge to be a Democrat.
The party decided to hold an in-person caucus if at least three candidates emerge, according to the 2024 caucus rules discussed last night. The caucus would be canceled if only two emerge and the party would decide whether to endorse those candidates in March.
Nabbing the party endorsement carries significant weight in Arlington and, though some have criticized this process for tipping the scales in favor of well-connected establishment candidates, it remains popular among party members.
After Priddy’s announcement, Chen Ling announced his candidacy for School Board. He introduced himself as the parent of a third grader at Ashlawn Elementary School and the director of engineering at a Fortune 500 company.
He said the School Board needs a “culture of transparency, respect and trust.”
“Some of the actions taken by the School Board in the last few years instead caused confusion and discontentment between parents and teachers,” he said, noting “seemingly suboptimal proposals” that created an “antagonistic relationship between the community and School Board.”
New School Board candidate Chen Ling during the Jan. 3, 2024 Arlington Democrats meeting (via Arlington Democrats)
“That is a real shame because I’ve watched the School Board work and these are some really caring, thoughtful people and they are trying their best,” he said. “What I think they lack is tools to make the best decisions, they lack the tools to provide transparency and build trust.”
The School Board should share with parents all the proposals they consider, as well as their trade-offs and reasoning behind a decision, Ling said.
“It’s okay if the final proposal is somehow detrimental to my child if I know that it serves for the community and the school system at large. That’s something that I haven’t seen at that level,” he said. “It’s not enough to provide an answer, even if it’s the correct answer. We need to show our work.”
Ling said he would like to see fewer curriculum changes, as well as more automation of mandated state and federal reporting, so teachers can focus on students. Lastly, he would like to see class size reductions, too.
During the meeting, Arlington County Board candidate Natalie Roy made her pitch to Arlington Democrats. She, and opponent Julie Farnam, both seek the party’s nomination this June in the County Board race to fill the seat occupied by Chair Libby Garvey. Garvey has not yet announced if she will seek reelection.
“I believe the County Board needs a voice like mine, advocating for transparency and responsiveness, I am committed to common sense leadership that brings us all together,” Roy said.
Police cruiser rear-ended in Courthouse (photo courtesy Megan J.)
A driver ran into the back of a stopped Arlington police cruiser in Courthouse yesterday afternoon.
The crash, which happened two blocks from police headquarters — next to the construction site that was formerly a Wendy’s — happened around 2:30 p.m.
It’s unclear what led to the crash. Video posted by local public safety watchdog Dave Statter shows a car approaching the cruiser, which was stopped at a light, and simply plowing into it. The cruiser is pushed into the intersection before the driver apparently stops accelerating.
Watch: Wilson Boulevard is getting to be a hazardous place for @ArlingtonVaPD. Just after 2:30 p.m., someone rear-ended a police SUV stopped at the light at Wilson and N. Courthouse. No injuries were reported but it appears the airbag went off on the passenger side of the car.… pic.twitter.com/5u3Fg7a9ln
Immediately after, the driver and other occupants of the vehicle get out and talk to the officer. The cruiser’s rear bumper and window were both damaged in the crash.
Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow that the driver received a traffic citation for “Failure to Pay Full Time and Attention.”
This is at least the second ACPD cruiser damaged in a crash in the past week. On Friday, Dec. 29 a driver in Clarendon allegedly pulled in front of an officer speeding toward an incident, resulting in a wreck that nearly sent the civilian vehicle into a nearby storefront.
That driver was cited for “Failure to Yield the Right-of-Way,” Savage said.
Flags flying in the wind at Arlington County government headquarters in Courthouse (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sushi Spot Coming to Courthouse — “Restaurateur Nick Cordero, part of the father-son duo behind Don Tito, Bronson Bierhall and Taco Rock, plans to open a new sushi restaurant in Arlington, steps from the Court House Metro station. Saki, an omakase-style Japanese restaurant, is slated to open in late 2024 in about 4,500 square feet at the Commodore, a 20-story multifamily building being developed at 2025 15th St. N.” [Washington Business Journal]
Dem Primary Keeps Pledge — “Those participating in the springtime Arlington County Democratic Committee School Board caucus will be required to pledge their support to the Democratic ticket in November. The statement, which is largely symbolic as there is little real mechanism to enforce it, long has been part of local Democrats’ caucus process… the local party attempted to remove signing the statement as a requirement for participating in its nominating caucuses, but the Democratic Party of Virginia insisted it remain.” [Gazette Leader]
Mixed Thoughts on New Arena — “Before leaving his elected position at the end of 2023, Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey gave a big thumbs-up to plans by the billionaire owner of the Washington Capitals and Wizards to use taxpayer subsidies to build a sports and entertainment complex in Potomac Yard in Alexandria… Based on her understanding of the proposal, [state Sen. Barbara] Favola said, ‘Providing state financial support for a sports complex when K-12 public education and other core serves are woefully underfunded is not a trade-off I am willing to make.'” [Patch]
Applications Open for Police Council — “The Arlington County Police Department is accepting applications to the Chief’s Advisory Council… The CAC consists of volunteer members from a diverse cross-section of our community who meet on a regular basis to provide the Chief of Police and department leadership with community insight on a wide range of public safety topics and activities.” [ACPD]
Erratic Driver Flees to D.C. — From Dave Statter: “This was different. An @ArlingtonVaPD officer reported a white pickup following and tailgating him on Four Mile Run last night. When he tried to get the driver to pull over he kept going east on Columbia Pike at slow speed, driving erratically. As they got near Washington Blvd. it turned into a chase.” [Twitter]
New WHS Wrestler Undefeated — “Wakefield High School junior Cameron Millsapps continued her undefeated season in girls wrestling by winning the 152-pound female weight class at the recent Battle of the Bridge tournament. Millsapps, a first-year wrestler, was 3-0 in the competition at Woodbridge High School with two pins, then a 7-3 decision in the championship match.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Thursday — Expect a mostly cloudy morning that gradually clears, with temperatures reaching a high of around 43°F. A northwest wind will start at 6-11 mph and increase to 12-17 mph in the afternoon, potentially gusting up to 25 mph. Thursday night will be clear with a low of approximately 25°F. The northwest wind will continue at 7-14 mph, with gusts of up to 21 mph. [Weather.gov]
SUV crashes into bank in Pentagon City (photo courtesy Steve Brusk)
SUV crashes into bank in Pentagon City (photo courtesy Steve Brusk)
SUV crashes into bank in Pentagon City (photo courtesy Steve Brusk)
SUV crashes into bank in Pentagon City (screenshot via @ogiuzi/Twitter)
The driver of a Jeep careened into a bank in Pentagon City Wednesday night, injuring a pedestrian.
The crash happened shortly after 7 p.m. at 710 12th Street S., directly adjacent to the Pentagon City Metro station entrance.
The SUV went through the front of the Chase bank branch, potentially causing structural damage, according to initial reports. One pedestrian was struck and injured; they were treated on scene by medics and taken via ambulance to a local trauma center.
It’s unclear what led to the crash. The driver was still in the vehicle when police arrived, according to scanner traffic.
The Arlington County Board Jan. 2, 2024 annual organizational meeting (via Arlington County)
The Arlington County Board is ringing in the New Year with a sweeping public engagement opportunity to envision what the county should look like in 2050.
Libby Garvey, named Chair during the Board’s annual organizational meeting yesterday (Tuesday), announced the forthcoming initiative during her remarks.
This year, she said, the county will gather “thoughts, suggestions and ideas from as many people as possible” about their vision for Arlington 20 years from now. It will be the first such initiative since 1986 when residents came together to envision what Arlington could be in the new millennium.
Residents will likely hold some “mutually exclusive” visions of the future — some of which the Missing Middle debates laid bare — but “most will fall into two or three general vision bucket buckets which we can present at the end of this year,” she said.
The 1986 report on the future of Arlington after the year 2000 (via Arlington County)
Tuesday’s meeting was also the first official day on the job for Susan Cunningham and Maureen Coffey, who were elected in November. Garvey said this is the first Board in 40 years with a female majority and possibly the first to span three generations, as Coffey is the youngest member ever elected while Garvey, turning 73 this year, is in line for the oldest.
Board members used the annual organizational meeting to spell out their priorities for 2024 and what they think lies ahead for Arlington.
Members also stated broad social goals of strengthening connections among and caring for all residents while deciding on a shared vision of Arlington two decades from now.
For Garvey, who was also Chair in 2020, that means putting to paper some of the lessons learned from the pandemic.
“Our whole community, our government, and our residents pulled together to make sure that everyone, not just the well-off, had food, shelter and medical care,” she said. “We did things differently. A resilient community can adapt and cares for everyone in it. So as we continue our transition this year to whatever is becoming normal, equity, innovation and resilience will continue to be my general focus areas.”
Takis Karantonis, who was named Vice-Chair yesterday, urged Arlingtonians to participate in the 2050 visioning process as a way to move forward together amid worldwide violence and instability, threats to democracy, climate change and the rise of risky technology such as artificial intelligence.
“2024 is a year of inflection for our nation and possibly for the entire world,” he said, adding:
In Arlington, we are holding high the values [that] our officers defended on the west side of the Capital of the United States on Jan. 6, 2021: of democracy, the rule of law, of equity, justice and liberty for all, of accountable governance, and of civic and civically minded debate — all of which the chair’s Arlington 2050 Strategic Visioning initiative provides a very appropriate and opportune place for civic engagement this year. I want to invite you to make 2024 an exemplary year of the civility and humanity that Arlington values convey. It is not an exaggeration: literally the entire nation and probably the entire world is watching us.
Cunningham likewise urged residents to participate in public life and not assume that Arlington will be a “world-class community” without their input.
“We also need sustained connection to be the world-class community that we envision,” she said. “That takes invitation to all the voices, a lot of effort and a lot of showing up from all corners of our community. That’s all of us, not just the five up here. So, in 2024, I invite you to engage and re-engage with each other to listen and question to deliberate and argue and ultimately compromise so that we can support our people and steward our resources.”
Owner and namesake Nick Freshman, in announcing the closing today, noted the lengthy delay in opening caused by Covid-19.
I am sad to announce that The Freshman has served its last espresso; we are permanently closed. I want to thank my staff for their tireless dedication, my investors for their unwavering support, my landlord JBG SMITH for their steadfast partnership, and lastly our loyal customers who made it a joy to be open every day.
When I began planning The Freshman in 2018 the landscape was very different. As the world changed, our team adjusted, pivoted, iterated, and endured. Now, with significant construction in our building on the way, it is time to move on. The good news is that Mothersauce Partners is growing, and you can look for our fingerprints on a number of exciting new projects; projects that are also new homes for many of the staff at The Freshman.
We hope to see all of you soon at our newest project in Rosslyn opening in Winter 2024!
American Real Estate Partners has tapped Mothersauce Partners, the hospitality company behind The Eleanor, Thompson Italian and City-State Brewing Co., to oversee the roughly 27,000-square-foot space at Rosslyn City Center. AREP owns the building, 1700 N. Moore St., and opened the food hall in 2021.
Mothersauce hopes to freshen up the design, branding and concept curation at the food hall. Details are still being worked through, and AREP and Mothersauce said it is premature to reveal more details of the partnership ahead of a more formal launch in the new year. […]
The change comes more than three years after AREP tapped another firm to establish a food hall from inside what was then known as Rosslyn Metro Center, a 40-year-old mall that’s since gotten a major makeover.
The Freshman was one of the first restaurants to announce an opening in Crystal City, following the announcement of Amazon’s HQ2, the main office complex of which opened in nearby Pentagon City this past summer. Leased Amazon offices remain open in Crystal City.
Road construction on Columbia Pike near the Foxcroft Heights neighborhood
A New York State man is in jail after police say he pepper sprayed two construction workers yesterday morning.
The incident happened around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday on Columbia Pike and S. Oak Street, near the Columbia Pike realignment and Arlington National Cemetery expansion project that is currently under construction.
Police were vague about the circumstances leading to the pepper spray being used, saying only that the 37-year-old suspect “allegedly initiated a verbal dispute with the two victims.”
The suspect fled on foot but was tracked down by officers and is now facing two counts of Malicious Wounding.
More, below, from the latest Arlington County Police Department crime report.
MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2024-01020089, Columbia Pike at S. Oak Street. At approximately 11:32 a.m. on January 2, police were dispatched to the report of an assault that had just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined the male suspect approached a construction site and allegedly initiated a verbal dispute with the two victims before deploying pepper spray. The suspect then fled the scene on foot and was located and taken into custody by responding officers. The victims were treated on scene for exposure to the pepper spray. [The suspect], 37, of Clarence, NY was arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding (x2).
