Toys ‘R’ Us and its long-necked mascot are on an RV tour of the East Coast, with an upcoming stop in Arlington.
The long-time children’s retailer declared bankruptcy in 2017 and, a year later, closed all of its U.S. stores. In recent years, however, it has been making a comeback, with stores located within Macy’s locations — including the Macy’s in Pentagon City.
The comeback is continuing with a multi-state tour featuring Geoffrey the Giraffe. Geoffrey’s RV is scheduled to arrive in Arlington this coming Monday for a noon event in Pentagon City, featuring giveaways and activities.
“Geoffrey’s Tour Across America is coming to Fashion Centre at Pentagon City on Monday, July 24th at 12pm ET where Geoffrey the Giraffe will host a play celebration for families at the Toys ‘R’ Us shop at Macy’s Pentagon City store,” said a description of the event. “The festivities will kick-off outside Macy’s store entrance at the new Geoffrey Mobile, a 38-foot custom RV which is on a multi-city tour, making stops at select Toys ‘R’ Us at Macy’s stores from NYC to Florida.”
“The first 50 kids to arrive at the Geoffrey Mobile will receive a free Geoffrey plush,” the event description said. “All attendees will receive a paper crown, a toy tambourine and will join Geoffrey the Giraffe in his ‘Parade of Play’ march from the Geoffrey Mobile into the Toys ‘R’ Us inside of Macy’s. The fun will continue in-store from 12pm – 2pm with play stations and family friendly activities including Pokémon Trade & Play activity packs, Discovery Excavation Kits, Block building, Bluey printable for coloring, a Meet & Greet with Geoffrey and more!”
The future location of Kirby Club, moving into the former home of IOTA Club in Clarendon (photo via Google Maps)
A buzzy new Mediterranean restaurant in Clarendon has pushed back its opening again.
Kirby Club, which previously was set to be called Tawle, is now aiming for a March 2024 opening in the former IOTA Club space at 2832 Wilson Blvd, a restaurant spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow.
When it was first announced in May 2022 that a casual kebab-centric restaurant was coming to Clarendon, the hope was to open in about a year. That was later moved back to fall 2023. But, now, the eatery is looking at serving starting in early spring of next year.
No specific reason was given for the push.
“The restaurant plans are moving along as planned, just taking more time than originally planned,” a restaurant spokesperson told ARLnow.
Kirby Club comes from award-winning restaurateur Rose Previte, who recently won a RAMMY award for her work with D.C.’s Compass Rose and Maydan.
This will be the second location of the Eastern Mediterranean-inspired casual restaurant, with the other opening in Mosaic District late last year to plenty of fanfare and has received a number of accolades ever since.
A restaurant spokesperson said that diners should expect Clarendon’s Kirby Club to be “similar” to the Mosaic District location.
In an interview last year, Previte told ARLnow that she was excited to open in Clarendon because she had attended school at nearby George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government and also had worked for Arlington Economic Development as part of a fellowship. While going to school and working, she often went out to Clarendon restaurants and bars.
“I maybe had too much fun in Clarendon because I was 25,” she said at the time. “So, to think we are going to have a bar and restaurant there is very cool.”
The Barcroft Apartments on Columbia Pike (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the proposed renovations to existing Barcroft Apartments homes (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the proposed renovations to existing Barcroft Apartments homes (via Arlington County)
Plans to renovate some of the buildings within the Barcroft Apartments complex on Columbia Pike cleared an important hurdle on Tuesday.
The Arlington County Board approved a use permit enabling renovation plans for 93 homes at the corner of S. George Mason Drive and S. Four Mile Run Drive on Tuesday. These will occur concurrently with long-term planning for how to redevelop select parcels within the sprawling acreage.
Board Chair Christian Dorsey said property owner and developer Jair Lynch is taking “virtually unheard of” steps to meet with residents and inform them of the project, sending monthly reports of these meetings to the county.
“I don’t want you to necessarily give them applause but understand there is a structure in place by which more information is learned, that they can share, and there is a vehicle to share it,” he said. “We’ll be watching. We’ll be monitoring. It’s really been working pretty well this far.”
Jair Lynch acquired the property in December 2021 using a $150 million loan from Arlington County and a $160 million loan from Amazon.
The terms of the agreement preserved the affordability of the 1,334 units for residents earning up to 60% of the area median income for 99 years. Jair Lynch is exploring making some units affordable to residents meeting lower income thresholds.
Since then, Jair Lynch has been meeting with residents to seek input on the changes and assuage them that legacy residents — those who Jair Lynch identified as living at the complex before the property was purchased — will not be displaced.
It is working with county staff to plot out redevelopment and renovation work and how it will pay for these changes, submitting a development and financing plan last October, which is currently under review. This fall, Jair Lynch and the county will discuss the mix of affordability levels on the site.
After the renovations, the number of homes will remain at 93 but, using bump-outs, 14 homes will become 3-bedroom and 4 will become 4-bedroom units. There will be landscape and site improvements, including to garages for tenants, and the buildings will incorporate environmentally friendly amenities and features.
Bump-outs at Barcroft Apartments to increase the size of 17 units (via Arlington County)
The renovations may require residents to be temporarily relocated elsewhere on the site, for which Jair Lynch will pay. After the units change size, legacy residents may seek to live in another unit on-site, Melissa Danowski, the county project coordinator for Barcroft, confirmed for the Board.
A resident meeting explaining next steps was held this April and information will continue to be shared with residents to give them time to prepare for any disruption. Those who will be relocated will get a 120-day notice.
Ahead of the meeting, there was some discussion among Planning Commission members about whether the sloped site can be made more accessible to people with disabilities, as some areas are only accessible by stairs and at least one building does not have an elevator.
Project representatives said that making accessibility upgrades will be difficult. Modifications could be made to the rest of the site to add accessible units, per a summary of the discussion shared with the Board.
Commissioners also discussed what would become of the tree canopy on the site.
Jair Lynch proposes removing trees where they conflict with construction or stormwater facilities or if they are in poor health or are invasive species, a report said. The developer plans to exceed tree replacement numbers.
Demolition of a building continues in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Flyover Planned This Morning — From AlertDC: “The Naval Air Force Atlantic will conduct a flyover of the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery on Friday, July 21, 2023, at approximately 9:10 AM.”
Housing Provider Wins Assessment Appeal — “The Arlington Board of Equalization for Real Estate Assessments (BoE) says the county government’s assessors took it a bit too far in their 2023 valuation of a new affordable-housing property owned by Wesley Housing… The Cadence, a new property at 4333 Arlington Blvd. that is entirely comprised of subsidized units for those with low and moderate incomes, began leasing up late last year. During the construction period, the property had been assessed at $6,721,000, but the 2023 assessment – released in January – bumped that valuation up to $20,200,800.” [Gazette Leader]
Total Party Still Partying — ” In a back corridor of JBG Smith Properties’ Crystal City Underground and across from the subterranean mall’s now-defunct food court sits one of the region’s most noted places to buy fake blood, boas, party decorations and killer costumes. Total Party has been a resident of the underground since 2016. Owner Lorenzo Caltagirone… got word just last month that he’ll be able to extend his lease through 2024.” [Washington Business Journal]
Teen Baseball Team in World Series — “As the team’s play demonstrated, there were few, if any, weaknesses throughout the state baseball tournament that the Arlington 14s all-stars recently won, and as a result earned an automatic berth to play in next month’s Babe Ruth World Series in Fredericksburg. With strong defense and pitching and solid hitting, the Arlington Senior Babe Ruth squad won the state title in the Chantilly area with a perfect 4-0 record.” [Gazette Leader]
Fire Station 8 Completion Nears — “The Arlington County Fire Department expects its staff will be able to move into the new Fire Station No. 8 on Langston Boulevard before the end of 2023, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony in April 2024. County officials are inviting community members to donate historical artifacts and items to be placed inside a display case in the lobby of the new fire station to honor the history and legacy of the Hall’s Hill/High View Park Volunteer Fire Department and Fire Station No. 8.” [Patch]
County Board Honors Trees — “The addition of 26 more for 2023 brings the Arlington County government’s roster of ‘Notable Trees’ to just under 400. The honorees, selected from among 36 submissions shepherded through the process by Tree Stewards John Wingard and Jan Hull and vetted by the Forestry & Natural Resources Commission, were recognized at the July 18 County Board meeting.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Friday — Scattered showers are expected before 8 am, followed by isolated showers and thunderstorms after 2 pm. Otherwise, the weather will be mostly sunny, with a high temperature close to 89°F and west winds at speeds of 6 to 10 mph. Friday night will be mostly clear, with a low temperature of around 68°F, accompanied by northwest winds at 7 to 10 mph. [Weather.gov]
