apartments

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

"Fun Slide" at the Arlington County Fair (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Little Change to Office Vacancy Rate — There was little change to Arlington’s high office vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2015, compared to one year prior. On a neighborhood level, the vacancy rate was up significantly in the Clarendon and Courthouse area but down in Virginia Square. [InsideNova]

Metro Offers Credits for Friday Mess — Metro is issuing a SmarTrip credit to riders who travelled on the Blue, Orange or Silver lines between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. The credit is being issued automatically, as an apology for major delays caused by a track power issue near the East Falls Church station, among other Metro snafus last week. [WMATA]

Move-In Date Delayed for New Apartments — The move-in date for the new Verde Pointe apartments on Lee Highway has been delayed. Originally planned for Aug. 1, the building opening is now reportedly expected to take place within three weeks. Would-be residents are being told that building safety inspections are still taking place. [NBC Washington]

Dems Move Chili Cookoff — The annual Labor Day chili cookoff organized by the Arlington County Democratic Committee has been moved this year. The event will be held at the Barcroft Community House (800 S. Buchanan Street) rather than the usual venue of the Lyon Park Community Center, which is in the midst of renovations. [InsideNova]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

Ten Things to Do Within Walking Distance of the Crystal Square Apartments

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Want to live an active, car-optional life? Consider one of Arlington’s most walkable, most accessible and most amenity-filled neighborhoods: Crystal City.

Yes, Crystal City, the Rodney Dangerfield of the D.C. area.

And if you’re going to live there, consider one of the Crystal City’s best apartment values: the recently-renovated Crystal Square Apartments.

Just a half-block from the Crystal City Metro station, the building features spacious apartments, dark hardwood flooring, kitchens with maple or cherry cabinetry and stainless steel appliances, in-unit washers and dryers and new fixtures and lighting. Plus there are amenities like a large swimming pool, a brand new rooftop gym and cardio studio, a rooftop terrance with views of the D.C. monuments, a gaming and billiards room and, coming soon, a dog park.

While you’re living at Crystal Square, here are ten interesting outings within a half mile walk from your apartment.

  1. Beach volleyball. Situated right near 23rd Street, these pristine courts feature pickup games that begin after work hours. Which is for the best, because then the sand cools down between your toes.
  2. Watch planes, trains and soccer games. Maybe you have kids, maybe you’re a kid at heart — either way, you can watch planes and trains go by up close at Long Bridge Park. The soccer field there is also state of the art and hosts local leagues, colleges and occasionally D.C. United, too. Plus, you can see the monuments across the river.
  3. Try hot yoga. Ready to achieve something new in your workouts? At  Mind Your Body Oasis, static poses challenge you and the heat feels like a detox. And honestly, if can make it through an Arlington summer, these classes should be no sweat (Still, bring along some water).
  4. Cheer on your teams. Whether you just got to Arlington and still cheering your home team or you’re a diehard fan of local teams, Buffalo Wild Wings and the Crystal City Sports Pub are great places to catch all the sports you want, from the NFL to college basketball, extreme sports or an MMA fight.
  5. Sip some bubble tea. There are two kinds of people in the world, those who love bubble tea and those who haven’t tried it yet. Get your boba on with fruity smoothie flavors or traditional milky tea. Yelpers say Lily Bubble Tea and Smoothie is best accessed by foot, which works for you– it’s only a three minute walk.
  6. Take a ride. Whether you have your own racing bike, a casual cruiser or you take Capital Bikeshare, you’ll be right next to the heart of the region’s trail network. Bike to work in the city, head over to Rosslyn or take the  Mt. Vernon Trail down to see George Washington’s humble abode.
  7. Find a nautical treasure. If you’re looking for unique nautical gifts — and who isn’t? — check out Ship’s Hatch, a store that appeals to those who love being on the water, or know someone retiring from the military. This store will embroider hats with the name of any ship that has ever sailed if you know what you’re looking for, or if you’re just browsing, it may surprise you with a hidden gem.
  8. Make something cool. Ditch your dinky 3-D printer and upgrade to industrial scale, because TechShop is in town. It’s a design and fabrication studio “on a mission to democratize tools of innovation.” Once you buy a membership, the doors are open to you 24/7. And if you’re not already an expert, they also hold lots of classes.
  9. Eat some good stuff. Serving milkshakes, burgers and fries that taste like the ingredients just came from the farm next door, chef Spike Mendelsohn’s Good Stuff Eatery has food you can feel good about. The company also aims to recycle everything they can, even the restaurant itself is made from recycled materials. Chef Spike’s We , The Pizza is next door, if you want a quick slice or a homemade soda.
  10. Catch a unique performance. Even if you’ve seen a play, you may have never seen a play like this. Synetic Theater is famous for its wordless Shakespeare productions and it also does a variety of other types of shows, all with physical acting and no speaking.

Ready to move in? Contact the Crystal Square Apartments today to schedule a visit.

Whether you head to the Crystal City Shops under your feet, take a walk or a bike ride, or attend one of the neighborhood’s well-known seasonal events, there is something to do in Crystal City every day of the year. But if you decide instead to kick back on your balcony or by the pool, we won’t judge.

The preceding article was written by ARLnow.com for our sponsor, the Crystal Square Apartments

ACFD Responds to Flaming Computer on Balcony

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County fire truckThe Arlington County Fire Department responded to a fire on a balcony at a Crystal City apartment building this morning.

Around 10:15 a.m., firefighters were called to the Concord apartment building at 2600 Crystal Drive for a report of a fire on a fifth or sixth floor balcony.

Firefighters found a computer on fire on the balcony. According to scanner traffic, a resident had brought the computer outside after it caught fire in the apartment.

Firefighters are now working on smoke ventilation while the county fire marshal investigates the exact cause of the fire.

New Church Approved for Potomac Yard

By Heather Mongilio

Planned apartment building and church in Potomac YardA new church is planned for the Potomac Yard area.

The County Board approved a site plan amendment for a new church to go into a planned apartment building at 3001 Jefferson Davis Highway.

The new church — the “Meetinghouse of Worship” — is planned for the first and second floors of the 12-floor residential building. It will be occupy 23,906 square feet of space, with a 300-seat sanctuary, classrooms, administrative offices and a multipurpose room on the first and second floors.

“In the spirit of continuing to work with our property owners on uses that work in buildings, I just want to note that we have approved the location of a church in a commercial building in Potomac Yard,” Board Chair Mary Hynes said. “We think it will be a really interesting addition to what’s going on down there.”

The church will be on the left side of the building, next to 33rd Street. The first floor will have a chapel, multipurpose room and classroom, as well as two bathrooms. There will also be a small retail space next to the chapel. On the right side of the building, the apartment complex will have a lobby and retail space.

Church layout via Arlington County“The proposed religious institutions use would be both complementary to, and compatible with the residential and retail use,” the staff report to the Board said.

On the second floor, the church will have administrative offices and classrooms. The residential units start on the second floor on the right side of the building.

With the new plan for the building, the apartment complex will add 11 more residential units, making the total amount of units 342 instead of 331. The parking lot will also have 532 spots up from the initial 438, to accommodate worshipers.

Of those spots, 167 will be for the church: 142 standard spots, 24 compact spots, two handicap spots and two spots for handicap vans.

As reported by the Washington Business Journal, the site plan amendment was proposed by New York City-based real estate investment firm The Praedium Group LLC. The future building will be located just north of the National Gateway office complex, the future U.S. headquarters of German grocery chain Lidl.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

"Backyard garden thief" (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)

Wellington Buyer Wants to Build — Washington REIT, which just purchased The Wellington apartments on Columbia Pike, has plans to build a new, 360-unit building on the property, perhaps atop the 711-unit complex’s large surface parking lot. [Bisnow]

GMU: Housing Crunch Coming — The D.C. area is not building housing fast enough to accommodate new residents and jobs, according to a report by the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis. By 2023, there will be 226,380 fewer housing units in Greater Washington than needed to house those moving to area, thus forcing people to move farther away from the city. [Washington Business Journal]

Nauck Community Portraits Exhibit — A new exhibition space in the Arlington County Cultural Affairs offices at 3700 Four Mile Run Drive is hosting “three-dimensional biographies” of Nauck community leaders created by Drew Elementary students. The “Nauck Community Portraits” exhibit was inspired by a new book about the historic African-American community. [InsideNova]

AWLA Placement Rate on the Rise — The Animal Welfare League of Arlington says it’s successfully placing shelter animals with new homes at a rate of 95 percent, exceeding national standards. It’s up from 76 percent in 2010, when Neil Trent took over as director of the organization. [Patch]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Backyard BBQ cookout in Arlington (Flickr pool photo by thekidfromcrumlin)

Kudla Out After Four-Set Loss — Arlington resident Denis Kudla, 22, capped his impressive performance at Wimbledon with a four-set loss to reigning U.S. Open champ Marin Cilic in the Round of 16 yesterday afternoon. Kudla, who turned tennis pro at the age of 16, was the last remaining American man in the tournament. [Fox Sports, Twitter]

Wellington Sells for $167 Million — The Wellington apartment complex on Columbia Pike has sold for $167 million. The 711 unit complex is 97 percent occupied. It was purchased by Washington REIT. [MultifamilyBiz]

Arlington Park Spending Near Top — Arlington County spends $249 per resident on parks, the third highest per capita park spending figure in the country, among the nation’s 100 most populous areas. Washington, D.C. ranked first, spending $346 per resident. Some of Arlington’s park spending is now going toward >$1 million playgrounds. [Washington Post, Trust for Public Land]

Flickr pool photo by thekidfromcrumlin

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Two men in religious garb walking through Rosslyn

Renderings of Proposed Ballston High-Rise — Ahead of Wednesday’s Arlington Site Plan Review Committee meeting, developers Lionstone and Penzance have released new renderings of the 22-story, 330-unit apartment tower they’re proposing to build on the Carpool site in Ballston. The tower is sleek metal and glass, with a retail pavilion on the ground floor. In a second phase, the developers are proposing to replace an aging, adjacent office building with another 22-story, 362-unit residential building. [Washington Business Journal]

Free Cone Day at Haagen-Dazs — The Haagen-Dazs store at Pentagon City mall is offering free ice cream today from 4:00-8:00 p.m. as part of the company’s nationwide Free Cone Day. [Facebook]

Coalition for Minority Affairs Honors Students — Eighty-seven African and African-American Arlington Public Schools students were honored last week by the Civic Coalition for Minority Affairs. The Northern Virginia group “endeavors to foster high academic achievement through its annual awards ceremony.” [Arlington Public Schools]

County: Rent in Arlington Dropped Five Percent in 2014

By Ethan Rothstein

The Maxwell Apartments, at the corner of N. Glebe and Carlin Springs RoadThe average apartment in Arlington was 5 percent cheaper in 2014 than in 2013, according to the county.

Last year, the average rent in Arlington was $1,834 per month, according to the Dept. of Community Planning, Housing and Development.

That’s a dropoff from $1,934 in 2013 and $1,999 in 2012. It’s the cheapest average apartment rent since 2011, when the price was $1,768 per month, according to county records.

The average rent has declined for two years in a row after consistent, steep increases. A decade ago, in 2005, the average rent in Arlington was $1,270 per month, and the average three-bedroom apartment cost $1,803. Today, the average three-bedroom costs $2,671.

This drop in average rent comes at the same time as soaring assessments for residential properties — the average assessment in the county went up 4.9 percent, with some areas increasing by an average of 11 percent year over year. That jump, concentrated in some of the poorest areas in the county, cost homeowners an additional $400 in tax bills this year compared to last.

The higher assessments also hit the apartment market — existing apartment assessments jumped by 4.7 percent in 2015, but it appears that price bump has not yet been passed on to apartment renters.

It’s unclear if the two-year decline in rents is a trend or a blip. Arlington’s rental vacancy rate is at 3.8 percent — its office vacancy is at 20.4 percent, by comparison — and there are currently 2,055 net new apartment units under construction in the Metro corridors, per planning staff. Some of those units — like the Central Place development in Rosslyn — won’t come online until after 2016.

Since 2000, Arlington has added more than 23,000 residential units in the Metro corridors, many of them upscale rental apartment buildings. Metro ridership continually increased over that time, until recently. From 2010 to 2014, Arlington lost several thousand weekday Metro riders in both of its Metro corridors.

So far, developers aren’t showing signs of being scared off. Arlington still projects its Rosslyn-Ballston and Jefferson Davis Highway corridors will add a combined 35,000 apartment units by 2040.

Verde Pointe Now Leasing in Courthouse (Promoted)

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
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Verde Pointe — Arlington’s newest high-end apartment community — is now accepting leases for 2015 move-ins.

Featuring as many as 41 unique floor plan styles in both tower and townhome buildings, Verde Pointe will be a destination for area residents looking for a new apartment home in the centralized Courthouse neighborhood.

The community — located at the corner of North Veitch Street and Lee Highway — contains 162 apartment homes in a luxe residential tower as well as 36 apartment homes divided into townhome flats, each with a private entrance and the uppermost units with an enormous private rooftop terrace. Additionally, 242 residential parking spaces and the county’s first MOM’s Organic Market grocery store complete the mixed-use development.

Designed to LEED Gold standards, the apartment homes feature floor-to-ceiling windows, glass balconies, quartz countertops, movable kitchen islands, in-unit washer and dryers, programmable thermostats, engineered wood flooring, and panoramic views of the DC and Northern Virginia skyline. Both tower and townhome flats are available in studio, convertible, one bedroom, one bedroom plus den, and two bedroom varieties; pricing begins at $1,650/month.

Because Verde Pointe is an active construction site, interested parties are encouraged to visit the temporary leasing center at 2200 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite #1125, in Courthouse. Prospects receive tailor-made leasing materials, guided neighborhood discussions and details on services presented by the property management team, led by General Manager Charlie Wexell.

“We like to explore the ideal living situation for each prospect,” explains Wexell. “That’s the beauty of having so many unique floor plans and features: we can find the perfect fit for everyone’s specific preferences.”

The 36 townhome flats will deliver first, currently slated for the second week of June 2015. In each townhome are two flats, each with private entrances, easy access to the parking garage and open floor plans. The townhome flats located on the top floor also come complete with a private rooftop terrace. All community amenities, such as personal wine storage, rooftop pool, club room and kitchen, and fitness center will be available to all residents in the complex upon delivery of the tower, in July 2015.

The development is led by award-winning developer McCaffery Interests — who will also be managing the community within the nationally-renowned MI-Home brand — in partnership with Bergmann’s Cleaning, and with strong financial support from Cardinal Bank and Burke and Herbert Bank. In addition to Verde Pointe, McCaffery Interests is known for developing environmentally conscious projects nationwide. Last month, McCaffery Interests announced a new mixed-use development in partnership with Grosvenor Americas, known as Ballpark Square, located in the blooming Navy Yard neighborhood. Ballpark Square is home to First Residences, another new high-end residential community managed by McCaffery Interests.

Verde Pointe has been designed and is being constructed to LEED Gold standards, and will have several major sustainable features such as electric car charging stations and individually remote-controlled thermostats so residents can more closely control and monitor their energy use. In line with the green initiatives, MOM’s Organic Market has a long-running history with environmental advocacy, and has begun plans for engaging the Arlington community with eco-conscious functions and features for residents and neighbors.

All information on the Verde Pointe development and upcoming plans can be found at http://www.verdepointe.com/. Development and contact information for McCaffery Interests can be found at http://www.mccafferyinterests.com/.

The preceding article was sponsored by McCaffery Interests

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Wet drive to work (Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf)

Chicken Restaurant’s Name Goes National — ARLnow.com’s story about Chingon Pollo, the new chicken restaurant in Buckingham with a potentially vulgar name, has gone national. Last night it was picked up by the Jezebel sub-blog Kitchenette. While our most likely translation of the name — there are a number of potential translations — was “f-ckload of chicken,” Kitchenette translated it as “top f-cker chicken.” Meanwhile, in order to not run “a fowl” of authorities, the restaurant has officially changed its name to “Charcoal Chicken.” [Kitchenette]

New Burial Sites at ANC to Open Next Year — Arlington National Cemetery will open more than 27,000 new burial sites next year, as part of its Millennium Project expansion initiative. Local environmentalists and preservationists protested the expansion. [U.S. Army]

Crowdsourced Bike Rack Map — Arlington County is launching a free crowdsourced map of places to park one’s bicycle. RackSpotter, as it’s called, will rely on users to contribute information on the location and size of bike racks. [Bike Arlington]

Marymount to Buy Portable Planetarium — Marymount University has completed fundraising for a new portable planetarium. The planetarium, which is set up in a tent, will be brought to schools in Arlington, Fairfax and a number of other local counties. [InsideNova]

Crystal House Renovations — Roseland, the owner of the Crystal House apartments in Crystal City, says it’s embarking on a multi-phase renovation of the 828-unit complex. The renovations will spruce up the main lobby, grounds, pool, community common areas and the apartments themselves. “New state-of-the-art washers and dryers are being added to each building’s studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments,” according to a press release. “Further, full renovations to approximately half of the community’s 828 apartments will include upgraded kitchens with new appliances, upgraded fixtures and finishes in the bathrooms, and new flooring throughout.” A PR rep declined to say how much the renovations will cost.

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Icy and foggy Potomac River (Flickr pool photo by Joseph Gruber)

Apartment Tower Proposed for Carpool Site — A 22-story, 330-unit luxury residential tower has been proposed for the site at 4000 Fairfax Drive in Ballston currently occupied by Carpool. It’s unclear if the bar would move to a new location during construction or whether it would move back after. [Washington Business Journal]

Buses to Use Shoulders on I-66 — Monday, March 23 has been set as the launch date for a pilot program that will allow buses to use the shoulder lanes on I-66 inside the Beltway. The speed limit for buses using the shoulders will be 25 mph. [Washington Post]

Equalizing Treatment of Ticketed Cars — This weekend, County Board members are expected to approve a measure that would treat tickets issued by police officers the same as tickets issued by so-called public-service aides. The change would specifically apply to tickets for expired registration tags, personal-property decals and state safety inspections. Currently, tickets for such violations issued by officers can be dismissed administratively by the commonwealth’s attorney’s office, while tickets issued by PSAs require a more lengthy appearance before a judge. [InsideNova]

Wardian Sets Another Crazy Record — Superhuman ultramarathoner and Arlington resident Michael Wardian has set another record. This time, he set the record for fastest 50K on a treadmill. And he set the record after attempting it, unsuccessfully, 30 hours prior to his record-setting run. What’s more, Wardian accomplished the feat on a cruise ship in the Caribbean while sweating profusely. [Runners World]

Sondheim Revue Coming to Signature — In honor of composer Stephen Sondheim’s 85th birthday, Signature Theatre in Shirlington is planning a “Simply Sondheim” revue, to run from April 2-19. [Playbill]

Flickr pool photo by Joseph Gruber

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