Arlington Ridge

Arlington eyes $1.2M house for Lang Street Community Gardens expansion

By James Jarvis
1/5

The Arlington County Board is considering buying a property adjacent to the Lang Street Community Gardens to expand its gardening space.

The Board is set to review — and likely approve — the $1.2 million sale agreement for the house at 1128 28th Street S. during its meeting this Saturday.

If approved, it will be the county’s ninth property acquisition on this same block in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood since 1969, according to a spokesperson for the Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services.

The most recent was a 0.2-acre site at 2822 S. Arlington Ridge Road — situated on the block’s southeastern edge — which the county bought in 2015 for $699,000. That house was demolished to create 45 half-sized plots.

Following the purchase of the nearly 0.3-acre property on 28th Street, the house would be razed to add “approximately 43 new 10’ by 20’ garden plots,” according to a county report.

Arlington County’s Office of Historic Preservation determined the residence, built around the 1930s, does not have any historical or architectural significance, per the report. The item is on the Board’s Consent Agenda, reserved for items deemed noncontroversial by county staff.

Arlington County aims to enlarge Lang Street Community Gardens by acquiring residence at 1128 28th Street S. (via Arlington County)

By creating more garden plots, the county aims to ease the high demand for the nearly 2.3 acres of community garden space throughout Arlington.

The waiting period for larger gardens, including Lang Street, is often under a year, but for smaller ones, such as 1601 Key Blvd, the wait can extend to three to five years, according to a spokesperson for the Dept. of Parks and Recreation.

As of this past Monday, the waitlist for Lang Street Community Gardens had 1,094 hopeful gardeners.

The potential purchase also advances the county’s strategic plan to add at least 30 acres of new public space, including two more community gardens, over the next 10 years as part of the 2019 Public Spaces Master Plan.

In addition to the property’s purchase price, county officials estimate that demolition costs would be about $350,000.

Padaek now open at Arlington Ridge Shopping Center

By James Jarvis
1/6

Lao and Thai restaurant Padaek is finally open for business in the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center.

The day after we last reported on the restaurant’s progress in late August, Padaek started fulfilling to-go orders, according to a restaurant spokeswoman. The restaurant added its dine-in service on Sept. 12, she told ARLnow today.

The restaurant, located at 2931 S. Glebe Road, also recently opened its bar and plans to announce its grand opening “soon,” she added.

This is the second outpost of the Lao and Thai restaurant, originally founded in Falls Church by award-winning D.C. chef Seng Luangrath.

It was initially expected to open in June but Luangrath told ARLnow it had to wait a little longer while the last permits from Arlington County came in.

The family-owned eatery serves dishes from both Thai and Lao cuisine, from Pad Thai to an herbal curry stew with wood ear mushrooms.

Padaek is named for the fermented fish sauce that provides a distinctive salty base to many Lao dishes. The salty flavors balance out several stand-by Thai recipes, sweetened by a base of coconut milk.

Padaek is open from noon to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The restaurant will close daily from 3-4 p.m. to switch from lunch to dinner service.

The 3,500-square-foot space along Glebe Road was formerly home to Delia’s Mediterranean Grill, Tazza Kitchen and Cafe Caturra.

Preparations continue for Padaek location in Arlington Ridge, including Buddhist blessing

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

Those hungry for an update on the arrival of Lao and Thai restaurant Padaek may have to wait a bit longer.

There is no opening date yet for the Southeast Asian restaurant moving into the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center. The message that it is “coming soon” — which is about as tantalizing as the food looks — is splashed across a banner at its location and included in a new post on social media.

“We are waiting for one more permit from Arlington County and getting closer [to a] soft opening but first we plan for take-out,” Chef Seng Luangrath told ARLnow.

Large, bright tropical flowers are splashed across some walls of the 3,500-square-foot space at 2931 S. Glebe Road, according to Instagram. Orchids decorate large windows looking out over an enclosed patio.

Luangrath, the well-regarded chef behind Padaek in Falls Church and the renowned Thip Khao in Columbia Heights, will be bringing much of the original Padaek menu to this new location, which will also serve some Thai and Burmese dishes, Axios previously reported.

Last month, the location received the blessing of local Buddhist monks, according to photos and a video posted on Instagram. The posts depict monks, surrounded by flowers and food, performing a ceremony, while attendees followed along in prayer.

An Instagram post by Padaek from July (via Instagram/Padaek DC)

Then, everyone tucked into heaps of Lao food and sweets.

In the restaurant’s most recent post, Luangrath thanked followers, family and friends “for joining us on the special traditional ceremony and blessing day on for new space.”

The Buddhist ceremony blessing the new Padaek location in Arlington Ridge (via Instagram/Padaek DC)

There have been other signs of progress recently, including an open house a month ago for cooks.

Axios previously reported that the restaurant was targeting a mid-June opening date but that has since come and gone.

Before becoming home to Padaek, the space was occupied by a rotating cast of eateries, including Delia’s Mediterranean Grill & Brick Oven Pizza, Tazza Kitchen and Cafe Caturra.

UPDATED: Power being restored after 10,000 in dark around Pentagon City and Crystal City

By ARLnow.com
Power outage map as of 2:15 p.m. on Aug. 22 (via Dominion)

(Updated at 9:15 p.m.) Thousands were without power in and around Crystal City and Pentagon City for much of the day due to a widespread outage.

The outage was first reported just after 11:15 a.m. Arlington County firefighters investigated a possible underground explosion and treated a Dominion worker with burns from steam that came out of a manhole, according to scanner traffic.

“At 11:18 a.m. a splice in an underground cable failed causing an arc/flash and 10,000+ outages in Crystal City, Pentagon City & nearby neighborhoods,” Dominion spokeswoman Peggy Fox told ARLnow shortly before 4 p.m. “We’re working to have all customers restored as quickly as possible, hopefully in a half an hour. A worker was treated at the scene and released.”

ACFD also responded to a large quantity of stuck elevator calls in the area, owing to the outage.

More than 10,250 Dominion customers were without power as a result of the outage. The outage map extended into the Aurora Highlands and Arlington Ridge residential neighborhoods, including Oakridge Elementary.

Arlington’s parks department closed the Long Bridge Aquatic and Fitness Center and the Gunston Community Center due to the outage.

As of 5:15 p.m., Dominion said all but 1,229 customers had their power restored, with outages still reported along Crystal Drive by ARLnow readers. As of 9 p.m. all customers had been restored, per Dominion.

Suspects armed with ‘AK-47’ rob man after rear-end crash

By ARLnow.com
Police car speeding to a call at night (staff photo)

Arlington County police are investigating an armed robbery in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood early Friday morning.

The robbery happened around 1:30 a.m. at the intersection of S. Arlington Ridge Road and 23rd Street S.

The victim told police that he was rear-ended by a black Ford Mustang or Dodge Charger, and then two men dressed in ski masks and all black clothing got out, armed with an AK-47 or similar gun, and robbed him of jewelry.

More from an ACPD crime report:

…the victim was stopped in his vehicle at a traffic light when the suspect vehicle rear ended him. The victim exited his vehicle and approached the suspect vehicle when Suspects One and Two exited their vehicle. Suspect One assaulted the victim causing him to fall to the ground and Suspect Two threatened the victim with a firearm and demanded his belongings. The victim gave the suspects his jewelry before they reentered their vehicle and fled the scene. The victim sustained minor injuries and did not require medical attention.

Officers were unable to locate the suspect vehicle, which was believed to have been driven off in the direction of I-395 and D.C.

Parents call on APS to address slow academic growth, teacher turnover at Oakridge Elementary

By Jo DeVoe
Oakridge Elementary School in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood in May of 2023 (via Google Maps)

A small group of parents from Oakridge Elementary School are asking Arlington Public Schools to take a hard look at student achievement and teacher retention.

Student assessments show low growth and lower pass rates in math and science tests at the school in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood. Meanwhile, it has higher teacher turnover than the school system as a whole, according to the group, named Concerned Parents of Oakridge

“We’ve looked at the data as of the end of the 2022 school year and we did not see academic growth but we did see significant staff turnover and a widening equity gap,” group representative Anna Hudson told the Arlington School Board last week. “We know that many teachers will not return to Oakridge in the fall.”

Hudson is one of four parents who co-wrote a letter on behalf of this group, urging APS to hold students to higher academic standards.

APS has been talking with parents and the Arlington Ridge Civic Association about these issues, per an email that the school system shared with ARLnow.

It has developed a plan that addresses academics and staff satisfaction, as well as family engagement and behavior management, the email says. Not long after this plan was developed, a fight broke out among Oakridge parents at a fifth grade commencement ceremony.

The school began sending iPads home at the end of April so students and families can access the learning software APS has on these devices throughout the summer. Last year, Oakridge restricted iPad use at home due to inappropriate content found on the device of a student.

Before the school year ended earlier this month, English and math supervisors and other administrators began meeting regularly with teachers and making rounds at the school and teachers have quarterly planning days to prepare their lessons.

Demonstrating growth in reading and math are part of the school’s strategic plan. Oakridge committed to increasing small-group and one-on-one instruction and regular staff meetings to reach this goal.

When it comes to performance in English, Oakridge students are close to on par with their peers countywide, with 74% passing a state assessment in the 2021-22 school year, compared to the countywide average passing rate of 78%, per a state school quality dashboard.

In math, history and science, the Arlington Ridge elementary school performs lower than APS as a whole, though some of the elementary schools with high rates of children from low-income families have lower pass rates, per data from a state dashboard.

In math, 64% of Oakridge students passed state assessments compared to the APS rate of 74%, and in science, 40% pass rate compared to a 64% pass rate. Pass rates in Arlington for these subjects range from 95% to 21% and 90% to 16%, respectively.

Schools with some of the highest pass rates, like Nottingham Elementary School, registered low “growth rates,” while schools with lower pass rates register high growth rates, such as Randolph and Drew elementary schools. The Oakridge parents say they are troubled by the zero growth registered in math and science.

“Equity in education relies on strong academics. Reading, writing, math and problem-solving are critical foundations, whether you go to tech school, 4- year university or enter the workforce after high school,” Hudson said. “Low standards in elementary school lead to kids falling out in middle school and high school. Our kids are capable and they deserve better.”

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Parent fight at elementary school graduation ceremony draws police response

By ARLnow.com
Oakridge Elementary School (photo via Google Maps)

(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A physical fight among 2-3 adults marred a promotion ceremony for fifth graders at Oakridge Elementary on Thursday.

Police were called to the school in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood around 4:45 p.m. for a report of a sizable fight, involving adults and possibly children as well.

“At approximately 4:46 p.m., police were dispatched to the 1400 block of 24th Street S. for the report of a fight,” Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “Upon arrival, it was determined that adults who are known to each other became involved in a physical altercation during an event at the school. The parties were separated and no significant injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing.”

Savage said that no children were injured, though medics were dispatched to the school for a child who may have been bitten during the fracas.

An email sent to parents, obtained by ARLnow, further describes what happened.

Dear Oakridge Families,

I wanted to inform you that an altercation occurred between two adults this afternoon during our Fifth Grade Class Promotion. Staff intervened and were able to separate the parties involved as quickly as possible. The police were called to the school to investigate the matter and there were no injuries.

If your children have questions or would like to discuss this matter with a counselor, the student support team will be available all day tomorrow.

A tipster tells ARLnow that the fight might have been a bit larger, involving three women and a group of school staff and parents trying to break up the brawl.

“There was a fight amongst the parents… that got physical resulting in parents on the ground and other parents and staff breaking up the fight,” the tipster said. “Children were crying. Police and EMS were called.”

“This isn’t safe for our children,” the tipster added.

This is at least the second significant, traumatic incident this year for the fifth grade class at Oakridge. An alleged “sexual incident” among two students during an overnight visit to the Arlington Public Schools Outdoor Lab in Fauquier County — which was investigated by local law enforcement — involved fifth graders at Oakridge, according several sources.

Photo via Google Maps

Lao restaurant Padaek and an acai bowl eatery are coming to the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

The well-regarded Lao chef behind Padaek in Falls Church is bringing her food to Arlington Ridge.

Chef Seng Luangrath, who also helms the renowned Thip Khao in Columbia Heights, is opening a restaurant in the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center, according to construction permits and a leasing map.

“Padaek 2.0” is planning to open in “mid-to-late June,” Axios reported Tuesday. It will feature an outdoor patio and will feature some Thai and Burmese dishes, in addition much of the original Padaek menu, according to Axios.

ARLnow was unable to reach a restaurant representative for additional information by publication time. Alexandria newspaper Zebra appears to have been the first to report the Padaek plans in January 2022.

Padaek’s 3,500-square-foot space at 2931 S. Glebe Road was formerly home to Delia’s Mediterranean Grill & Brick Oven Pizza, Tazza Kitchen and Cafe Caturra.

Meanwhile, Padaek is not the only new restaurant coming to the shopping center. Posters in the window of the standalone retail building also advertise the impending arrival of Palm Berries.

The açai bowl franchise from North Carolina will be occupying a 1,000-square-foot spot next to Padaek. The Instagram page for Palm Berries lists an Arlington location as “COMING SOON!!”

Plans for RiverHouse come into focus as residents call for more infrastructure upgrades

By Jo DeVoe
1/12

(Updated at 5 p.m.) Proposed infill development for the RiverHouse site in Pentagon City is coming into focus with more renderings from the developer.

Reprising long-envisioned intentions to redevelop the expansive property, JBG Smith filed plans last year proposing apartments, senior housing, condos and townhomes on the surface parking lots on the RiverHouse site. Existing apartment towers will stay and more units within them will be set aside for affordable housing.

Arlington County has yet to officially accept JBG Smith’s application, a step that would kick off a formal community engagement and review process, which the developer anticipates will culminate in Arlington County Board review by the end of 2023.

The timeline for the RiverHouse project (via JBG Smith)

On Thursday, more than 100 residents, neighbors, other community stakeholders attended an open house, in which JBG Smith shared renderings showing how it proposes shorter and fewer buildings than what is allowed in the Pentagon City Sector Plan, a document guiding decades of development in the area.

“As our design team has developed our plans for the RiverHouse Neighborhood, we have benefited from the active participation and input from existing residents, neighbors, and other community stakeholders,” JBG Smith said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to collaborate in the coming months as we advance a shared vision for our neighborhood.”

After the meeting, residents tell ARLnow they are hoping for more collaboration to improve “livability” on the site and in the surrounding area, through more community benefits and supporting infrastructure, per the Arlington Ridge Civic Association President Kateri Garcia and the local group Dense That Makes Sense.

“How do we know the infrastructure in place is going to be enough to meet the demand of all these additional people?” Garcia said. “What are the benefits we most need in this area? … We already have a community center and library that is out of date. How can we use the investment to improve those facilities to right-size them for the future population?”

Some Arlington Ridge residents welcome, for instance, the lower heights. Before the Arlington County Board adopted the sector plan in February 2022, some residents rallied against the height maximums the plan would allow on the RiverHouse site, potentially blocking the skyline view some enjoy in the condos and homes that line Arlington Ridge Road.

“The October 2022 plan is a more reasonable plan than what Arlington County’s Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development (CPHD) proposed in its Pentagon City Sector Plan that was accepted by the County Board at its February 12, 2022 meeting,” according to Dense That Makes Sense, a group of residents who organized on this issue.

That said, the group said it does not endorse the 2022 plan, nor does it necessarily endorse plans JBG Smith put forward in 2019, which it says is the best of the three visions for the site. It argues that further study of the site is needed to figure out what supporting infrastructure is needed before JBG Smith moves forward.

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UPDATED: Carjacking suspects apprehended after chase into D.C.

By ARLnow.com
Police chasing a carjacked vehicle over the 14th Street Bridge into D.C. (courtesy Dave Statter)

(Updated at 4 p.m.) A pair of suspects carjacked a vehicle in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood last night, leading to a police chase into D.C.

The carjacking happened around 8:30 p.m. Saturday on the 2800 block of Fort Scott Drive, not far from Crystal City.

According to initial reports, the stolen vehicle was quickly located by Arlington County officers on northbound I-395 and a chase was initiated. While for safety and jurisdictional reasons other chases are often terminated at the 14th Street Bridge, this time a chase into the District was authorized.

The suspect vehicle crashed near the Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin shortly after entering D.C., according to scanner traffic, and both suspects were taken into custody after brief foot pursuits.

One of the carjacking victims was evaluated by medics for a possible injury.

Late Sunday afternoon Arlington police issued the following press release about the arrests.

The Arlington County Police Department is announcing the arrest of two juveniles following an armed carjacking in the Aurora Highlands neighborhood on the evening of February 11, 2023.

At approximately 8:26 p.m., police were dispatched to the report of an armed carjacking in the 2800 block of Fort Scott Drive. Upon arrival, it was determined the male victim was sitting inside a parked vehicle when the two juvenile suspects approached, brandished firearms, and demanded the victim exit the vehicle. The two suspects then fled the scene in the stolen vehicle. A lookout was broadcast and an officer observed the suspects traveling northbound on I-395. The officer attempted a traffic stop and, after the driver refused to stop, initiated a vehicle pursuit. The suspects attempted to elude officers and subsequently crashed the vehicle in the area of 14th Street SW and D Street SW, Washington D.C. The suspects then ran from the vehicle and officers initiated a foot pursuit and took both suspects into custody. The two juvenile suspects were transported to an area hospital as a precautionary measure, however no injuries were reported. During a search of the stolen vehicle, officers recovered a firearm which had been reported stolen out of Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Petitions were obtained for the juveniles who are both 17-year-olds and of Washington D.C. They are being held in Washington D.C. pending extradition to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Metropolitan Police Department and D.C. Fire and EMS provided on scene assistance.

This remains an active investigation and anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Tip Line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Hat tip to Alan Henney

Tesla is cutting the ribbon on its first Arlington store today

By Matt Blitz
1/6

(Updated, 12:05 p.m.) Tesla is opening its first Arlington sales and service center today.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is being held this morning at the nearly 64,000 square foot space at 2710 S. Glebe Road, just east of Shirlington. Several local officials are expected to be in attendance, including state Senator Barbara Favola and County Board member Takis Karantonis.

This is Tesla’s fourth Virginia sales center. Prior to the Arlington location, the closest was in Tysons.

ARLnow reported in early March that the electric car company was charging up to open a store on S. Glebe Road near I-395. It’s the former location of a Maserati dealership and, before that, seafood seller M. Slavin & Sons.

Tesla had to first get approval from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to open this and two other stores in the Commonwealth.

Under state law, automobile manufacturers like Tesla are generally not able to sell their cars directly to customers. This law was originally passed, in part, to encourage competition. In fact, for a time, Tesla couldn’t sell cars at its Tysons mall showroom and employees were forbidden from even discussing purchases.

However, that changed last May when the state DMV commissioner approved the company’s request to open three sales centers in Virginia. The reasoning the commissioner gave is that there are no independent dealers in Arlington — or in Charlottesville and Norfolk, where the other stores are opening — that could operate a Tesla franchise “in a manner consistent with public interest,” according to the hearing decision provided to ARLnow.

The Arlington store will employ about 20 people initially with “plans to grow as needed to meet demand,” a company spokesperson said.

In addition to its sales and service location, there are more than 400 Tesla “supercharger” stations in Virginia, where drivers can get a quick recharge of their car’s batteries.

That number includes eight such stations in Arlington, according to a company map. Rosslyn, Clarendon, Ballston, Pentagon City, Crystal City, and the new Tesla store on S. Glebe Road all have at least one publicly available charging station.

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