Ballston

BREAKING: Dozens of vehicles damaged yet again as police search for serial window smasher

By ARLnow.com
1/2

(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) It happened again.

More Arlington residents woke up this morning to find their car windows shattered by an unknown vandal or group of vandals who had previously damaged nearly three dozen vehicles in a week-long smashing spree.

ARLnow has received reports of freshly smashed car windows in the Westover and Yorktown neighborhoods and in Ballston, near Washington-Liberty High School. That follows reports of damaged cars yesterday in parts of Clarendon, Lyon Village, Virginia Square, Courthouse and Glencarlyn.

We are awaiting additional details from Arlington County police, but a crime report just posted online says 54 vehicles were damaged by a BB gun between Tuesday evening and Thursday morning.

From ACPD:

DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY (Series), Between the evening of October 25 and early morning of October 27, an unknown suspect damaged the windows of approximately 54 vehicles with a bb gun. Detectives are investigating this as a series with the previously reported destruction of property series. Community members in these areas are asked to review their home surveillance for any footage that may assist the investigation. Information can be reported to the Arlington County Police Department’s Tip Line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. The investigation is ongoing.

The vast majority of the damaged vehicles listed by police were parked in various parts of northern Arlington.

Yesterday police confirmed 10 damaged vehicles; the latest report adds 44 vehicles to the two-day total. Combined with the vandalism spree late last week, ACPD has received reports of more than 80 cars with shattered windows over the past seven days.

“Since October 21, there have been 81 vehicles reported to have damaged windows,” ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “It’s important to note that since some of these reports are filed online and the reporting party does not always note if the damage appears to be from a BB gun, some of these reports may ultimately be determined not to be part of the series.”

Update on 10/28/22 — A suspect has been arrested in the case.

https://twitter.com/Lucifersmith420/status/1585622657747255298

Local private school plans move from Ballston to Rosslyn office space

By Jo DeVoe
1550 Wilson Blvd (via Google Maps)

A private secondary school in Ballston is looking to move to Rosslyn.

The Sycamore School, which has operated at 4600 Fairfax Drive since it began in 2017, will soon lose its home to a residential redevelopment. So it is asking Arlington County for permission to relocate to 1550 Wilson Blvd, near Fire Station 10, offices, apartments and an Arlington Public Schools building

The Sycamore School proposes operating a private school for up to 140 students grades five through 12, along with 40 staff members and teachers, according to a county report. Its campus would comprise 14,000 square feet on the third floor, divided into seven classrooms, a canteen, an art studio, an exercise room and other administrative rooms and amenities.

“The Applicant provides a valuable educational service to the County’s residents by serving a diverse cross-section of students,” writes land use attorney Andrew Painter. “As part of its personalized learning approach, The Sycamore School offers small class sizes at a ratio of one teacher to six students, and provides individualized instruction with self-paced learning and a focus on student choice.”

The Sycamore School floor plan (via Arlington County)

The Sycamore School’s proposed opening hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with classes occurring Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Occasional school-related and community-based events may occur in the evenings, and are required to conclude by 11 p.m.

Meanwhile, the County Board approved a new childcare tenant in a nearby office building last month. The Gardner School will set up in the ground-floor retail space of an office building at the corner of Clarendon Blvd and N. Quinn Street (1776 Wilson Blvd).

The Gardner School has locations in seven states, the closest being in Herndon, Virginia.

The child care center will take up about 17,670 square feet, divided into 13 classrooms for preschoolers, toddlers and infants, playrooms and 400 square feet of outdoor play area. There will be up to 28 staff and up to 186 enrolled children.

But with two schools moving into an area with offices, apartment buildings, Arlington Public Schools’ H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Program, and Fire Station 10, the Rosslyn Business Improvement District expressed some concerns about transportation management.

The Rosslyn BID encouraged the county to “take a holistic approach” to evaluating APS’s transportation management plans for its two programs against those of the new daycare and private school.

Doing so, the BID said, could “help mitigate potential logistical and safety impacts, particularly during pick-up/drop-off hours,” per the report.

(more…)

Power out in part of Ballston after possible transformer explosion

By ARLnow.com
Fire engine in front of the AVA Ballston Square building in Ballston after power outage (staff photo by Lene Query)

(Updated at 1:55 p.m.) At least a couple of large buildings in Ballston are without power after reports of a possible transformer explosion.

Firefighters were initially dispatched to the area shortly before 1 p.m. after a caller reported a loud explosion-like sound and some smoke believed to be coming from a power transformer.

They were subsequently also dispatched to the AVA Ballston Square apartment building at 850 N. Randolph Street for a report of an elevator that was stuck with people inside after the power went out.

An office building across the street, which houses ARLnow’s offices, is also without power.

The outage appears to be relatively isolated, according to Dominion’s outage map, with just under 400 homes and businesses affected. Restoration of power is currently estimated between 5-8 p.m.

Salt Pot Kitchen in Ballston has closed, new tenant unknown

By Matt Blitz
1/3

The sun has set on the British-inspired Salt Pot Kitchen in Ballston Quarter Market.

The “upscale British street food” eatery closed down its Quarter Market stall back in early August, co-owner Wendy Salt confirmed to ARLnow. Salt Pot first opened there in May, making its run rather short.

“Our contract was only ever for 3 months as a trial run/pop-up. There was always going to be an option to extend, which we would have been happy to consider but it just never got busy enough,” she wrote ARLnow. “Other opportunities came our way, and we have been busy exploring those since August.”

Salt also noted that they are not completely gone from Ballston, keeping a presence at the weekly farmers market on Thursday evenings until mid-November.

“This has been very successful, and we have many repeat customers every week,” Salt said.

The restaurant also continues to sell its food online.

Salt Pot Kitchen is from the Loudoun County-based mother-son team of Wendy and Charlie Salt and the mall stall was their first brick-and-mortar location. It served traditional English fare, like sausage rolls, meat pies, soups, and Wiltshire plaits.

The stall where Salt Pot Kitchen was, near the escalator and across from Bollywood Bistro, is currently dark, as it’s been since August. There’s no word as of yet on what new tenant might move in.

Prior to the British eatery, the stall was the home of Rogi. That pierogi pop-up, which replaced Italian spot Cucina al Volo, closed early this year, making way for Salt Pot Kitchen in the spring.

Incident at Ballston Gold’s Gym leads to assault charge against D.C. deputy mayor

By ARLnow.com
The Gold’s Gym near Ballston (via Google Maps)

A D.C. deputy mayor is on leave after a reported assault in Arlington.

The incident happened Saturday around 12:30 p.m. but was not reported to police until Monday evening, an Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman said. It took place in the parking lot of the Gold’s Gym near Ballston, on the 3900 block of Wilson Blvd.

“The suspect and male victim became engaged in a verbal dispute after the door of the suspect’s parked vehicle struck the vehicle the victim was entering,” said ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “The dispute escalated, during which the suspect allegedly grabbed the victim by the throat.”

“During the course of the investigation, a suspect description was developed and on Tuesday, the victim responded to the Office of the Magistrate, completed a criminal complaint and a warrant for Assault and Battery was issued for Christopher Geldart, 53, of Falls Church,” Savage said. “He was notified by telephone of the warrant, turned himself in and was released on a summons.”

Geldart has served as the District of Columbia’s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice since being appointed in January 2021, according to his biography on the District’s website.

NBC 4 first reported on the incident and that Geldart is now on personal leave pending an investigation, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser. Fox 5 published surveillance video (below) apparently captured by the gym, which shows the parking lot confrontation.

The victim of the alleged assault suggested that this is not the first time Geldart was involved in an incident at a Gold’s location.

“Something should be done. It’s not okay,” Dustin Woodward, who’s identified as a trainer at the gym, told Fox 5. “We’ve been dealing with him a while at Gold’s. Multiple locations actually that’s how we even figured out who he was.”

Photo via Google Maps

Voice tech conference returns to Crystal City for second year

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that highlights Arlington-based startups, founders, and local tech news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn. 

(Updated at 2:55 p.m.) A conference highlighting innovations in how people talk to their technology is returning to Crystal City next Monday.

VOICE22 will feature speakers from national and international companies and has backing from big-name tech companies, including Amazon, Google and Salesforce.

The conference is “the world’s largest voice-tech trade event and conference” said Pete Erickson, who founded the Ballston-based startup Modev, which is hosting the event.

“This market is being made before our eyes as people, machines and algorithms are increasingly working in tandem, making Conversational AI a must-have for most consumer-facing organizations,” said Erickson.

Scheduled speakers represent JPMorgan Chase, Walmart, Instacart, Nat Geo, Intuit, Capital One and NPR. The conference will feature panels on customer service, retail, entertainment and publishing, transportation, healthcare, and financial technology.

“Modev is bringing the top brands in the world together to accelerate Conversational AI with our clients, and VOICE22 is the perfect showcase for high-profile key decision-makers, partners and influencers to shape this global market,” Erickson said.

Erickson founded Modev, a Ballston-based startup that also produces the VOICE Global event, presented by Google Assistant, and the award-winning VOICE Talks internet talk show.

North of 600 attendees are expected to attend, but Modev is shooting for 1,000. Attendees represent companies around the world, but a few in attendance hail are regional, including McLean-based Witlingo and Centreville-based XAPP.AI.

The local startup’s conference, now in its fifth year, was held in Arlington for the first time in 2021. The 2018 and 2019 conferences were both held in Newark, New Jersey and together attracted some 7,000 attendees. The conference was held virtually in 2020 due to the pandemic.

This was the first major tech event to relocate to the area since Amazon announced it would build its second headquarters in Pentagon City in 2018, Arlington Economic Development previously said.

VOICE22 kicks off on Monday, Oct. 10 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City (2799 Richmond Hwy) and will run through Wednesday, Oct. 12.

Promotional graphic for the VOICE22 conference in Crystal City (courtesy photo)

Conceptual plan emerges for potential redevelopment of Ballston apartment building

By Jo DeVoe
1/5

A nondescript garden apartment building in Ballston has attracted the interest of a potential developer.

The developer has filed a conceptual site plan for Ballston Gardens, located at 4314 N. Carlin Springs Road, around the corner from the Harris Teeter at 600 N. Glebe Road. The brick apartment building was constructed in 1961 and has a mix of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units, according to property records.

The preliminary proposal describes a 107-unit building, with two townhouses and 84 parking spaces, partially above and below ground.

Ballston Gardens is noticeably shorter and older than the two multifamily buildings surrounding it: The Springs, a five-story, 104-unit building owned by Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing and completed in 2016, and the Carlin Senior Apartment Community, which was built in 1996 and recently renovated.

Arlington County planning documents envision greater heights for a new residential building. A building on the Ballston Garden site could be up to six stories tall, while The Springs site is zoned for five stories and the Carlin senior apartments site for nine stories, according to an addendum to the 1995 North Quincy Street Plan, approved in 2013.

Developers have the option to file conceptual site plans before official site plan applications so they can work with a team of county staff to iron out any major zoning, code or process issues with their plans, per the county website.

When reached by phone, the developer declined to comment on the conceptual plan.

A side view of a conceptual proposal for Ballston Gardens (via Arlington County)

Pirouette Café & Wine Shop has opened in Ballston

By Matt Blitz
1/6

Ballston’s newest wine bar and shop has started pouring.

Pirouette Café & Wine Shop, on the ground floor of J Sol apartments at 4000 Fairfax Drive, opened late last week, co-owner Philippe Loustaunau confirmed to ARLnow. Both the restaurant and wine bar’s interior and outdoor spaces are now open.

While the wine bar and retail shop are operating at regular hours, the kitchen currently is still only serving appetizers. The full menu will start being available next week, Loustaunau said.

The initial hope was to begin serving a little bit earlier in the summer — taking full advantage of the outdoor patio — but brief construction delays set it back a number of weeks. ARLnow first reported on Pirouette’s planned opening back in January.

The business comes from the wife and husband team of Jackie and Philippe Loustaunau. The couple only lives a few blocks away from the shop, in Virginia Square.

The two always dreamed of opening a restaurant near where they lived, Jackie Loustaunau told ARLnow earlier this year. They always hoped that at least one of the many mixed-use buildings going up in the neighborhood would include a local restaurant or bar. Instead of waiting for that to happen, they just did it themselves.

The restaurant, bar, and wine shop is aiming for a “causal feel” with a large assortment of wines by the glass. The menu is from executive chef Adam Hoffa, who previously worked at Fiola and St. Anselm in the District. It’s set to feature small plates like mac & cheese croquettes, entrees like pork chop Milanese, and dessert.

As Philippe Loustaunau told ARLnow in July, the hope is for Pirouette to become a neighborhood place that the two always dreamed about.

“I love the idea of meeting our customers in the street, going to the park and seeing them with their children, seeing folks at school,” Philippe said in February. “This is a neighborhood environment, which I think creates community and connects people.”

Photos via Pirouette/Instagram (as labeled)

Kung Fu Tea is now brewing in Ballston Quarter

By Matt Blitz
1/3

Bubble tea spot Kung Fu Tea has opened a new location in Ballston.

The New York City-based bubble tea chain opened earlier this week inside of the Ballston Quarter Market food hall, a mall spokesperson confirmed to ARLnow. It has moved into the stall that previously hosted Sloppy Mama’s BBQ, on the other side of Ballston Service Station and across from Go Poke.

This is Kung Fu Tea’s second Arlington location, with the other located in Clarendon at 3018 Wilson Blvd, about a mile from its new outpost.

The chain has more than 350 locations nationwide, with more on the way including one on Richmond Highway in Fairfax County.

Kung Fu Tea is known for its boba (or bubble) tea and other drinks. First opening in Queens, New York in 2010, the company claims to be “America’s largest bubble tea brand.”

Along with Kung Fu Tea, there have been several comings and goings at Ballston Quarter in recent months. Both All About Burger and Local Oyster closed over the summer, while immersive group gaming experience Immersive Gamebox opened earlier in the spring.

This week, Immersive Gamebox is debuting its latest offering: a full-scale immersive game based on Netflix’s Emmy-nominated dystopian series “Squid Game.”

Poppyseed Rye revamps menu, adds former Le Diplomate chef

By ARLnow.com
Exterior of Poppyseed Rye (staff photo)

Sandwich and salad spot Poppyseed Rye is revamping its menu and bringing on a new chef in the kitchen and as a partner.

Greg Lloyd, who worked as Executive Chef at D.C.’s busy Le Diplomate since 2016, is now the Ballston restaurant-slash-flower-shop’s chef and managing partner.

“At Le Diplomate Greg oversaw a kitchen team of 125 people, and ran one of the busiest kitchens in Washington,” a press release notes. “Prior to Le Diplomate he ran Parc in Philadelphia and Buddakan in [NYC], other properties of restaurant magnate Stephen Starr.

“This is a dream addition to our team. Greg’s talent and tenacity know no bounds,” said Poppyseed Rye partner and local serial entrepreneur Scott Parker. “He’s someone we’re looking forward to growing with, and he has revolutionized our offerings at Poppyseed Rye. We’re really thrilled to bring one of D.C.’s top chefs to Arlington, and specifically Ballston.”

Lloyd said in a statement that he wants to “make bellies happy.”

“Greg’s new menu kicks off at Poppyseed Rye effective immediately, it’s already live,” said the press release. “It features breakfast all day, with all new breakfast sandwiches and awesome classics like biscuits and gravy. He’s also added some of his favorite sandwiches and will run daily specials.”

Other menu items include a bahn mi sandwich, mushroom tart toast, and pork belly biscuit breakfast sandwich.

Poppyseed Rye has changed its hours, focusing on lunch and later breakfasts.

“To coincide with the changes, Poppyseed Rye is now open daily from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and has added a coffee menu to go with the new food,” the press release said. When it opened last November, the hours were 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Parker and Lloyd have their sights set on other ventures, as well. The team is now “busy concepting upcoming restaurants… to be announced in the coming months, including one project in Fells Point, Baltimore.”

JUST IN: Crash closes N. Glebe Road in Ballston area, knocks out power

By ARLnow.com
1/3

All lanes of N. Glebe Road are closed just south of Quincy Street due to a crash involving an overturned vehicle.

The single-vehicle crash took down power lines, according to scanner traffic, and the southbound lanes of Glebe are expected to be shut down for an extended period of time as a result.

One person was reportedly taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Police are on scene and investigating the cause of the crash and whether the driver might have been intoxicated.

Dominion, meanwhile, is reporting via its outage map that nearly 2,750 homes and businesses are without power in the area of the crash. The utility company expects power to be restored between 3-6 a.m.

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