Arlington Transit will start running a new bus route to better connect Ballston and Shirlington later this month.
Starting Dec. 17, the bus service will introduce a “72” route, running from N. Glebe Road’s intersection with Old Dominion Drive in Rock Spring to the intersection of S. Quincy Street and S. Randolph Street near the Village at Shirlington. Buses will run every 20 minutes during rush hours and every 30 minutes the rest of the day, according to ART’s website.
The transit agency first surveyed riders about the new route this fall, and it will use it to run buses through the Ballston Metro station, via both directions of George Mason Drive. ART also plans to run new buses along the route, some of which it acquired this summer.
The new 72 route will involve the creation of a total of eight new bus stops, including:
Northbound Bus Stops
Stop 1 – N. Glebe Road and in front of the Marymount Admissions Building
Stop 2 – N. Glebe Road and 32nd Street N.
Stop 3 – N. Glebe Road and N. Albermarle Street
Stop 4 – N. Glebe Road and N. Abingdon Street
Southbound Bus Stops
Stop 5 – N. Glebe Road and 35th Road N.
Stop 6 – N. Glebe Road and 33rd Road N.
Stop 7 – N. Glebe Road and Rock Spring Road
Stop 8 – N. Glebe Road and Old Dominion Drive
The route will run from 5:58 am to 8:37 pm every weekday.
Anyone looking for a mid-day ice cream fix can swing by Ballston Quarter this afternoon.
Ice Cream Jubilee, a D.C.-based chain which will soon set up shop in the revamped Ballston Common mall, is giving away free scoops at a pop-up location today (Wednesday).
The giveaway will run from noon through 2 p.m., and will be set up on the “M1” level in the Macy’s concourse.
Anyone swinging by will be able to choose between “candy cane pretzel” or “boozy eggnog” ice cream. The shop uses “only local all-natural milk and cream” to create “delicious, exotic flavors inspired by international travels, decadent cocktails and childhood favorites,” according to its website.
Eventually, Ice Cream Jubilee will be located in the development’s large new food court on its ground floor, dubbed “Quarter Market.” Some Ballston Quarter stores began opening up for business last month, but that section likely won’t open until February.
The mall’s backers are hoping to have all of the development open to customers sometime this spring, though the project has enduredseveral delays in recent months.
(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) Ballston watering hole A-Town Bar and Grill, which opened in 2012 and helped launch a mini nightlife empire in Arlington, is closing.
Scott Parker, a partner in the business, said in a Facebook post Tuesday evening that A-Town will close as its lease ends on Jan. 1, 2019. It will be replaced by “a brand new concept” in the same space, Parker said.
After an amazing run, our lease is up on January 1st and that will be the end of A-Town. It’s been an amazing journey that we couldn’t be more thankful for, but with our lease ending it’s time to say goodbye. However, we won’t be leaving! We’ve made a deal with the landlord to start a new lease, and we’ll be bringing a brand new concept to the exact same space which we will announce this spring, and plan to open early next summer. Stay tuned!
Though it was often crowded, and had a particularly devoted clientele for its “Sunday Funday” celebrations, A-Town did face challenges over the years. Rowdy customers made notable appearances in crime reports, and Arlington County officials sometimes balked at renewing its live entertainment permit.
Still, the good times kept rolling.
“We had an amazing run, it surpassed all of our expectations a million times over,” Parker told ARLnow.com
“The landlord wants to reinvest in us with a new concept,” he continued. “We’ll announce the concept sometime next spring and hope to open in early next summer.”
In the meantime, said Parker, A-Town fans can expect “a couple big parties” prior to the closing.
“[We] want to thank everyone that supported this place from the bottom of our hearts, we couldn’t have done what we’ve done in this city without A-Town,” Parker said.
Geoff Collins was about to get lunch in Ballston on Friday when he witnessed what appeared to be a theft in progress.
A Macy’s employee was yelling at a man who had just run out of the store, carrying an arm-full of underwear. As the man crossed Wilson Blvd, Collins decided to give chase.
He never caught up to the man, but he did get a photo, which he emailed to ARLnow along with his story of what happened:
This morning around 11:40 a.m. on the 4300 block of Wilson Blvd in Ballston I witnessed a man running out of the Macy’s store carrying an arm full of men’s underwear. A store employee on her lunch break was screaming something in his direction as he ran across Wilson Blvd and up N. Taylor Street. I began pursuing him and took out my camera and yelled “hey, buddy” at which point he turned around for the attached photo. He immediately dropped the merchandise on the sidewalk and kept running toward Fairfax Drive. I picked up the merchandise, returned it to the store, and called the police. They came by about 10 minutes later and I filed a police report.
Collins said police took awhile to show up and get his side of the story. The officer never asked for the photo he took.
Police describe the incident as a “minor dispute.” No charges were filed.
“At approximately 11:49 a.m. on November 30, police were dispatched to the 700 block of N. Glebe Road for the report of a larceny just occurred,” said Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “The investigation determined this incident was a resolved minor dispute.”
Savage noted that police discourage residents from chasing alleged criminals through the streets.
“For your safety, citizens are not encouraged to chase suspects, however, they are encouraged to be active witnesses and report criminal activity to police at 703-558-2222 or 9-1-1 in an emergency,” she said. “Information provided to dispatch should include a suspect description, location, method and direction of travel.”
Firefighters on the scene of a rescue effort at 750 N. Glebe Road in Ballston
Firefighters on the scene of a rescue effort at 750 N. Glebe Road in Ballston
Firefighters on the scene of a rescue effort at 750 N. Glebe Road in Ballston
Firefighters on the scene of a rescue effort at 750 N. Glebe Road in Ballston
Arlington first responders teamed up with workers at a Ballston construction site to help a worker suffering a medical emergency this morning (Monday).
Fire and rescue workers were called to the scene of the large new development at 750 N. Glebe Road around 8:30 a.m., after hearing that a person on the site needed medical attention.
Fire department spokesman Ben O’Bryant says first responders initially believed they’d need to perform a “technical rescue” to bring the person down from the construction site’s upper levels.
But he said that construction workers subsequently found “an equipment lift or an elevator,” giving first responders easier access to the patient.
O’Bryant says the person was taken to the hospital, but did not have any additional information just yet.
County officials are planning some improvements along Fairfax Drive and 10th Street N. as the roads run from Ballston to Clarendon, with a special focus on ways to make the corridor safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike.
Arlington transportation planners are circulating a survey seeking feedback on how the roads should change, as the county weighs a series of modest improvements over the next few months. In all, the study area stretches from Fairfax Drive’s intersection with N. Glebe Road in Ballston to 10th Street N.’s intersection with N. Barton Street in Lyon Park.
The county is envisioning changes along the 1.5-mile-long stretch of road as “short-term, quick-build projects to enhance safety and mobility on the corridor.” Officials hope to eventually commission more expansive changes, after it took over management of the roads from the state this summer, but the county’s budget crunch means that options are limited, for now.
But, in the near term, the county plans to examine “multimodal traffic volume data, curbspace use, crash data, and transit service data” in addition to the community’s feedback to chart out small-scale changes, according to a project webpage.
The advocates with the group Sustainable Mobility for Arlington County certainly have some suggestions for the corridor. The group sent an email to its members urging them to advocate for the transformation of Fairfax Drive into a “low-stress biking corridor, even if it requires re-purposing space from motor vehicles,” in addition to other cycling improvements.
“The existing Fairfax Drive bike lanes are narrow, frequently blocked, and fail to be low-stress due to fast-moving traffic,” the advocates wrote. “The existing, short two-way protected bike lane should be extended all the way from Glebe Road to Clarendon Circle.”
The group also argues that 10th Street N. and Fairfax Drive both lack safe road crossings, particularly as the corridor runs from N. Barton Street in Lyon Park to N. Monroe Street in Virginia Square.
“This makes the corridor a barrier,” they wrote. “Additional safe crossings should be provided and these crossings must be simple and easy to use for cyclists as well as pedestrians.”
The county survey on road improvements will be open for submissions through Dec. 16. Officials hope to have short-term recommendations ready by sometime early next year, then install those by the spring or summer of 2019.
Shatner: Arlington E-Bike Rules ‘Barbaric’ — E-bike enthusiast and Priceline pitchman William Shatner, better known as Star Trek’s Captain James T. Kirk, said via Twitter yesterday — in response to a tweet from the sassy Arlington Dept. Environmental Services Twitter account — that Arlington’s prohibition on e-bikes on local trails is “barbaric.” [Twitter]
Kojo Coming to Crystal City — WAMU 88.5 is bringing the Kojo Nnamdi Show to Crystal City for “a town hall-style discussion about how local officials, businesses, and community members in Northern Virginia and the region are reacting to Amazon’s decision.” Those wishing to attend the taping can register online. [Kojo Nnamdi Show]
Upgrades for Ballston Senior Housing — “The Arlington County Board [Tuesday] approved a low-interest loan of $3.025 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds to help renovate The Carlin, a 162-unit, 10-story building located at 4300 N. Carlin Springs Road. The Carlin serves low income elderly residents who are 55 years and older.” [Arlington County]
‘Arts District’ Near Crystal City? — “Even before the specter of Amazon’s second headquarters put stars in everyone’s eyes in Crystal City, Stratis Voutsas and Georgia Papadopoulos, managers of a trust that owns many buildings on the neighborhood’s ‘restaurant row,’ were dreaming up a plan to bring more people across U.S. Route 1 to the neighborhood… The trust wants to build an open-air park and plaza on a parking lot and site of a Greek restaurant the trust owns behind some of the 23rd Street restaurants. It would have artist spaces tucked below, facing onto 22nd Street.” [Washington Business Journal]
Amazon News Roundup — Amazon’s HQ2 search was about “selecting locations with specialized kinds of talent that meet certain needs,” and “Crystal City… puts Amazon closer to tech talent, but also to government leaders, cloud customers, and the U.S. Department of Defense.” Crystal City is built upon the former Abingdon Plantation and the new Amazon presence “affords us the opportunity to recognize and memorialize the lives of those enslaved there.” Meanwhile, a former JBG executive who left to help build a $3 billion development in Tampa is returning as the company prepares for Amazon’s arrival.
Nearby: New Wawa and New Restaurant — A new Wawa is coming to Vienna, making it the closest Northern Virginia location to Arlington for the beloved convenience store chain. And an acclaimed chef is planning to open a new Italian restaurant on N. Washington Street in the City of Falls Church.
Ballston’s work, live and play neighborhood has been getting a lot of attention lately. With Ballston Quarter opening soon and a ton of new restaurants, retail, multifamily and office space, it has truly unleashed a new identity for the neighborhood and has taken Arlington by storm.
In the world of coworking, we like to think TechSpace has been contributing to this excitement. If you have not seen us yet, we’d like to invite you to come visit us at TechSpace Ballston where we can take your small business to the next level.
A few ways TechSpace is redefining the coworking experience:
Concierge Staff
From the moment you walk in our space, you are warmly greeted by Julie Manning, the Site Manager, and Gabby, our Member Services Coordinator.
For companies, especially those in the early stages of their operations, we find it essential to be their biggest support system. The burden of having to hire a full-time office manager, IT support and administrators can be daunting. We take that burden away and have everything taken care of for you.
Our Community
Our campus has a great community feel.
Every day, you will not only be warmly welcomed by the TechSpace staff, they host a multitude of fun and educational networking events each month for members to meet and mingle (don’t be surprised if you find Julie or Gabby making the members waffles for breakfast some mornings)!
Flexible Space:
In addition to providing turnkey, flexible office spaces, we provide flexible terms and cool environment without sacrificing productivity. Our sleek and spacious suites and on-demand conference rooms allow growing companies to maintain productive work environments that most coworking spaces cannot provide.
Zack Armstrong of Quantum Partners and a TechSpace member states, “TechSpace has provided incredible customer service to Quantum since day one. Any request or issue that has been brought to the staff’s attention has been addressed immediately, which has not always been the case at other coworking spaces that we have been a part of in the past. Also, our teams’ productivity has increased significantly since moving to TechSpace.”
Our Tech
Your business needs a scalable, secure and fast platform that provides flexibility for all its users.
With TechSpace, that’s exactly what you’ll get: our technology is engineered specifically for your business. Each member receives access to dedicated, reliable, and fast connectivity featuring the latest in routing and switching, wireless, and security technologies.
Not only will you save time and money, but you’ll also gain peace of mind when your company connects to your own dedicated, private, and highly secure VLAN and enterprise Wi-Fi network.
So come see us when you’re thinking about taking your company to that next level. All the hard work is taken care of without the startup costs associated to setting up your own office – furniture, internet, staff, IT network, phone lines, and more. We’ve got it handled, so come check us out!
A Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission commuter bus (via PRTC)
A map of a new bus route connecting Haymarket to Rosslyn and Ballston (via PRTC)
A map of a new bus route connecting Haymarket to Rosslyn and Ballston (via PRTC)
Commuters to, and through, Arlington from Northern Virginia’s western suburbs will soon have a new bus option.
The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, commonly known as PRTC, is starting up a new bus route to connect Haymarket to stops along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Starting Dec. 17, buses will stop at four locations in Haymarket, including a soon-to-be-completed commuter parking lot, and five stops in Arlington.
The new “OmniRide” route, approved by PRTC’s governing board earlier this month, will provide the first direct link between western Prince William County and Arlington’s urban core. PRTC currently runs buses connecting Woodbridge to Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City (and one route linking Gainesville to the Pentagon), but commuters along I-66 previously had to hop on Metro or another bus to reach the area.
“New routes always start with four trips in the mornings and four trips in the afternoons/evenings, and this route will follow that pattern,” PRTC spokeswoman Christine Rodrigo wrote in an email. “As ridership grows, additional morning and afternoon/evening trips can be added.”
Stops in Arlington will include:
The intersection of Fairfax Drive and N. Taylor Street, near the Ballston Metro station
The intersection of Fairfax Drive and N. Kansas Street, near George Mason University’s campus
The intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Herndon Street, near the Clarendon Metro station
The intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Veitch Street, near the Courthouse Metro station
The intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Kent Street, near the Rosslyn Metro station
Del. Danica Roem (D-13th District) expects that the new bus route will be incredibly meaningful for her constituents in her western Prince William district — so much so that she says she was “over-the-moon ecstatic” when she heard the news that the route was becoming a reality.
Not only does she expect it will help Haymarket residents commuting to the Pentagon or other jobs around Arlington, but she sees plenty of local benefits too. The PRTC bus will provide yet another option for people traveling between Rosslyn and Ballston, and could ease some of the relentless traffic pressure on I-66 around Arlington.
“Arlington and Prince William County don’t exist in a vacuum without each other,” Roem told ARLnow. “We are connected. My constituents routinely work in and commute through Arlington. And Arlington relies on our highly skilled workers, just as they rely on Arlington to provide them with high-paying jobs to make those long commutes worth it… so I’m hoping this linking bus will enhance our connectivity, not just in terms of mass transit, but also in encouraging stronger working relationships between eastern Northern Virginia and western Northern Virginia. We need to realize we really are in this together.”
With no small degree of pride, Roem notes that the new bus route wouldn’t be possible had the General Assembly not acted to set a floor on the region’s gas tax this year, providing a stable source of funding for PRTC for the first time in years. Without that provision, included in the sweeping deal to provide dedicated funding for Metro, Roem expects PRTC wouldn’t have been able to afford the Haymarket-Arlington connection until next September.
However, she notes that new money will only get the new route “off the ground,” not fund it in perpetuity. Money from the I-66 tolls will eventually help keep the service running, but PRTC will still need to scrounge up additional funds until the toll money arrives, according to the transit service’s documents.
Even still, Roem has every confidence that PRTC will find a way to make the math work, especially because she fully expects to be popular among riders. She notes that many commuter lots in western Prince William are already thoroughly overcrowded, so there should be a constituency for the new route right away.
Additionally, Roem notes that Arlington Transit plans to honor PRTC’s tickets, allowing riders to easily connect from Rosslyn and Ballston to the Pentagon, or even Crystal City.
“Now, you’ve got yourself a commute connecting Haymarket all the way to the Pentagon,” Roem said. “And with Amazon coming in, we’re going to need a lot more mass transit going out to Crystal City. This is a small step in that direction.”
Storefront window sign for “Kenny’s & BG hair salon”
Exterior of hair salon on corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Pollard Street
Decor remnants from Zapatat tattoo removal shop
Exterior of hair salon on corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Pollard Street
A new hair salon opened on Monday, Jan. 7, in Ballston.
Signs in the storefront’s windows indicating Kenny’s & BG Hair Salon was “coming soon” to 820 N. Pollard Street popped up in November. The “zap” sign from the tattoo removal shop Zapatat, which arrived in the space in 2011, was still in the store.
Chris Slavin, the owner of Zapatat, told ARLnow that the tattoo removal shop closed at that location about nine months ago and relocated to 2731 Washington Blvd.
The space on the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Pollard Street is below condos and neighbors Willy’s Barber Shop.
The Lebanese fast-casual restaurant Badaro has closed down seven months after it opened in Ballston.
The restaurant, located at 933 N. Quincy Street, has signs on both of its doors. “We are sorry to inform you Badaro Restaurant has closed down. We thank you for being a part of our Badaro family — from your Badaro employees,” both of the signs read.
Readers first alerted ARLnow to the closure last week.
Badaro opened at the spot on March 23, replacing the a former NKD Pizza location. Prior to its opening, Badaro’s owner predicted he would be opening a second location in the summer of 2018 and then expanding beyond that.
Across the street, Sichuan Wok also appears to have shut down. Located at 901 N. Quincy Street, the Chinese restaurant has been closed during normal business hours since Nov. 1.
