Ballston

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

More Stuff Coming to Ballston — Even more hip food-and-drink spots are on the way for Ballston. A 3,000 square foot Union Kitchen Grocery store is coming to the ground floor of the revamped Ballston Quarter mall, at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Randolph Street, while a Compass Coffee cafe will also be opening in the mall. [Washington Business Journal]

Wheels Stolen Off the Lot at Dealership — Someone stole tires from three vehicles parked in the lot of a car dealership on Lee Highway just after midnight Wednesday. “An unknown suspect(s) removed the tires from and tampered with multiple vehicles in the parking lot of a business,” police said in a crime report. There is no suspect description and no surveillance footage, we’re told. There is a Toyota dealership on the 4000 block of Lee Highway, where police said the crime occurred, but also a Honda dealership nearby. [Arlington County]

Garvey Confident About Amazon — Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey is optimistic about Amazon coming to the area. “I think Amazon is very likely coming here,” she said at a Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce conference, shortly after it was announced that Northern Virginia, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland were among the top 20 finalists for Amazon’s HQ2. “We have got everything here.” [Washington Business Journal]

Rosslyn-Ballston Office Vacancy Rate Expected to Keep Dropping This Year

By Chris Teale

The office vacancy rate in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor continued to recover in 2017, with new tenants moving in this year expected to maintain that recovery.

Commercial real estate firm JLL found that the recovery continued for the third straight year, after tenants moved out in droves from 2009 to 2014 following BRAC and sequestration at the federal level. That contributed to Arlington County’s total office vacancy rate being at 22.7 percent in 2017.

And this year, JLL said the arrival of Nestle in Rosslyn as well as the redevelopment of the Ballston Exchange — formerly known as Stafford Place and the previous headquarters of the National Science Foundation — and Ballston Quarter Mall will help drive down that office vacancy rate.

Rosslyn is set to add occupants in 500,000 square feet of vacant office space this year, including the likes of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which is relocating from D.C. Although with a 29 percent office vacancy rate at the extremes of the corridor, it is not all good news.

A previous JLL report found that office rent is highest on Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn and increasing, due to new high-end “trophy class” offices coming online, as well as the unobstructed views of Washington, D.C. and the Potomac River.

And locating close to Metro stations is still pushing rent up on office space across Northern Virginia by up to 34 percent, according to JLL. It also found that all of the new office space being constructed is close to Metro.

But despite the positives, the Northern Virginia region as a whole is still struggling, with a 20-year historical high for office vacancies and not much improvement forecast in the coming years. Fairfax County’s office vacancy rate of 21.1 percent is second behind Arlington, followed by Alexandria (19 percent), Loudoun County (16.6 percent) and Prince William County (15.6 percent).

The lowest vacancy rate close to D.C. is in Frederick County, Maryland, which has a 9.1 percent vacancy rate.

“The forecast broadly is not likely to shift greatly from today as slower demand caused by limited near-term lease expirations, limited economic diversification outside of the core government and contractor drivers and a dysfunctional Congress will keep supply-demand fundamentals relatively flat,” John Sikaitis, managing director for research at JLL, wrote in a presentation on the findings.

Photos: CarPool Demolished in Ballston

By ARLnow.com
1/3

Long-time Ballston watering hole CarPool closed earlier this year, and now it has been bulldozed to make way for a new development.

Photos show the bar flattened as construction crews prepare to build a new 22-story luxury residential building.

Photos (top) courtesy Phil McGeehan

UPDATED: Fast-Casual Pizza Chain &pizza to Open Wednesday, Dec. 27 in Ballston

By Chris Teale
1/4

Update December 21 at 1:45 p.m. — &pizza will open on Wednesday, December 27 after a spokesman said the eatery hit “a few last-minute details that needed to be addressed and the team simply ran up against the Christmas break.” Multiple tipsters said that staff at the restaurant said it had run into permitting issues with the county.

Earlier: The new fast-casual pizzeria &pizza will open to the public on Thursday in Ballston.

The build-your-own-pizza restaurant will move into 3924 Wilson Blvd, next to Freshbikes near the intersection with N. Quincy Street. It will occupy more than 2,000 square feet of space in the building, facing Wilson Blvd and across the parking lot from Gold’s Gym.

Ahead of the full opening, &pizza is hosting a now-sold-out soft opening today and tomorrow (Wednesday). Each attendee will receive a complimentary pizza so that employees can practice.

“&pizza is a different kind of pizza shop — one where experience is the focal point, and every shop reflects the culture and people who visit most,” the invite reads. “With the opening our Ballston shop, we want to invite you to join us for a lunch or dinner on us.”

Guests can expect &pizza’s signature customizable oblong pizzas with unlimited toppings using local ingredients and no artificial flavors.

More from a press release, after the jump.

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Bruegger’s Bagels Still Open in Ballston

By Chris Teale
1/3

There appears to be one local survivor of a rash of Bruegger’s Bagels closures across the area: its Ballston location.

Almost all of Bruegger’s cafes in the D.C. region closed recently, including in nearby Alexandria. It is a move that could be in part because of the company’s acquisition by Caribou Coffee in August.

On its website, Caribou notes that there will be “Bruegger’s Co-Locations,” which will “bring you the best bagels and coffee, under one roof.”

In Ballston, however, Bruegger’s Bagels is still going strong as a stand-alone business at 818 N. Quincy Street. An employee said this morning that it would be staying open, despite the closures elsewhere.

https://www.twitter.com/texgeo/status/939908547038588928

Front Page Restaurant in Ballston to Close at Year’s End

By Chris Teale
1/2

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) A mainstay Ballston bar and restaurant will close its doors at the end of the year.

Front Page, in business at 4201 Wilson Blvd since the early-to-mid 2000s, will shutter at the end of the month, according to multiple tipsters. Reached by phone, employees confirmed the news to an ARLnow.com reporter.

Front Page has been a popular after-work watering hole for Ballston workers and residents. It serves lunch and dinner each day as well as weekend brunch and serves traditional American fare. The restaurant is on the ground floor of Stafford Place I, the now-former headquarters of the National Science Foundation that is set for a revamp.

We’re told that Front Page declined to renew its lease on the space, and so it will close.

The closure comes shortly after the National Science Foundation moved to Alexandria and shortly before the renovated Ballston Quarter mall reopens across the street with new entertainment and dining options.

“It’s more of a lease thing,” one employee told ARLnow.com. “They took our patio away, and business-wise, it’s the decision that was made. We feel bad for the guests and employees; it’s not something we wanted to happen.”

We’re told that Front Page will stay open as normal between now and midnight on either December 30 or 31. No word yet on whether a closing party of any kind will be held.

Ballston Quarter Mall to Add 18-Restaurant Food Hall

By Chris Teale
1/5

The renovated Ballston Quarter Mall will have a 25,000-square-foot food hall, developer Forest City announced today (Tuesday).

Called Quarter Market, the food hall will feature 18 restaurants, and officials hope it will serve as the anchor for the revamped mall.

The food hall will be centered around a 5,000-square-foot public plaza, accessible via a walkway from Wilson Blvd. The plaza will include outdoor seating for two restaurants, as well as communal seating and space for other activities.

The first nine restaurants to be announced as food hall tenants include hot dog food truck Swizzler, which will open its first brick-and-mortar location; and fast-casual noodle bar Mi & Yu.

Other restaurants will include locally-owned Asian eatery Buredo, Ice Cream Jubilee’s first Virginia location and Pinch Dumplings, which already operates a stand at Nationals Park. More food hall restaurants will be announced at a later date.

“Quarter Market will bring together some of the District’s most original, best-in-class food operators, giving them the opportunity to tap into the incredible market already established in Arlington,” Deborah Ratner Salzberg, president of Forest City Washington, said in a statement. “Once opened, the food hall will truly reenergize Northern Virginia’s food scene, allowing residents to enjoy the region’s most beloved restaurants.”

Construction on the entire mall project, which will include a high-rise apartment complex with more than 400 units, is scheduled to be completed in fall 2018.

Full details from a press release on the first nine restaurants to be announced are after the jump.

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Apartment Developer AvalonBay Moving Headquarters to Liberty Center in Ballston

By Chris Teale
1/5

Two years after being put on hold, construction will resume next year on the Liberty Center’s final building in Ballston after it signed an office tenant.

AvalonBay Communities, a publicly-traded apartment developer and real estate investment trust, will relocate its headquarters to 4040 Wilson Blvd, which is set to be a 22-story mixed-use building with offices, retail and residential. It will be Ballston’s tallest building.

AvalonBay, which is already in the neighborhood at 671 N. Glebe Road, signed a lease for 73,000 square feet of office space on three floors — the eighth, ninth and 10th as well as a portion of the seventh — at the site owned by developer The Shooshan Company and Brandywine Realty Trust.

It joins VIDA Fitness, which will open its first non-D.C. location at the building. With this new signing, the building’s office space is 50 percent pre-leased.

Construction is now expected to start in the first quarter of next year. AvalonBay is projected to move in around mid-2020.

“When we decided to amend 4040 Wilson to a mixed-use building consisting of roughly a 50/50 split of office and residential and increased retail last year, we did so in an effort to adjust to the recent market trends which consisted of more prospective tenants in the [around] 75,000 [square feet] range, and more retail demand along Wilson Blvd.,” Kevin Shooshan, leasing director at The Shooshan Company, said in a statement. “Just about a year after county approval, we’re honored to have executed a pre-lease with a company as prestigious as AvalonBay, securing their headquarters location here in Arlington County for years to come.”

Previously, Shooshan told ARLnow that construction had been paused during a period of high office vacancies in Arlington and the rest of the D.C. region.

Image No. 1 via The Shooshan Company

Crime Report: Man Stabbed in Ballston Knocks on Doors for Help

By ARLnow.com

A man who was stabbed in Ballston during a dispute Monday night knocked on neighbors’ doors seeking help before being rushed to the hospital.

That’s according to this week’s Arlington County Police Department crime report.

The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. on the 1200 block of N. Utah Street. Police say the man was stabbed by a woman he knew and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. A warrant was later issued for the suspect.

More from ACPD:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2017-12040220, 1200 block of N. Utah Street. At approximately 7:28 p.m. on December 4, police were dispatched to the report of trouble unknown. Upon arrival, it was determined that a verbal dispute between known individuals escalated and a suspect stabbed a male victim, causing a laceration. The male victim knocked on the doors to several residences in the area requesting assistance, before being transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A warrant for Malicious Wounding was obtained for the female suspect.

The rest of this past week’s crime report highlights, including some that we’ve already reported, after the jump.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

TechShop Expected to Reopen — Crystal City’s TechShop location, closed last month as a result of the company’s bankruptcy, is expected to reopen under new ownership. [Washington Business Journal]

RIP Bill Bozman — “He was ‘one of the community’s greats,’ in the words of former state Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple, and while the death of William Bozman was not unexpected, it still created a ripple of emotional outpouring from several generations of Arlington civic leaders who had relied on him for counsel and good humor.” [InsideNova]

Library Director’s Annual Xmas Playlist — Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh has released the 2017 version of her annual holiday music playlist. [Arlington Public Library]

ARL Sticker Opportunity — If you missed out on the the first batch of free ARL stickers, there is another opportunity to get your hands on some. We’ll be bringing the stickers to Thursday’s Speakeasy Evening With Dr. Rixey, which is happening from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the The Rixey apartments in Ballston (1008 N. Glebe Road). Register for the free event, which features local art, live jazz, gin cocktails and great rooftop views, here.

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Report Shows Disparities in Income, Health Care Across Arlington

By Chris Teale

A report has shown that areas of wealth and disadvantage exist very close together in Arlington, sometimes just blocks away from each other.

The report by the Northern Virginia Health Foundation, entitled “Getting Ahead: The Uneven Opportunity Landscape in Northern Virginia,” identifies what it calls 15 “islands of disadvantage,” where people face multiple serious challenges.

Those challenges include the levels of pre-school enrollment, teens out of high school, whether people have a Bachelor’s degree or higher, the level of English spoken in a household, unemployment rate, child poverty rate, health insurance rate and more.

Of those “islands,” three are either wholly or partly in Arlington: one near the county’s border with Bailey’s Crossroads and Seven Corners; another along Columbia Pike in the Douglas Park neighborhood; and another in the area of Buckingham and Fort Myer.

The report also found that neighborhoods separated by one thoroughfare can have very different demographics, housing and poverty levels.

“A striking example was near Ballston Common [Mall, rebranded as Ballston Quarter], where residents in two census tracts on either side of North Glebe Road — tracts 1019 and 1020.01 — faced very different living conditions,” the report reads. “In census tract 1019, east of N. Glebe Road, 85 percent of adults had a Bachelor’s degree or higher education and the median household income exceeded $160,000 per year.

“Just west of N. Glebe Road, in tract 1020.01, 30 percent of teens ages 15-17 years were not enrolled in school, only 38 percent of adults had a Bachelor’s degree and 48 percent of the population was uninsured.”

It also found that life expectancy can vary by as much as 10 years across the county, “from 78 years in the Buckingham area to 88 years in parts of Rosslyn and Aurora Highlands.”

To help improve conditions, the report recommended better access to health care, education and affordable housing.

“In today’s knowledge economy, advancement requires better access to education — from preschool through college — and economic development to bring jobs with livable wages to disadvantaged areas,” it reads. “And it requires an investment in the infrastructure of neglected neighborhoods, to make the living environment healthier and safer, to provide transportation, and to improve public safety. What is good for our health is also good for the economy and will make Arlington County a stronger community for all of its residents.”

Courtesy image

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