Clarendon

Clarendon Alliance Names New Executive Director

By Jo DeVoe

As soon as Jenée Padmore, the new Executive Director of the Clarendon Alliance, established her work email, she “hit the pavement” to meet local business owners.

In these conversations, she learned that “there is still some lack of clarity on what the Alliance is,” Padmore told ARLnow. “What we want to be able to do is let people know that we are here to be a voice for the community.”

About 50 businesses are members of the Alliance, a voluntary organization that promotes the neighborhood and its amenities while connecting individuals and businesses in Clarendon to each other and the rest of the county.

“We’re not just an organization that benefits businesses, but also people who live in Clarendon,” Padmore said.

A veteran special events planner, Padmore will also organize the Clarendon Day street festival — a yearly tradition that went virtual last year — and host events supporting Clarendon’s businesses and residents. She anticipates reincorporating in-person initiatives as the weather warms and people feel comfortable going out.

Padmore also wants to review the ideas that her predecessor, Elizabeth Crocker, could never realize due to COVID-19.

“Our goal is to back up look at all these things we were trying to accomplish and see if there are ways to implement them in this coming year,” she said. “These engagement opportunities will have to be innovative because we can’t have large-scale events and we know people are Zoomed out.”

Other approaches may have to be old-school, as Padmore said the Alliance needs to reach businesses and neighbors offline as well as online.

That is in her wheelhouse, having developed a regional census initiative to educate hard-to-count populations. Padmore also executed coronavirus relief for businesses in Northern Virginia and was an economic development associate for the Town of Vienna and the NoMa Business Improvement District.

“Jenée brings a wealth of experience in community organizing, economic development, nonprofit management, and event production,” said Scott E. Pedowitz, President of the Clarendon Alliance Board of Directors. “We are looking forward to working with a leader of her caliber.”

Ultimately, Padmore envisions partnerships among the Alliance, civic groups and businesses that lift up Clarendon.

“We are an urban village, and in a village, we all assist each other,” she said. “When you develop that sense of community… residents see it, visitors see it, and it attracts more people to the community.”

Photo courtesy Jenée Padmore

St. Charles in Clarendon Envisions New Parish and New Housing

By Jo DeVoe
1/7

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Clarendon is proposing to lease part of its campus for private development and to make its grounds greener and more walkable.

The mid-century church sits on two-and-a-half acres of land wedged among Washington Blvd to the north, N. Kirkwood Road to the west and Fairfax Drive to the south. Parking occupies much of the lot, with the church and its auxiliary spaces lining N. Kirkwood Road and Fairfax Drive.

New renderings, however, reposition the church at the corner of Washington and Wilson Blvd, closer to Clarendon, with parish spaces and a private residential building fanning out behind the church. The building is likely to be an apartment building with a 100-child preschool at the base.

Currently a through-road and one-way loop wrapping around parking, Fairfax Drive would be converted into a walkable plaza. This “enables a comprehensive, pedestrian-friendly connection to Virginia Square and addresses north-south pedestrian access,” according to an architect’s report. Church parking would be accessible from Washington Blvd.

Bike lanes would be rerouted along the south side of the plaza to reduce interactions with pedestrians, the report said. The buildings would provide internal access to protected open spaces — a cloister, a playground and a courtyard.

St. Charles pastor Fr. Don Planty said in a January report the parish has spent the last three-and-a-half years studying the land, working with lawyers and architects and projecting potential costs. Recently, the project turned a corner.

Planty said in the report that Bishop Michael Burbridge of the Diocese of Arlington “has approved our recommendation to move forward with our project, seeking a development partner.” (Diocesan laws require the bishop to approve all developments.)

“This marks an exciting transition for us: we have long spoken about the ‘potential’ redevelopment of our site,” he wrote. “We now set about the exciting business of turning our vision into a reality.”

St. Charles plans to lease the western half of its site to a private developer, which would fund the changes proposed for the sacred half of the site.

Drafting a Request for Proposal and selecting a development partner could take six months or more, but would “clear the path for local government approvals and eventual construction,” Planty said.

Although the pastor described the future as promising, he said “we still have a lot of work to do.”

Like other proposed developments, including mixed-use buildings where Joyce Motors used to be and on the Wells Fargo/Verizon Site, aspects of the church’s proposed changes will not meet guidelines in the 2006 Clarendon Sector Plan. In preparation for these developments, Arlington County began mulling over changes to the sector plan in February 2020.

This winter, the county sought feedback on how people feel cycling and walking along Fairfax Drive and Wilson Boulevard between Clarendon Circle and N. Kirkwood Road and what could be done to improve the experience. This area includes St. Charles’s proposed pedestrian plaza and rerouted bike lanes.

Hat tip to Stephen Repetski

Boston-Based Bakery Coming to Former Burrito Eatery in Clarendon

By Vernon Miles

Boston-based Tatte Bakery and Cafe is coming to fill a Baja Fresh-sized hole in Clarendon at 2805 Clarendon Blvd.

The company recently filed for a permit to build a new bakery within the existing building, adding new interior partitions and finishes throughout the facility.

Tatte Bakery and Cafe is a small bakery franchise with around 18 locations, mostly around Boston. The cafe offers pastries and desserts along with brunch and some dinner offerings, like maple chicken and potatoes.

Staff at Tatte Bakery’s lone D.C. location, at 1200 New Hampshire Avenue NW in the West End, said the Arlington location will open in July if all goes well with permitting and renovations. The Arlington location will have the same menu as the D.C. location.

The bakery will be on the southeast corner of the block being redeveloped as Market Common Clarendon Phase 2.

Hat tip to Chris Slatt. Photo via Google Maps.

New Smart Streetlights in Clarendon Could Improve Emergency Response Times

By Jo DeVoe

As early as mid-spring, light poles along Wilson Blvd in Clarendon will be outfitted with new fixtures that monitor crowds and identify potential emergencies.

The technology will be installed sometime this spring as part of a pilot project involving multiple Arlington County departments as well as Comcast, the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative and US Ignite — a nonprofit focused on community innovation. The initiative is dubbed the “Safety and Innovation Zone demonstration project.”

During its recessed meeting yesterday (Tuesday), the County Board voted 4-1, with Takis Karantonis dissenting, in favor of the pilot project. US Ignite is donating $90,000 to buy the light fixtures, which Comcast will provide, along with a three-month trial of public Wi-Fi in the area.

Karantonis said his vote should not be interpreted as a vote of no-confidence, but rather, it should signal that he is still skeptical and would like to see more public engagement.

The primary use for the fixtures, to be installed along the 2900 block of Wilson Blvd, will be “people counting,” said Holly Hartell, who presented the project on behalf of the Department of Technology Services. In other words, the light fixtures will monitor crowd sizes and flow to recognize unexpected movements that could indicate a potential threat or emergency situation.

“This is an effort to speed things up where seconds and minutes count,” said Arlington County Fire Chief David Povlitz. “If we could gain information to send the right resource to the right place in a timely fashion that could really accelerate us operationally and also safety-wise.”

The light fixtures do not have the capacity to videotape people, capture images or provide identifying information, Hartell said. They can pick up the presence or absence of an event they have been programmed to detect, such as a large crowd moving quickly. This data will be converted into text and sent to a dashboard in the county’s Emergency Communications Center.

“Everything will be anonymous,” Hartell said. “You will never be able to identify an individual person.”

Later on, the technology could be used to detect falls, blasts, shots, and distress cries, as well as sudden temperature changes or the presence of smoke.

The fire chief added that “this [pilot] is just a start and we hope to be able to build this out in the county in time.”

“We are aware of people who are concerned,” Hartell later told ARLnow, of questions raised about the project. “I understand their concerns, and I want to give them the confidence that what we’re looking at is not going to be in any way impacting their privacy.”

The partners in the project — CCI, US Ignite and Comcast — are all providing best practices on collecting data while respecting privacy, she said. The county has also developed a privacy framework to use as it goes about the project.

“We are protecting people’s privacy while improving our services,” she said.

The pilot project will be in place for about one year. The first few months will be spent refining the uses for the technology, followed by six months of data collection, and finally, an assessment period. Next spring, the county will decide if the project could be replicated elsewhere. At that time, there will be robust public engagement opportunities, Hartell said.

During the meeting, Hartell said the block was chosen because it has a vibrant business district and a “pretty active restaurant and pedestrian activity,” even now during the pandemic.

One incident the technology might have caught in that location, had it been in place a few years ago: the famous 2018 Cheesecake Factory incident, when a promotion for free cheesecake got out of control

The original proposal was to focus on social distancing and mask-wearing, according to the staff report. A small number of business members of the Clarendon Alliance were consulted on the idea, and their concern led to a shift away from coronavirus measures, staff said.

Photo 1 via Google Maps, photos 2-3 via Arlington County

Here’s a Look at the Proposed Redevelopment that Would Replace Silver Diner in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com
1/9

(Updated on 1/28/21) It’s still early in the approval process, but we’re getting a closer look at a proposed redevelopment that would replace the Silver Diner and The Lot beer garden in Clarendon.

As previously reported by the Washington Business Journal, the development would take place on a triangular parcel of land at 3200 Wilson Blvd, across from Northside Social.

The proposal, according to the website of The Donohoe Cos. — which is partnering with property owner TCS Realty Associates to develop the property — calls for two buildings: a 224-room hotel atop what is now Silver Diner, and a 286-unit residential building where The Lot currently sits.

The redevelopment would also replace a pair of smaller commercial buildings and some surface parking lots, and would add 15,000 square feet of street-level retail, a curbless pedestrian-friendly street (known as a “woonerf”), a public park, underground parking, and an upgraded streetscape along Wilson Blvd.

“Bingham Center, located in the heart of the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, presents an opportunity to transform a long underutilized property into a vibrant mixed-use destination,” the company’s website says. “Located within one block of the Clarendon Metro station, this project will stitch together the urban fabric of central Clarendon with the Virginia Square and Ballston neighborhoods to the west.”

“The hotel will include a ground-level restaurant and bar, 6,000 square feet of meeting space, a state of the art fitness facility, and an iconic rooftop bar with sweeping views of Clarendon,” the website adds. “The multifamily building will include a ground-level coworking café and library, an indoor/outdoor lounge opening to an expansive landscaped terrace and pool deck, state of the art fitness center, club room, and multiple elevated outdoor spaces.”

A slide deck with additional renderings, obtained by ARLnow, notes that the Silver Diner property “may be the only economically viable hotel site in Clarendon.” The triangular shape of the lot “will not work for an office building” and will “generate higher tax revenue” as a hotel, the presentation sys.

Atop the ten-story hotel, Donohoe plans to seek permission to add a publicly-accessible rooftop bar and terrace “with views of Clarendon and D.C.,” as well as a fitness center, in “otherwise unused excess space.” While those facilities will not be taller than the planned mechanical penthouse on the building’s roof, it may prompt a battle with nearby residents around the overall height of the building.

Donohoe notes that is is “providing significant land area to public streets, sidewalks, and streetscapes (38% of site area),” as well as a new “Irving Street Park (to be coordinated with neighboring developments),” as community benefits.

Along Wilson Blvd, “improvements per sector plan include increased lane width, added parking and tree pit, and sidewalk (more than twice as wide),” the presentation says.

Adjacent to the proposed Bingham Center development, south of Silver Diner, another developer has proposed “an 11-story mixed-use building with room for at least 200 apartments at the intersection of N. Irving Street and 10th Street N.,” according to a Dec. 2019 WBJ article.

Hat tip to Kristin Francis

Jumping Joeys Appears to Have Closed for Good

By ARLnow.com
1/3

It’s tough to run a restaurant or a fitness studio during the pandemic, but it’s even tougher to run an indoor children’s bounce gym.

Jumping Joeys, which opened at Market Common Clarendon (2800 Clarendon Blvd) just a few months before the pandemic, appears to have closed for good.

An item on the County Board agenda for this weekend recommends that the Board discontinue a daycare permit issued to the business, which allowed it to provide a “Parent’s Night Out” childcare service.

“The operator of this use permit, Jumping Joeys, has closed and is no longer in operation,” the Board report notes. Attempts by ARLnow to reach the owner of the business, which formerly operated out of a more modest space across from Washington-Liberty High School, were unsuccessful.

The company’s website simply says it is “closed until further notice.” A Google listing for a second Jumping Joeys location on W. Broad Street in Falls Church says it is “permanently closed.”

‘The G.O.A.T’ Has Officially Closed in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com
1/4

The G.O.A.T, a sports bar and lounge at 3028 Wilson Blvd in Clarendon, in the former Hard Times space, has closed permanently.

The bar remained closed for months during the pandemic, but its owners recently decided to make what was initially a temporary closure permanent. Retail leasing signs are now up in the windows, equipment was removed from the space, and the bar’s former website is defunct.

“We are moving on to other projects,” G.O.A.T partner Scott Parker confirmed to ARLnow this morning. “[Coronavirus] made it too difficult to sustain.”

G.O.A.T had the backing of Parker and Mike Cordero, the local nightlife titans behind Don Tito, Bronson Bierhall, and Barley Mac. But with a 350-person capacity, plus three full bars and tables across two levels, it proved difficult to fill on a regular basis, even with a location across from the Clarendon Metro station.

The bar opened to fanfare in the fall of 2017. It closed last year amid pandemic lockdowns and never reopened. By early fall, the TVs that adorned the walls, along with other furnishings, had been removed.

Parker, who’s working to open a new pizza and hangout spot at Pentagon Row called Nighthawk Pizza, said no other closures of existing bars are planned, though the pandemic has dealt the formerly high-flying venues a big blow.

“Everything else is staying open,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can like everyone else.”

G.O.A.T is the 24th restaurant to close in Arlington since the start of the pandemic, according to ARLnow’s count.

New Pop-Up Art Studio Opens Inside of Clarendon Cafe

By Matt Blitz

Local graphic designer and artist Hermes Marticio was only searching for a cup of coffee, but found an art studio instead.

It wasn’t Marticio’s first time walking into East West Coffee Wine in Clarendon (3101 Wilson Blvd) when he strolled inside in mid-November. Every time he noticed the art on the walls.

“It’s not curated. It’s just like they put it up there,” says Marticio.

So, he approached the owner, Mehmet Coskun, and asked if he could use a corner of the shop to create a pop-up art studio for his works. Coskun readily agreed and the two made a deal.

“I’ve always wanted my own studio,” says Marticio.

Marticio grew up in the Philippines, immigrated to California, and moved to Arlington about a decade ago for a job and to be closer to his mother. He is a father of one: a 19-year-old daughter.

Marticio says that this area provides good opportunities and schooling, which was also a big reason why his mom came to the United States.

“My mom grew up on a farm in the Philippines,” he says. “Something clicked in her head that wasn’t how [her] family was supposed to live.”

He says it was her “third eye” that guided her, a concept of having an invisible, perceptive eye — often in the middle of the forehead — that’s knowledgeable beyond normal sight.

His mother’s third eye is also inspiration for his art. Marticio designs illustrative portraits of pop icons, from Jay-Z to Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Muhammad Ali , many of which are depicted with a third eye.

“I feel like those icons have seen something that a regular person hasn’t seen,” says Marticio. “That’s why they became so successful.”

Like many folks, Marticio has had his job prospects fluctuate during the pandemic. When he lost his job earlier this year, he focused his energy and attention on creating art. He did get another full-time graphic designer job in July, but by then, he had created a whole lot.

“All of my time, I really poured into [my art]. You know, what else am I going to do?,” he says. “It was also for my piece of mind.”

Marticio has also embedded his art with augmented reality. Each work has a QR code, which if scanned with a phone using Artivie mobile app, reveals animation and other features.

“A lot of artwork can be static,” says Marticio. “But this adds elements to it.”

This augmented reality component is another variation on the “third eye,” adding a perspective not seen by the naked eye.

Coskun says he’s thrilled to have Marticio’s art in his Clarendon coffee shop.

“I like to support local businesses just because I’m a local business myself,” he says. It’s a win-win, a local artist gets to have an art gallery and a local business doesn’t have to spend money on generic decor.

“I’d rather have [Marticio’s] paintings and help him make some money, then [for me] go to IKEA to buy some paintings,” says Coskun. In fact, he’s got a few more inquiries from other local artists as well about putting their work on his shop’s walls.

“If there’s a space available, then why not?,” Coskun says, “It makes the walls look ten times better.”

(more…)

County Seeks Feedback on Proposed Changes to Clarendon Sector Plan

By Jo DeVoe

Time is ticking down to weigh in on the initial phases of an update to the development plan for the Clarendon neighborhood.

Arlington County is inviting people to provide online feedback on proposed updates to the 2006 Clarendon Sector Plan through Friday, Jan. 8.

“We’d like to have you provide your feedback, comments, questions by visiting the project website or by contacting staff,” said Brett Wallace, principal planner, CPHD in a video presentation from mid-December. “We’d also like to get some input on online survey questions.”

The update to the 14-year-old sector plan was prompted by a series of pending redevelopments. Arlington County began mulling over these changes in February.

In this round of public comments, the County is focusing on improvements to the pedestrian and bicycle experience along Fairfax Drive and Wilson Boulevard between Clarendon Circle and Kirkwood Drive.

“As a pedestrian, what is your level of comfort when accessing and using pedestrian facilities along Fairfax Drive between Clarendon Circle and Kirkwood? How would you improve the pedestrian experience along this section of Fairfax Drive?” is one such question.

The County is also asking people to rank whether they would like to see wider sidewalks, street trees, on-street parking, café seating or other amenities. The sector plan currently recommends preserving two “historic” buildings on the north side of Wilson Boulevard, which the County says will make it difficult to realize all these improvements.

The process for changing the sector plan started in September, followed by the first of five engagement session. The next online engagement opportunity will be posted in late January or early February.

The County cites multiple projects in the Clarendon Circle area that do not meet the sector plan’s requirements. They include changes to St. Charles Catholic Church, as well as mixed-use buildings where Joyce Motors used to be and on the Wells Fargo/Verizon Site.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Market Common to Ditch Driveway? — “The loop road through the heart of Regency Centers Corp.’s Market Common Clarendon project could soon look a lot more like a plaza. The developer is pitching a series of changes to the central hub of the development… to try and make the area a bit more pleasing for pedestrians. That includes closing off to vehicular traffic the end of the U-shaped road connecting many of the development’s shops to Clarendon Boulevard.” [Washington Business Journal]

Beyer Statement on Trump Tape — “This recording makes Nixon’s ‘smoking gun’ tape sound tame, but that tape captured only one part of a larger criminal conspiracy. Donald Trump must be held accountable for his illegal acts and his attacks on the Constitution. Nothing less than a criminal investigation will serve.” [Press Release]

Affordable Housing Nonprofit Buys Crystal House — “The Washington Housing Conservancy has acquired the Crystal House apartments in Arlington County in a bid to help combat rising rental rates as Amazon.com Inc. continues to expand its second headquarters nearby. The District-based nonprofit on Dec. 31 notified residents of the complex at 1900 S. Eads St. of the acquisition.” [Washington Business Journal]

Fmr. ACDC Chair Is Top Ga. Runoff Dialer — “And the top caller into Georgia for the ‘blue team’ in the 1/5/21 U.S. Senate runoff elections is… yep, Virginia’s own Kip Malinosky (former Arlington County Democratic Committee Chair), with a whopping 2,801 calls and still dialing!” [Blue Virginia]

Local Basketball Ref Shortage — “Players, coaches and school administrators aren’t alone in making adjustments to hold a high-school basketball season in Fairfax and Arlington counties, which began Dec. 21 with many restrictions and protocols to follow because of the COVID-19 pandemic.” [InsideNova]

Crystal City Hotel Restaurant Reopening — “Really Yummy Good News! Our [Crystal City Marriott] bar and restaurant, Bell20, is Reopening TOMORROW! What a great way to start 2021!” [Twitter]

Pentagon City-Based FLIR Acquired — “Teledyne Technologies Incorporated and FLIR Systems, Inc. jointly announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Teledyne will acquire FLIR in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $8.0 billion.” [FLIR via Potomac Tech Wire]

Rosslyn-Based Politico Buys Energy Publication — “POLITICO, the world’s leading global news operation and information service specializing in politics and policy, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire E&E News, the renowned news organization focused solely on energy and the environment, now in its 22nd year.” [Politico]

Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf

Clarendon Popup Bar Rings in New Year with Weekend Celebrations

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

Clarendon Popup Bar, located inside the former Clarendon Ballroom space, opened for New Year’s revelry and live music this past weekend.

The popup, temporarily themed as a “Winter Wonderland” bar, started serving customers exactly one year after the old event and nightlife spot at 3185 Wilson Blvd closed on New Year’s Eve in 2019. Fire department personnel could be seen conducting final inspections inside the space on Wednesday, before the opening.

“The opening weekend was a huge success,” owner Mike Bramson said in an email. “The turnout was better than we expected as all tables were booked [or] sold out. Our guests really enjoyed the decorations, themed cocktails, projection wall, DJs and bands.”

This coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the multi-level popup bar and event venue will celebrate its official opening. A more detailed lineup of events, featuring a mix of DJs and bands, will be on the website by the end of the week, Bramson said.

“We also have a large projection wall where we can show some playoff [football] games,” he said. “We are already working on a Super Bowl event.”

High-top tables are first-come, first-served, while the bar takes reservations via email for couches, Bramson said.

The County Board approved Clarendon Popup’s request for a live entertainment and dancing permit in mid-December on the condition that the owners abide by all local, state and federal COVID-19 regulations.

“The size of the space allows us to properly social distance and keep our patrons and staff safe while enjoying a fun atmosphere,” Bramson said.

“Typical internal delays” forced owners to postpone the popup’s opening from early December until the last weekend of the year, Bramson previously told ARLnow. As a result, the “Winter Wonderland” theme will stay through at least Jan. 30.

Bramson, a co-owner of The Lot — the popular outdoor beer garden a few blocks from the Ballroom — confirmed in October that Clarendon was getting a new, temporary nightlife spot in a familiar hangout.

The popup bar plans to operate 11 a.m. to 12 a.m., Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Friday and Saturday, including the eve of all federal holidays.

View More Stories