“The infamous Leprechaun Lap is making its way to Clarendon on Saturday, March 11th!” says the registration page for the St. Paddy’s-themed event. “Join the shenanigans to Clarendon’s best bars, patios and rooftops, featuring all day drink specials, DJs, bands, signature party favors, and giveaways.”
Early bird ticket pricing of $10 ends later today, after which the price goes to $20 plus fees.
The crawl is being organized by B Social Events, from Clarendon nightlife power couple Christal and Mike Bramson. The bars listed as crawl destinations — including Clarendon Ballroom, B Live and Pamplona — are all Bramson owned. (Their company also has a crawl in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood planned for the same day.)
The event listing promises more bars being added to the crawl in the near future.
More on the Clarendon crawl, below.
Don your green and get ready for your St. Patrick’s Day bar crawl adventure!
What do you get:
Access to Clarendon’s Best Bars, Patios, and Rooftops
Renderings of the proposed apartment building for the Joyce Motors site in Clarendon (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the proposed apartment building for the Joyce Motors site in Clarendon (via Arlington County)
The Bank of America at 3401 Columbia Pike (via Google Maps)
A rendering for the proposed redevelopment at 3401 Columbia Pike (via Google Maps)
Over the weekend, the Arlington County Board approved two redevelopment proposals, one in Clarendon and one on Columbia Pike.
It greenlit an apartment complex for the Joyce Motors site at 3201 10th Street N. in Clarendon and one for the Bank of America office building at 3401 Columbia Pike.
The Clarendon proposal includes a site plan to construct an 11-story apartment building with ground-floor retail. It includes nine on-site committed affordable units, including five “family-sized units” as well as the relocation and preservation of the historic Joyce Motors façade and the full building preservation of the Clarendon Barbershop building several blocks away.
“For historic preservation purposes, the Board also approved transferring developmental rights from the Clarendon Barbershop Building to the Joyce Motors site, allowing unused density to be used toward the proposed 11-story [mixed-use] building,” per a County Board press release.
The developer committed to installing new sidewalk, building portions of 10th Road N. and a new alley, as well as LEED Gold certification and nearly $1 million in cash contributions for transportation and public spaces.
“It’s really a big win for staff, the community, the project development team, I’m really thrilled to see it manifest this way,” said Board Chair Christian Dorsey. “It’s a testament to the fact that, I know developers are often considered the enemies in society, they are also the conduit to the implementation of the plans that the community wants to create.”
“It’s not going to happen if we don’t have people who are willing to put together and take on all kinds of risks to get things done,” Dorsey continued. “The beauty of that is we can have win-wins, where you have a development team that hopefully has a successful project but the community, for generations, has something that reflects the plans they come up with.”
On the Pike, the Board approved the construction of a six-story, 250-unit apartment building and about 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and commercial space, at the busy corner of S. Glebe Road and the Pike.
Normally, these kinds of projects are supposed to receive administrative approvals via the Columbia Pike Form-Based Code. This project, however, required County Board approval in part because the developer, Marcus Partners, requested relief from height restrictions on a portion of the property.
“This is a strong project, I do… appreciate a little bit of architectural diversity coming forward, I think it will add a lot to the neighborhood,” said Board Member Katie Cristol. “I appreciate our staff’s efforts to make sure compliance with the code is a floor in terms of fulfilling the vision of the neighborhood as well as thorough, additional work to mitigate impacts that may be happening and maximizing the positives.”
The Shirlington-based local pet store announced on Saturday that it was opening its third Northern Virginia location at 2509 Franklin Road in the Clarendon area. It’s taking over the space that Loyal Companion is leaving at the end of February.
Earlier in the month, Loyal Companion announced it was closing many of its pet stores across the country, including the two in Arlington, due to its parent company declaring bankruptcy. Both locations, in Clarendon and at Lee Harrison Shopping Center, were planning to close on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Within weeks, though, Dogma committed to taking over the space.
While it’s taking over the space at the beginning of next month, Dogma owner Sheila Raebel told ARLnow the plan is to reopen by Tuesday, March 7. She said one of the biggest reasons to move in was the desire to keep Loyal Companion’s staff employed.
“The decision was made when I met the staff there and saw how hard they were taking the closure of their store,” said Raebel. “I couldn’t let that happen.”
Dogma opened more than two decades ago in Shirlington and expanded to Reston in 2017, with the new location focused on grooming. The Reston outpost closed during the pandemic and then was open for appointments only.
Separately, Raebel also announced the Reston location will be fully reopening next month.
A park in Clarendon is slated to get a series of improvements identified by neighbors almost four years ago.
11th Street Park, located on the corner of 11th Street N. and N. Danville Street at 2751 11th Street N., will receive paving and accessibility upgrades as well as new landscaping, lighting and furnishing.
“Existing gravel walkways will be replaced in approximately the same location and will be concrete” and accessible to people with disabilities, a county webpage says. “Other features include new site furnishings, renovation of the existing lawn areas, additional trees and new native pollinator plantings, signage, natural boulders and path lighting.”
The overall project budget for the park improvements in 11th Street Park totals $492,338, which includes “design, soft costs and construction,” the report says.
Construction is set to begin before spring and end before October, per the website.
A design plan for 11th Street Park’s renovation (via Arlington County)
The Clarendon-Courthouse Civic Association flagged the need for upgrades to the green space near The Crossing Clarendon retail center back in 2019, when it submitted requests to the Arlington Neighborhoods Program (formerly known as the Arlington Neighborhood Conservation Program).
This kicked off a community process that resulted in the Arlington County Board approving the scope of the project in April 2021.
“This plan received the support of the Clarendon-Courthouse Civic Association through a collaborative community process with staff from Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation,” a county report notes. “Several meetings were held to prepare a refined concept plan and develop the final design.”
Design meetings were also held in 2021 and, as part of the project, the open space was renamed 11th Street Park in 2022.
The park’s old name was a longer but equally literal descriptor: 11th Street North and North Danville Street Park. Community members considered other names, including one to honor Nguyen Ngoc Bich, a Vietnamese refugee and Arlington resident who advocated for immigrants and shared Vietnamese culture.
Bich, who died six years ago, could instead be remembered with a historical marker. It would also pay tribute to Clarendon’s historical monicker, Little Saigon, as many refugees settled and built businesses there. Many have since relocated due to rising rents.
The aerial view of the Joyce Motors site in Clarendon and a rendering of the proposed apartment building (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the proposed apartment building for the Joyce Motors site in Clarendon (via Arlington County)
Renderings of the proposed apartment building for the Joyce Motors site in Clarendon (via Arlington County)
The Joyce Motors building in Clarendon (via Arlington County)
A developer is setting aside $25,000 for the installation of a historical marker to describe the importance of the Joyce Motors site in Clarendon.
The sum raised eyebrows among some Planning Commission members last night (Monday) during their discussion of a proposed redevelopment of the auto shop at the intersection of N. Irving Street and 10th Street N.
“I think people often complain about the cost of building things and doing things so for my own benefit, when people ask me about this, I want to drill down a little bit,” Commissioner Daniel Weir said. “When you buy a plaque to give to one of your coworkers who’s retiring after 30 years of service, it costs $40 from the guy you buy tchotchkes from. So distinguish these two things for me, please.”
Commissioners were told the $25,000 is budgeted for the hard costs of installing a sign or plaque or embedding the explanations in concrete under-foot.
Without much other discussion, commissioners unanimously approved the plans from Orr Partners to build a 241-unit apartment building with 3,600 square feet of ground-floor retail.
The project required the developer to work with nearby businesses to divy up the triangular lot bounded by Wilson Blvd, 10th Street N. and N. Irving Street lot into three parcels. Orr Partners will build an alley through the middle of the site from which residents can access underground parking.
The approval comes more than three years after the developer submitted its site plan application in 2019. Arlington County accepted the site plan in spring of 2020 but put it on hold for two years while staff completed an update to the Clarendon Sector Plan, which guides development of the neighborhood.
“We have made substantial changes over the past three-plus plus years as we’ve been at this,” said Andrew Painter, a land use lawyer with Walsh Colucci, representing the developer. “We’ve shown the ability to be creative by partnering with neighbors on the alley [and] the land swap, by partnering to preserve historic façades and construct a building that will be able to solve so many planning goals.”
While the $25,000 budget for a historical marker gave some commissioners sticker shock, others thanked Orr Partners for delivering a project that provided nine on-site committed affordable units, including five family-sized ones.
“I just wanted to say thank you for including larger-sized units that can fit families,” said Commissioner Tenley Peterson.
Loyal Companion is closing all local stores, including this one at the Mosaic District (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
Both Loyal Companion pet stores in Arlington are closing within a few weeks.
Parent company Independent Pet Partners announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week and is planning to shutter all of its stores outside of Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois by the end of the month.
The plan is for the stores to be shuttered by Tuesday, Feb. 28, per the website, but “final days of business may vary by location.”
An employee at the Clarendon location confirmed that Feb. 28 will be the final day for that location, but there was no answer at the Lee Harrison store.
The company published the following letter to customers.
To our Loyal Companion community,
With a heavy heart, we want to inform you that we’ve made the tough decision to close our Loyal Companion stores. We have loved serving the community and supporting you on your pet wellness journey.
Our stores will be open through the end of February. We will be offering liquidation discounts and we encourage you to take advantage of these great offers to get all the supplies you need.
While it’s hard to say goodbye, it’s easy to say thank you. Thank you for being part of our family. Thank you for caring about pet wellness. And thank you for supporting your local community.
We’ve enjoyed all the hugs and belly rubs along the way.
Grooming services and self-wash stations will likely be stopped in the middle of the month, the website notes.
It’s not immediately clear what liquidation sales and discounts will be available at the Arlington locations, with an employee declining to provide more information.
In 2017, Kriser’s Natural Pet Store opened at Lee Harrison Shopping Center. Less than two years later, both Arlington locations were rebranded as “Loyal Companion.”
The 3200 block of Washington Blvd in Clarendon where two new restaurants are opening (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The 3200 block of Washington Blvd in Clarendon where two new restaurants are opening (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Two new Asian restaurants are coming to Clarendon later this year.
An “authentic” Chinese dim sum restaurant called Tiger Dumpling and a Japanese izakaya-style restaurant called Izakaya 68 are coming to the 3200 block of Washington Blvd in Clarendon, signage in the window suggests.
Both restaurants are owned by the Ivea Restaurant Group, which runs a number of Asian-inspired restaurants across the region. That includes Ballston’s Gyu San, which is expected to open this year.
A spokesperson for the group told ARLnow that the two restaurants — they declined to confirm the name of the izakaya-style eatery — are now aiming for a summer opening, a bit of a pushback from the hoped-for April launch date.
The location in Clarendon was chosen due to the neighborhood’s foot traffic and because it is on the ground floor of a relatively newly constructed building, the owners said. The restaurants will be filing spaces that were previously home to Utahime and La Finca, with the former closing in 2020 and the latter in 2021.
Those restaurant spaces have seen considerable turnover, owing at least in part to the placement at the edge of the Clarendon business district, though residential development on the former Red Top Cab lot may help them feel less on the periphery to diners.
Prior restaurants that have come and gone from the spaces include pan-European pub Park Lane Tavern, ‘Top Chef’ contestant Katsuji Tanabe’s Le Kon, and “cajun seafood and sushi lounge” Asiatique.
Tiger Dumpling and Izakaya 68 are not the only Asian restaurants coming to Clarendon. Wagamama is expected to reveal an opening date for its new location in the former Oz space “shortly,” according to a spokesperson. Wagamama was recently voted the sixth-most anticipated 2023 restaurant opening in Arlington by ARLnow readers.
The new CVS with the large brick wall facing Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The new CVS with the large brick wall facing Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The new CVS with the large brick wall facing Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Wilson Blvd CVS with a large blank, brick wall facing the street is set to open next month.
A new CVS, on the former site of the Highlander Motor Inn at 3336 Wilson Blvd near Virginia Square and Clarendon (and next to Mario’s Pizza), is aiming to open in a few weeks, we’re told.
“Barring any unexpected delays, we plan open in mid- to late-February,” a company spokesperson told ARLnow.
What makes this CVS notable to many passersby is the nearly 20-foot-tall windowless, brick rear wall of the building facing Wilson Blvd, one of Arlington’s main commercial corridors.
When it first went up in August, ARLnow received emails from locals calling the wall an “eyesore, “unfit for the area,” and “The Great Wall of Clarendon.”
This was just the latest dust up about this particular site.
In 2016, the county sued long-time property owner and local businessman Billy Bayne about what exactly could be built on the site after he signed a lease with CVS.
That was the beginning of a multi-year legal battle that eventually led to the Virginia Supreme Court declining to consider an appeal from the county, effectively allowing Bayne to move forward with his plans to bring a CVS to the site and handcuffing the county in terms of regulation.
The court fight didn’t sit well with Bayne, who said he lost nearly $2 million while the project stalled.
“It’s not okay to do this to somebody,” Bayne told ARLnow in 2018. “There will be ramifications for this.”
(When Bayne’s Highlander Motor Inn became a Covid quarantine location in 2020, however, there appeared to be a warning of relations. County officials praised Bayne for “stepping up” in a time of need while Bayne said the deal helped him pay bills with the county being “very good” to him.)
The motel finally closed in early 2021 and was demolished later that year, but not before one final party. Then, the CVS began to be built and neighbors saw a huge wall go up. The store also has a sizable surface parking lot between the building and Wilson Blvd.
CVS spokesperson told ARLnow at the time that the wall was “included in the overall construction and design plan approved by Arlington development officials.”
But that didn’t soothe some unhappy locals or put to bed the unsubstantiated rumors that this was the long-awaited revenge against the county.
“After the long court battle with the owner of the Highlander, CVS is throwing its ‘f you very much’ by placing a blank wall along Wilson Boulevard,” one resident told ARLnow back in August. “Can’t wait for the future graffiti — I mean, community arts project!”
Billy Bayne told ARLnow that he had no say in the construction project or the wall, but he also had a few other things to say about upset neighbors, the county, and other matters.
“CVS can do whatever they want. This is not the People’s Republic of China. Who do [locals] think they are telling local businesses what to build?” he said. “If people think they can tell CVS what to do, I must be missing something. Does CVS tell them what they can put on their front lawns?”
He continued, blasting the county for not being “business-friendly” and reiterated that he still felt personally attacked by the county for its multi-year legal fight with him.
“This isn’t revenge, but I do think what [the county did to me] was personal,” he said. “I blame [the wall] on Arlington not working with CVS. I call them the ‘socialist government of Arlington.’ And CVS is just trying to do good for the neighborhood.”
Photos of cars blocking a protected bike lane outside a Starbucks in Clarendon (courtesy photo)
Photos of cars blocking a protected bike lane outside a Starbucks in Clarendon (courtesy photo)
Photos of cars blocking a protected bike lane outside a Starbucks in Clarendon (courtesy photo)
Drivers have been blocking a new PBL in search of the perfect PSL.
Last November, as part of a 2022 Complete Streets project, Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services replaced two parking spots with a protected bike lane, or “PBL,” on the east side of Clarendon Blvd. It also added new free, 15-minute parking spots at N. Danville Street, to accommodate those who would have used the two former spots when picking up their coffee order from the nearby Starbucks.
“All those legally parked automobiles are actually protecting bikers who are using the bike lane to the right,” noted DES spokesman Peter Golkin.
But illegally parked vehicles caused a different problem. Flouting a no-parking sign, cars — and even a county pickup truck — parked where the spots used to be, partially or completely blocking the bike lane. Local cyclist Jeff Hopp said he saw cars blocking the bike lane “all day, every day,” to access the Starbucks location across the street from the Whole Foods.
“In the area near Starbucks, [the county] created a hazard to cyclists instead of a safe PBL,” he said. “The county removed two parking spaces in the area when creating the PBL but the design of the PBL at this spot allows for drivers to drive into and park in the PBL while they ‘run in’ to Starbucks to grab their drinks.”
Public feedback helped guide the designs, Golkin says, but in response to the reality on the ground, the county recently made it harder to park there.
“Extra bollards were added this month to make such an abuse less tempting and to encourage drivers to look for the free and pay spaces just a few feet down the road,” Golkin said.
Several free 15-minute parking spots can be found on Clarendon Blvd at Danville along the new protected bike lane. A few more PBL bollards can be found just to the west. https://t.co/WBOtOpfRPhpic.twitter.com/wEz2z32F8n
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) January 17, 2023
Hopp, who had notified the county about the issue, says he appreciates the changes.
“I feel the county was responsive to a conversation about a solution and, in the end, I feel they made the right decision to install additional bollards around the edges,” he said. “With these additional bollards, vehicles will not have enough room to pull into the PBL in this area — unless drivers just mow them down, which I’ll bet has happened before.”
The new Beyond/Hello medical cannabis dispensary in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Beyond/Hello)
The new Beyond/Hello medical cannabis dispensary in Clarendon (photo courtesy of Beyond/Hello)
Arlington’s first medical cannabis dispensary is set to open tomorrow in Clarendon.
Beyond/Hello is set to open the county’s inaugural cannabis dispensary on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 2701 Wilson Blvd. The 6,820 square-foot shop with 37 parking spots is located across the street from Whole Foods and next to neighborhood staple Galaxy Hut.
There will be an official ribbon-cutting ceremony this Friday, a company spokesperson told ARLnow.
Beyond/Hello is owned by Florida-based Jushi, which owns nearly 40 dispensaries across a number of different states. This will be Beyond/Hello’s fifth Northern Virginia dispensary, including two Fairfax County locations. The shops on Richmond Highway and near George Mason University both opened last year.
ARLnow first reported a cannabis dispensary was coming to Clarendon back in July. It was initially supposed to open by the end of the year, but that got pushed back by a few weeks due to waiting on county inspections.
Metro access, a central location, and a “bustling” neighborhood are among the reasons that Beyond/Hello chose this location for its next Northern Virginia dispensary.
“Just a five-minute walk from the Clarendon Metro Station, Beyond Hello Arlington is located in a bustling part of the city, where patients can easily check out historical sites, hit the town to grab a bite, catch some live music or check out a theatrical performance,” Jushi CEO Jim Cacioppo said in a press release. “This new retail location has ample comfortable seating throughout the store along with standardized tested products for patients. We look forward to continuing to be a good business and community partner in the Commonwealth as well as delivering a retail experience exceeding expectations.”
The presence of parking was also a factor. A company official told ARLnow last summer that most of the other buildings that ownership looked at in Arlington had “zero dedicated parking spots,” while this one had about 40.
The Clarendon location is a big part of Beyond/Hello’s Northern Virginia expansion. The company is one of only four allowed to sell medical cannabis in Virginia and, by law, can only open six stores in the Commonwealth.
Beyond/Hello currently has five dispensaries in the area, with a sixth opening in Woodbridge later this year.
Last summer, a state law went into effect that removed the requirement for medical cannabis patients to register with the Commonwealth in order to purchase cannabis. Now, all patients need is a written certification for a licensed practitioner.
While it’s legal for those over 21 to grow and possess small amounts of cannabis, non-medicinal retail sales remain illegal following last year’s failed legislative efforts. The Virginia General Assembly is likely to consider bills at its upcoming session that could set the stage for legal retail sales of cannabis by this time next year.
Progress on reconstruction of the Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. intersection (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The design plan for Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. (via Arlington County)
Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. (map via Google Maps)
Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. improvements area (via Arlington County)
The “porkchop” at the intersection of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. (Image via Google Maps)
Recommended reconfiguration of Washington Blvd, imposed over existing conditions, in the 2015 traffic study for the Red Top Cab properties site plan (via Arlington County)
Progress on reconstruction of the Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. intersection (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington County is nearing the end of project to overhaul of the intersection of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N., near Clarendon.
The redesigned intersection will have two lanes of travel in each direction, while the new 13th Street N. will make a “T” with the new Washington Blvd.
“The benefits of the wider sidewalks and utilities moved underground are a better pedestrian experience for current and future residents, and a more streamlined traffic pattern for vehicles,” Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Claudia Pors said.
Previously, Washington Blvd surrounded a triangular patch of grass and dirt bordered by sidewalks — which county documents have described as a “diverter island” or “porkchop” — on all three sides. Drivers had to navigate around the island to either continue onto Washington Blvd or turn onto 13th Street N.
A busy stretch of Washington Boulevard in Clarendon has been put on the straight and narrow. Find out what happened to some quirky old reversible lanes and a traffic island, then meet a new "T" intersection. https://t.co/bNYpJUuKifpic.twitter.com/FNDXflDiuO
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) January 10, 2023
When this stretch of Washington Blvd was first identified for changes in the 2014 Clarendon Sector Plan, it also had a reversible travel lane between 13th Street N. and Wilson Blvd.
This pattern appears to have been removed a few years before the construction on the new “T” intersection began in 2021, according to Google Maps street views from prior years.
The old reversible travel lanes along Washington Blvd between 13th Street N. and Wilson Blvd (courtesy of Arlington County)
The Arlington County Board approved a contract to Sagres Construction Corporation to undertake the streetscape improvements and utility undergrounding in February 2021. Work started that spring and is expected to last 18-24 months.
“The project is still under construction and is expected to be completed this spring,” Pors said. “There’s still work to be done on signals, curb and gutter, milling and paving and landscaping.”
As part of the project, the work provided public open green space with seating and trees for a future park at the intersection, Pors said. The park will be at the northwest corner of the intersection, south of a reconfigured N. Johnson Street.
The site of the proposed open space at the intersection of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N. near Clarendon (via Arlington County)
The project will also deliver wider sidewalks and improved pedestrian crossings, underground utilities, new traffic signals, street lights and street trees. It costs an estimated $6.4 million, from local commercial and industrial taxes earmarked for transportation and developer contributions.
The 2014 Clarendon Sector Plan called for these changes, which were then incorporated into the Red Top Cab properties redevelopment. The County Board approved this redevelopment in 2015, and the first phase was completed in the spring of 2021. Construction on the second phase began in January 2022.
The second phase, at the corner of Washington Blvd and 13th Street N., is comprised of a multifamily building with 269 homes.
