construction

Trader Joe’s Sets Opening Month

By ARLnow.com

The opening of the new Trader Joe’s in Clarendon is about two months away.

The company announced today that its grocery store at 1109 N. Highland Street will open at some point in November. The store is 12,300 square feet in size and will offer underground parking.

Interior construction started early last month. Freezer cases and other food-related accoutrements are now visible inside the under-construction store.

With the opening forthcoming, Clarendon residents will soon start receiving Trader Joe’s sales flyers.

“Many area residents after the store opens can expect to receive a copy of the Trader Joe’s ‘Fearless Flyer’ in their mailboxes,” the company said. “The Fearless Flyer is a somewhat irreverent description of a timely selection of Trader Joe’s products. It’s been called a cross between Consumer Reports and Mad Magazine.”

There are more than 350 Trader Joe’s stores in 30 states.

Board Expected to Approve Bus Stop Improvements

By ARLnow.com

While Columbia Pike will be getting its first of two dozen planned “Super Stop” bus shelters later this year, more modest improvements are in the works for 31 other bus shelters around the county (see map, left).

This weekend the Arlington County Board is expected to approve a nearly $400,000 contract to upgrade bus stops in various “County designated high-priority zones.”

“Improvements include improved crossings, curb ramps, the addition or replacement of bus shelters, benches and trash receptacles, the addition or upgrade of existing sidewalks, and landscaping,” according to the board report. “As the construction progresses, periodic traffic restrictions may be required upon roadways in the vicinity of the active construction zone.”

The project is being fully paid for with state and federal funds. A second, more limited phase of the project is expected to follow the current contract.

County to Install Deluxe Bus Stops on the Pike

By ARLnow.com

Work is expected to begin later this month on the first of two dozen enhanced bus stops that will eventually line the length of Columbia Pike.

The first of the so-called “Super Stops” will be built at Walter Reed Drive and the Pike. Work on two other stops — at Columbus and Dinwiddie Streets — is also expected to begin this fall, with a fourth Super Stop expected to be built at Barton Street, near Penrose Square, during the spring of 2012. Combined, the four stops serve more than 2,000 passengers per day.

The new stops will feature heated seats, floors, new lighting, glass windscreen walls enhanced weather protection, and electronic signs that will show bus arrival and departure information. The Super Stops will accommodate 10-15 riders, compared to the six riders who can fit in current bus shelters.

“Super Stops are the bus stop of the future,” County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said in 2008, when the stops were first announced. Plans to offer WiFi internet access at each stop has been scrapped due to advances in smartphones and other consumer technology, according to county spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel.

After the first four “pilot” stops are built, Arlington expects to construct future stops at Navy Annex, Courthouse Road, Glebe Road, Monroe Street, George Mason Drive, Taylor and Thomas Streets, Buchanan Street and Greenbrier Street. Eventually, 24 Super Stops will be built. Officials say the stops will eventually serve as stops for the planned Columbia Pike streetcar.

While the new stops are under construction, existing bus stops will be relocated to the other end of the block.

Update at 12:55 p.m. — WMATA will oversee construction of the stops, with Arlington and the federal government footing the bill, which is estimated at $2.15 million first the first four three stops. Of that, $430,000, or 20 percent, will come from the county while the rest will come from federal highway funds, according to Whalen McDaniel. The remainder of the project will be about 90 percent funded by federal and state grants, with the rest coming from the county.

Construction Underway at Zoë’s Kitchen in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) Interior construction is well underway at Zoë’s Kitchen, a new Greek-inspired soup, salad and sandwich restaurant that’s expected to open at 4245 Fairfax Drive in Ballston as soon as this month.

General Manager Dave Cottrell said the Ballston location may open as soon as Sept. 15, if everything goes well. We suspect that it may take a little while longer for Zoë’s to obtain all the necessary permits after construction wraps up.

Founded in 1995, Alabama-based Zoë’s is a rapidly-growing chain with restaurants from Arizona to Florida. Its menu includes kabobs, sandwiches, pitas and a variety of soups and salads.

Zoë’s currently has four D.C.-area locations: Fairfax, Woodbridge, Potomac, Md. and Annapolis. Some 20 additional Zoë’s locations are planned for the Washington region, Cottrell said.

At least one Ballstonite, however, isn’t optimistic about Zoë’s ability to attract enough customers, even though it’s only one block away from the Ballston Metro.

“[The] menu is very similar to [Aladdin’s Eatery] which didn’t fare well in that location either,” said a local office worker. “Nothing in that location has done well.”

In addition to Aladdin’s, the location was also home to to do-it-yourself stir fry restaurant Flat Top Grill.

Residents of Building Near Construction Collapse Scramble to Find New Homes

By ARLnow.com

First they were forced to flee their apartments as the ground around it slid into a huge construction pit. Then they were told that the money to pay for their hotel rooms was being cut off. Now, about 30 residents of the Swansen Apartments, at 1625 N. Ode Street in Ft. Myer Heights, are being evicted from the still-condemned apartment building, as a three-way legal battle brews.

What started on Aug. 7 as a construction site mishap — the failed retaining wall, the muddy landslide, the threat that the apartment building might collapse — has gone from bad to worse for the Swansen residents, who say they were being told as late as Aug. 23 that they would be able to move back in to their Rosslyn-area apartment building.

That all changed on Aug. 26, residents say, with an email from landlord Mark Swansen.

Currently, the building has been condemned by Arlington County due to the failure of sheeting and shoring on the adjacent construction site which has damaged gas lines as well as the property on the north side of the building… You should make alternative living arrangements in light of the uncertain status of the building. No rents will be due commencing in September and we encourage you to utilize the rent monies to find new living arrangements. At this time, due to this unfortunate and unexpected turn of events, we do not have a reasonable timeline for when the building will be put back into a usable, safe and satisfactory condition, if ever. It is unfortunate that it has come to this, but your safety is our primary concern. Please make arrangements to remove any belongings from the building directly through this office.

The email, obtained by ARLnow.com, was copied to three email address from the D.C.-based law firm of Braude & Margulies, which specializes in construction law. Swansen declined to comment on the email when reached by phone, and has not responded to subsequent requests for comment.

The apartment building’s gas lines must be turned back on before residents can be allowed back in, according to Arlington County Inspections Services Division Chief Shahriar Amiri, but residents say that necessary gas line work has been held up thanks to wrangling between Swansen, Clark Construction and developer JBG.

(The construction pit, located along Wilson Boulevard between Ode Street and Oak Street, will eventually transformed into JBG’s planned Sedona and Slate apartment complex.)

“The construction company told us that the building was stable; however, the gas lines for our apartment building were not holding pressure and thus it would need to be replaced,” one resident told us. “Our landlord… stalled this from happening and did not give the construction company permission to work on the building. So, from that point on, no work has been done to the building.”

“The tenants… are likely being used as pawns in their legal maneuvers,” said the relative of one resident.

Swansen residents say they’ve been given until Sept. 24 to move their belonging out of the apartment. Meanwhile, they say that developer JBG, which has been paying for hotel rooms and meals at the nearby Courtyard Marriott hotel, notified them on Friday afternoon — a day before the arrival of Hurricane Irene — that they would no longer pay for the hotel after Tuesday morning. Later, JBG sent an email saying they were pushing the checkout date back a week, to Sept. 6.

Finding a new apartment in the area at that’s as affordable at the Swansen Apartments is providing to be very difficult, residents say.

“The issue here, is that our building was super affordable, and quite a steal for the area,” one resident said. “The neighborhood of Rosslyn easily runs for $2,000 for a one bedroom, and over $1,900 for a studio. This is about $600 more than what I was paying for the apartment with Swansen.”

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UPDATED: Accident at Ballston Construction Site

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) Arlington County firefighters and paramedics helped to rescue an injured construction worker from one of the top floors of an unfinished office building in Ballston.

A large piece of glass reportedly fell on a worker on the 9th floor of the construction site at 800 N. Glebe Road around 12:30 p.m. Rescuers were apparently able to get the man down several flights of narrow stairs before loading him on to the basket of a ladder truck five floors below. The ladder was then lowered down to ground level as bystanders watched from across the street.

The man’s injuries were not said to be life-threatening.

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Groundbreaking for Arlington Mill Community Center

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) A groundbreaking was held this morning for the new Arlington Mill Community Center.

County Board members Walter Tejada and Chris Zimmerman, County Manager Barbara Donnellan and Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization Executive Director Takis Karantonis were among the officials in attendance, along with construction company representatives and county employees.

Construction on the new, five-story community center is expected to start shortly and wrap up in the summer of 2013. The center will include a full-size gym and fitness center, a senior center, teen center and game room, visual arts studio, a job resource center, a community learning center, several multi-purpose rooms for community events, retail space and a public plaza at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Dinwiddie Street. The cost of the bond-financed project is estimated at up to $25 million.

“In these challenging economic times, it is more important than ever that we invest and plan for the future of our community and provide opportunities and services for those who need it most,” Donnellan said. “The new center will benefit all who live here by serving as an anchor for the community. It will not only provide essential services for our residents, but it will also draw future development and amenities to the area.”

Separately, a 122-unit affordable housing complex is being built adjacent to the community center. Work on that project is expected to stretch through the end of 2013.

Photos courtesy Arlington County

Road Work in Progress on Arlington Ridge

By ARLnow.com

The slip lane from Arlington Ridge Road to Meade Street — the primary focus of a neighborhood fight over a pedestrian safety improvement project — is no more.

The lane has now been demolished by construction contractors, who are in the process of building a wider sidewalk, additional green space and circular driveways for two houses. Daytime traffic on Arlington Ridge Road has been reduced to one lane near the construction zone, with flaggers directing cars on either side. The sidewalk along the east side of Arlington Ridge Road near the construction has been closed.

In addition to the work in progress — eliminating the Meade Street slip lane and making the intersection a purely 90 degree turn — the $200,000 county project has already turned the bus pull-off lane south of 23rd Street into an expanded sidewalk and has squared up the intersection of Arlington Ridge and Oakcrest Road by extending the permanent curbing to where a temporary curb had been installed.

Save Our Streets, a group that formed to oppose the construction, says the money could have been better spent.

“We all watch with a sense of disbelief. Why would the County waste this much money for fixing a non-issue with Meade Street intersection which has no reported accidents?” the group said on its blog. “We need this money for our schools, our poor, our libraries, our roads… not on projects that go way beyond what people want.”

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Not Much Progress on Courthouse Plaza Brick Work

By ARLnow.com

Two months ago we reported that the brick work that has turned Courthouse Plaza into a maze of fences was behind schedule.

On the surface, it doesn’t appear that much progress has been made on the project since then. We spotted a small construction crew working on the big patch of bare ground in front of the AMC movie theater and the county government building yesterday afternoon, but it’s not clear what exactly they were doing.

Residents, needless to say, aren’t happy with the state of affairs.

“I live in Courthouse Plaza and walk through the disaster area every morning. I avoid it at all other times,” one resident wrote, in an email to ARLnow.com. “Why[is it] taking so long to just do half the plaza? Last week they ripped up an additional section — the walkway connecting the west end of the plaza to 14th Street — so apparently the project isn’t abandoned. However, there seems to be ZERO progress on any other part of the site.”

We reached out to Vornado, the owner of Courthouse Plaza, but haven’t heard back.

Work Starts on ‘Memphis BBQ’ in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Interior and exterior construction has started on Memphis Barbeque, a new BBQ restaurant in Crystal City.

The restaurant is taking the place of the now-shuttered Mackey’s Public House on 23rd Street, between Crystal Drive and Jefferson Davis Highway. The official word is that the restaurant will open in “late summer,” but ARLnow.com projects a later fall or winter opening.

According to the Washington Business Journal’s Missy Frederick, owner and restaurant veteran Chris George is planning to spend $750,000 renovating the 5,500 square foot space into a proper barbeque joint, complete with a large outdoor patio.

“Meats will be prepared with the help of smokers and a hickory wood grill,” WBJ reported. Traditional barbeque dishes will be supplemented with new creations like barbeque egg rolls.

Photo courtesy of ‘Terry’

Update on Large Residential Developments in N. Arlington

By ARLnow.com

A drive through parts of Lyon Park, Clarendon and Rosslyn today revealed significant progress on three large residential developments, as well as clean-up work on one ill-fated project.

In Rosslyn, Clark Construction crews are busy cleaning up from last week’s retaining wall failure at the Sedona and Slate apartment site. Workers were busy reinforcing the adjacent Swansen Apartments building, which nearly collapsed into the construction pit after the failure.

Residents have still not been allowed to move back into the building, according to Arlington County Inspection Services Division Chief Shahriar Amiri. It’s hoped that the building may be ready for re-occupancy next week. The Sedona and Slate project, meanwhile, has been set back untold weeks or even months.

Also in Rosslyn, Abdo Development’s Gaslight Square luxury condominium building has a gleaming metal frame and teams of busy construction workers. The groundbreaking for the project was in January.

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