Interior construction has finally started on the new Trader Joe’s in Clarendon.
In addition to converting the cavernous space within 1109 N. Highland Street into a grocery store, crews will also be working to install an elevator shaft, to provide access from the store to the parking garage below. Residents of the Lyon Place at Clarendon Center apartments received the following note about the impending construction on Friday.
Please be advised that Prime Contracting is scheduled to do work in the parking garage to install elevators from the garage to the Trader Joe’s store. This elevator project is scheduled to begin August 8 and is expected to take at least 8 weeks to complete. During that time there will be several spaces on each level of the garage that will be out of service. All driveways will remain open and access to parking will continue as usual.
Please take notice that on Monday, August 8, Prime Contracting will begin concrete demolition for the elevator shaft in the garage. The concrete demolition will start at 5:30pm and will take 3-4 hours. It will take approximately 3 evenings to perform this work.
Update at 7:35 a.m. on 8/9/11 — Clarendon Boulevard has reopened, but neighborhood streets in the area of the collapse remain closed.
Update at 5:55 p.m. — Clarendon Boulevard and 16th Street will both remained closed between N. Pierce Street and N. Oak Street through the morning rush, the county said this afternoon.
Update at 1:10 p.m. — The processes of shoring up the collapsed retaining wall could take up to 48 hours, according Arlington County Inspection Services Division Chief Shahriar Amiri. While some road closures will remain, Amiri said that Clarendon Boulevard may reopen as soon as tomorrow’s morning rush hour. “We are working hard at it,” he said.
The road closures related to last night’s construction site collapse are expected to remain in place through tonight’s evening rush hour. Heavy traffic is expected as a result.
Arlington’s Office of Emergency Management issued the following alert just after 10:30 this morning.
It is anticipated that both lanes of eastbound Clarendon Blvd (N. Pierce St. to Oak St.) will remain closed through the evening rush hour, related to the construction site collapse.
On northbound Rte 110, the Rosslyn exit (via Wilson Blvd) has also been closed to relieve congestion. Motorists are encouraged to continue onto westbound I-66 to the Lee Hwy exit.
Lee Hwy (Rte. 29) and Arlington Blvd (Rte. 50) are the suggested routes for getting to and around Rosslyn. Those with plans in Rosslyn should expect major traffic delays. Transit, pedestrian & bicycle routing will also be affected.
Update at 1:35 p.m. — See this post for the latest on the road closures surrounding the site.
Roads are closed in Rosslyn after a retaining wall partially collapsed at a construction site on the 1500 block of Clarendon
A large retaining wall at the Sedona and Slate apartment construction site gave way following this evening’s heavy rains, allowing earth and debris to spill into the construction pit. The collapse raised fears of an even bigger structural collapse.
Clarendon Boulevard will be closed between Pierce Street and Oak Street “for the foreseeable future,” according to Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Lt. Gregg Karl. Parts of Ode Street and several other roads in the area are also closed.
The Swansen Apartments, at 1625 N. Ode Street, has been evacuated while structural engineers determine whether the building is in danger of collapsing as a result of the failed retaining wall. The building sits on the edge of the landslide that occurred after the wall collapse.
Residents of the Swansen Apartments, who spoke to ARLnow.com on the condition of anonymity, said that they’ve noticed widening cracks in the building’s basement and in the pavement of the parking lot adjacent to the building within the past two weeks. The residents said they recently saw workers measuring the cracks.
About 10 apartment residents have been displaced and will be placed in temporary housing, Karl said. He said other residents found alternate housing on their own. Between 20 and 35 people live in the building, according to resident and fire department estimates.
As of 11:00 p.m., Clark Construction, the primary contractor on the Sedona and Slate project, had around a dozen employees on scene assessing the situation. Arlington County engineers were also on scene, Karl said. The Red Cross arrived to assist displaced residents, and the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department arrived to provide food and drink to emergency workers.
So far, there has been no indication that there’s any danger to a large construction crane at the site.
(Updated at 12:20 p.m.) Next week, construction is expected to begin on a number of controversial changes to Arlington Ridge Road from 23rd Street to Meade Street.
The four-week, $200,000+ construction project will eliminate a bus pull-off lane, will extend permanent curbing at the intersection of Arlington Ridge and Oakcrest Road, and will include various curb, gutter and sidewalk improvements — all in the name of improving pedestrian safety.
But one change in particular has prompted vocal protests from dozens of residents: the elimination of the slip lane from southbound Arlington Ridge Road to S. Meade Street.
The slip lane is used by residents who live in the neighborhood, and by parents dropping their children off at Oakridge Elementary School. Critics of the project — who are publishing a blog called Save Our Streets — say that eliminating the slip lane will actually make the area less safe by forcing turning traffic to stop on a steep downhill portion of Arlington Ridge Road, risking rear end collisions and making the sharp turn difficult during bad weather.
In response to a letter from the Arlington Ridge Civic Association (ARCA), which said the S. Meade Street portion of the project “is viewed as unneeded and potentially dangerous… with little or no gain for pedestrians,” county staff wrote that the elimination of the slip lane is “a major component of the project plan.”
“The existing slip lane allows vehicles to exit Arlington Ridge and enter S. Meade Street at a higher rate of speed,” staff said. “Requiring vehicles to slow to a safe maneuvering speed at the proposed singular entry site improves the safety for vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians… The necessary reduction in speed for turning vehicles under the proposed plan is also supported by the current [25 mph] speed limit on Arlington Ridge, the lowering of which was heavily supported by ARCA.”
Arlington County Director of Transportation Dennis Leach reiterated that view in a recent WUSA9 story on the Arlington Ridge changes.
“Slip lanes actually encourage traffic to speed… it creates hazards for pedestrians,” Leach said.
The plan to turn the slip lane into an expanded sidewalk and green space is consistent with other county road projects that have eliminated slip lanes, including at the intersections of N. George Mason Drive and N. Frederick Street and S. Joyce Street and 15th Street. Another slip lane — at the bottom of a steep hill on S. Walter Reed Drive at the Four Mile Run access road — is also slated for removal this summer, and at least two slip lanes at Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive are slated for elimination in the next year or two.
Do you agree with the county’s approach to eliminating most slip lanes due to safety concerns, or do you agree with the ‘Save Our Streets’ citizens who argue that eliminating (at least certain) slip lanes is unnecessary and may actually have the opposite intended effect, safety-wise?
Some South Arlington residents are trying to fight the county on an upcoming construction project.
The county has been planning to redesign parts of Arlington Ridge Road from 23rd Street to South Meade Street. Some of the improvements include work on curbs, gutters, sidewalks and bike lanes. The county cites pedestrian safety as the reason for the revamping.
Some neighbors launched a campaign called “Save Our Streets” to oppose the approximately $200,000 project. Group members say they’re upset because of wasteful spending, the county isn’t listening to them and there’s a lack of transparency.
The group hopes to encourage other residents to write letters to the county requesting a suspension of the project, which has a construction start date set for August 8. They want more time to give resident input and have it incorporated into the design.
County Manager Barbara Donnellan sent a memo to board members last month saying citizens’ concerns had been evaluated and the plan was adjusted accordingly. The memo concluded that “this project is ready and will move forward with construction.”
The start date was set for August 8 in order to avoid disrupting school children who walk in the area. Once work gets underway, the project is scheduled to take about four weeks.
Interior work on the new Clarendon Trader Joe’s is expected to finally get underway soon, after Arlington officials approved the store’s building permit today.
The store was originally slated to open “mid-2011,” but that hoped-for opening has been pushed back due to an unexplained delay in applying for (and getting) the necessary permits and inspections. In May, a Trader Joe’s rep told ARLnow.com that the store is expected to open by the end of the year.
In addition to the building permit, Trader Joe’s has also received a zoning permit that will allow it to modify the building’s first floor facade (pictured) for use as a grocery store. The only other regulatory hurdles that remain, for now, concern the store’s fire prevention plan.
The new Trader Joe’s will be located at 1109 N. Highland Street, one block from the Clarendon Metro station.
Update at 3:40 p.m. — County officials say that the actual cost of the fire station, including land swaps, road work and construction, is about $18 million. About $7.3 million of that was to design, build and furnish the station.
A dedication and open house is planned for the new, $5.3 million Cherrydale Fire Station.
The fire station will be dedicated on Friday, July 29, officials announced yesterday. A family-friendly open house will be held on Saturday, July 30, complete with guided tours of the new facility.
Located at 4100 Old Dominion Drive, the station features four bays for emergency equipment, gender-neutral living facilities for firefighters, a public green space and an anticipated LEED Silver environmental design.
County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman called the station “state of the art” and “quite handsome” at Tuesday’s County Board meeting.
(Updated at 10:15 a.m.) Arlington County has released sketches of a planned revamp of the plaza outside the Clarendon Metro station.
The project, set to begin construction later this year or early next year, is intended to improve the currently under-utilized space by creating “an active, multi-use plaza to accommodate the farmers’ markets, music events, vendors and other community activities, while enhancing pedestrian access to Metrorail and transit.”
The improvements include new pedestrian paving, street and plaza lighting, “seating walls,” movable tables and chairs, covered bike parking, modular newspaper racks and a Clarendon Boulevard curb extension.
(Correction: Earlier we asked about whether a tree on the site should be saved. It turns out that the tree was recently removed. The photo we used of the tree was from a county presentation this month, but it was apparently taken before the tree removal. We apologize for the confusion.)
What was once a row of three bungalow houses amid a dense jumble of trees is now an empty dirt lot, and some neighbors are not very happy about it.
The lot, at the corner of N. Danville Street and 11th Street N., will eventually be transformed into a collection of four million-dollar luxury homes, featuring gourmet kitchens, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and spa-style baths with Italian marble, according to a brochure.
In the meantime, however, one neighbor has publicly voiced his or her opinion on the denuding of the lot with a handwritten sign that reads “Just what we need: less trees and more McMansions. Thanks!”
Another anonymous resident emailed ARLnow.com to vent his or her frustration.
“They leveled the entire property and it… is so sad — many of those trees have been on that site for longer than any of our families lived in Arlington,” the tipster said.
Greene Turtle Coming to Ballston — Sports bar The Greene Turtle is coming to Ballston later this year. The restaurant has signed a lease for a 7,000 square foot space on the ground floor of the new Virginia Tech Research Center (900 N. Glebe Road). [Washington Business Journal]
New Apartment Complex Coming to Ballston — A new 150-unit apartment complex called The Crimson on Glebe is coming to Ballston. The five-story mixed-use building will be located across from Ballston Common Mall at the corner of Glebe Road and N. Carlin Springs Road. Owners are hoping to wrap up construction by mid-2013. [CoStar Group]
Buck-a-Burger Sale at Whole Foods — Get ready for your Fourth of July cookout with the Buck-a-Burger deal at Whole Foods. Today only the Clarendon Whole Foods is offering eight varieties of burger patties for $1 each. (They’re normally $2.) [Clarendon Culture]
Remy ‘Dissed’ in Video — A pair going by the names of Barack Flobama and St. Fatrick have released a music video “dissing” Arlington Rap guy Remy Munasifi. [YouTube]
Construction blocked the sole northbound lane of N. Randolph Street at the Glebe Road intersection around lunchtime today.
A dump truck and a backhoe made travel on both northbound Randolph Street and northbound Glebe Road a bit tricky for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. A lone worker with a florescent vest tried to get southbound traffic on Randolph to stay out of the turn lane so northbound traffic could get around the construction. Meanwhile, a lane was also blocked on northbound Glebe Road.
Crews appeared to be doing some sort of work on the sidewalk.
