construction

Dominion To Hold Public Meeting About Transmission Line

By ARLnow.com

Arlington is still growing, population-wise, and that larger population is requiring more and more electricity to serve its needs.

To help meet demand, Dominion is planning a major project to run a 3.7 mile underground transmission line from Pentagon City to the power substation at 3245 Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon. The project also proposes to construct a new Radnor Heights power substation on the grounds of Ft. Myer.

The project “will support growth in Arlington County,” says Dominion spokesperson Le-Ha Anderson. But progress will come at a cost — burying the line will be an intensive 18 month process that will result in open-cut trenching and street closures along the proposed route.

“Because this is underground, we’re going to have to dig up the roadways,” Anderson said. “We’re going to do everything we can to minimize traffic and community disruption.”

Dominion is holding a public meeting a week from today to provide information about the project. The meeting will take place from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Nov. 29 at the Lyon Park Community Center (414 North Fillmore Street). The company held a public meeting for the Ft. Myer community last week.

If all goes as planned, construction will begin in January and end in June 2012. The end result, Anderson says, will be worth the temporary hassle.

“We’re improving service reliability to our customers in the Arlington area,” she said.

Flickr pool photo by Alykat

Lee Center Demolition to Begin Soon

By ARLnow.com

The historic Lee Shopping Center near Route 50 and Pershing Drive is not long for this world.

The complex is being torn down to make way for a new mixed use development, and the demolition work is expected to begin at some point within the next month.

Construction crews will first salvage the shopping center’s limestone facade, for re-use in the new development. Then, the demolition will begin.

Utility work is expected to begin after that, and the actual construction of the building should start by the end of the winter, according to owner Equity Residential. The first tenants in the new complex are expected to move in by the summer of 2012.

Neighbors, including residents in the adjacent Equity-owned Sheffield Court apartment complex, are being told to expect construction hours between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays.

Equity has promised to work with the contractor to make sure construction vehicles enter the site through Route 50 and not through neighborhood streets.

The 2201 North Pershing project, as it’s known, will consist of nearly 200 apartments and a block-long first floor retail space that will wrap around to Route 50 / Arlington Boulevard.

Equity says it hasn’t signed up any retail tenants yet, but that hasn’t stopped locals from not-so-quietly making their wish lists known.

“The underserved South of Courthouse, or SOCO, neighborhood, has high hopes for a coffee shop, ice cream store and a small upscale grocery as well as a much needed bank,” one Barton Street resident told us in an email.

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Developer Moves Forward With Clarendon Project

By ARLnow.com

The now-empty lot at the corner of 10th Street and Washington Boulevard near Clarendon is finally ready for some construction.

Thanks to a $48 million bank loan, local developer Ironwood Realty is moving forward with construction of a 163,000 square foot mixed-use building on the site, which was most-recently home to a CVS Pharmacy. Work is set to begin in the next 2-3 weeks, according to the Washington Business Journal.

When completed, the development — dubbed Garfield Park at Clarendon Village — will house 149 luxury apartment units, 20,000 square feet of retail space and nearly 300 underground parking spaces.

Ironwood is also apparently eying some sort of redevelopment of the triangular block near Clarendon Metro known as the Silver Diner block.

In addition to Silver Diner, the block is home to a large parking lot, a service station, a used car lot, the Doctors Building and another small office building.

We’re currently not sure about the extent of Ironwood’s plans on the block. A company official has not returned our phone call.

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Groundbreaking for New Rosslyn Metro Station Entrance

By ARLnow.com

Fortuitously timed between yesterday morning’s downpours, local officials and Sen. Jim Webb gathered under a tent near North Lynn Street to break ground on a new entrance to the Rosslyn Metro station.

The entrance will be located across from the existing Metro entrance, between the planned CentralPlace office and residential towers and near the future 1812 North Moore Street tower. It will feature three high-speed elevators and an emergency staircase, but no escalators.

The $32.6 million project also includes the construction of new fare collection and vending equipment, as well as a new kiosk and a new entrance mezzanine.

“I think it’s a good investment,” said Webb, who pointed to heavy traffic on the nearby Roosevelt Bridge as evidence of the importance of the Metrorail system.

The entrance will be able to serve up to 2,000 riders per hour, officials say. Local leaders hope it will help keep pace with the station’s soaring ridership, which has increased 23 percent in the past decade and is expected to increase even more with all the new development in the area.

“The project that’s being initiated today will increase the capacity of the station,” said county board member Chris Zimmerman, who is also sits on Metro’s board of directors. “It will be easier for people to get in and out of Rosslyn station… It’s going to make Rosslyn a more vital place, and help us achieve the vision for Rosslyn that everyone here has been working on for quite a long time.”

The project is being funded by a combination of federal, state and county dollars.

Construction is expected to wrap up in the spring of 2013. In the meantime, construction has necessitated some traffic changes in the Rosslyn area.

Out of the Ashes, Developer to Build Ultra Energy Efficient Home

By ARLnow.com

The Barcroft neighborhood is going to be the home of the Washington area’s second passive house.

Passive house is an ultra energy efficient building style that’s becoming increasingly popular in Europe. There are only about 20 passive houses in the United States.

The eco-friendly house will be built on the site of yesterday’s spectacular made-for-TV controlled burn exercise. The small, condemned and now-charred home currently on the site will be torn down. Construction is expected to begin around December 1 and wrap up in the spring.

The project is being done on spec by the Burke-based developer Kinsey Properties.

Roger Lin, a managing partner at the firm, says the house will raise the bar for efficiency in environmentally-conscious Arlington.

“It’s highest standard in terms of performance-based green buildings,” he said. “They’re popping up all over the country now.”

Lin said the only other passive house in the DC area is in Bethesda.

Rosslyn’s Future, as Foretold by an Office Building

By ARLnow.com

If Thursday’s groundbreaking for the 1812 North Moore Street office tower was anything, it was a vote of confidence in the DC area, and Rosslyn specifically, as a commercial center.

“The fundementals of our market are probably the best in the entire country, if not the world,” said Tim Helmig, the executive who just placed a $30 million bet on Rosslyn. “Investors worldwide have focused on the [Rosslyn-Ballston] corridor.”

Helmig, who heads the DC office New York-based Monday Properties, said he is embarking on the project without a signed tenant and without full financing because he believes that demand for office space in Rosslyn will be there once the building is completed. His company is so sure of Rosslyn’s viability that a full 45 percent of the company’s portfolio, in square feet, is based here.

“You’re seeing that a market like Rosslyn can withstand what is arguably the worst recession in American history, and move forward on a speculative office building,” Helmig said as a group of developers and local leaders gathered for lunch on the empty 30th floor of an existing Monday Properties building on Wilson Boulevard.

Congressman Jim Moran, who joined Arlington officials and Monday Property executives on stage at the ceremonial groundbreaking, said the event will help inspire confidence in the country’s economic recovery.

“This sends a signal to the whole region that the future is going to be brighter than the past,” Moran said. “It has made it clear that [the Washington area] is going to lead the country out of this recession.”

Calling Rosslyn the area’s “second downtown,” Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer said that 1812 North Moore Street, and the still-stalled Central Place towers, are big steps in the continuing evolution of Rosslyn.

“This building and Central Place and some others are going to change the market dynamics of Rosslyn,” he said. “It’s going to be competing with some of the best of the District.”

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Rosslyn Traffic Patterns Change Saturday

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 12:50 p.m.) Get ready for some changes in the way buses, cars and people move around Rosslyn.

Thanks to the construction of a new Metro entrance and the 1812 North Moore Street office tower, traffic patterns are changing and won’t go back to normal for another three years.

Starting Saturday, North Moore Street will become a one-way street heading south from 19th Street North to Wilson Boulevard. North Moore will remain two-way north of 19th Street.

As a result, taxi stands and bus stops will be relocated to other parts of North Moore Street. Also, passenger pickup and drop-off will be prohibited on North Moore Street — it will only be allowed on the Fort Myer Drive side of the station.

To make way for the new Metro entrance between North Moore and North Lynn Streets, Annie’s Park, next to the McDonald’s, will be permanently closed later this month.

Groundbreaking Scheduled for Rosslyn Skyscraper

By ARLnow.com

Originally approved by the county in 2007, the planned 35-story office tower at 1812 North Moore Street in Rosslyn is finally moving forward with construction. A groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 14.

Unable to sign a tenant or obtain financing for the building, owner Monday Properties is paying the first $30 million of the project’s estimated $300 million cost in cash, according to the Washington Post.

Once it’s built, the 390-foot building will be the tallest in the Washington area. It will offer expansive views of the DC skyline and surrounding areas.

Construction is expected to wrap up in early 2013.

“We’re of course very pleased to see it happen,” said Arlington Economic Development spokesperson Karen Vasquez. “[It is] a great addition for Rosslyn as well as for Arlington.”

Vasquez noted with a pinch of irony that with the 387-foot Central Place tower also moving forward, “we may see another Chrysler Building/Empire State Building competition right here in Arlington.”

Washington Blvd Bridge Project Could Cause Delays

By ARLnow.com

There’s some good news and some not-so-good news to report for people who regularly travel over or under the Washington Boulevard bridge.

The good news is that both thoroughfares will remain open during construction of the new Washington Boulevard bridge, a three-year process that’s expected to begin next fall. Plus, all original travel lanes on each will be open during rush hour and during certain special events and federal holidays.

The bad news is that during the day, during construction, the re-routing of Columbia Pike traffic around the bridge may get a bit funky and cause some delays. The contractor selected to undertake the project will ultimately be able to design their own traffic management scheme, but the plan initially envisioned by VDOT involves directing Columbia Pike traffic up the existing ramps to a makeshift stop light on Washington Boulevard, turning Washington Boulevard and Columbia Pike into a four-way intersection.

“[The contractor] will need to demonstrate to [VDOT] that they will be able to adequately maintain the traffic demand,” said VDOT senior engineer Christiana Briganti-Dunn.

Residents who live in the area can breathe easier, however, since VDOT says it will not consider any plan that routes traffic onto neighborhood streets. Also, the intersection of Queen Street and Columbia Pike will remain open during construction, we’re told.

“We don’t want to adversely affect neighborhood streets with detours,” Briganti-Dunn said. “We want the least disturbance possible.”

The project, which will cost an estimated $59 million, will ultimately result in the demolition of the crumbling, 65-year-old Washington Boulevard bridge, likely in late 2014 or in 2015.

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Development at 1716 Wilson Blvd Moving Forward

By ARLnow.com

Say goodbye to Arlington Motorcar Service, Medical Service Corporation International and the Fashion Dreams tailor. The three small buildings on the 1700 block of Wilson Boulevard are expected to be torn down by the end of the year to make way for a new office building.

Last week Skanska USA applied for a demolition permit at the site. Barring any major obstacles, the buildings are expected to be gone by the end of the year.

In its place, Skanska, the American division of the Swedish construction conglomerate, is building a five-story office building that will include ground-level retail and 230 underground parking spaces. The project will also include the construction of a new road — an extension of Quinn Street that will break up the long block and connect Wilson Blvd with Clarendon Blvd.

The original developer, who sold the project to Skanska this summer, had originally hoped to attract a small grocer and a restaurant or two. It’s not clear if a grocer would be interested in the space, but Skanska will have to fill 28,000 square feet of retail space somehow.

Skanska says the building should be completed by mid-2012. The company is trying to obtain a minimum of a LEED Gold environmental certification.

Despite challenging economic conditions nationwide, Skanska says it’s moving ahead with the project based on the strength of the Arlington market.

“We firmly believe in the strength and long-term value in Arlington,” Skanska regional manager Rob Ward said in a statement. “This area is one of the best sub markets in the country, with low vacancy rates and high demand.”

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