County Board

County Board Approves Crystal Houses Development

By Kalina Newman
1/4

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) The Arlington County Board has signed off on a large new apartment development in Crystal City, near Amazon’s incoming headquarters.

During its meeting this past Saturday, the Board approved plans for the 17-acre Crystal Houses site that will add 819 new residential units to the property across four new apartment buildings and three rows of townhouses. The two existing Crystal Houses apartment buildings will remain as-is.

The plans include two new public parks, 627 new below-grade parking spaces, and a small amount of ground floor retail space.

“One .8-acre public park will be located at the intersection of S. Eads Street and 20th Street N.,” a press release notes. “The park… will contain a multi-use lawn; play area; games; pathways; seating and planting areas.”

A 0.6 acre public park located at the corner of S. Fern Street will include an enclosed “dog run” space, according to landscape architect Trini Rodriguez, and an urban orchard with fruit-bearing trees.

“We wanted to make sure where the parks are located, there is easy access to them and they are adjacent to other amenity areas, creating a pleasant walk for other neighboring communities,” said Rodriguez.

Other planned community benefits from the project include:

  • Streetscape improvements
  • Public art installations
  • LEED Gold Certification
  • A tree-lined pedestrian pathway through the block
  • Protected bike lanes along S. Eads Street and between 18th and 15th Street S.

The developer will plant 359 new trees to offset the loss of 230 existing trees on the site.

In exchange for requested zoning changes for additional density, and to meet affordable housing requirements, developer Roseland Residential Trust has agreed to transfer an adjacent property — currently a surface parking lot — to the county for a future affordable housing development.

From the press release:

To justify their request for additional density sought under the sector plan, and in lieu of providing on-site committed affordable housing units, the developer is conveying a portion of their site, along with their approval to build a seven-story building on it, to the County for affordable housing purposes. The conveyance will allow for significantly more affordable housing to be built on the site than called for in the Crystal City Sector Plan. The developer also will contribute nearly $1.65 million to the County’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund.

The parking lot is currently used for patrons of Crystal City’s 23rd Street “Restaurant Row.” A campaign to save the lot, “Keep 23rd Street Weird,” argues building atop the parking lot will be detrimental to the row’s customer base.

Several members of the 23rd Street campaign spoke against the site plan at the County Board meeting, clad in matching shirts that read “Keep 23rd Street Weird, Eclectic & Uniquely Authentic, Support Parking For Your Local Business.”

“Like other restaurants, we really need parking,”  said Danny McFadden of the recently-opened McNamara’s Pub & Restaurant. “We’ve got customers coming from D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and everybody expresses the same concerns about the parking, everybody on this block thinks the same way.”

Arlington’s Planning Commission suggested that the seven-story, 81-unit building approved for the parcel of land being given to the county could be bigger.

“It is the sense of the Planning Commission that… the County Board and County Manager not build the proposed Crystal House 5 under the approved entitlement, but rather begin a new SPRC process to take full advantage of the density available on the site and seek partnership with adjacent landowners in order to maximize the impact of affordable housing programming and set the appropriate amount of public parking to serve the area,” the Planning Commission said in a letter.

Ultimately, the Board unanimously voted 5-0 to approve the site plan.

The county will now conduct a parking study for the Restaurant Row area and will conduct a search for an affordable housing partner, to develop the lot, sometime between April 1 and September 30, 2020.

The full county press release about the project’s approval is below, after the jump.

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First Phase of Amazon’s Permanent HQ2 in Pentagon City Approved

By ARLnow.com
1/12

(Updated at noon) The Arlington County Board voted unanimously over the weekend to approve the first phase of Amazon’s permanent Pentagon City headquarters.

The vote on the 2.1 million square foot office-and-retail development along S. Eads Street was not met with the same degree of protests that greeted the vote on Amazon’s $23 million local incentive package in March, though union carpenters showed up en masse to protest what they say are labor violations at Amazon’s under-construction, temporary office space in Crystal City.

Amazon says it fired the contractor in question and pledged to ensure prevailing wages are paid to construction workers, while providing labor compliance oversight going forward, the Washington Post reported.

The first half of HQ2, which is situated around Pentagon City’s Metropolitan Park, will feature:

  • Two towers, up to 22 stories high, with room for around 12,500 employees
  • An underground parking garage with nearly 2,000 spaces, as well as more than 600 bicycle parking spaces
  • A daycare center open to Amazon employees and the community
  • Street level retail space with outdoor cafe seating and greenery
  • Two new street segments, including a new 14th Street S. and E. Elm Street

As ARLnow previously reported, Amazon has agreed to a host of community benefits, including:

  • $14 million for an expansion and redesign of Metropolitan Park, from the designer of NYC High Line
  • A record $20 million affordable housing contribution
  • Sidewalk and streetscape improvements, with new protected bike lanes, bus shelters and utility undergrounding
  • A 700-person meeting center that will be available to the county and other users after hours
  • Highly energy efficient design, with LEED Platinum certification and use of renewable energy for everything other than backup power and cooking

Empty warehouses and a surface parking lot will be demolished to make way for the 6.2 acre development. The new towers are expected to open in 2023, according to previous public presentations by Amazon.

A second phase of Amazon’s permanent HQ2 at the still-vacant PenPlace site along 12th Street, housing the other half of its expected 25,000 employees, will follow the Metropolitan Park phase. In total, Amazon expects to build 4.2 million square feet of new space.

Also on Saturday, the Arlington County Board “accepted a $200,000 federal grant to provide innovative workforce development services to 50 persons in Arlington and Alexandria who will be negatively impacted by increased development in the area,” according to a press release.

The county press release about the approval of Amazon’s Metropolitan Park site plan is below, after the jump.

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New Seating, Bus Bays Coming to Ballston Metro Station Entrance

By ARLnow.com
1/7

The Arlington County Board has approved a nearly $5.5 million contract to revamp the area around the Ballston Metro station.

The project — a refinement of an earlier plan, which we last reported in 2014 — will build nine bus bays, covered bus shelters and new seating areas.

More from Arlington County:

The Board voted unanimously to approve a $5.45 million contract, including $909,080 (20 percent) contingency, with Ardent Company, LLC for major improvements to the bus stop and seating areas along North Fairfax Drive and North Stuart Street. The project will expand pedestrian circulation spaces, and add real-time information displays to nine bus stops in the area. Antiquated streetlights will be upgraded, landscaping added and the existing bus driveway on Fairfax Drive will be replaced with four new saw-tooth bus bays. The North Stuart Street sidewalk will be made more accessible to persons with disabilities.

The project, included in the County’s Capital Improvement Plan, will be funded with a combination of federal, state and local funds. It is expected to begin in early spring 2020 and last for 18 months.

“Upon completion, Arlington County will take ownership and maintenance responsibility of the new furniture, information signage, and bus shelters,” a county staff report notes.

“As Arlington grows, it is essential that the County continue to improve our transportation infrastructure,” County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said in a statement.

A separate plan calls for the Ballston Metro canopy to be replaced with a public art installation, “which will consist of a dozens of LEDs that can be individually programmed to respond to motion sensors that detect riders coming in and out of the station.”

The county is also currently working to kickstart a project to build a second entrance to the Ballston Metro entrance.

Photo via Google Maps

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

County Board Approves Legislative Priorities — “The Arlington County Board today finalized its 2020 General Assembly Legislative Proposals… Arlington’s proposals include requests that the General Assembly renew without a sunset clause the .25 percent transient occupancy tax on hotel rooms that funds travel and tourism promotion in Arlington.” [Arlington County]

Groups Call for County-Owned Power Company — “Eighty years after the idea was first broached, several progressive groups are embarked on a likely uphill effort to have the Arlington government develop its own energy utility. The Arlington Green Party is the latest to sign on to the effort, which was proposed by Our Revolution Arlington.” [InsideNova]

New Operator for Shelter on the Pike — “Arlington has finalized new contracts for operation of the County’s two homeless shelters for single adults beginning in January 2020. A-SPAN will continue to operate the Homeless Services Center in the Courthouse Neighborhood, and New Hope Housing will take over from Volunteers of America – Chesapeake & Carolinas to operate the Residential Program Center on Columbia Pike.” [Arlington County]

Thousands Participate in Wreath Laying — “Despite the cold and the rain, thousands of volunteers came to make sure our country’s fallen heroes were honored with wreaths during the 2019 National Wreaths Across America Day at Arlington National Cemetery. There was no mistaking what this meant to families whose loved ones are buried at Arlington National. One of those families watching volunteers flood the cemetery told FOX 5 they couldn’t interview without crying.” [Fox 5]

Trump Campaign Strategizes at Local Hotel — “Over a 90-minute PowerPoint session at a hotel in Arlington, Va., on Thursday, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, campaign manager Brad Parscale and other senior Trump campaign officials presented dozens of national political reporters their theory of how Trump can win again in 2020.” [Axios]

Nearby: Seven Corners Bridge Rehab Complete — “The rehabilitation of the one-way bridge linking the eastbound Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) service road to Wilson Boulevard (Route 613) is complete, improving safety for drivers and pedestrians and extending the overall life of the bridge.” [VDOT]

County Board Expected to Allocate Millions for Two Affordable Housing Developments

By Kalina Newman

The Arlington County Board is set to consider allocating millions of dollars into two affordable housing developments, per the agenda for the Board’s meeting this Saturday, December 14.

In the agenda’s first affordable housing item, County Manager Mark Schwartz has recommended the Board approve nearly $14 million in taxpayer-funded loans for the development of the Terwilliger Place Apartments at 3445 Washington Blvd.

The American Legion post in Virginia Square will be redeveloped with a seven-story, 160-unit residential building, with apartments prioritized for former veterans and a space for the legion.

In August, Arlington couple Ron and Frances Terwilliger donated $1.5 million to the development, giving it its namesake. Recently, Amazon also allocated $1 million from its June affordable housing donation to the project.

The project is expected to be completed “no later than December 2022,” per the staff report, and the total cost is estimated to be approximately $37 million.

In the second affordable housing item, Schwartz has recommended the Board allocate $11 million of county and federal funds to assist with the development and construction for The Cadence, a new affordable apartment complex with 97 committed affordable units to be located at 4333 Arlington Blvd.

The site plans include the demolition of a former Red Cross building, along with two single-family homes. Nineteen market-rate townhouses will also be constructed.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be $47.2 million.

In July, the county applied for an allocation of the Virginia Housing Development Authority’s REACH funds, part of the state incentive package for Amazon’s HQ2, for The Cadence. If approved, 12 units in the building will be designated for those with incomes 40% or below the Area Median Income.

County Seeking to Impose Bigger Speeding Fines

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County is taking steps that would allow it to impose a supplemental $200 fine for speeding on certain designated, residential streets.

The County Board will consider a request to advertise the addition of an “Additional Speeding Fine Zone” to its traffic ordinance at tomorrow’s Board meeting.

County staff said residents have asked for stricter speeding enforcement. If approved, traffic studies will need to be conducted to determine which roads have “documented speeding issues” and are thus eligible for the additional fines. Less than 20% of county streets are expected to qualify.

More details from portions of the county staff report:

The Code of Virginia allows localities to post signs for and enforce an additional $200 fine for speeding on residential streets which meet a certain criteria as stated below. Arlington County residents have asked for staff to implement these additional fines for multiple neighborhood street segments. […]

The “$200 Additional Speeding Fine Zone” targets Arlington County’s residential streets that carry relatively higher traffic volumes and have documented speeding issues. Arlington has approximately 88 centerline miles of arterial streets and neighborhood principal streets. They account for about 20% of total centerline miles owned by Arlington County. However, since data-supported speeding confirmation is required by the proposed criteria of this ordinance, the actual impact is expected to be less than 20% of County-owned streets. […]

The “$200 Additional Speeding Fine Zone” is an addition to the County’s full transportation safety toolbox and the Vision Zero initiative and does not replace the consideration and implementation of any other suitable tools.

County Officials Warn Columbia Pike Legacy Businesses At Risk of Displacement, Suggest Proactive Strategies

By Kalina Newman

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) As Columbia Pike continues to evolve, county officials are heeding warnings to preserve legacy businesses at risk of displacement.

A market study commissioned Arlington Economic Development (AED) recommends the County Board be proactive in protecting legacy — or long-term — businesses along Columbia Pike.

“The threat isn’t rents going up, those spaces are very stable and landlords are very happy not having to worry about turnover,” said Marc McCauley, director of Real Estate Development for AED, during a County Board work session on Tuesday. “Rather, redevelopment is the threat.”

In recent years, development projects along Columbia Pike that closed long-time businesses have caused controversy — namely, the Food Star grocery store being torn down in favor for the new “Centro” mixed-use complex and a new Harris Teeter store.

In a 125-page “Columbia Pike Commercial Market Study” presented to the Board in partnership with the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, AED outlined a retail strategy toolkit to “provide options for supporting retail activity along Columbia Pike.”

In the toolkit, AED recommended both developing new neighborhood-serving retail while keeping in mind the 62 percent of legacy businesses along the Pike, defined as being built before 2003. In order to protect the legacy businesses, AED recommended the following:

  • Consider grants or low interest loans, such as a real estate improvement grant, for legacy spaces.
  • Consider establishing a program providing design services to owners of legacy spaces.
  • Provide small business support for adapting to new technologies.
  • Consider implementing a relocation support program for displaced local legacy tenants.

“Often we find ourselves reacting to an outcome, and then we are trying to catch up — we’ve never had the resources to begin early enough,” said McCauley. “The recommendation is to be proactive, and look at increased support services focused on this part of the County — and CPRO would be the right organization to begin this process.”

The study suggests Amazon’s HQ2 in nearby Pentagon City will exacerbate redevelopment trends that were already underway prior to the tech giant’s arrival.

“Growth is expected to accelerate along the Corridor, especially with the catalyst of Amazon HQ2 nearby in Pentagon City / Crystal City,” it said.

The study predicts that some 1,500 households with “HQ2-related jobs” will call the Columbia Pike corridor home by 2035. It also notes that while much of the Pike, given its distance from Metro, is unlikely to be redeveloped for office uses, the eastern end of the corridor may eventually see more office and hotel development.

While the County Board did not formally agree to the recommendations, members of the Board universally expressed enthusiasm for the strategy.

“I see a real problem on the Pike, and it’s what I worry about,” said County Board chair Katie Cristol. “I would love to be able to say to our beloved small businesses, yes the Pike is changing, and we hope you believe you have a home in a mixed-use environment. We are here to help you.”

The County Board is expected to take action on the toolkit by the “second quarter of 2020,” per County Manager Mark Schwartz.

New Turn Lanes to Be Added to Glebe at Lee Highway Intersection

By ARLnow.com
1/4

(Updated at 10:40 a.m.) Big changes are finally coming to the intersection of N. Glebe Road and Lee Highway.

The Arlington County Board will consider a project to add left turn lanes to Glebe approaching the busy intersection. Also part of the project: undergrounding utilities, upgrading bus stops and streetlights, and replacing an old water main.

Currently, northbound and southbound traffic on Glebe each gets its own green light, allowing unobstructed left turns. The new turn lanes will allow simultaneous green lights, thus improving traffic flow and giving pedestrians more time to cross the street, according to a county staff report.

The construction will come with a steep price tag: between $3.4 and 3.9 million. The Board is set to vote on a contract with the low bidder, Rustler Construction, Inc., at its meeting this Saturday.

The first phase of the project, including utility undergrounding, kicked off in 2017. The county has spent years obtaining easements from property owners along Glebe, allowing the roadway expansion, which has general support from local residents.

“There is broad public support for this project because it is significantly improving multimodal mobility and access without any trade-offs aside from construction disruptions and right-of-way impacts,” says the staff report.

“During the lengthy easement acquisition process, the design was revised many times to accommodate surrounding property owners’ requests for considerations such as minimizing the amount of offstreet parking lost, maintaining existing driveway accesses, adding landscaping, and shifting bus shelter locations to not hinder the visibility of commercial monument signs.”

One slightly controversial aspect of the project is the LED streetlights Dominion plans to install.

“Several community members and stakeholder groups have expressed concern with the aesthetics and character of the streetlights selected for the project area – Dominion Energy maintained cobra LED style lights,” the staff report says.

“These lights were selected for the project area by the County’s Streetlight Management Plan (SMP)… Cobra LEDs are preferred for both the Lee Highway (Route 29) and Glebe Road (Route 120) project corridors because they more efficiently illuminate higher speed, wider arterial roadways than post-top lights, thus resulting in needing approximately 30% fewer light poles (and sidewalk pole obstructions) in the project area.”

More on the project from county staff:

The project will widen North Glebe Road (Route 120) to add northbound and southbound full-width left turn lanes. The widening of the street necessitated undergrounding the overhead utilities present throughout the project area. Crews began the utility undergrounding work in January 2017 and are nearing completion of this phase.

The subject intersection improvements will improve safety and mobility for motorists, pedestrians, and transit riders at the intersection, as well as reduce cut-thru traffic along adjacent residential neighborhood streets. Following construction of the new left turn lanes and replacement of the traffic signal equipment, the implementation of a new signal phasing and timing plan will significantly decrease vehicle, transit, and pedestrian travel times through the intersection.

The project is also replacing and upsizing over 1,750 LF of old cast iron water mains in the project area and is upgrading the five (5) existing bus stops with new amenities, pads, and shelters (installed by separate project), as well as installing empty underground conduits giving the shelters the capability to be equipped with real-time transit arrival boards if warranted in the future.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Lessons Learned from Amazon in Seattle — A local real estate agent traveled to Seattle to learn what Arlington can expect from Amazon’s arrival. Among the things Arlington might see, as Seattle did: a “restaurant boom” with lots of new eateries opening, and big property price increases over the course of several years. [NBC 4]

County May Extend Signature’s Annex Lease — The Arlington County Board this weekend is set to consider renewing Signature Theatre’s lease for the county-owned building at 3806 S. Four Mile Run Drive through 2032. The theater uses the building “for set, costume, and prop fabrication and storage and for general office purposes in connection with Signature’s stage productions at 4200 Campbell Avenue in Shirlington Village.” [Arlington County]

Arlington Chamber Has New Logo — “Introducing the Chamber’s NEW LOGO! We updated our logo this past year to better match the mission of our organization. The new design is intended to increase the prominence of Arlington & give the logo a more modern feel.” [Twitter]

Beyer on Impeachment, Trade Deal — Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) says the impending vote on impeaching President Donald Trump “is a sad moment for our country, and a solemn one.” Also, of the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal, Beyer said yesterday: “I will have the best interests of my constituents in mind as I evaluate the text of this agreement in days to come.” [Press Release, Press Release]

AWLA Recreates Viral Moment With Bunny — ” Days after Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped banana artwork went viral with a whopping $120,000 sale price, a cute Arlington bunny has come along to give him a run for his money. Her latest masterpiece involves a tasty carrot duct-taped to a tiled wall.” [Patch]

Hope Named Chair of Public Safety Committee — “Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) has been named chairman of the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety… Hope, the most senior member of the Arlington delegation to the House of Delegates, was the only one of the four-member Arlington delegation to be tapped for a committee chairmanship.” [InsideNova]

Fmr. County Board Member, Local Civil Rights Leader Among Those Honored With County Award

By Kalina Newman

Arlington County has announced the recipients of its 21st annual James B. Hunter Human Rights Award, an honor given each year to individuals, community groups, non-profit organizations and businesses that promote diversity and equal rights in the county.

This year, three individuals and three community groups were honored and a new category for the award was established: educators. A ceremony to honor the award winners will take place on Thursday, December 12 from 7-9 p.m. in the Bozman Government Center (2100 Clarendon Blvd).

Among the winners are former Arlington County Board member Walter Tejada and civil rights activist Joan Trumpauer Mulholland.

Tejada served on the County Board from 2003 to 2015. Following his retirement from the Board, he was appointed to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors by former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

During his time on the Board, Tejada served as an “unapologetic progressive” and an advocate for diversity, affordable housing, and Latino issues.

“He was instrumental in establishing the Office of the Public Defender, the Arlington Non-Profit Assistance Center, and the Community Volunteer Network,” the county said in a press release.

Mulholland, a local civil rights activist, took part in sit-ins and demonstrations that took place around Arlington from June 9-23, 1960. Throughout the decade, she also participated in the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, and the Selma to Montgomery March, among others. After protesting in Mississippi in 1961, she was jailed and housed on death row for nearly three months.

“The James B. Hunter Award recognizes those in our community who champion the rights of underrepresented people,” said County Board Chair Christian Dorsey in a press release. “My colleagues and I are grateful to the Human Rights Commission for honoring these individuals and organizations, who have worked tirelessly to ensure Arlington is safe and welcoming for everyone.”

Find the full press release is below, after the jump:

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Garvey Seeking Reelection, Facing At Least One Challenger

By Kalina Newman

(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) A County Board member is running for reelection but will be facing at least one Democratic challenger.

County Board Vice Chair Libby Garvey, and challenger Chanda Choun, made their announcements at last night’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting. Also announced: neither School Board member who’s up for reelection will be running again in 2020.

Garvey said she’s “enjoying my work more than ever” and wants to “continue to make Arlington a welcoming, inclusive community where everyone can thrive.”

“In my years on the County Board, I’ve continued to focus on equity and good fiscal management,” Garvey said at the meeting, commenting on how she helped lead the charge to cancel the Columbia Pike streetcar project in her first years on the Board.

County Board Chair Christian Dorsey also spoke on behalf of Garvey, praising her leadership.

“Libby has always proved to be gracious when prevailing, she doesn’t hold grudges, and she’s ready and willing to collaborate,” Dorsey said. “When I introduced equity as a priority for our county government this year, it was Libby who noted that this is a frame and a means to what should be the very purpose to public service.”

Challenging Garvey is Chanda Choun, who lost to fellow Democrat Matt de Ferranti during the 2018 County Board primary. Choun, who lives in the Buckingham neighborhood, said he would push for rent control and greater environmental protections in Arlington as Amazon moves in.

“As the County continues to grow, I am the right representative to be unifying bridge between Arlington’s past and Arlington’s future,” Choun said in his speech.

A Cambodian refugee, Choun highlighted his background as an Army veteran and cybersecurity professional. He stressed the need for bold action to solve difficult problems.

“We must fight for a Green New Deal for Arlington,” Choun said. “Climate change is here, we now face destructive flash floods and 100 degree plus days than ever. We can fight this from the ground up to protect and expand our natural environment.”

In an email to supporters, Garvey said one focus for her in a new term would be to improve Arlington’s public engagement process.

“We must continue to find new ways to include everyone in our public processes, from development, to education, to our public infrastructure,” she wrote. “Good government includes everyone from our newest and youngest residents to our older residents who have helped build our community over decades. Good government is inclusive and transparent.”

In addition to the County Board announcements, School Board member Nancy Van Doren said she would not be seeking reelection this year, following an earlier announcement from School Board member Tannia Talento that she would also not be running for another term.

“I remain committed to the goals and priorities that lead me to serve in 2014 and will work diligently through 2020 to see them through,” Van Doren said, thanking her supporters and family.

During her five years on the School Board, Van Doren says she oversaw over a dozen building and renovation projects, launched the Arlington Tiered System of Support, and invested in the expansion of the number of psychologist and social workers in Arlington Public Schools.

“Going into the next decade, the greatest challenge for Arlington Public Schools will continue to be to prioritize the instruction and well-being of our students in our classrooms while also meeting the unrelenting demand for physical space,” she said.

The 2020 primary in Arlington will be held on June 9, followed by the November 3 general election.

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