Crystal City

Parking rates along Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors could change this March

By Daniel Egitto
Parking meter in a performance parking zone in Ballston (staff photo)

The cost to park in many of Arlington’s busiest neighborhoods could change March 1.

The most popular places to park along the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors could ultimately cost up to $5 per hour, according to a county report. Less popular spots, meanwhile, could become less expensive than the current rate.

These changes are part of a state-funded “performance parking” pilot project that seeks to make it easier to find a parking spot in Arlington by incentivizing drivers to park in underused areas.

Arlington County kicked off the project earlier this year, installing sensors to collect data on parking behavior and determine what streets and neighborhoods should see higher and lower prices.

“These goals relate to improving the experience with parking at the curb, as well as reducing the negative impacts associated with inefficient or unsuccessful search for parking,” the report says.

On Saturday, the Arlington County Board voted to hold a public hearing about a proposed ordinance on Feb. 24. If it is approved next month, the pilot program would last until March 2026.

Parking rates could change up to once every three months but large, sudden changes are unlikely, according to the report.

Although costs could vary based on the time of day and length of stay, the project would not involve surge pricing or an across-the-board rate hike. Instead, each rate change would probably bring a roughly $1 increase to parking rates at some spots and a $0.25 decrease to other spots.

Arlington’s parking rates are currently capped at $1.75 per hour at short-term meters and $1.50 per hour at long-term meters.

A map of areas included in the performance parking pilot (via Arlington County)

While county staff would set the rates, they could never charge more than $5 per hour without the County Board’s approval, per the proposed ordinance.

The pilot program would follow in the footsteps of similar initiatives in major cities including D.C., Boston and San Francisco.

“These pilots have generally shown measurable changes in drivers’ parking behavior, reductions in negative impacts, and more efficient use of available space,” the report notes.

County staff would track this project’s effectiveness using some 4,500 sensors installed in parking spaces in the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors. The county has already begun investigating where and when parking is most readily available in these areas — along with how often drivers pay for parking.

A recent analysis found that on average, only a third of vehicles parked at meters in these areas had actually paid to be there, which will inform how the county uses its limited cadre of parking meter enforcers.

Parking compliance in October 2023 (via Arlington County)

Although similar programs have tended to increase revenue, the report says this project is primarily designed to improve parking conditions for drivers — not to extract more money from them.

“Intentionally, there is no project goal regarding revenue impact,” the report says. “This is because the project goals are about curb space performance from the community and customer perspective.”

Alamo Drafthouse to host interactive circus as part of ‘Greatest Showman’ screenings this weekend

By Savannah Taffe
1/3

The Alamo Drafthouse in Crystal City will be bringing to life the movie-musical “The Greatest Showman” this Saturday.

The event at 1660 Crystal Drive includes an interactive circus, from 5:30-7 p.m., between two screenings of the film at 3:30 and 7 p.m., which will both have a sing-along portion.

During the circus, people will have the opportunity to try out juggling, balancing, spinning plates and other circus skills. A stilt walker will also be walking around. The interactive circus is free but guests will need to purchase tickets to the screenings, which can be done in advance on the Alamo Drafthouse website.

The event is led by Omnium Circus, which a Drafthouse marketing manager said is the “real-life” version of “The Greatest Showman.”

“Their goal is to promote inclusivity and accessibility for all individuals,” Megan Hia told ARLnow. “We are extremely fortunate to be able to work with them for this event.”

This is the first time the cinema and circus have partnered but this isn’t the first time the Drafthouse has hosted an interactive event. Last year, Alamo Drafthouse hosted a “Princess Meet and Greet” for Ariel fans with a showing of “The Little Mermaid” and a “Barbie”-themed adult slumber party.

“We’re always looking for new ways to host fun events like this in order to connect with our guests and enhance the movie-going experience for them,” said Hia.

Alamo Drafthouse has a variety of other events that are scheduled for the coming month, including:

Arlington County mulls $75K in support for small, legacy businesses in National Landing

By Daniel Egitto
Restaurant Row in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A round of recovery funds may soon be coming to long-time small businesses in National Landing.

Potentially up for grabs is $75,000 in funding from the National Landing Business Improvement District. The proposed initiative, which the Arlington County Board is set to consider on Saturday, would build on the ReLaunch program, which provides grants to small local establishments.

“While the current ReLaunch program is funded and is offered to all eligible businesses in the County,” a county report says, “the BID intends to prioritize National Landing businesses to increase the marketing to and availability of the program resources for this important segment of the small business community, which may need technical assistance to retool their businesses to remain competitive in a changing market.”

The funds are meant to assist “legacy” businesses “impacted by changing market conditions exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report continued.

Eligible businesses must be at least 10 years old, have fewer than 10 employees and have a primary location within the boundaries of the National Landing BID, which span Crystal City and parts of Pentagon City and Potomac Yard, the county says. They must also “in good business standing,” operating with up-to-date business licenses and current on, or on a payment plan for, all county taxes.

The BID, in partnership with the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, has previously handed recovery funds to numerous Crystal City and Pentagon City establishments. Two rounds of the “Love Local” relief program each divvied out $100,000 in 2021 and 2022.

The latest batch of funding would go through the Arlington Economic Development BizLaunch Division, which would then distribute the $75,000 this year.

The county report noted the importance of supporting National Landing during a time of intense development and investment, including, most recently, the announcement that the Washington Capitals and Wizards would move to Alexandria — predicted to be a boon for the hospitality industry in the National Landing area.

“The area is experiencing transformative growth, with over $12 billion in public and private investment underway, including Amazon’s second headquarters, a surge of new residential construction and retail offerings, and major park and multimodal transportation investments that are enhancing a thriving residential, hotel, and business community,” the report says. “The BID is strengthening the experience and identity of National Landing.”

A new bar and restaurant is set to fill a long-vacant space in Crystal City

By Madisson Weyrich
Lantern Restaurant and Bar, located at 320 23rd Street S. (staff photo by Madisson Weyrich)

A new restaurant is set to fill a decade-long vacancy in Crystal City.

Lantern Restaurant & Bar, owned by Shen Zhao and Bing Liu, is moving into a storefront at the base of an apartment building at 320 23rd Street S., last occupied by Matsutake Hibachi Steak and Sushi until its closure in 2014.

The property, next to a Virginia ABC store and across from a Hilton hotel, appears to have sat vacant since.

Window dressings on the property say Lantern Restaurant & Bar is “coming soon.” Neither the owners nor the leasing agents for the space responded to requests for comment before deadline.

The new bar-restaurant is moving into the base of an apartment building plagued by stubborn business vacancies. Around the corner, storefronts have been vacant since the departure of Bar Louie and Legal Sea Foods.

The main attraction on this block, which also formerly was home to a Chili’s, is now the bowling alley Bowlero — which, for a while, drew a rowdy crowd that rankled apartment residents living atop it.

Crystal City has seen several restaurant closures in the wake of Covid. Most recently, The Freshman closed earlier this month and San Antonio Bar & Grill shuttered its location in the underground Crystal City Shops in December.

Not far away, however, the neighborhood received an infusion of new dining options last October when developer JBG Smith opened a 1.6-acre outdoor food hall and park in the Crystal City Water Park. There, visitors can get everything from duck-fat fried chicken sandwiches to Indian-style crêpes filled with lentils and chutney to gelato.

Residents could start moving into two nearly complete apartment towers in Crystal City next month

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Two new apartment buildings in Crystal City are almost ready for residents to move in.

Construction started on the two residential towers at 1900 Crystal Drive in 2021, nearly one year to the day after JBG Smith received approval to redevelop the aging office building previously there.

Now, JBG Smith tells ARLnow it expects residents can starting moving into the buildings — a 3-minute walk from Amazon’s second headquarters — this February. The developer has already begun receiving partial certificates of occupancy for certain floors of one tower, dubbed “The Grace.”

JBG Smith said it expects to wrap up construction by the third quarter of 2024.

The 583,000-square-foot north tower, The Grace, and a 567,500-square-foot south tower, called “Reva,” are each 300 feet tall and, across them, have 808 rental units and about 40,000 square feet of street-level retail. A pedestrian-friendly street bisecting the towers will connect 18th and 20th Streets S. and a not-yet-built park.

The Crystal City Sector Plan envisions this park space as the largest in Crystal City, at about 74,000 square feet. The plan says it “would allow for a wide variety of uses, such as passive recreation, exhibitions, concerts, festivals, cafes, some temporary kiosk retail, and evening outdoor movies” among other uses, says Dept. of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Jerry Solomon.

JBG Smith granted to the county a public park easement of approximately 45,000 square feet to establish this open space, dubbed “Center Park.” The county received the easement understanding that the rest of the proposed public space would come as part of a future development, Solomon said.

JBG Smith also contributed $300,000 for the park’s master planning, a community engagement process where people will weigh in on programmed elements and other features.

“The current [Capital Improvement Plan] envisions the design of Center Park to begin in FY 2025 with construction to begin some time in FY 2027,” she said in an email. “In July 2024, the County Board will be considering the FY 2025-2034 CIP which may contain changes to the potential timelines and funding for public space development within the Crystal City corridor.”

While residents of The Grace and Reva can start moving in February, it is looking like a summer opening for at least some of the six announced businesses move into the ground floor retail spaces.

Per window dressings and Arlington County permits, 1900 Crystal Drive will be home to new outposts of Tatte Bakery & Cafe, a the ice cream shop Van Leeuwen, D.C.’s Chinese-French fusion restaurant Bar Chinois and Cuban café and bar Colada Shop, a nail salon called nailsaloon, and New York City-based botox spa Peachy.

Nailsaloon recently opened a location in Chevy Chase and aims to move into Crystal City this summer, a spokeswoman said.

Colada Shop is also targeting a summer opening, a company spokeswoman said.

The other businesses did not respond to requests for more information about when they might open.

JBG Smith says it still has some retail space to fill, so additional announcements may be coming.

Theft suspect who fled into Metro tunnel charged with trespassing, fare evasion

By ARLnow.com
Pentagon City Metro Station on Dec. 13, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A man fleeing from officers after a theft in Pentagon City ran into a Metro tunnel, prompting service to be shut down in the area, police say.

The incident happened Monday morning, as police responded to a shoplifting call on S. Hayes Street.

After running into a Metro tunnel at the Pentagon City station, the man emerged and was arrested at the Crystal City station, police say. In addition to a theft charge, he has also been charged with trespassing and fare evasion.

More, below, from today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report.

PETIT LARCENY (Significant), 2024-01080073, 1200 block of S. Hayes Street. At approximately 10:16 a.m. on January 8, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined the male suspect entered the business, collected merchandise, allegedly left the store without payment and fled into the Pentagon City Metro. A lookout was broadcast and responding officers located the suspect in the Metro and gave him commands, which he disregarded, and fled onto the train tracks. Metro service in the area was temporarily suspended and the suspect subsequently exited the train tracks at the Crystal City Metro station where officers took him into custody. The preliminary investigation determined the suspect did not pay a fare upon entering the Metro. No injuries were reported. [The suspect], 37, of Washington, DC was arrested and charged with Petit Larceny, Trespassing on a Railroad Track and Failure to Pay Fares.

Some of the response to the incident was captured on video.

NEW: The Freshman has closed in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com
1/4

Crystal City hangout The Freshman has permanently closed its doors.

The all-day cafe/bar/restaurant just announced on social media that it has closed, just under three years after opening in the spring of 2021, in the midst of the pandemic.

Owner and namesake Nick Freshman, in announcing the closing today, noted the lengthy delay in opening caused by Covid-19.

I am sad to announce that The Freshman has served its last espresso; we are permanently closed. I want to thank my staff for their tireless dedication, my investors for their unwavering support, my landlord JBG SMITH for their steadfast partnership, and lastly our loyal customers who made it a joy to be open every day.

When I began planning The Freshman in 2018 the landscape was very different. As the world changed, our team adjusted, pivoted, iterated, and endured. Now, with significant construction in our building on the way, it is time to move on. The good news is that Mothersauce Partners is growing, and you can look for our fingerprints on a number of exciting new projects; projects that are also new homes for many of the staff at The Freshman.

We hope to see all of you soon at our newest project in Rosslyn opening in Winter 2024!

Freshman’s Mothersauce Partners is revamping The Assembly food hall near the Rosslyn Metro station, the Washington Business Journal reported last month.

American Real Estate Partners has tapped Mothersauce Partners, the hospitality company behind The Eleanor, Thompson Italian and City-State Brewing Co., to oversee the roughly 27,000-square-foot space at Rosslyn City Center. AREP owns the building, 1700 N. Moore St., and opened the food hall in 2021.

Mothersauce hopes to freshen up the design, branding and concept curation at the food hall. Details are still being worked through, and AREP and Mothersauce said it is premature to reveal more details of the partnership ahead of a more formal launch in the new year. […]

The change comes more than three years after AREP tapped another firm to establish a food hall from inside what was then known as Rosslyn Metro Center, a 40-year-old mall that’s since gotten a major makeover.

The Freshman was one of the first restaurants to announce an opening in Crystal City, following the announcement of Amazon’s HQ2, the main office complex of which opened in nearby Pentagon City this past summer. Leased Amazon offices remain open in Crystal City.

San Antonio Bar & Grill to close in Crystal City after 30 years

By James Jarvis
San Antonio Bar & Grill in Crystal City (courtesy of Edwin Magne)

After a three-decade run, the San Antonio Bar & Grill in Crystal City is set to close this Saturday, marking the end of an era.

The Tex-Mex restaurant, a mainstay in the underground Crystal City Shops since 1993, was notified by its landlord, JBG Smith, three months ago that its lease would not be extended past December, according to co-owner Amparo Magne.

Magne, who operates two other San Antonio Bar & Grill locations in D.C. and Alexandria, said no specific reason was given for the non-renewal, but she suspects it might be due to the landlord’s desire to renovate the space.

“That’s what we think,” she told ARLnow. “We don’t know.”

A PR rep for JBG Smith declined comment.

Edwin Magne, Amparo’s brother and business partner, said the notice from JBG Smith was unexpected. Still, he noted there were signs that changes were coming based on the rapid changes in the area, such as the opening of Amazon Fresh, Alamo Drafthouse and the recently renovated Crystal City Water Park.

“I mean most of the stores in the mall are closing down as well,” he told ARLnow.

While his sister has the means to reopen the restaurant in Arlington, Edwin said rising rents — in an area now home to Amazon’s HQ2 and, potentially, a new sports arena in Potomac Yard — may push them further from their original location.

“It’s prime real-estate,” he said.

Wherever they reopen, Amparo and Edwin hope it won’t be too far from their loyal customers in Crystal City.

“We don’t want to go far away,” Amparo said. “We want something near.”

They are currently looking at Clarendon as a potential option, but no final decisions have been made.

“We just got to find a good place for us that’s gonna fit, that’s going to be good for our employees as well and it’s going to be close enough for our guests that we used to always have,” Edwin said.

County to pay $1M for Gravelly Point upgrades as part of planned DCA pedestrian bridge

By Jo DeVoe
1/5

 

Arlington County will be setting aside $1.6 million for improvement projects on national parkland in the crosshairs of a future pedestrian bridge between Crystal City and National Airport.

The long-discussed bridge, dubbed CC2DCA, is about to clear a major milestone: completion of a federally mandated review of its adverse impacts to the environment and historic properties.

While environmental effects were deemed minimal, several National Park Service-controlled historic resources were flagged for impacts, according to a county report, including the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the Mount Vernon Trail.

The parks service and the county have settled on three improvement projects to mitigate this predicted impact. Once a design contract for the project is awarded, the county will transfer money to NPS for the work. Funding will come from the Crystal City Tax Increment Financing fund, which pays for infrastructure improvements that revitalize Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard.

The biggest chunk, $1 million, will go toward planning and implementing improvements at Gravelly Point, as this public area could see more users traveling to and from the CC2DCA bridge via the Mount Vernon Trail.

The site could see a new parking lot, a rehabilitated boat launch — complete with an accessible canoe and kayak launch — relocated public restrooms and improved aesthetics of public-use areas.

“The Gravelly Point site is the closest major Mount Vernon Trail hub to the project area; the new CC2DCA bridge is less than a mile from Gravelly Point,” it continued. “The site rehabilitation will benefit trail users by improving the public amenities and repair deteriorated infrastructure that is in danger of further deterioration with the additional usage generated by CC2DCA.”

Next, $500,000 will fund maintenance activities by the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail over five years, including edging the trail, replacing boardwalk bridge components like decking, cutting back vegetation overgrowth, grinding out asphalt root heaves and power washing scum from bridge decks.

Lastly, $150,000 to fund planning work to add interpretive signage to the GW Parkway highlighting underrepresented stories from Abingdon Plantation and Arlington House.

These projects are outlined in an agreement between the county and NPS, which the Arlington County Board approved during its Saturday, Dec. 16 meeting.

This agreement also requires the county to give NPS opportunities to review and give input as CC2DCA designs take shape and holds Arlington to executing a plan to protect and restore vegetation along the GW Parkway. The impact on scenic views for drivers, as well as vegetation removal, is expected to be relatively minimal, with about 146 trees removed.

The Board also approved an agreement with the county, NPS, the Federal Highway Administration, the Virginia Dept. of Transportation and the Virginia Historic Preservation Officer. This agreement is one of the final steps in the federally mandated environmental assessment study.

Originally proposed in 2017, CC2DCA was one of the transportation projects identified after Amazon announced plans to build its second headquarters in Arlington.

The last four years have been spent on design work, public engagement and the environmental study. Arlington and VDOT reviewed 16 possible bridge alignments and whittled them down to one that was picked earlier this year.

“Throughout the NEPA study, there has been overwhelming support for a direct multimodal connection between Crystal City and DCA,” the county report said. “During each public engagement period, the vast majority of individuals surveyed indicated they would use a CC2DCA connection if constructed.”

If CC2DCA comes to fruition, construction is expected to begin in late 2027 and last for two years, working around separate plans from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to redo roadways and add more parking, new car rental facility and office space at DCA.

County inks contract for oversight of Crystal City Metro second entrance project

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Arlington County has selected a contractor to oversee work to build a new second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station.

Over the weekend, the Arlington County Board approved a nearly $8 million contract, plus a contingency of $197,497, with Gannett Fleming, Inc. to provide construction management and quality assurance services for the project.

Viewed as a way to further revitalize Crystal City and improve access and accessibility to the station’s east end, the second entrance will be located at the northwest corner of 18th Street S. and Crystal Drive.

Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2024 and last about 2.5 years, according to the county. Previously approved state and local funding will pay for the project, which has a total budget of $146.1 million.

A long-standing goal of county transportation planners, the second entrance will include a direct route, accessible to people with disabilities, to connect users who access the station from the east. It is intended to improve connections for pedestrians and cyclists and to the nearby bus and Virginia Railway Express stations.

There will also be additional space inside the station to accommodate long-term passenger demand.

“The Crystal City Metrorail station is among the most heavily used in Arlington County and Northern Virginia,” per a report. “The Crystal City area is experiencing continued growth and will have significant redevelopment in the next few years.”

The station was also one of the five transportation projects associated with Amazon’s second headquarters, including a pedestrian bridge to Reagan National Airport and an at-grade Route 1.

The project will be delivered via a public-private partnership with developer JBG Smith, which owns a significant amount of property in the neighborhood. It approached the county with an unsolicited proposal to undertake the project and, in 2020, the county struck a deal with the developer to prepare 30% complete designs.

This project was included in the current 2023-2032 Capital Improvement Plan at an estimated cost of $94.9 million, based on conceptual planning work, but costs have increased since then, the county says.

The new $146 million budget is based on the 30% complete designs, a redesign of the station entrance and “upward cost pressures industry-wide,” according to the county.

JBG Smith has been working to finalize the station design since August, after the county approved a $117 million contract with JBG Smith and Clark Construction for final design and construction.

Gannett Fleming was selected from four contractors that bid this summer to help oversee the design and construction. The county says $8 million, plus contingency, is “fair and reasonable” because it is within 12% of an independent cost estimate for the project of around $7 million.

Van Leeuwen ice cream shop and Tatte café among six new businesses looking to open in Crystal City

By James Jarvis
1/4

Six new businesses, including the popular chains Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Van Leeuwen, are setting up shop in Crystal City.

Promotional signs for the new shops are visible in the ground-floor windows of one of the two 300-foot residential towers at 1900 Crystal City Drive. Approved in 2020 and under construction by 2021, the towers — set to open early next year — will house 811 residential units and nearly 40,000 square feet of retail space.

The complete lineup includes a trio of D.C.-based businesses — Chinese-French fusion restaurant Bar Chinois, Cuban café and bar Colada Shop and a nail salon called nailsaloon — plus New York City-based botox spa Peachy, which recently opened its second location in D.C.

Tatte, Van Leeuwen and Colada Shop have filed permits to operate along the pedestrian walkway behind the north tower — known as The Grace — at 269 19th Court S., according to county permit records.

JBG Smith, the predominant property owner in Crystal City and Pentagon City, declined to comment.

Boston-based bakery Tatte, known for its coffee, sandwiches and pastries, operates 11 locations in the D.C. area, including one at Clarendon Crossing, which opened in 2021.

Van Leeuwen, an ice cream chain headquartered in New York, currently operates three outlets in D.C. and plans to launch a fourth at Union Station. The Arlington outpost would be the brand’s first in Virginia.

Colada Shop operates six locations in the D.C. area and, as part of its Arlington expansion, plans to open a new location in Clarendon.

Hat tip to Matt Miller

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