A person who tested positive for coronavirus worked in Crystal City, ARLnow has learned.
Property owner JBG Smith emailed tenants Monday afternoon to say that an employee of one of its tenants was confirmed to have the virus, also known as COVID-19. The employee worked at office buildings located at 201 12th Street S. and 1225 S. Clark Street, according to the email.
“It is our understanding that the tenant has notified their staff and has advised any staff that was in contact with the infected individual to self-quarantine,” the memo said. “The tenant has also engaged an environmental contractor to begin disinfecting their space. As a result of this single tenant space disinfection, some building occupants may detect a slight odor.”
“Our cleaning vendor, BMS, will work to disinfect all common areas on the floors that the tenant occupies, and the building and complex common areas,” the memo continues. “We have maximized the outdoor fresh air in the building. At this time all buildings in the complex will remain open and operating.”
ARLnow hears that the tenant is the Dept. of Defense and the employee is the Marine at Ft. Belvoir previously reported to have tested positive for the virus.
A spokesman for Arlington’s Dept. of Human Services declined to confirm the report, citing Virginia Dept. of Health policy.
Cars blocking a bike lane in Crystal City (photo by Chris Slatt)
Bike lane enforcement in Crystal City (photo via ACPD)
A cyclist on the Crystal Drive bike lane in Crystal City (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Thanks to some push from local advocates and the county’s Transportation Commission, a new mixed-use development at 1900 Crystal Drive could be required to include protected bike lanes on Crystal Drive, a long time sore spot for bicyclists in the area.
“It’s almost a hoax on bicycle riders to say there’s a bike lane here when as a practical matter there isn’t,” said Transportation Commissioner Jim Lantelme.
At the Transportation Commission meeting Thursday night, the Commission recommended that developer JBG Smith be required to turn the existing bicycle lanes into protected lanes while adding new protected bike lanes to 18th Street S.
“First the Commission recommended that the County Board require JBG Smith to build protected bike lanes on 18th Street either as part of their upcoming 1900 Crystal Drive development or as part of the already-approved Central District Retail development,” Transportation Commission Chair Chris Slatt said in a press release. “Furthermore the Commission recommended that the County Board direct staff to study an appropriate cross-section for Crystal Drive that would safeguard those on bikes and scooters and, if schedules permit, incorporate the results of that study into the public space designs for 1900 Crystal Drive and any other unbuilt development approved along the Crystal Drive corridor.”
The last recommendation from the Transportation Commission was that the County and JBG develop a temporary southbound protected bike lane on Crystal Drive if the public process isn’t completed in time to be incorporated into the 1900 Crystal Drive plans.
County staff said in their report that making the lanes protected would require further traffic studies and analysis, with staff noting that a new bike lane would carve out part of the street and would have an impact on open space, traffic, or parking. That kind of impact would require a public process that would take additional time.
The developer said they hope to start construction at the end of March, with the streetscape being one of the last parts of the project to be completed.
“I worry there is the possibility we would not have a final decision-ready on Crystal Drive ready before this window closes,” Slatt said.
“There’s a lot of good, new information heard tonight,” said Gillian Burgess, chair of the Bicycle Advisory Committee. “Crystal Drive bike lanes are blocked so often that they’ve become the test case for new apps and data collection that seek to test how often bike lanes are blocked.”
With three site plans in the area, Burgess said the County has a rare opportunity to improve the conditions for cyclists and other road users there.
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
A convention of furries — a subculture interested of anthropomorphic animal characters — has taken over the lower levels of the Hyatt Regency Crystal City (2799 Richmond Highway) this weekend.
The 8th annual Fur the More convention is happening today through Sunday, March 8. Attendance at the convention starts at $55.
Starting today (Friday), the lower three levels of the building are filled with art, costumes and panel discussions of various fandoms. There are a few dozen full-body character suits called a fursuit that has become the iconic image of the fandom, but most of the couple hundred of attendees at the convention’s opening range from Pokémon kigurumi to subtle tails or cat ears sported by hotel staff.
The theme of the convention this year was science fiction, so several costumes blended anthropomorphic animals with sci-fi convention staples like Firefly and Star Trek.
“I like these smaller cons,” said KiwiNiwi, one of several attendees at the convention who goes by a nom de guerre. “The bigger ones are usually rushed. These are chiller. You can talk to friends.”
Many people descending the escalator waved to friends waiting in the ticket line and greeted each other by the respective character names. KiwiNiwi said several people travel across the country to see friends at these conventions. It was KiwiNiwi’s fourth year at Fur the More, which was previously been held in Tysons and Baltimore.
Starla (real name Ashton Spenner) acted as furry liaison for ARLnow and said the main theme among the furry fandom is acceptance. Starla, who also works at other conventions for fandoms like anime, said the furry community stands out to her for its accommodating and accepting nature.
“There are a lot of people here with social anxiety, but fursonas give people confidence,” Starla said. “It allows people to express themselves.”
The anonymity of a mask can also be a problem at conventions. Signs around the hotel remind people to keep their hands to themselves, as the anonymity has sometimes resulted in overly frisky furries. Starla said there have been a few issues over the years, but they’re the exception rather than the norm to what is typically a G-rated environment.
Scenes from the Beginner race at the Crosshairs Garage Races in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
It’s March, which means the Crosshairs Garage Races has started its 6th season of racing bicycles in parking garages in Crystal City.
Every Tuesday evening through the end of the month, cyclists from across the Washington area descend into the garage at 201 12th Street S. and compete in an event that Washingtonian called the “best use of a garage that doesn’t involve your car.” The series was formerly known as Wednesday Night Spins.
Over 100 racers in three categories put a number on their bicycles and raced through a course of taped-off sections that zig-zagged through the lower levels of the garage. Co-organizer and promoter Taylor Jones loves the sense of community that the races bring.
“It’s a unique opportunity for non-traditional cycling demographics to try racing,” he said. “It’s awesome to live in a place that supports something like this.”
Beverages were plentiful, as was pie from Acme Pie owner Sol Schott. Emcee Nate Graham DJ’ed and offered commentary throughout the night.
“Everybody comes together as a midweek break from the grind and plays bikes in a parking garage,” Graham said. “What’s not to love?”
Beginner’s race winner Mac Maheen, 24, of Bowie, Md., thought it was a “super cool event.” New to bike racing, this was Maheen’s third-ever race.
“There were a lot of turns, staying under control and out of trouble was the most important thing,” Maheen said. “It’s super fun. Who would have thought something this cool would be in a parking garage?”
Libby Garvey surveys a portion of woods around Roaches Run (photo via @libbygarvey/Twitter)
JBG Smith presentation about Roaches Run (photo via @libbygarvey/Twitter)
Map of Roaches Run (via Google Maps)
Roaches Run, as seen from Long Bridge Park (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Roaches Run (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Roaches Run (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Roaches Run (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
Fishing in Roaches Run (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Roaches Run parking lot (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
A stone’s throw from Crystal City is Roaches Run, a waterfowl sanctuary on the northern flight path to and from Reagan National Airport.
The body of water, surrounded by woods, is home to birds, ducks and dragonflies. Accessible primarily from a small parking lot off the southbound GW Parkway, most human activity is confined to fishing and birdwatching.
But that may eventually change.
Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey toured a portion of woods around Roaches Run last week with the chair of Arlington’s Planning Commission and representatives of Crystal City property owner and Amazon landlord JBG Smith.
Though Roaches Run is controlled by the National Park Service and is part of the GW Parkway, JBG owns parcels of land adjacent to the waterfowl sanctuary and could help link it to Crystal City. That would give the rapidly-developing neighborhood newfound accessibility to natural spaces.
“JBG owns a lot of the land over there and is in communication with the Park Service,” Garvey told ARLnow, noting that the developer invited her to last week’s tour. “Can we take this land and turn it into an accessible, usable space for people?”
Garvey said Roaches Run is “a lost area” that’s “not very accessible for anybody” at the moment. Active railroad tracks currently separate it from Crystal City and Long Bridge Park.
JBG declined comment for this story.
Among the ideas for Roaches Run are walking and biking trails, a floating dock for boaters in canoes or kayaks, and bird observation stations. Roaches Run would remain a nature preserve, however, and is not envisioned for other sports or recreation uses.
“It’s going to take some cooperation” to see this idea come to fruition, Garvey said.
The county, the Park Service, JBG and even the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority would likely be involved. That’s not to mention local civic associations, which have floated the idea of establishing connectivity to Roaches Run from Long Bridge Park and the Mt. Vernon Trail as part a series of improvements to the Crystal City and Pentagon City are dubbed Livability 22202.
“I think it’s an advantage for everybody…. making that whole area spectacular for people,” Garvey said. “You could get on an airplane and go hiking and boating within a mile radius.”
While discussions about Roaches Run have been informal in nature so far, with Amazon moving in nearby and demand for recreational opportunities growing it’s likely to advance to a more formal planning process at some point in the near future.
“It’s all very tentative but this is how ideas start, you have to start somewhere,” Garvey said. “Nothing is happening tomorrow or even next year… it’s probably 5-10 years out.”
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings.
Crystal City-based U.Group (2231 Crystal Drive) is expanding to the midwest with a plan to open an Indianapolis office for over 100 people by the end of the year.
The expansion comes one year after the companies ByteCubed, a consulting business, and digital marketing agency CHIEF merged to create U.Group. The company bills itself as a “digital transformation partner,” which mostly means technology-driven marketing for both private companies and the federal government.
“2019 has been an incredible year for us, and we don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon,” CEO Lena Trudeau said in a press release. “Expanding our operations to a new city enables us to further accelerate our momentum — it will allow us to deliver broader capabilities, deepen existing customer relationships as well as forge new ones, and amplify the impact we create for our customers.”
The plan is to hire 12 people initially with over 100 high-skilled positions opening by the end of 2020, according to the press release.
Another company executive said in the press release that the company was drawn to the mix of tech startups and mature corporations in Indianapolis.
The company is headquartered in Arlington, with a satellite office in Portland, Oregon, and a total workforce of around 280 employees.
Amazon Leases Former PBS Building — “Amazon.com Inc. is gobbling up more office space in Crystal City, signing a lease for another full building owned by frequent partner and current landlord JBG Smith Properties. The tech giant is now set to occupy another 272,000 square feet at 2100 Crystal Drive… The building is currently home to the Public Broadcasting Services’ headquarters, though the nonprofit announced plans last year to move to a different building within Crystal City.” [Washington Business Journal]
W-L vs. Wakefield in the Semis Tonight — “Having been blown out by the Yorktown Patriots a few days earlier, the Washington-Liberty Generals turned the tables on their Arlington rival, winning 66-61 Feb. 25 in a quarterfinal game of the 6D North Region boys high-school basketball tournament… Washington-Liberty will now face another big Arlington rival – the Wakefield Warriors (17-9) – in the Feb. 27 region semifinals at Wakefield at 7 p.m.” [InsideNova]
JBG Selling Properties to Fund Development — “JBG Smith Properties sold a 50% stake in its 552,000-square-foot Central Place office tower in December for $220 million… The sale to PGIM Inc. of the Rosslyn asset netted JBG Smith $53.4 million and comes as the company seeks to both shed properties outside of its core business and fuel a development pipeline.” [Washington Business Journal]
Another Possible N. Va. Coronavirus Case — “Health officials in Virginia said Tuesday they are monitoring two residents for possible coronavirus, including one in Northern Virginia.” [Washington Post]
DMV Urging Residents to Get REAL ID Now — “More than 850,000 Virginians in 2019 took the steps necessary to get a ‘REAL ID’-compliant driver’s license or identity card, but perhaps twice that many are still in need of one, state officials say. ‘We estimate approximately 1.5 million more Virginians will want to get a REAL ID between now and October,’ said Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Richard Holcomb.” [InsideNova]
Of the three projects, 1900 Crystal Drive is set for County Board consideration in March, while the other two are likely to reach the County Board in 2021.
The phased site plan will help the county better plan and obtain community benefits in exchange for the added density proposed for each project, county staff said.
“This PDSP will bind these three (3) noncontiguous projects together from the perspective of the maximum amount of density achievable with the associated Final Site Plan applications and a community benefits package related to the cumulative amount of additional density,” the county staff report says. “Staff finds this PDSP approach to be an innovative effort to link the delivery of community benefits associated with multiple site plan projects into a common PDSP that establishes a framework for how they will together facilitate the delivery of public improvements and other enhancements to the area.”
Two other JBG development proposals in Crystal City, meanwhile, have hit a snag after county staff balked at proposed building heights. The proposals “were not deemed acceptable as they requested height in addition to that permitted by the ‘C-O-Crystal City’ zoning district,” according to staff.
County staff are specifically concerned about the proposed apartment towers at 2525 Crystal Drive and 2001 S. Bell St. in Crystal City. Those are set to hit heights of 300 feet in some places, well above the 200-foot limit mandated by the county’s zoning ordinance.
Planners have flagged other issues with the Bethesda developer’s proposals, including how each one will include new road alignments and public open spaces. It’s all enough for staffers to urge delays on those projects, even as several other JBG Smith efforts in the area advance.
(Updated at 5:45 p.m.) A series of underground bicycle races is coming back to Crystal City next month.
Throughout the month, several races will weave through the parking garage at 201 12th Street S. The sixth annual event series, organized by the Crystal City Business Improvement District, is billed as “the area’s only underground bike race.”
The race hosts warned on the registration website that racing inside with low ceilings and concrete pillars can take a few minutes to get used to.
“This is a training race,” said the website. “Our main goal is to get everyone out riding in a fun and competitive setting.”
Spectators will be able to catch the races on the sidelines and hang out at a lounge area, which will provide a viewing area and feature happy hour drinks and bites from Acme Pie.
“Friends, family, and those too timid for the saddle can always catch the excitement from the comfort of the sidelines while enjoying a beverage from the event’s pop-up bar,” the BID noted.
Each day of racing will have three categories: a beginner race, a women’s cup, and a cup open to men and women aimed at racers who already have some experience. Each race is scheduled to last 35 minutes with a limit of 50 participants. The fee to enter is $20.
Races are scheduled for five successive Tuesdays:
March 3
March 10
March 17
March 24
March 31
The final will have a different setup. In addition to the beginners’ race, the March 31 race will feature a relay race, an “anything goes” race, and a fixed-gear bike race. For the anything-goes race, the only limit is that the vehicle can’t be motorized.
If you’re wondering what racing underground feels like, in 2017 a participant rode with a GoPro.
The four buildings set for Potomac Yard Land Bay C, as of 2017 (image via DCS Designs)
The four buildings set for Potomac Yard Land Bay C, as of 2017 (image via DCS Designs)
Land Bay C would also have a park known as North Plaza (image via DCS Designs)
The buildings would include office and retail space (image via DCS Designs)
The four buildings set for Potomac Yard Land Bay C, as of 2017 (image via DCS Designs)
Potomac Yard land bays, as of 2017
A long-delayed development project in the Potomac Yard area is likely to go back before the Arlington County Board this year with some changes.
Developer Meridian is expected to seek a modification to the earlier plan to build four office buildings on the empty plot of land along Richmond Highway, south of Crystal City, known as Potomac Yard Land Bay C.
The site plan was originally approved in 2007, per our earlier reporting, to include four buildings over an underground parking garage. It includes more than 1 million square feet of office space, 41,000 square feet of retail space and a half-acre park known as North Plaza. The window to start work on the site, located near the Lidl headquarters, was extended by three years by the state legislature in 2017.
A county spokeswoman tells ARLnow that half of the planned complex may be switched from office to residential use, with an option to also build a hotel instead. The change was foreshadowed in a conceptual site plan submitted to Arlington’s planning department. (Such plans are submitted for feedback from county planners and precede formal site plan filings.)
“The conceptual site plan for Potomac Yard Land Bay C proposes to convert the approved office GFA to residential use, with an option for hotel use as well,” said Dept. of Community Planning, Housing & Development spokeswoman Gina Wimpey. “The conceptual site plan is still under staff review, and we don’t know if or went the application will file a preliminary site plan, which would be the next step after the conceptual site plan. The conceptual site plan covers only the eastern half of Land Bay C, not the western half.”
A planning division presentation to the County Board last week suggested that planners were expecting the new site plan to be filed in time for County Board approval by the end of the year.
In case you forgot, Friday is Valentine’s Day. Wait, before you make a panicked purchase on Amazon and hit “next day shipping,” a market is scheduled this Friday in Crystal City to rescue last-minute shoppers.
The Valentine’s Market is scheduled to run from 4-8 p.m. at The Grounds (1102 S. Eads Street) with a variety of local vendors. If gift-giving isn’t really your style, an event listing said there will also be plenty of activities to turn it into a date night:
Leave your Valentine’s Day shopping to the last minute again, or just looking for a nice outing that doesn’t involve a quiet restaurant? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with the Valentine’s Market at The Grounds!
Join us at The Grounds in Crystal City for wine & beer tastings and shopping from local crafts and treat vendors. There will also be a cash bar and food trucks, powered by Curbside Kitchen, so you can make an evening of it!
