Arlington County police are looking for a man who exposed himself to at least two women Monday morning.
The first incident happened around 8:30 a.m. on the 3500 block of S. Ball Street, in the Crystal City area near Potomac Yard. The second happened just over an hour later on the 400 block of 12th Street S. in Pentagon City, near the Lenox Club apartments.
“At approximately 8:41 a.m. on August 14, police were dispatched to the report of an exposure,” police said in a crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined the female victim was walking in the area when the male suspect in a parked vehicle engaged her in conversation. During the conversation, the suspect exposed himself and fled the scene in his vehicle.”
“At approximately 9:52 a.m., police were dispatched to the 400 block of 12th Street S. to another report of an exposure,” the crime report continues. “It was determined the female victim was walking in the area when the suspect, matching the reporting parties description from the incident prior, engaged her in conversation from his parked vehicle and exposed himself.”
(Updated at 10:20 a.m.) With half of its planned HQ2 now open in Pentagon City, Amazon is planning to leave most of its leased spaces in Crystal City.
Once the leases expire for temporary Amazon offices at 1800 S. Bell Street and 2100 Crystal Drive, in 2023 and 2024, respectively, JBG Smith intends to “take off-line and entitle [them] for alternate uses,” per a new report.
One of the buildings, 1800 S. Bell Street, could get the redevelopment treatment as early as 2026, the report says. JBG Smith included the property at the tail end of its near-term development pipeline for National Landing, the area composed of Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard. It appears slated to remain for office use.
JBG Smith’s development pipeline in National Landing (via JBG Smith)
Amazon has always planned to consolidate its office space and move employees to its permanent HQ2, the first phase of which — Metropolitan Park — opened in June. There is still no word from the company on when the stalled second phase, Pen Place, could begin, though the delay may only be a year or so.
The tech company’s departure from two of its three leased offices will pile on more vacancies in JBG Smith’s portfolio, according to the real estate company’s report.
By the end of 2024, the company anticipates 1.2 million square feet of office space in National Landing will be vacated. Amazon currently occupies about half that square footage.
Amazon plans to continue to occupy 1770 Crystal Drive, located near the Alamo Cinema Drafthouse, the taqueria Tacombi and the proposed second entrance to the Crystal City Metro station, at the northwest corner of Crystal Drive and 18th Street S.
Excluding Amazon, JBG Smith says its current retention rate between now and the end of 2024 is about 50%, versus an annual average of about 70%. To bring the rate up, the company will focus on filling more up-to-date buildings going forward.
“Our efforts to re-lease certain spaces will be targeted toward buildings with long-term viability,” wrote Matthew Kelly in the report. “We expect to repurpose older, obsolete, and vacant buildings for redevelopment, conversion to multifamily, or another specialty use, ultimately reducing our competitive inventory in National Landing.”
JBG Smith declined to elaborate on what other specialty uses it envisions as well as properties it plans to either retain for tenants or develop.
Its report, however, outlines when each of its commercial holdings in Crystal City was built and when it was last renovated.
Of the four built in the late 1960s, three have not been updated since the mid-2000s. Another 10 were built in the 1980s and were renovated over the course of 15 years starting in 2006.
The report also provides a timeline for forthcoming redevelopment plans. It says Crystal City is slated to get new apartments in the following places:
A new office building is slated to come to 101 12th Street S. and either offices or apartments could come to 2525 Crystal Drive. JBG Smith has studiedboth at the site and the report currently lists its estimated residential redevelopment potential.
A map of JBG Smith’s commercial holdings in the area, as well as its pipeline of commercial and residential development opportunities, is below. Click on the window in the top left corner to see a description of the map, the different colors, and individual addresses.
Arlington County selected the two companies build more affordable housing on the Crystal House apartment property after Amazon granted the county development rights to the vacant land, worth approximately $40 million. APAH and EYA have plans to construct 844 units on this empty plot, of which 655 will be designated as affordable.
Meanwhile, existing units will be kept affordable through a separate loan from Amazon. In an effort to mitigate the impact of its move to Arlington on the local housing market, the tech giant loaned the Washington Housing Conservancy money to purchase and stabilize rent at the complex, located at 1900 S. Eads Street, just one block from its second headquarters.
Several months after being selected to lead the project, APAH has requested the county’s permission to amend the previously approved development plans for the site, aiming to incorporate affordable housing, according to recently filed application materials.
APAH began by redesigning the project’s first phase, dubbed “Crystal House VI,” which is set to be located at the corner of 18th Street S. and S. Fern Street.
A rendering of Crystal House VI (via Arlington County)
When the project was approved in 2019, the “Crystal House VI” was envisioned as a five-story building housing 63 units. However, APAH now intends to pivot towards affordable senior rentals, which the developer says is necessary to secure additional financing.
The developer requested permission to increase the number of units to 80 and halve the number of parking spaces.
It also requested different façade materials that “maintain a high quality and appealing design while reducing construction costs,” according to land-use attorney Nicholas Cumings.
According to a letter from Cummings, the increase in units can be achieved without changing the building’s overall footprint. The units will be smaller than the originally planned market-rate condos.
“The proposed minor site plan amendment represents a significant milestone in realizing the county’s goals,” APAH Executive Vice President Carmen Romero wrote in a letter of support to the county. “Creating these homes requires the approval of this minor site plan amendment in order to make the design compatible with an affordable senior rental project.”
Once construction starts next year, Panko says APAH anticipates Crystal House VI to be done in the fall or winter of 2025.
“This phase will reconnect the streetscape to the surrounding community as well as provide carefully crafted amenities for our seniors that foster a sense of belonging and enhance the overall quality of life for residents,” Romero said in her letter.
When asked for a timeline of the other projects in the pipeline, Panko said “there are two buildings on the site that will remain occupied, so the development will be phased to accommodate existing operations.”
International startup accelerator ZEBOX is using Arlington office to help bridge the gap between startup companies and large corporations around the world.
ZEBOX connects startup companies with one another and provides them with a space to collaborate and expand within one office building, explained Elizabeth Ward, head of the company’s American operation.
“ZEBOX acts as a connective tissue between large corporations and the supply chain to innovative startups. We want to create new pathways between startup organizations that can benefit by doing business together,” Ward said.
Since its hub in Crystal City opened last spring, the incubator — headquartered in Marseille, France — has opened locations in western Africa, Singapore and the Caribbean, with plans to open a hub in England.
ZEBOX originated from the global company CMA CGM, after ZEBOX’s current CEO found that the gap between startups and large corporate organizations could be at least partially closed by housing startup companies together.
“The facilities are designed as a place for startups to work, but more importantly as a place for companies and startups to co-innovate. We are new to the area, but we view it as a prime spot for a lot of future innovation to take place,” Ward said. “Arlington is opening a lot of doors for ZEBOX to collaborate within our community. A lot of the team has been surprised by the innovation going on in the county.”
ZEBOX America Vice President Charles Dehoney, left, and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Duffy, right (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The accelerator’s local hub in Crystal City recently started the process of housing its fourth startup. That process is expected to be complete by September.
ZEBOX supports more than 60 startups in the U.S.
The ZEBOX office in Crystal City has hosted several fireside chats, as well as the French American Chamber of Commerce and members of the French embassy.
These events exemplify how Arlington is an ideal place for global innovation, Ward told ARLnow.
“Arlington made a lot of sense. There are so many innovative companies moving into the area with the state of Virginia doing a lot to entice young companies and startups to come to Arlington and set up their businesses here,” Ward said.
ZEBOX is now looking for ways the Crystal City office can better connect startups with federal government resources, to bolster their growth.
Members of the French American Chamber of Commerce, the French Embassy and more at an event hosted at ZEBOX’s Arlington office (photo via Elizabeth Ward)
A Metro sign at the corner of 18th St. S and Crystal Drive in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
18th Street S. and Crystal Drive, future site of a new entrance to the Crystal City Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
18th St. S and Crystal Drive, site of a new entrance to the Crystal City metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Construction in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Construction in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
New high rise buildings in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Surreal restaurant under construction in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Surreal restaurant under construction in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
New high rises along Crystal Drive (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Construction along Crystal Drive in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 9:40 a.m. on 8/1/23) If you build it, they will come.
That is the philosophy guiding the planned construction of the east entrance to the Crystal City Metro station, for which Arlington County inked a contract earlier this month.
First floated in 2002, the idea of a second Crystal City Metro entrance remained on the local radar before becoming one of the suite of transportation projects the county and state agreed to deliver in order to secure Amazon’s (recently opened) second headquarters in Arlington.
This month, Arlington approved a contract with JBG Smith and Clark Construction, which together agreed to build the second entrance for no more than $117 million. Design work is not yet complete, however, and the new entrance may not be ready until 2027.
The new entrance will be located at the northwest corner of Crystal Drive and 18th Street S., a couple of blocks from the current entrance.
Although a few years away, project proponents say the project will bring visitors closer to Crystal Drive, a part of Crystal City undergoing significant change, and will create a “transit hub” connecting people to rail (VRE and Amtrak), buses and the airport. Doing so, they say, will make using Metro more convenient and, thus, encourage additional ridership, which remains below pre-pandemic levels.
“This east entrance really brings transit where it belongs, into the heart of a commercial district,” says Tracy Sayegh Gabriel, the president and executive director of the National Landing Business Improvement District.
“Crystal Drive is a commercial spine and there are many enhancements and new destinations that will deliver soon and will seamlessly connect to the entrance,” she continued. “In 2024, we will realize a truly reinvisioned Crystal Drive.”
The Crystal City Water Park, set to reopen this September with a number of food vendor stalls, would be across the street from the new entrance. A retail strip with Mah-Ze-Dahr, Tacombi, and the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is steps away, while two dozen other retailers are set to move into Crystal Drive over the next year, including a new restaurant called Surreal.
Construction upgrades at the Crystal City Water Park are nearly complete (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Proponents say the second entrance will facilitate connections to other transit modes. Getting between VRE and Metro, for instance, can be a confusing hassle, says local civic association president Eric Cassel.
“Everybody who is a tourist or something like that, they have a hard time finding it currently, it’s kind of hidden away,” he said. “People don’t take transit as much because it’s difficult to transfer between that and buses and everything else. One of the reasons to make a focal point of a transit hub is to get people who would otherwise drive to take transit.”
The new station will also make hopping on the Metro a bit less of a slog for people who live or work in the neighborhood.
“This new entrance would save me and others 5 minutes of walking up the hill to get to the current entrance,” says Jay Corbalis, public affairs vice president for JBG Smith.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot to some people, but when you think about that every day, twice a day, for thousands of people, it starts to add up why it’s an important project,” he continued. “It changes the geography of National Landing. It brings that many people closer to the rest of the region.”
A driver made a daring and successful — though some might say ill-advised — escape from armed carjackers early this morning.
The incident happened just before 2 a.m. on the 3400 block of Potomac Avenue, in the Crystal City area near Potomac Yard.
“The victim was inside his parked vehicle when the suspect vehicle pulled behind him and approximately three male suspects exited, brandished firearms and demanded the keys to the victim’s vehicle,” Arlington County police said in today’s daily crime report.
“The victim drove away and the suspects reentered their vehicle and briefly followed,” the crime report continues. “The victim was then able to return to the scene and speak to police. No injuries were reported.”
The suspect vehicle, described as a silver SUV, drove off and police were unable to locate it, despite searching the area.
“The investigation is ongoing,” ACPD said.
This is at least the third carjacking attempt in the Crystal City area over the past week, after groups of suspects carjacked BMWs this past weekend and earlier this week.
A string of BMW carjackings in the Crystal City area continued early this morning.
The alleged crime happened around 3 a.m., near the intersection of S. Eads Street and 23rd Street S.
A man was parking his car when four masked suspects armed with guns approached and demanded the keys, police said. The car — a 2014 BMW 320i with Michigan tags — was taken but the victim was not hurt.
Police are looking for both the stolen car and another vehicle used in the crime, according to today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report.
“The victim was parking his vehicle when the suspect vehicle approached, four male suspects exited, brandished firearms and demanded the keys to the victim’s vehicle,” said the crime report. “The suspect vehicle, a dark-colored sedan, then fled the scene followed by the suspects driving the victim’s stolen vehicle.”
“The investigation is ongoing,” the crime report adds.
The getaway — before police were called — was caught on camera by local public safety watcher Dave Statter.
This is at least the seventh BMW carjacking in the Crystal City and Pentagon City area so far this year, after another carjacking this past weekend near the same intersection as this morning’s incident. At least a dozen carjackings total have been reported in Arlington in 2023.
Separately, Arlington police assisted with tracking a vehicle carjacked in Alexandria this morning. According to initial reports, Arlington police helped to track the stolen Lexus, taken near Arlington’s Fairlington neighborhood, as it was driven past Crystal City and into D.C. on I-395 in heavy traffic.
The outside of the Mah-Ze-Dahr cafe in Crystal City (courtesy of Nina Palazzolo)
Some of the food options included in Mah-Ze-Dahr’s expanded menu (courtesy Nina Palazzolo)
The interior of the Mah-Ze-Dahr cafe in Crystal City (courtesy of Rey Lopez)
Some of the bakery items still included in Mah-Ze-Dahr’s expanded menu (courtesy Rey Lopez)
(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) Fans of the New York-based bakery Mah-Ze-Dahr can now enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner daily at its offshoot in Crystal City.
The restaurant at 1550 Crystal Drive broadened its menu offerings this past Thursday — two years after opening with a more limited menu of pastries, baked goods and coffee drinks.
The Crystal City outpost was initially supposed to serve breakfast through dinner, though those plans were derailed by Covid, co-owner Michael Reginbogin told ARLnow.
Since the bakery opened a year into the pandemic, when most workers were still remote, he and his partners chose to stick to baked goods — including donuts some say are New York City’s best and Oprah-endorsed pastries.
“We scaled the menu to a bakery only because the guests just would not have been there enough to enjoy them,” Reginbogin said.
Thankfully, he said, the café survived Covid and, with the expansion, can cash in on the return to in-person work and the recent opening of the first phase of its Arlington HQ2.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” he said.
Mah-Ze-Dahr, rechristened Mah-Ze-Dahr Café, now serves bread pudding french toast, salads, sandwiches, quiches, steak frites and more, all day long.
Reginbogin said Mah-Ze-Dahr Café had a successful (re)opening day last week.
“Everything has been going well. We have already sold out of a few items. The demand is definitely there,” Reginbogin said. “The all-day flexibility of the new menu seems to be hitting a homerun with locals and office workers returning to the area.”
No changes to the space were necessary beyond hiring more staff to serve more customers, Reginbogin said.
Across the river in D.C., Mah-Ze-Dahr has a bakery and a bistro called Bistro Du Jour, according to its website.
A suspect is in custody in connection to the sexual assault of a woman in Crystal City’s underground shopping center.
The crime happened shortly before 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Police said the victim “was walking in the Crystal City Shops when the male suspect approached, produced a box cutter, demanded money and stole her cell phone.”
“The suspect then took the victim to a secluded area where he sexually assaulted her and struck her with the box cutter,” Arlington County police said.
Following an investigation, a 23-year-old man was arrested last night, ACPD said.
From a police press release:
The Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is announcing charges have been obtained in the investigation into a July 22 sexual assault in Crystal City. Khalil Gray, 23, of No Fixed Address has been arrested and charged with Forcible Sodomy, Abduction with Intent to Defile, Malicious Wounding and Robbery. He’s being held in the Prince George’s Department of Corrections pending extradition to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Following the incident, detectives launched a thorough investigation which included canvassing for information, reviewing crime scene evidence, interviewing witnesses and following up on investigative leads. This information led to identifying Mr. Gray as a possible suspect. With investigative assistance by the Metro Transit Police Department, he was taken into custody in Maryland on the evening of July 23, 2023.
A man of the same name and age was arrested in Alexandria in October, charged with pointing a gun at his landlord. The man was later found not guilty on gun and assault charges, but convicted of violating a protective order and sentenced to one day in jail. It could not immediately be confirmed whether that Khalil Gray is the same one who was arrested for the sexual assault.
After a several month break, yet another BMW has been carjacked in the Crystal City area.
The incident was reported at 23rd Street S. and S. Eads Street around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
“The victim was inside his parked vehicle when the suspect vehicle approached, three suspects exited, brandished firearms and demanded the victim’s vehicle,” Arlington County police said today in a crime report. “The suspect vehicle, a dark-colored sedan, then fled the scene followed by the suspects driving the victim’s stolen vehicle. No injuries were reported.”
The stolen vehicle was described as a white 2017 BMW 420i with Mississippi tags.
This is at least the 11th carjacking in Arlington so far this year and the sixth involving a BMW taken in the Crystal City and Pentagon City area. The last such reported carjacking happened in April.
A ice cream shop is going into 1900 Crystal Drive, according to a permit applied for earlier this month. It’s expected to be on the ground floor in one of the two residential buildings going up at the site.
The address is 269 19th Court S., per the permit, so it may be located in some sort of alleyway.
After this article initially published, a tipster reached out to note that in a June presentation to the Crystal City Civic Association about the forthcoming construction, a logo for Van Leeuwen was on one of the slides. The company recently opened several D.C. locations, including in Georgetown.
It is not immediately clear which ice cream shop will be going in there, if not Van Leeuwen. ARLnow reached out to developer JBG Smith, which owns the buildings, but the developer declined to comment, per a spokesperson.
Mimi’s Handmade Ice Cream is opening its second location in the Mosaic District in August or September, and has leases signed for locations in Annandale, Falls Church, Chevy Chase, and Rockville. Owner Rollin Amore tells ARLnow that the forthcoming Crystal City shop is not his.
Toby’s, meanwhile, is set to open a shop in nearby Pentagon City, likely taking them out of the running.
Construction on the residential towers where the new ice cream shop will likely be located began in March 2021. Work could be completed as soon as next year.
