The Arlington County Board is set to approve a $2.6 million contract for the design of interior upgrades to the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center in Courthouse.
County staff has recommended awarding the contract, including a five percent contingency, to Architecture, Inc., a Reston, Va., company. County Board members are expected to consider the approval during its Saturday, March 17 meeting.
The project will be funded by the landlord, JBG Smith, which provided a $23.7 million tenant improvement allowance following lease extension negotiations last year. The County will also occupy the 2100 Clarendon Boulevard building rent-free from Nov. 1, 2018 through Oct. 31, 2019, which the county estimates will save $9.9 million.
There is also an expected broker rebate of $2.5 million.
The 235,000-square-foot building sits at the intersection of a new pedestrian safety improvement project. According to county documents, it has been 12 years since the building’s last renovation.
Yorktown High School modification plan presentation slide
Yorktown High School modification plan
Yorktown High School modification plan
The final design of Yorktown High School modifications that will increase the building’s capacity to 2,189 seats is set to be approved at the Arlington School Board meeting on Thursday (March 8).
Per the plan, at least six classrooms will be created by converting a computer lab, a computer alcove, and several teacher work rooms. A copy room will turn into a new “teacher collaboration space,” and other teacher work space and offices will also be reconfigured.
Existing storage will be turned into bicycle storage, and charging stations will be added throughout the school, including in the cafeteria and atrium. The current gym lockers will be replaced.
The larger seating capacity comes weeks after the proposed Arlington Public Schools budget was announced with class size increases.
The project’s estimated $4 million cost will be funded by the capital reserve, according to School Board documents.
Nauck Town Center demolition (photo by Daniel Wanke via Instagram)
The demolished Nauck office building (photo via Arlington County)
A bee warning sign (photo via Arlington County)
A bee keeper relocating bees (photo via Arlington County)
Nauck Town Center rendering (via Arlington County)
Nauck Town Center rendering (via Arlington County)
Nauck Town Center rendering (via Arlington County)
Demolition has begun in preparation for the Nauck Town Center project, and the neighbors might not be the only ones buzzing with interest.
The building torn down last week is none other than the former home of about 70,000 honey bees, which the county relocated in July 2017 after realizing they had not only purchased a former office building but an apiary abode as well.
The aging building had only been vacant for about four months, according to the county, but about 100 pounds of honey were already generated by the time that local beekeepers swooped in to relocate move the hive.
The demolition is one of the final steps in the project’s first pre-construction phase. Utility undergrounding and site perimeter streetscaping will start fall 2018 and end spring 2019.
The second phase of Nauck Town Square project construction is scheduled to begin in the spring or summer of 2019 and wrap up by the winter of 2020. Pre-construction for phase two will begin spring 2018 and last through winter 2019.
The Nauck Town Center project, which has been years in the making, includes an open plaza, outdoor stage, public art, tables and seating and sidewalk improvements, along with displays about the history of the community, which was settled by free African-Americans in 1844. The design includes a large sculpture of the word “FREED.”
Rendering of new Market Square (photo via Arlington County)
Rendering of new Market Square (photo via Arlington County)
Rendering of new Crystal City east entrance (photo via Arlington County)
Rendering of new Market Square (photo via Arlington County)
Crystal City will be getting a new, 43,900 square foot plaza called Metro Market Square, according to county planning documents.
Plans for the plaza cite Boston’s Faneuil Hall as inspiration and include retail businesses, small water features, chess tables, and a options for outdoor entertainment.
The market building’s roof would include solar panels and “artistic wind turbines,” and the park’s sidewalks would range from 17.5-19 feet wide. A new Crystal City Metro station east entrance at the plaza would be located at Crystal Drive and 18 Street S.
The parcel, referred to as “block G,” is “generally bounded by 15th Street S. to the north, Crystal Drive to the east, 18th Street S. to the south and U.S. Route 1 to the west,” according to the county website.
Planners are cognizant of shadow issues as well, calling for no more than 55 percent of the park to be in shadow between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on equinoxes and no more than 59% in shadow in the fall.
A community open house will be held on March 21 from 7-9 p.m. for residents to view the details. An online feedback survey will be conducted from March 19-28, though a link to the survey is not yet available.
The block plan is part of the larger Crystal City Sector Plan, passed in 2010, which includes a new two-acre park called Center Park, 7,500 new residential units, and a “transformation of Jefferson Davis Highway into an urban boulevard.”
ACPD Cameo on ‘Homeland’ — The Arlington County Police Department made a brief appearance last week on the TV show “Homeland.” [Twitter]
High Wind Watch Upgraded to Warning — The threat of a damaging wind storm Friday has become more likely. The National Weather Service has upgraded the previous High Wind Watch to a warning. [Twitter]
EFC Development Stalled — “Seven years ago, the county blessed a vision of new ‘transitown’ development of stores, greenery and new pedestrian access around the East Falls Church Metro. But that utilitarian commuter site is largely unchanged.” [Falls Church News-Press]
New Logo, Website for AAC — Thanks to a philanthropic grant, the Arlington Arts Center has new branding and a “new, mobile-friendly site reflecting our enduring commitment to excellent contemporary art, quality educational programs, and our artist residency program.” [Arlington Arts Center]
The county has seen dozens of restaurants close their doors in recent years, but major redevelopments along the corridor could breathe new life into its struggling dining scene. Bisnow’s Future of Arlington County will explore the issue further.
Since Regency Centers acquired Market Common Clarendon in spring 2016, two of the restaurants in the development have closed. Regency Centers is working to re-lease the retail center as the REIT prepares to launch a $50M-plus redevelopment of the property. They are being very selective with restaurant operators, and limiting the second-level space to non-food users, such as fitness studio Barre3.
Beyond Market Common, at least 10 other Clarendon restaurants have closed since 2016. Restaurateur Scott Parker, who co-owns Clarendon’s Don Tito and The G.O.A.T, said he has been surprised to see the string of recent closings. But Parker said he still has a strong outlook on Clarendon’s future, given its nightlife atmosphere and popularity with millennials.
Ballston has also experienced a large string of restaurant closings over the last two years. However, Forest City is preparing to deliver its $330M overhaul of the Ballston Common Mall, rebranding it as Ballston Quarter.
The development will feature four experiential retail concepts, including a Punch Bowl Social, live-action entertainment venue 5 Wits and recreational culinary school Cookology. Forest City Senior Vice President Will Voegele believes bringing all of these concepts together will create a regional destination that will benefit the entire Ballston neighborhood.
“I truly believe in a couple years, Ballston is going to be maybe the hotspot of the Orange Line,” said Parker. “I do deeply believe it’s going to be [the] next big thing. I think they’re going to knock it out of the park and I think people are going to be blown away by how busy Ballston gets and the type of hub it becomes in the next couple years.”
Will these redevelopments save Arlington’s retail? Find out at Bisnow’s Future of Arlington County on March 8!
A community meeting is being held tomorrow night to discuss a proposed development that would bring The Children’s School to the former Alpine Restaurant site on Lee Highway.
The Children’s School, a subsidized daycare center for Arlington County teachers, is planning to relocate as its long-time home — the Reed School building in Westover — is renovated and turned into a new elementary school.
A flyer for the meeting — to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Lee Highway Alliance (4620 Lee Highway) — says a three-story building has been proposed for the Alpine site, which has sat largely unused for the past eight years.
“Two-hundred thirty-five children, aged 0-5, would be housed in a three story building that tapers at the rear towards the Glebewood townhouses, with rooftop play areas,” says the flyer. “Integration Station, which is a pre-school for kids with special needs, would also be part of the application (about 30% of 235 children).”
“Daycare would open at 6:45 a.m. and close by 5 p.m — not open on weekends,” the flyer continues. “The site is approximately 19,400 square feet. This is a by-right application under a use permit. The preliminary drawings illustrate an attractive, glass-paneled contemporary and playful design for the school.”
The site is owned by Arlington businessman Brian Normile, of BCN Homes and Liberty Tavern, and would be leased to The Children’s School, according to the flyer. The Children’s School would temporarily move to Ballston during the approval and construction process, it says.
The flyer lists “impacts to Glebewood Historic District,” green space and tree coverage, and parking — the plan calls for 40 mostly underground parking spaces plus drop-off spaces — as some of the issues for further community discussion.
Contact sheet for S. Highland Street construction area
A new residential development is under construction just south of Columbia Pike.
The development, first approved in 2009, is described as “a residential project for 36 condominium units within 12 townhouse structures.” It is currently under construction at 1100 S. Highland Street, behind the Audi dealership, and along what it planned as a future extension of 11th Street S.
The permit holder is listed as the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), which has offices at 901 S. Highland Street, about two blocks away from the construction site. Construction permits were first approved in late September last year.
ECDC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ARLnow.
An NVR lawyer at County Board meeting in front of several protesters
An explanation of the county staff’s recommendation for the amendment.
Original NVR development proposal in Ballston
A proposal to build a 72-unit multifamily building in Ballston that met resistance from neighbors is moving forward.
In a 4-1 vote, the Arlington County Board approved a land use variance that will allow the Ballston condo and townhouse development to move forward. The development includes a total of 84 residential units, including 12 townhouses.
Many residents who spoke during the public comments section took issue with the height of the future residential buildings, as well as the the loss of property value and quality of life from the new building blocking sunlight.
“We will have nine floors of units that currently enjoy will now be limited to fully dark most of the year — a maximum of one and a half hours during the summer solstice,” said Dana Hofferber, a resident of the nearby Westview condominium tower, citing a shadow study produced by the developer, NVR. Inc.
Another resident, Justin Heminger, noted that the community isn’t against all development, just this particular plan.
“The community is not against the development of this project, the community is against what has been proposed,” said Heminger. “And I think it boils down to: it’s too big, it’s too tall, and it’s too close.”
Many of the 26 public comments were from immediate Ballston neighbors, who wore matching t-shirts and held signs. A number of speakers noted in remarks that they purchased condominiums based on the current General Land Use Plan (GLUP), which the Board was voting to modify. Others said they were concerned about traffic, school overcrowding and the impact of the development on mass transit.
A motion by County Board member John Vihstadt to delay the amendment to the GLUP failed. Vihstadt voted against the proposal.
“We’ve talked a lot about process and substance today, but in my view we fall too short of where we need to be and too short of where we could be with more discussion,” said Vihstadt, noting “hand-wringing” among the Board members.
It took about four hours for the development to be discussed and for the Board to vote.
Other Board members cited their concern with various aspects of the plan. Board members who voted for the development said those issues could be addressed at another point in the planning process.
Katie Cristol, the County Board chair, said that this was not a matter of developers versus residents, but of balancing “resident’s interests with resident’s interests” and not pulling “the ladder up from behind us.”
“There are things that [are] reasonable to expect,” added Cristol. “We will strive to seek to balance the interests of residents, of homeowners to homeowners or renters to renters… this project, which adds new ownership housing steps from a Metro center, is an example of that.”
“The redevelopment of this site will provide much-needed ownership housing in the heart of Ballston, including affordable units, within walking distance of Metro,” Cristol said in a press release. “We heard from some in the neighborhood who have had strong differences of opinion about the development’s appropriateness, but the Board, in partnership with staff and the Planning and Transportation Commissions, believes that it is consistent with the long-held goals of the Ballston Sector Plan.”
At least one resident during the public comment period questioned whether elected officials had received any campaign contributions from developers, which several County Board members denied, including board member Christian Dorsey and Katie Cristol.
(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) The County Board is set to vote this Saturday (February 24) on a contested residential development in Ballston.
The development is planned around the intersection of N. Vermont and 11th streets, about four blocks from the Ballston Metro station. Developer NVR Inc. intends to build a 72-unit multifamily building with both condos and townhouse-style units on the southern block and 12 townhouse units on the northern parcel of land.
County staff, along with the Arlington’s planning and transportation commissions, are recommending that the Board approves the development, but some neighbors have objected to it.
“Save Our Neighborhood” signs in opposition of the development have been placed around Ballston, urging residents to wear red t-shirts to the County Board meeting to show their solidarity. A Change.org petition has garnered more than 500 signatures.
The petition’s organizer, Dana Gerk, cited a swamped mass transit infrastructure, overcrowding in the schools, concerns about increased traffic, “potential physical damage… from heavy machinery,” and a deviation from the county’s current zoning for the site.
Other opponents cite the proposed height of the condo building as harmful.
“Through the process, local residents vocally opposed the design and placement of the seven story multi-family building,” one resident said in an email to ARLnow.com. “At each public hearing Westview [condo] residents whose properties were built with floor to ceiling window balconies opposed the current design, which will block access to light according to developer-provided shadow studies.
“Other buildings in the area, such as on the corner of Glebe and Fairfax, were sculpted to preserve the access to sunlight for Westview residents, and Westview residents note that, if approved, this new building takes away the views of over 100 residents so that a developer can maximize profits for many fewer.”
Approval from the board would necessitate two exceptions be granted. The lot is currently planned as “low-medium residential,” meaning that it can accommodate 16-36 units per acre, and would need to be changed to “high-medium residential mixed use” in the General Land Use Plan (GLUP).
An additional rezoning request for the 55,667 square foot site would allow developers to build multiple family dwellings and commercial district property. The current status only allows for one family and restricted two-family dwellings.
Demolition at 2000 Clarendon Blvd (photo courtesy @721tv)
A rendering of planned development at 2000 Clarendon Blvd (file photo)
Demolition is underway on an old office building in Courthouse.
The demolition of the building at 2000 Clarendon Blvd will allow the construction of a new, 15-floor condominium tower. The 18,380 sq. ft. site will also feature ground-level retail and a garage fitting 112 parking spaces.
The site is currently fenced off while the building is torn down.
