Four Mile Run

Sparrow Pond restoration work brings temporary trail closures and detours

By Jo DeVoe
1/10

Reconstruction of Sparrow Pond is currently underway.

Last Thursday, part of the Four Mile Run Trail closed while a new pipe from Four Mile Run up to Sparrow Pond is built. A detour is in place for the 6-7 weeks this work is expected to take place.

“Please use caution on the South Park Drive trail connector as the spur is shared between pedestrians, cyclists and construction equipment,” Dept. of Environmental Services Stormwater Communications Manager Aileen Winquist said.

In late November or early December, there will be a 6-7 week closure of the W&OD Trail with a detour to the Four Mile Run Trail.

“Thank you to the neighbors and trail users for your patience and understanding during the pond work, outfall construction and trail closures,” Winquist said.

Four Mile Run Trail detour to W&OD Trail (via Arlington County)

The pond was initially built in 2001 and has since filled with sediment. Restoration work includes removing the sediment, creating deeper pools and making other habitat improvements for wildlife.

“As heavy storms continue to bring silt into the pond, remaining water pools have filled in,” the project website says. “Most turtles and other wildlife have already moved to other areas along Four Mile Run… Once the project is complete, we look forward to drawing them back with deeper pools and good habitat.”

A new sediment collection area is intended to make future maintenance and sediment removal easier.

The need for the restoration project was identified a decade ago and design funding was set aside in 2018. Hammering out designs took three years and construction funding was approved this summer.

Construction began in August with construction site preparations and set up. Tree removal, to make room for the new sediment collection area and expanded pools, is ongoing.

Construction is expected to continue through next August.

County Board poised to allocate funding for more upgrades to Bluemont Junction Trail

By James Jarvis
Bluemont Junction Trail (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

This weekend, the Arlington County Board is set to consider a proposal to funnel nearly $400,000 into the second phase of the Bluemont Junction Trail safety project.

Phase 2 includes moving and updating three trail connectors to be accessible to people with disabilities and improving cyclist and pedestrian intersections between the W&OD Trail and the Four Mile Run Trail on both sides of Wilson Blvd, per a county report.

The plan also calls for resurfacing a 480-foot segment of Four Mile Run Trail and repairing a nearby pedestrian bridge.

The project is part of a multi-year county effort to address poor visibility between trail users and drivers along the Bluemont Junction Trail, which crosses the Bluemont neighborhood and connects Ballston to the W&OD Trail at Bluemont Park. Plans were developed by the county with input from the public and the Bluemont Civic Association, the Bicycle Advisory Committee and the Pedestrian Advisory Committee

In the project’s first phase, which spanned the fall of 2021 to last summer, the county and the Virginia Dept. of Transportation made upgrades to roughly 4,500 linear feet and 13 connector trails, the report said. This included reconfiguring the trail’s intersections with N. Emerson Street and N. Kensington Street.

The second phase, however, demands more “in-depth engineering” than the milling and repaving carried out in the first phase, the report said.

Rep. Don Beyer has earmarked $325,000 in federal funds for the second phase of the project, which has an estimated total cost of $711,662.

The community will have an opportunity to provide input on the designs and proposed improvements if the funds are allocated, a county staff report notes.

Arlington advises residents to avoid Four Mile Run after ‘dumping incident’

By ARLnow.com
Along Four Mile Run near Shirlington (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) People and pets should avoid much of Four Mile Run for the next 2-3 days as a precaution, Arlington County says.

The advisory comes amid a scorching heatwave. The county says it’s due to a “dumping incident” near N. Ohio Street.

The affected portion of the stream runs along popular parks like Bluemont Park, Barcroft Park and the Shirlington dog park.

Arlington firefighters responded to the stream earlier today for a report of a milky substance — possibly paint — in the water.

“The matter is still under investigation but paint or something similar went into a storm drain from a roll-off dumpster being swapped out at a home where work is taking place,” Peter Golkin, spokesman for Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services, tells ARLnow.

“The spill was called in by neighbors,” Golkin added. “As we point out often, there are no filters on Arlington’s storm drains and whatever goes in comes out in our streams and the watershed. People need to be careful.”

NOW: Rescue in progress after intoxicated person falls down creek embankment

By ARLnow.com
1/7

A water rescue operation is underway along Four Mile Run after reports of a drunk man falling down an embankment.

The incident happened shortly before 4 p.m. behind the Virginia DMV office at 4150 Four Mile Run Drive. Initial reports suggest that the man fell 20 feet onto rocks below, suffering possible broken bones in the process.

The man is said to conscious. Because he’s in a creek bed, the fire department is treating this as a water rescue and a large contingent of fire apparatus — including water rescue and technical rescue trucks and equipment — is responding to the scene.

Update at 4:55 p.m. — The man has been hoisted from the creekbed by firefighters, and is in the process of being loaded onto an ambulance and brought to a local hospital.

Arlington Independent Media’s new Green Valley studio is looking to go live by early fall

By Matt Blitz
1/4

Arlington Independent Media hopes to open its first satellite studio by early fall.

The non-profit video and audio production studio has begun the build-out at 3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive in Green Valley, Arlington Independent Media (AIM) CEO Whytni Kernodle told ARLnow. They are looking to modernize three underused audio-production studios inside Arlington Arts’ Cultural Affairs Division office, with a focus on providing podcasting space.

Construction is expected to take about four months and cost over $200,000. The aim is to be finished and ready to open sometime in September, Kernodle said.

AIM was established about four decades ago and provides programming for two local cable access television stations and operates the radio station WERA 96.7 FM.

In November, the county approved a lease agreement allowing AIM to take over about 1,100 square feet of space at the Arlington Arts location in Green Valley. It follows the county’s vision for an “arts & industry district” along Four Mile Run.

This new studio in Green Valley represents AIM’s commitment to branching out not just in terms of location but also who is using the studios to tell their story.

“After 40 years, we’ve always existed in one space, always in North Arlington,” Kernodle said. “And our membership has primarily been people over the age of 60, mostly retired, mostly white, mostly male, mostly cis-gendered, mostly English speakers, mostly non-military, and mostly non-disabled. We are trying to change that because that’s not reflective of our community.”

And the hope is that this will not be AIM’s only satellite studio, with Kernodle noting that the organization would love to set up studios in Virginia Square, Rosslyn, and Columbia Pike as well.

The aim is to put production facilities in locations that are accessible to communities that maybe didn’t have the ability to make their voices heard in the past.

“Our goal is to prioritize those voices that have been traditionally underserved or miss-served not just nationally but here in Arlington and here at Arlington Independent Media,” Kernodle said.

She also hopes to use the partnership with the county to turn Arlington’s art scene into the envy of the region.

“[Arlington] is not known for arts and industry. The goal of AIM and my goal is to really make Arlington into the Brooklyn of the D.C. area,” Kernodle said. “We have all the diversity and the resources that Brooklyn values and the proximity to the city as Brooklyn does. And we’re just not honing that because it’s not been centralized.”

Along with production studios, AIM also has access to the county’s “Theater on the Run” to screen films.

This past weekend, AIM hosted a showing of the documentary “The R-Word” as an introduction to the new space for the community. The movie depicts the experiences of persons with intellectual disabilities and how representation matters in telling the story of that community.

Kernodle hopes to have more screenings at the theater of this nature, prioritizing “films of marginalized people.”

With the plan to open AIM Green Valley in a few months, Kernodle believes that this is just the beginning of expanding Arlington’s artistic reputation.

“Our goal is to act as an anchor organization for art transformation and social justice,” she said.

Owner says New District Brewery is kicked, plans to close for good at the end of the month

By Matt Blitz
New District Brewing in Green Valley (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

It appears the tap has run dry for New District Brewing, with the local brewery planning to close for good at the end of the month.

On Saturday, the Arlington County Board approved the purchase of two buildings on S. Four Mile Run Drive in Green Valley. The land will be used to expand nearby Jennie Dean Park.

New District Brewing had also bid to purchase the buildings, so that it could relocate, but the seller went with the county’s offer of $2 million. With that, New District Brewing co-owner Mike Katrivanos tells ARLnow that he has run out of options.

“This was my last shot,” he said, confirming that New District will permanently shut down operations at the end of May.

ARLnow first reported late last year an indoor dog park had come to terms to lease the building that New District Brewery was in. In January, New District confirmed that they had been unable to come to terms with its landlord to stay at 2709 S. Oakland Street. The brewery has been there since 2016, but a rent hike and other related disagreements had led to the indoor dog park getting the lease.

While Katrivanos was disappointed, he also expressed hope that the brewery would be able to purchase a 4,000 to 6,000-square-foot commercial property in Arlington.

More recently, Katrivanos said he has tried to buy three separate properties in the county over the last decade but none of them panned out.

The last shot were the buildings at 3520 and 3522 S. Four Mile Run Drive, located only a few blocks from New District’s current location. With the county purchasing those buildings, Katrivanos said he’s done looking and is making the final decision to close for good.

“We thought we had this other property lined up for purchase and that we’d be able to make a smooth transition, but that is now not the case. I just don’t know if I can go through another Arlington lease, to be honest with you. They are not favorable for long-term business,” he said.

The plan is to hold a going-away party on Saturday (May 20) with the last day of operations set for Sunday, May 28.

“We are going to be serving to the very end,” Katrivanos said.

New District also plans to honor its commitments to serve beer at the Columbia Pike Blues Festival in June and at the Arlington County Fair in August.

As an Arlington native, Katrivanos said it disappoints him greatly that he was “willingness to invest” in the community but it feels like that willingness was not reciprocated.

“It’s a mixture of emotion,” he said. “Being priced out of the area and not being able to find a permanent home for the business, it’s a very, very sad day.”

He has been thinking about what comes next but also needs more time to come to grips with the fact that this is the end for New District.

“It’s just too soon to think on all of that,” he said. “Just shutting down, getting all of this [brewery] gear out of here, and turning [the space] over… it’s just been a lot.”

County Board to vote this weekend on contract to build Shirlington pedestrian bridge

By Matt Blitz
1/2

The County Board is set to vote this weekend on a contract to build a long-awaited pedestrian bridge.

On Saturday, it is expected that the Arlington County Board will approve a $1.6 million contract to construct the Shirlington Road Pedestrian Bridge. The 15-foot-wide prefabricated steel bridge will run the length of Four Mile Run and parallel to the road with the purpose of providing safer bicycle and pedestrian access.

It will connect Shirlington and S. Arlington Mill Drive to Jennie Dean Park and the Green Valley neighborhood. It will also serve local users of the heavily-used Four Mile Run and W&OD trails nearby.

Work on the bridge could begin in the second half of this year if the contract is approved over the weekend, Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokesperson Claudia Pors told ARLnow. That would mean a completion date in mid to late 2024.

“The existing Shirlington Road vehicular bridge primarily funnels vehicles to/from I-395 and lacks safe, comprehensive accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists traveling through this area,” the report to the Board says.

“This project will provide a key missing link in the County’s bicycle network by providing a north-south protected bicycle facility that will link up with the existing Four Mile Run Trail along South Arlington Mill Drive to the west and along Four Mile Run in the City of Alexandria to the east of the bridge,” the report adds.

The bridge has been under discussion for two decades and has been the topic of conversation among county staff and the public for years.

It will be constructed in two parts, per Pors. First, the span will be built offsite, a process that will take about nine months, while abutments will be added at S. Arlington Mill Drive and Jennie Dean Park where each end of the bridge will go. Around this time, the bridge’s walls will be built and the sidewalk and crosswalk at S. Arlington Mill Drive will be shuttered. Bike and pedestrian traffic will be detoured.

The bridge, then, will be lifted by a crane and installed.

“It’s possible that lanes on the existing bridge will close to accommodate this installation, and the public would be given notice of any detours,” Pors noted.

New street lighting on each end of the bridge will be installed as well, plus median, sidewalk and crosswalk retrofits. A new Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon will be installed in the median as well.

The work is set to be done by D.C.-based Milani Construction, whose $1.38 million bid (plus $277,000 in contingency costs) actually came in under the county engineer’s estimated construction cost.

Last year, work was completed on the parallel vehicle bridge on Shirlington Road. That included resurfacing, routine maintenance, widening the sidewalk by several feet on the west side of the bridge, widening curb ramps, and adding a median at the mid-block crosswalk near 27th Street S.

A number of these improvements came as a result of public feedback.

Additionally, the county is set to study the feasibility of adding another crossing at the intersection of S. Arlington Mill Drive and Shirlington Road.

“County staff have begun study efforts and anticipate reaching out to the public for input this fall,” Pors said.

County to propose safety upgrades at an intersection that has seen two pedestrian-involved crashes this year

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

A South Arlington intersection that has seen two pedestrian-involved crashes this year, including one last week, is set to be updated to improve safety.

In the evening on Tuesday, March 14, an adult man was struck by a driver at the intersection of S. George Mason Drive and S. Four Mile Run Drive, causing bleeding from his head, per initial reports. His support dog ran off but was later returned, according to social media.

Planned renovation to this intersection are part of the South George Mason Drive Multimodal Transportation Study, which will bring changes along the major road from Arlington Blvd to the county border. The county and a resident involved in the process say complexities at this intersection have slowed down progress on this initiative, which was first expected to wrap up last fall.

“This project is part of the larger S. George Mason Drive project, but the county discovered fairly quickly that this intersection specifically was going to cause them to have to slow down the project to allow for additional study and design,” Douglas Park resident Jason Kaufman said.

A virtual meeting a few months behind schedule was scheduled to be held last night from 7-8:30 p.m., around the same time as the contentious Missing Middle vote, to discuss new designs for the proposed changes along S. George Mason Drive.

Concept plans from last summer proposed treatments including narrower roads, widened sidewalks and vegetation buffers between pedestrians and road users. One option included protected bike lanes while another mixed cyclists and drivers.

A county webpage for the project says staff have conducted an in-depth analysis of S. George Mason Drive where it intersects with S. Four Mile Run Drive, as well as with Columbia Pike, in preparing its plans.

The high-traffic intersection is a major artery for three neighborhoods that links road users to the City of Alexandria, I-395 and Shirlington. A service road, also called S. Four Mile Run Drive, runs parallel to the main road, basically creating a “double intersection.” The W&OD Trail runs parallel to and in between these two roads, crossing six lanes of traffic on S. George Mason Drive.

“Anyone that bikes, rides, drives, scoots or traverses through that intersection on a daily basis is aware of its challenges,” Kaufman said. “There are a number of conflict points that are dangerous. That intersection has one of the highest incidents of accidents in the county, including accidents that are considered ‘severe’ for the purposes of Vision Zero calculations, and it needs to be fixed.”

S. George Mason Drive and S. Four Mile Run Drive (via Google Maps)

The county considers this intersection a “hot spot,” based on a review of crash data from 2019 and 2022. Between 2017 and 2019, there had been more than 15 vehicle crashes and at least two cyclist-involved crashes, per a 2020 report. The county’s crash dashboard lists two crashes with severe injuries, one in 2015 and another in 2017, and ARLnow reported on a hit-and-run with severe injuries in November 2021.

That’s in addition to last week’s crash.

For all road users, navigating the intersection requires hyper-vigilance, but people are rarely able to pay attention to “an overwhelming number of inputs,” says Douglas Park resident Kristin Francis.

(more…)

SCOOP: New District Brewing in Green Valley on tap to close in May, looking for new location

By Matt Blitz
New District Brewing in Green Valley (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington’s only production brewery is set to close in late spring, but its owners remain hopeful about moving to a new location.

New District Brewing Co. in Green Valley is closing at the end of May, co-owner Mike Katrivanos confirmed to ARLnow. Memorial Day weekend is currently scheduled to be the brewery’s last days of operation at 2709 S. Oakland Street.

“Arlington’s first production brewery in one hundred years” was unable to renew its lease due to a rent increase and the landlord wanting them to lease the whole building, a large industrial space near Four Mile Run and the Shirlington Dog Park.

“It would have been more than two and a half times the current rent that we pay,” said Katrivanos. “Plus, an all-new build-out for the unrenovated portion of the building that we didn’t have when we initially moved in.”

Despite the brewery being profitable, those extra expenses are not tenable for New District, Katrivanos said.

“We are being priced out,” he said.

Even during rough times, New District — which opened in early 2016 — has had a consistent community presence in Arlington. That includes a beer garden at the county fair, a stand at the Columbia Pike Blues Festival, and organizing the Valley Fest, an arts and music festival in Green Valley.

The community stepped up for the brewery last year, helping it to purchase its own canning line. But then last month, an indoor dog park and bar announced it was coming to 2709 S. Oakland Street with an opening planned for August 2023. This led to some confusion since that was the same address as the well-known, local brewery, which had not yet announced its own closure.

Katrivanos clarified that this was simply a gap in communication and timing, noting that new tenant locked down its own lease before New District was informed about what was happening.

Now, with a few weeks to digest the news, the brewery is looking to the future and remains hopeful that this simply will result in a move as opposed to full-on closure.

Katrivanos said he no longer wants to rent and is looking to buy a commercial property in Arlington, where he spent much of his childhood. It’s something he’s “made no secret” about wanting to do since the brewery first opened seven years ago.

A number of years ago, New District put in an offer to buy the old WETA building on 27th Street S., not far from the brewery’s current location. But that building and land ended up being sold to the county and demolished for the expansion of Jennie Dean Park.

More recently, there was an offer to buy a building on Columbia Pike, Katrivanos said, taking advantage of code changes approved last year allowing breweries to move in. But that also didn’t pan out.

Nonetheless, Katrivanos is still optimistic they’ll find a new home for New District in Arlington and is seeking a 4,000 to 6,000-square-foot commercial property priced around $1.5 million.

If a new home isn’t secured by end of the May, a tough decision may be on tap for New District.

“Either, we’re going to have to relocate out of Arlington or, something even worse, like probably shut down,” Katrivanos said.

For the moment, though, the brewery is focused on celebrating its seventh anniversary on Thursday, January 12. There are going to be limited bottle releases, half-price growler fills, and music throughout the weekend.

With the end of May in the not-too-distant future, Katrivanos is focused on finding a way to keep New District in Arlington.

“We’ll see how the fortunes of fate treat us,” he said.

The former owner of Atilla’s on Columbia Pike is a new partner in a Glebe Road restaurant

By Matt Blitz
1/2

The former owner of Atilla’s on Columbia Pike has combined forces with his brother for a new restaurant.

Back in May, the well-loved Turkish restaurant Atilla’s and its next-door grocery store closed on Columbia Pike after nearly five decades of operation due to the building’s impending demolition. At the time, Atilla’s management told ARLnow that they were looking for another close-by space where they could open a new business that would focus on carry-out and retail.

But those plans appear to have changed somewhat.

Instead, Atilla’s owner Zulkuf Gezgic is now working with his brother at a relatively new restaurant on S. Glebe Road called Akivva Grill.

That restaurant opened at 2921 S. Glebe Road in the fall of 2021, but it was about two months ago when Gezgic “combined” his business with his brother’s.

Akivva, located about two miles away from Atilla’s former home, is a “different concept” than his previous eatery, Gezgic told ARLnow, but the Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine is similar to Atilla’s.

At the moment, he’s “unsure” if he’ll open another Atilla’s. Gezgic said he decided to not open an altogether new restaurant but, rather, work with his brother on an already existing one because Akivva was already an “established brand.”

The former location of Atilla’s is still standing, though it’s expected to be torn down soon to make way for a new residential development. Currently, there’s a sign on the door directing people to the new location.

Sign on the door of the former location of Atilla’s Restaurant on Columbia Pike (photo courtesy of Gabe Paal)

The restaurant’s original owner, Atilla Kan, opened the restaurant on Columbia Pike in the mid-1970s.

In 1998, he sold it to Gezgic but Kan stayed on making bread, hummus, and other items for the majority of the next two decades. Because of that, the menu didn’t change that much from when it first opened nearly 50 years ago.

But what did change was the neighborhood, with impending development up and down Columbia Pike prompting several other businesses like Atilla’s to close. Next door, The Salsa Room moved to Tysons in 2020. Last year, both the Columbia Pike Partnership and the Black Heritage Museum closed and relocated down the street.

In May, the Atilla’s long-time manager Sarah Engi told ARLnow that it felt like many of Arlington’s older, small businesses were being pushed out.

“I’m sad. We are losing family,” Engi said. “Big companies are moving in and smaller businesses are leaving. Things are changing. It’s really sad.”

County approves new satellite location for Arlington Independent Media in Green Valley

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington Independent Media staff at work (via Arlington County)

Clarendon-based Arlington Independent Media (AIM) is expanding to a second location in Green Valley.

The community media organization will be taking over three underused audio-visual production studios at the Arlington Arts’ 3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive location, according to a county press release.

AIM, which has a 40-year history in Arlington, produces video, audio, web and digital content for locals and operates the radio station WERA 96.7 FM.

On Saturday, the Arlington County Board unanimously approved a lease agreement for AIM to occupy the studio, office and storage space at 3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive. This space was constructed as a Pepsi-Cola bottling plant in the mid-1940s and later served as WETA’s radio broadcast facility, per the press release.

For the next five years, with the option to extend the lease for another 25 years, AIM will occupy up to roughly 1,071 square feet, comprised of three vacant offices, two storage spaces and three studio spaces, according to the county. AIM will maintain its primary broadcast functions in Clarendon at 2701 Wilson Blvd.

Arlington acquired the facility in the early 2000s to house the Theatre on the Run black box venue, rehearsal spaces, dance studios, offices and gallery space. The studios AIM will now occupy were since used for both county and independent projects, such as the recording of a solo album by local bluegrass fiddler Roy “Speedy” Tolliver (1918-2017).

According to a county report, the new satellite location will increase collaboration between the county’s Cultural Affairs Division and AIM on audio-visual production and broadcasting projects.

“I am extremely proud and humbled to lead AIM as we expand into secondary space in South Arlington. As a longtime resident of Arlington, I respect and appreciate the rich history of the County, specifically Green Valley,” says AIM CEO Whytni Kernodle. “Team AIM is excited to bring community media to South Arlington, we look forward to connecting with the local community, meeting residents and business owners, and more.”

During the Saturday County Board meeting, Board Chair Katie Cristol said the expansion is “a long time in coming” for the “powerhouse” in media education and training, and independent art, news and entertainment.

“This unique collaboration will expand arts education and access to the wider Arlington community and provide the opportunity to share knowledge and resources,” Cristol later said in a statement. “The partnership also further the goals and vision for a thriving ‘arts and industry’ in the Four Mile Run Valley Area Plan by bringing community broadcast services as well as audio visual educational programming to the area.”

Arlington began using the “Four Mile Run Valley” name interchangeably with Green Valley — to the chagrin of some residents, who say it erases the historically Black community — in connection with a planning study that proposed an “arts and industry district” in the area.

The county is taking other steps to infuse the area with more arts programming and community facilities. Last year, Arlington acquired the former location of Inner Ear Recording Studios, once the epicenter of D.C.’s punk scene, and has plans to demolish the famed recording studio in a bid, it says, to make arts more accessible in south Arlington.

It now has ideas for a temporary outdoor arts space where the recording studio once stood (2700 S. Nelson Street). Locals can now share feedback on the future creative open space through Monday, Nov. 21.

The county says that AIM’s satellite location will “help to advance the County’s equity goals by offering the opportunity for community broadcast services and education in south Arlington and aligning with AIM’s mission to increase diverse and inclusive access to established and emerging public media for all members of our community.”

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