Langston Blvd

State Bill Allows County to Rename Lee Highway, But ‘Loving Avenue’ Name Unlikely

By Matt Blitz

Passed Virginia legislation allows Arlington County to rename Lee Highway, but it’s unlikely to be “Loving Avenue.”

Yesterday (Feb. 23), HB 1854 passed the Virginia State Senate after passing through the House of Delegates late last month. The bill now goes to Governor Ralph Northam for his signature, which will officially codify it.

The bill specifically authorizes the Arlington County Board to name the section of U.S. Route 29, known for decades as “Lee Highway,” located within its boundaries.

However, it’s unlikely to be renamed Loving Avenue in honor of the Virginia couple whose fight to get married went to the U.S. Supreme Court despite the recommendation of the Lee Highway Alliance work group in December..

This is due to the family’s objection, says Arlington County Board Vice Chair Katie Cristol. The Loving family has reiterated that the couple was extremely private and would not want a road named after them.

“I’m saddened but understanding that [the family] is strongly opposed to renaming [Route 29] in honor of their parents and grandparents,” she tells ARLnow. “Privacy is a prevailing value for them.”

Late last year, a task force put together by the Lee Highway Alliance recommended renaming Arlington’s section of Route 29 to Loving Avenue. However, they also suggested four alternatives: John M. Langston Boulevard, Ella Baker Boulevard, Dr. Edward T. Morton Avenue, and Main Street.

Ginger Brown, Executive Director for the Lee Highway Alliance, tells ARLnow that Langston Blvd is the “strong second” choice.

Cristol noted that there remains some follow-up to be done with the Loving family, but at this point, naming Route 29 in Arlington after Mildred and Richard Loving isn’t likely.

“At some point, I’ll have to take a vote on this,” she says. “With what the family has said, we know that it would be hurtful for them. It would be hard for me to vote for that.”

Either way, HB 1854 — first introduced by Del. Rip Sullivan (D-48) — will allow the renaming, though it only applies to Route 29 in Arlington.

The bill notes that while the Virginia Department of Transportation will place and maintain the appropriate signage, the county has to pay for that signage.

Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said the legislation is a “shared priority” at yesterday’s Board meeting.

“We are enthusiastic about the success of Del. Sullivan’s bill, and the County continues to work with our regional partners to seek a regionally consistent name for Lee Highway,” de Ferranti wrote in a statement to ARLnow. “The legislature advancing this bill to the Governor is an important tool now available to Arlington County in the renaming of Lee Highway and we will continue to seek a common name with our neighboring jurisdictions.”

Cristol says the timeline for the change is being coordinated with neighboring jurisdictions that the east-west artery also runs through, including Falls Church, Fairfax City, and Fairfax County.

“We have a shared interest in settling on the same name, for obvious reasons,” she says.

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New Tenants Coming to Former TitleMax Building

By ARLnow.com
1/2

A small commercial building at the corner of Lee Highway and N. George Mason Drive has a pair of new tenants.

The building was briefly vacant, its future in question, after previous tenants TitleMax and Sam Torrey Shoe Service moved out last year. But the property owner, Virginia Hospital Center, has filled both spaces.

The old TitleMax space is being taken by Page Global Cyber Solutions, which bills itself as “an award winning industry provider of office solutions, strategic communications and information technology.” A sign on the building says the space will be a “neighborhood business center,” offering everything from private offices to nap rooms to drone video services.

The business center will also offer private mailboxes, office supplies and secure video conferencing rooms, according to the sign.

The former shoe shop, meanwhile, is being occupied by a roofing company called Augustine Roofing, according to VHC spokeswoman Maryanne Boster.

Delivery-Only Gee Burger Now Slinging Patties Across Arlington

By Matt Blitz
1/4

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) A new Arlington-based ghost kitchen from a pair of prominent restaurateur siblings is now smashing and slinging patties.

Gee Burger is a new delivery-only concept out of Cafe Colline, the eight-month-old French bistro at the Lee Heights Shops, opened by brothers Eric and Ian Hilton.

Serving up smashed burger patties, crispy chicken sandwiches, and fries, ordering is currently available through the usual delivery apps: UberEats (50% off first order), Doordash, Grubhub, and Postmates.

The delivery area includes Arlington and parts of D.C and Fairfax County, Ian Hilton tells ARLnow.

The idea for Gee Burger, Hilton says, came while “stranded” during the pandemic at Cafe Colline with his chef Brendan L’Etoile, who he’s worked with since 2007. They workshopped burgers that would deliver well, and focused on one similar to another they had previously served at the now-shuttered Gaslight Tavern in D.C.

“It is a very quick process of smashing two patties on a flat top grill, giving them a nice crispy edge,” Hilton says, “It’s a nice juicy burger that travels well and can be cooked very quickly so that you can get it to people in short order.”

In fact, he says the burger can be cooked so quickly that it only takes four minutes to fulfill an order, meaning “we can wait till that driver is basically at our doorstep before we even fire up the order.” Plus, with a relatively localized delivery area, burgers are able to arrive at home kitchen tables hot and looking as if they were just served by a waiter inside of the restaurant.

“The idea is… to make it so that once it gets to somebody’s house, we would be proud of of having our name on it,” says Hilton.

In October, Hilton was forced to close a number of his popular District bars and restaurants due to the pandemic. Even while adjusting to take-out, delivery, and ghost kitchens, Hilton makes a point to say that this is not going to change the brothers’ core focus of creating places where people can socialize and be together.

When the pandemic subsides, his hope is that he will be able to move back to providing those experiences.

“I know that people will return to restaurants,” Hilton says.

In the meantime, he understands that people have grown accustomed to getting pretty much any food delivered to their homes and knows that it’s on restaurateurs to adapt to that.

The hope is that Gee Burger outlasts the pandemic since it’s easy to make, portable, and, so far, popular.

As for his favorite order: “It’s definitely the Kickin [Gee burger]. I just love spicy foods,” says Hilton. “Chef Brendan has this house-made kimchi and housemade pickled jalapeños that goes on that burger that I just can’t get enough of.”

Then, he adds, “Unfortunately, I probably shouldn’t eat more than one week.”

Photo courtesy of Gee Burger

Photos: Alpine Restaurant Being Torn Down on Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com
1/4

The day has arrived: the former Alpine Restaurant is currently being demolished along Lee Highway.

The long-time local restaurant at 4770 Lee Highway is being torn down to make way for The Children’s School, a three-story daycare facility for the kids of Arlington Public Schools employees. The facility will also be home to Integration Station, a program for kids with developmental or other disabilities that intermingles with The Children’s School.

The new building is expected to house more than 200 children and will have both underground parking and a small amount of surface parking.

Alpine Restaurant served Italian cuisine and was in business for 44 years before closing in 2010 upon the owner’s retirement. It was acquired by the owners of the Liberty Tavern Restaurant Group, which ultimately decided against opening a new restaurant there.

Hat tip to Betsy Twigg

‘Multiple Fights’ Break Out at New Year’s Eve Hotel Party in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

A fracas at a local hotel on New Year’s Day prompted a large police response early Friday morning.

The incident happened during some sort of New Year’s Eve party at the Embassy Suites hotel in Crystal City, on the 1300 block of Richmond Highway. Police responded after a report of a fight, and encountered “a large crowd in the lobby of the building and multiple fights in progress throughout the hotel.”

A 21-year-old Dumfries resident was subsequently arrested for allegedly having a concealed gun without a permit.

From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

WEAPONS VIOLATION, 2021-01010006, 1300 block of Richmond Highway. At approximately 12:30 a.m. on January 1, police were dispatched to the report of a fight. Upon arrival, officers located a large crowd in the lobby of the building and multiple fights in progress throughout the hotel. While dispersing the crowds, officers made an observation consistent with that of a concealed weapon on the male suspect’s waistband and made contact with the individual. It was subsequently determined that he was in possession of a concealed firearm without a valid permit. Martine Neal, 21, of Dumfries, Va., was arrested and charged with Carrying a Concealed Weapon and held on an unsecured bond.

At the same location, nearly two hours later, police responded after two people were reportedly attacked “by a group of approximately ten male suspects.” From ACPD:

ASSAULT BY MOB, 2021-01010038, 1300 block of Richmond Highway. At approximately 2:18 a.m. on January 1, police were dispatched to the report of a fight in progress. Upon arrival, it was determined a verbal dispute occurred between parties inside a hotel room. As the two victims attempted to have the other party leave the room, they were assaulted by a group of approximately ten male suspects. The suspects fled the area prior to police arrival. Both victims suffered minor injuries and were transported by medics to an area hospital for treatment. There is no suspect descriptions. The investigation is ongoing.

Also in today’s ACPD crime report, a woman who was cleaning a room in a business had to break a window with a chair in order to flee a man who allegedly locked the door, took off his pants and touched her inappropriately.

The name of the business was not specified, but it happened on the 3300 block of Lee Highway, which is home to the Inns of Virginia hotel and several other businesses.

ABDUCTION WITH INTENT TO DEFILE, 2021-01020061, 3300 block of Lee Highway. At approximately 10:20 a.m. on January 2, police were dispatched to the report of an assault just occurred. Arriving officers located the suspect exiting a room and took him into custody without incident. The investigation determined that the victim was cleaning a vacant room within a business when the male suspect allegedly entered the room and locked the door behind him. The victim then attempted to unlock the door, however, the suspect got between her and the door and re-latched it. The victim attempted to unlock the door several more times unsuccessfully. The suspect began to touch the victim inappropriately, then removed his pants, at which time the victim was able to break a window to an exterior hallway outside with a chair and escape the room. She sustained minor injuries during the incident. Khalil Martin, 27, of Washington, D.C. was arrested and charged with Abduction with Intent to Defile, Burglary with Intent to Commit Larceny/Assault & Battery, Sexual Battery, and Drunk in Public. He was held on no bond.

Extra Coronavirus Precautions Draw New Customers to Moore’s Barber Shop

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

For decades, Moore’s Barber Shop in Arlington has been known as a place where men go for friendships as much as good haircuts.

“The haircut is about a relationship, especially for men,” said James Moore, Jr., the second generation of Moore men to run the business at 4807 Lee Highway.

Community and conversations have drawn people in since James Moore, Sr. opened it in 1960 as Arlington’s first integrated barbershop. Its reputation as a community-serving local business has persisted. Last year, the younger Moore let a nonprofit distribute children’s books there.

While the coronavirus has stifled the sense of communion, his shop is now known for a different reason: COVID-19 accommodations.

Through word of mouth and social media, customers are coming in from Maryland and Washington, D.C. to check out his virus-resistant operations, he said.

“I had a barber shop from Delaware that called and asked me what my procedures and policies were, and who I was ordering supplies from,” he said. “They heard I’m doing it the way you’re supposed to do it.”

Once a hub for friendly debates while Moore moderates — in the event that tempers flare — Moore’s Barber Shop now only holds four people at a time: two barbers and two customers.

Everyone is masked, and the barbers are gloved. Like many businesses, Moore checks his customers’ temperatures, but he goes one step further and checks oxygen saturation levels.

Low oxygen levels can be an early indicator for COVID-19, he said, and Moore has turned away a few people with low levels and counseled them to go to the hospital.

“If you’re 94 or less, you’ve got a serious problem,” he said. “It’s documented that people say they feel great, but they have low oxygen saturation, and then [their body] crashes and they’re on a ventilator.”

Moore also accommodates customers who need extra precautions to feel safe. A select few feel more comfortable with just him in the room, so he opens at 5 or 6 a.m. to give them haircuts.

He uses a plastic-covered chair and a plastic cape, which are easier to clean, he said.

“The real extreme customers bring in their own clippers and cape,” he said. “Between those things, [business is] coming back strong.”

Moore attributes his near-medical-grade approach to his 32 years as an Arlington County firefighter, which gave him the knowledge and background needed to keep people safe.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Lovings Might Not Want Name Used for Road — “The problem with these efforts [to rename Lee Highway as “Loving Avenue”] is that the surviving family has strong feelings about these efforts, statues, renaming of roads etc. They do not want this and the attention it brings. We in Caroline [County] try to be sensitive to their wishes and how they view these efforts and the Loving story. I would like nothing better than to see her remembered in this way, but must defer to the wishes of the family.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Barcroft Field Getting Video Screen — “Tucker Field at Barcroft Park will have an enhanced look for the 2021 season, as it was announced on Friday, Dec. 16 that construction has begun on a new videoboard to be used by the GW Baseball program. The project, entirely privately funded, was made possible due to a lead gift from Joe and Leslie Barmakian, parents of current GW student-athlete and baseball team member, Steve Barmakian.” [GW Sports]

Jail COVID Tests Only Find One Case — “In partnership with the Arlington County Public Health Department and the Virginia National Guard, the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office tested 196 inmates and 274 deputies, civilians and contractors for COVID-19. There was only one staff member who tested positive among the 470 people tested.” [Arlington County]

Beyer Proposes New COVID Research Funding — “Rep. Don Beyer this week introduced the COVID-19 Long Haulers Act, which would authorize and fund research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PICORI) to benefit so-called “long haulers,” people who experience long term effects of COVID-19 infections.” [Press Release]

Funding Available for Overdue Utility Bills — “Arlingtonians who are having trouble paying their water and sewer bills due to pandemic-related economic hardship may be eligible to have their bills paid through the County’s new Utility Relief program. The application deadline is January 15. The program is funded through a $383,338  state coronavirus relief grant accepted by the County Board at its Tuesday, Dec. 15 Recessed Meeting.” [Arlington County]

Strong Leasing for New Ballston Building — “I’m expecting revenue to increase next year because of [B.F. Saul]’s new project called The Waycroft delivered earlier this year. The project comprises 491 apartment units and 60,000 square feet of retail space in Arlington, Virginia, as mentioned in the business update. Around 353, or 72% of available units, are leased.” [Seeking Alpha]

Changes Coming for Former Lee Highway Salon

By Jo DeVoe

The interior of a salon on Lee Highway is set to be demolished and renovated, according to a permit filed with Arlington County.

The salon is New Image Hair Designs at 5800 Lee Highway, in Leeway-Overlee, across the street from Sloppy Mama’s Barbecue. All the finishes, plumbing and electrical fixtures will be removed and non-structural interior walls will be taken down, according to the permit.

The listed owner of the property is an LLC associated with Brian Normile, the president of Arlington-based home builder BCN Homes, which holds the demolition permit for the property.

Normile is also a partner in the Liberty Tavern Restaurant Group, which owns Liberty Tavern, Lyon Hall and Northside Social.

Rumors on the local Nextdoor social networking site that the salon would be converted into a new restaurant could not be immediately confirmed. Multiple requests for comment from the Liberty Tavern owners were not returned, nor was a request for comment from BCN returned.

Image via Google Maps

Demolition of Alpine Restaurant is Approved, Kickstarting Work on The Children’s School

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 2 p.m.) Plans to demolish Alpine Restaurant on Lee Highway have been approved, inching forward the planned construction of The Children’s School daycare facility.

Despite the approval, the permit to demolish the building at 4770 Lee Highway, held by Trinity Group Construction, has yet to be issued.

“Once a payment is received, the permit is then issued,” said Andrew Pribulka, a spokesperson for the Arlington Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development, in an email. “Demolition may not begin until permits have been issued and posted.”

Trinity has applied for two other permits, one to excavate and another to build the facility.

Requests for comment from Trinity and The Children’s School were not returned.

The progress comes two-and-a-half years after the County Board unanimously approved a permit to build a three-story daycare facility for children of employees of Arlington Public Schools, to be built where the long-time restaurant has stood vacant for a decade.

The private, nonprofit child care center will oversee no more than 235 children of APS staff between the ages of two months and five years old. This new facility will also be home to Integration Station, a program for kids with developmental or other disabilities.

Both the co-op daycare and Integration Station are temporarily housed in the same Ballston office building at 4420 N. Fairfax Drive. The programs were co-located in the Reed School building in Westover, but were forced out when APS decided to open a new elementary school there.

The Reed School is set to open to students in 2021.

One year after approving the project, the Board approved a request to eliminate off-site parking and modify initial architectural plans.

Most parking is below-ground with some above ground, and the plans now includes a third-story rear play deck and an expanded rear wall to shield neighboring houses from car headlights, a concern from residents.

Alpine Restaurant served Italian cuisine and was in business for 44 years before closing in 2010 upon the owner’s retirement. It was acquired by the owners of the Liberty Tavern Restaurant Group, which ultimately decided against opening a new restaurant there.

Photo via Google Maps

County Receives $710K to Make One Lane of Lee Highway Near Rosslyn Bus-Only

By Jo DeVoe

Arlington County has received a $710,000 grant to convert an outside lane of Lee Highway to bus- and HOV-only.

The lane will run eastbound from N. Veitch Street to N. Lynn Street during peak morning hours and westbound from N. Oak Street to N. Veitch Street during the evening peak period. During these times, roughly 25 loaded buses travel that stretch per hour, staff said in a report this January.

At other times, it will continue as a general-purpose travel lane.

The project is one of six “low-cost, low-risk” projects to receive a grant through the Commuter Choice program, which funds transit projects with toll revenue from I-66 inside the Beltway. On Wednesday, the Commonwealth Transportation Board authorized the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission to award $3.5 million in grants, NVTC announced.

“We’re expanding the transportation network now using a conservative strategy focused on low-cost projects and longstanding assets to ensure access to convenient, safe and reliable choices whenever people are ready to commute,” NVTC Executive Director Kate Mattice said in a statement.

The scope and timeline of the program are limited this year after revenue plummeted due to COVID-19. Pre-pandemic, Commuter Choice on the I-66 corridor anticipated $25 million in grant funding for the 2021-22 fiscal year. Instead, tolled trips dropped by nearly 50%, the 2020 Commuter Choice report found.

“Given the lower revenues and increased competition for this round of I-66 Commuter Choice, we’re pleased that NVTC and the CTB selected this project for funding,” said Eric Balliet, a spokesman for Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services.

The funding, less than the full $1 million the County applied for, will be used to cover pavement treatment, restriping, and signage for the new bus lane.

“We anticipate fully implementing the project but have not yet had discussions about adjustments to the project scope based on the lower funding amount,” Balliet said.

The County Board will be need to accept and appropriate the funds and execute an agreement with NVTC, he said. Staff have up to two years to dedicate the money to the project, and up to five years to spend it.

The county mulled this project over before, even seeking funding — unsuccessfully — in 2019.

The county was also denied a request $10 million to help add a second entrance to the Ballston Metro station at N. Fairfax Drive and N. Vermont Street.

Other funded projects include three “existing, high-performing express bus services” and $1 million towards a second entrance to the McLean Metro station, the announcement said.

These projects minimize “the risk around the uncertainty of a return to pre-pandemic traffic volumes and (make) the best use of the minimal available toll revenues,” the announcement said.

Since the Commonwealth of Virginia and NVTC established the program in 2017, it has provided more than $60 million grant funding to 36 projects in Northern Virginia.

Photo via Google Maps

Group Recommends ‘Loving Avenue’ As New Name for Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com

A week after narrowing down the list of possible new names for Lee Highway to ten, a task force has settled on its recommendation.

The state route through Arlington currently named after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee should instead be named after civil rights figures Mildred and Richard Loving, says the Working Group on Renaming Lee Highway.

“Mildred and Richard Loving Avenue” would honor the Virginia couple whose fight for the legalization of interracial marriage in the the 1960s culminated in a Supreme Court case and inspired the 2016 movie Loving.

Though Caroline County residents, the Lovings also lived in Washington, D.C., where they originally married in 1958 since interracial marriage was illegal in Virginia at the time. They were forced to move to D.C. in 1959 after being arrested and pleading guilty to “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth.” Their fight to overturn anti-miscegenation laws was rejected by the Virginia Supreme Court, but eventually resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned such laws nationwide.

Members of the working group, who spent four months engaging with local residents and business owners while considering dozens of names suggested by the public, said the Lovings are deserving of having one of Arlington’s main commercial thoroughfares named in their honor.

“The landmark Loving Supreme Court case literally changed the United States” said Sandi Chesrown, Lee Highway Alliance Vice President and Working Group Member. “The case brought an end to the ‘separate but equal’ yet legally sanctioned way of life in America, it fueled the rise of multiracial families, and it supported the June 2015 ruling that legalized same sex marriage. For me, the name Loving has both Virginia and national significance and it encompasses justice.”

“The Lovings not only lived in the state, but the name relates to the Virginia state slogan, ‘Virginia is for Lovers,'” the Lee Highway Alliance, which helped organize the renaming process, said in a press release. “When travelers cross Key Bridge coming to VA from DC, they are met with the state slogan. It was the opinion of the Working Group that it made sense that the name ‘Loving’ would be the first road traveled on in the state. The name also represents a desire of Arlington County for people to treat one another in a loving way.”

In addition to Loving Avenue, the working group also narrowed down the remainder of the list to four runners-up, to be considered by the County Board: John M. Langston Boulevard, Ella Baker Boulevard, Dr. Edward T. Morton Avenue, and Main Street.

The Board is set to be briefed by the working group next week, and will then decide whether to advance the name change to the state legislature or the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

More on the name change from a press release, below.

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