Homelessness Still Falling in Arlington — The annual count of homeless individuals in the region found that the homeless population in Arlington is continuing to fall. According to numbers from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, there were 221 people experiencing homelessness in Arlington during the count this year. That’s down from 232 last year and 479 in 2013, but up from 174 in 2016. [MWCOG]
ACPD Using Robocalls to Catch Serial Flasher — Arlington County Police are using automated phone calls to ask residents for tips about the man wanted for repeated indecent exposure incidents in the Rosslyn, Courthouse and Ft. Myer Heights areas. [WJLA]
Twitter User Battles Shopping Carts — Like @CartsOfPCArl before it, @CartChaos22202 is fighting a lonely war against stray, abandoned shopping carts in Pentagon City and Crystal City. [Twitter]
A man threatened employees in a Pentagon City store on Wednesday before taking off with cash.
Police were called to the store in the 1500 block of S. Fern Street just before 8:30 p.m. for a report of a disorderly person inside. Upon arriving, they learned that the suspect became angry after a verbal dispute, then threatened employees with a bottle and demanded money.
The suspect reportedly stole cash from the register and other items before taking off. Police were unable to find him.
More from this week’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:
ROBBERY, 2018-05010255, 1500 block of S. Fern Street. At approximately 8:23 p.m. on May 1, police were dispatched to the report of a disorderly subject inside a business. Upon arrival, it was determined that following a verbal dispute, the suspect became irate, threatened the employees with a bottle and demanded money. The suspect then went behind the counter and stole cash from the cash register and other items of value. The suspect fled prior to police arrival. A lookout was broadcast and arriving officers canvased the area with negative results. The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 25 years old, approximately 5’4″ and 145 lbs, with a thin build and short black dread locks, wearing a black, red and white baseball hat, a white hooded sweatshirt with dark writing on it, and acid washed light blue jeans.
More highlights from this week’s crime report, including some that we’ve already reported, after the jump.
Clement to Face Kanninen Again — “The 2018 Arlington School Board race is likely to be a rerun of 2014. Audrey Clement and incumbent Barbara Kanninen have qualified for ballot access, county elections chief Linda Lindberg told the Sun Gazette, setting up a reprise of their campaign from four years ago.” [InsideNova]
PenPlace Sketches Released — JBG Smith has released new sketches of its planned PenPlace development in Pentagon City. The development includes “two seven-story apartment buildings totaling 300 units, 40,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and a future park.” [Washington Business Journal]
Arlington Palooza Set for Saturday — The second annual Arlington Palooza,”a free outdoor program for all ages with live music, art, games and more,” is set to take place Saturday from 1-4 p.m. at Alcova Heights Park. [Arlington County, Twitter]
Arlington Historical Society Getting Donation — Per a press release: “The Arlington Historical Society will receive a significant donation this spring as Arlington welcomes National Capital Bank to the Courthouse/Clarendon area on Wilson Blvd. National Capital Bank President Randy Anderson, who grew up in Arlington, called to inform AHS President Johnathan Thomas that the Society was chosen as one of the charities the Bank will support with a grant award.”
Real Estate Inventory Crunch — “Long & Foster says… the number of houses and condos on the market, in D.C., Loudoun County and Arlington County was down 22 percent in March compared to a year ago.” [WTOP]
Live Construction Cam in Ballston — The new 672 Flats apartment building (an ARLnow.com advertiser) in Ballston set up a live camera to track the construction progress. The camera is viewable online and shows an aerial view of the apartments and a portion of the neighborhood. [OxBlue]
A shopper at a store in the Pentagon City mall confronted a man after she found a cell phone in her dressing room with its camera pointing upwards.
Police say the confrontation happened around 8 p.m. Wednesday. The man denied involvement and walked off.
“The investigation is ongoing,” police said.
More from the Arlington County Police Department:
UNLAWFUL FILMING, 2018-04110221, 1100 block of S. Hayes Street. At approximately 7:57 p.m. on April 11, police were dispatched to the report of a peeping tom. Upon arrival, it was determined that while the female victim was in a dressing room, she observed a cell phone on the floor with its camera pointing upwards. The victim confronted the male subject in the dressing room next to hers who denied involvement in the incident. The subject fled the scene prior to police arrival. The subject is described as an Asian male, approximately 5’9″, with a heavy accent, clean shaven with scars on his face, wearing a dark jacket, dark jeans, and carrying a backpack on his back. The investigation is ongoing.
Future location of Aabee Restaurant on Pentagon Row
Future location of Aabee Restaurant on Pentagon Row
Future location of Aabee Restaurant on Pentagon Row
Future location of Aabee Restaurant on Pentagon Row
Future location of Smallcakes on Pentagon Row
A pair of new restaurants are coming to the Pentagon Row shopping center in Pentagon City.
Smallcakes, a cupcake and ice cream chain, is set to open in a vacant storefront adjacent to the former Ristorante Murali.
Smallcakes has more than 200 locations in the U.S. and abroad. It touts its freshly-made treats, including a daily offering of 18 cupcake flavors — with “seasonal and special flavors such as Maple Bacon, Fat Elvis, Cannoli, Strawberries N’ Crème, Tiramisu, French Toast, and Pumpkin” — and 15 ice cream flavors, which are “a nod to Smallcakes’ famous cupcake recipes.”
The Pentagon Row Smallcakes location is simply listed as “coming soon” on the company’s website.
Also coming to the shopping center is Aabee Restaurant, a “Persian and Mediterranean fusion” restaurant formerly located in Fairfax. Permanent signs are up for Aabee, which is opening in the former NKD Pizza storefront across the parking lot from Harris Teeter.
Aabee’s former location is listed as closed on Yelp. Neither its former website nor Facebook page have been updated to reflect the apparent closure and new location, though a new website was recently launched. A phone number listed for the business has been disconnected.
In its previous location, Aabee offered soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas, kabobs and Iranian stew dishes. It also had Saturday night belly dancing shows, according to the restaurant website.
A PenPlace illustration from updated site plan documents
A PenPlace illustration from updated site plan documents
A PenPlace illustration from updated site plan documents
A PenPlace illustration from updated site plan documents
A PenPlace illustration from updated site plan documents
A PenPlace illustration from updated site plan documents
A PenPlace illustration from updated site plan documents
An overview of the proposed PenPlace site, which is almost adjacent to the Pentagon City mall
After initially fighting hard for increased density, an amended site plan for Pentagon City’s proposed PenPlace features drastically scaled back development desires.
The initial office-oriented plan called for five buildings between 16 and 22 stories high on a 10.2 acre parcel, including a 300-room hotel. Now, the plan calls for a more minuscule residential development of 300 apartments between two buildings at a height of seven stories.
A west building would have 171 apartments; an eastern building, 129. The density is much less than some on county staff desire, ARLnow.com was told.
“We will have to look at… in terms of height and scale and density, if this is appropriate,” said a county planner, adding that it was “highly unusual to see site plans coming in below an approved or allocated figure.”
According to the county planner, the applicant has said that they will reallocate the density, but has not yet explained how. The company could shift the approved density from one area to another, but will have to be more specific as to the impact on land use before getting county staff approval.
The employee explained that since steel reinforcement is only necessary on buildings that are more than five stories high, the building’s framework could be wood. The employee added that the first two floors in the site plan are concrete, so the additional five floors could legally be built atop of that with wood.
Matt Ginivan, JBG Smith’s senior vice president of real estate development, told ARLnow.com in an interview that he wasn’t aware of some county staff’s skepticism of the diminished density and that JBG Smith has not formally received any feedback or questions yet.
Ginivan said that rather than maxing out the PenPlace site’s capacity, they wanted to “improve the pedestrian experience” with a mix of ground floor options that aren’t just the larger projects that are already prevalent in Crystal City and Pentagon City.
Less than three weeks away from its namesake holiday, the Easter Bunny will be available to snap photos in the Pentagon City mall starting Friday (March 16).
The public can take photos with the Easter Bunny on the mall’s first floor adjacent to the Nordstrom through March 31. For those who don’t want to wait in line, the mall is taking “bunny fast pass” photo reservations online.
There will also be a “Caring Bunny” event on Sunday (March 18). with an adjusted, less stressful environment for children and young adults with special needs. That event will be held from 9-11 a.m. in the same location.
Here are the rest of the Easter Bunny’s hours below:
This month Girl Scouts will again be posting up at Metro stations, grocery stores and other high-foot-traffic locales, offering a fix of their seemingly addictive mass-produced baked goods.
Below, after the jump, are some of the times and places places you can grab some Girl Scout cookies in March.
Pentagon City Metro Tunnel Now Open — At long last, the pedestrian tunnel from the corner of S. Hayes Street and 12th Street S. to the Pentagon City Metro station has opened. [Twitter]
Firefighters Push for Raise — IAFF Local 2800, which represents Arlington firefighters and paramedics, is pushing for a raise in this year’s county budget process. The group says Arlington’s compensation for public safety employees “is at the bottom of the DMV.” [Twitter]
Chamber Concerned With 4MRV Initiative — The Arlington Chamber of Commerce has written a letter to the County Board expressing concerns with the Four Mile Run Valley Initiative and possible changes to or acquisition of the light industrial properties along Four Mile Run Drive. [Arlington Chamber]
Growing Up Black in Arlington — From 1950 to 1962, growing up black in Arlington meant facing segregation and racism at every turn, and not feeling safe venturing out of the largely self-contained confines of a historically African-American neighborhood like Hall’s Hill. [Falls Church News-Press]
Arlington Startup Raises $3 Million — What started as a way for the owner of conveyor belt sushi chain Wasabi Sushi to streamline his accounting is now a venture-funded startup. Arlington-based MarginEdge has raised $3 million to go national with its restaurant management software. [Washington Business Journal]
Axios Makes ‘Most Innovative’ List — Fast-growing Clarendon-based media startup Axios has been named one of the top 10 most innovative media companies of 2018. [Fast Company]
This Valentine’s Day, the Arlington County Fire Department will conduct a free mass CPR training event at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.
The “Hands2Hearts” event is intended to save lives. If hands-only CPR can be performed immediately on a cardiac arrest victim, the victim is 2-3 times more likely to survive.
“You will gain confidence in providing life-saving techniques in just a couple of minutes,” said an Arlington County press release.
The training session will be held from 1-1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14 on all four levels of the mall surrounding the center food court. The event is being conducted in partnership with the Virginia Hospital Center and supported by the American Heart Association.
“There will be opportunity to interact with Arlington County firefighters, paramedics, and Virginia Hospital Center’s healthcare team while they teach hands-only CPR,” noted the press release.
The annual Love the Run You’re With 5K is returning to Pentagon City this Sunday, prompting some road closures.
Runners can register as a couple, as singles, or can run without signaling their relationship status. Solo registration currently costs $45 and couples’ registration is $80.
The race will begin and end at the Pentagon City mall, with after-race deals at Shake Shack and nearby Commonwealth Joe. The course runs up S. Joyce Street and along Army Navy Drive to 23rd Street S. and back.
ACPD has provided a list of road closures for the race, below.
The Arlington County Police Department will conduct the following road closures to accommodate the race:
South Joyce Street, between South 15th Street and Army Navy Drive, will be closed from 7:00 AM until 11:00 AM.
South 15th Street, between S. Hayes Street and S. Joyce Street, will be closed from 6:00 AM until 11:00 AM (The southern entrance to the Pentagon City Mall Garage will be closed for the duration of the event).
Army Navy Drive, between South Joyce Street and South 23rd Street, will be closed from 7:00 AM until 11:00 AM.
Street parking in the area will be restricted. Motorists should be on the lookout for temporary “No Parking” signs, and illegally parked vehicles will be subject to ticketing and towing. If your vehicle is towed from a public street during this event call the Emergency Communication Center at 703-558-2222.
Race attendees are strongly encouraged to use Metro or other forms of transportation services. Participants arriving by car can park in the Pentagon City Mall garage, which will be accessible via the Army Navy Drive entrance.
