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Streetscape improvements and apartment construction take shape in Courthouse

By Jo DeVoe
1/8

Transportation and streetscape upgrades are making progress on several streets in Courthouse near an under-construction apartment tower.

The work is all associated with “The Commodore,” an new apartment building at 2050 Wilson Blvd. It replaces several low-slung commercial buildings, including restaurants like Summers, that were part of what Arlington County dubbed the “Landmark Block.” Today (Tuesday), fencing around the tower was festooned with banners announcing leasing would start this fall.

Developer Greystar is redoing a handful of streets nearby as part of the community benefits package associated with the project.Arlington County delegated some street upgrade work to Greystar in early 2022, saying it would be cheaper, easier and more efficient for the company to do the work as part of the apartment construction activity.

Today, pedestrians may notice fencing around a torn-up N. Uhle Street, which separates the Courthouse Metro station and the “Landmark Block.” This street previously had street trees, lighting and parking spaces.

An aerial view of the pedestrian promenade on N. Uhle Street (via Arlington County)

Eventually, it will become a long-envisioned pedestrian promenade leading to the Courthouse Metro station.

The block will have public seating lined with shade trees, lighting and landscaped planting beds, potentially bookended by public art.

The future N. Uhle Street pedestrian promenade (via Arlington County)

Nearby, 15th Street N. looks freshly repaved and is partly blocked off to vehicle traffic by jersey barriers, cones and caution tape. Signs along this street announce temporarily relocated bus stops.

It will become a curbless street shared by pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, featuring a “slow speed configuration” to increase the safety of users.

Clarendon Blvd, Wilson Blvd and N. Courthouse Road will get wider sidewalks, new pedestrian crossings, protected or dedicated bike lanes, widened medians and new trees and planted beds. The county parking lot entrance from 15th Street N. will be relocated, as well.

Greystar is also relocating existing and installing new traffic infrastructure, adding a “bike island” at the intersection of 15th Street N. and Clarendon Blvd and a new water main under N. Courthouse Road.

Those who want to know the latest vehicle and pedestrian traffic impacts can subscribe to a county newsletter for the area.

Two blocks away, construction is also continuing on the former Wendy’s lot, another Greystar project. The former fast food joint is being replaced with an apartment tower, ground-floor retail and a plaza at 2025 Clarendon Blvd, — as approved in March 2022. Together, the two projects realize a significant part of the county’s vision for the neighborhood.

This Wendy’s project will also result in transportation upgrades, such as bicycle amenities, new sidewalks and street trees, to Clarendon Blvd and Wilson Blvd.

Greystar declined to provide a construction update to ARLnow for this article.

Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Buckingham to undergo $15M renovation project

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

There is a brick, mid-century Catholic church that overlooks Arlington Blvd from a hill, adorned with three stained glass arches and a white cross.

Built to serve a parish, it was repurposed in the mid-1970s and christened the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. Its exterior today belies the building’s significance as the “mother church” for nearly a half-million Catholics across Northern Virginia and the seat of their bishop, Michael Burbidge.

The Arlington diocese says now, in honor of its 50th anniversary, is the time to make the church in the Buckingham neighborhood — which also operates a school — look the part.

In April, work began on a year-long project to transfigure the building, updating the interior and exterior and installing new stained glass windows and liturgical furnishings.

“When the Diocese of Arlington was established in 1974, there was no pre-existing cathedral to serve the needs of the newly-formed diocese,” Billy Atwell, the chief communications officer for the diocese, said. “As such, a parish church was chosen and retrofitted as best as possible to meet those needs.”

“As we approach our 50th anniversary in 2024, it is an appropriate time to undertake this project to help the Cathedral of St. Thomas More better reflect its dignity as the mother church of the more than 433,000 registered Catholics in the Diocese of Arlington,” he continued.

The new church at 3901 Cathedral Lane will have a Tudor-style façade that will be a nod to the church’s patron saint, St. Thomas More, who lived at the turn of the 16th century in England.

A permit filed with Arlington County indicates the project is estimated to cost $15.3 million.

It is completely paid for by donors “who agreed to give beyond their current contributions to their parishes, the Diocese and Catholic charitable efforts,” Atwell said.

“Bishop Burbidge had three essential principles for funding the cathedral renovation project which have all been achieved: that no debt would be incurred, no assessments would be taken from any parish and that there would be no capital campaign for this project,” he said.

After going through county approval processes in late July 2022, and receiving a permit in late October, demolition work began in mid-April. The project is set to wrap up next summer.

The church will get the following upgrades, according to permits filed with Arlington County:

  • new stained glass windows
  • two twin belfries at the south façade
  • a Tudor-style exterior
  • a new cupola, or small dome
  • new roofing
  • a renovated raised sanctuary platform with a ramp for greater accessibility
  • new liturgical furnishings, such as a cathedra or bishop’s seat
  • a renovated shrine
  • a refurbished choir loft

The project was designed by Arlington-based sacred architecture firm O’Brien and Keane Architecture.

From N. Glebe Road, travelers will be able to see a rose-patterned stained glass window. Imbued with scripture references, the diocese hopes the window inspires passers-by “to seek its deeper meaning in their lives,” according to the diocesan newspaper, The Arlington Catholic Herald.

Inside, there will be stained glass images of the saints for whom churches throughout the diocese are named, as well as devotional shrines to saints from the numerous cultures and communities represented in the diocese, the Catholic Herald said.

“Behind each statue will be stained-glass windows that tell the story of that saint’s life,” Atwell wrote in the article. “The cathedral will exemplify both the oneness and the diversity of the diocese — that our one body has indeed many parts.”

Following the cathedral renovation, also in honor of its 50th anniversary the diocese will conduct a capital campaign for charitable works, Atwell told ARLnow.

While redevelopment is paused, Columbia Pike strip mall owner steps up cleaning and security

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

Growing community concerns and a visit from county code enforcement have prompted a local property manager to clean and secure its vacant storefronts on Columbia Pike.

Some retail bays at the Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center, on the 2600 block of the Pike, have stood empty for a year as the strip mall awaited redevelopment. That includes the former spaces of Atilla’s restaurant, apparel store Legends Kicks and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington.

The retail strip was set to become an apartment with a ground-floor grocery store — rumored to be an Amazon Fresh — as well as a new location for the existing CVS, which is still open. When the grocery tenant pulled out in December, developer Insight Property Group struggled to secure loans for the project. The work is paused until economic conditions improve.

The vacant storefronts attracted break-ins, graffiti and vermin — adding insult to the injury of millions of dollars spent on the project so far, according to Harald Mangold, a representative for the property owner. These conditions led the code enforcement division of Arlington County to condemn the buildings earlier this month.

Mangold tells ARLnow they got to work in response to the neon orange notice stickers.

“We hired someone to clean out all the old buildings,” he said. “They’re empty and clean versus empty and dirty — and boarded up properly.”

When the tenants moved out last May, Mangold said they were not required to clean out their storefronts completely because they were set to be bulldozed soon. As a result, flammable items were left inside, including furniture and old kitchen equipment.

People began breaking in and some slept inside the buildings sporadically, prompting the owners to hire off-duty police officers to keep watch over the property.

After work over the last week, Mangold said, the issues raised in the condemnation notice are “essentially resolved.”

“There’s nothing dangerous,” he said. “We just need to keep people from getting in and breaking in.”

While, Mangold says workers have been washing away graffiti — only for it to return a few days later. Although it is a chief complaint for some neighbors, he disputes the notion that it is worse here than other parts of the Pike or the region.

Penrose Civic Association Alex Sakes has been following goings-on at the shopping center closely and fielding concerns from neighbors about the blighted conditions.

He says he is meeting with leadership at the Arlington County Police Department, county staff and the Columbia Pike Partnership leadership to discuss the “State of the Pike,” particularly as it relates to buildings defaced by spray paint along the corridor.

The meeting will “get everyone up-to-speed on this ever-evolving situation and work together to put together an actionable game-plan and next steps regarding the 2600 block and graffiti mitigation,” he said.

As for the future of the Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center, Sakes says local leaders are still brainstorming whether to fill the buildings with pop-ups. With the condemnation notices, that would depend on the buildings being deemed safe, he said.

“Regarding the funding mechanisms, maybe the county can step in and help subsidize alongside various nonprofit entities like [Columbia Pike Partnership] and others,” he said. “But, again, that’s all in the brainstorming phase at the moment, first step would be getting the building deemed fit for occupancy.”

Mangold says the owners are working on that.

“We’re trying to find solutions,” he said. “It’s not ideal but we are committed to the neighborhood and we remain good neighbors.”

Arlington Children’s Center upgrades plagued by some costly structural issues

By Jo DeVoe
1/5

When a contractor for Arlington County embarked on work to renovate a county-owned childcare building near Courthouse, it ran into some costly problems.

The county contracted with Landivar & Associates in December to oversee plans to update the Arlington Children’s Center (1915 N. Uhle Street), which has housed a childcare facility for county employees for several decades. It will be updating the building to meet current daycare standards, comply with the Americans with Disability Act and provide an interior refresh.

Work began this April, but with just 10% of work done, the contractor has already blown through half of its allotted contingency funding — nearly $264,000 — “to repair unforeseen structural damages revealed during interior demolition,” per a county report.

Over the weekend, the Arlington County Board approved a $100,000 contract increase to “address additional unforeseen conditions that are likely to be revealed during the remaining 90% of the project,” the report continued.

Now, the total contract is worth $1.2 million, up from $1.1 million.

Although work began this spring, the building closed nearly two years ago. At the time, the county and the childcare service provider — which had been in the building for 17 years — could not reach an agreement over a contract extension with the renovation work pending.

This stressed some parents who found themselves scrambling to find daycare amid a shortage of options.

Arlington County expects the renovation work to wrap up and the facility to reopen in early 2024, according to a project webpage. The county already has a contract with a provider — the nonprofit Easterseals — which the Board approved this January.

“Enrollment preference will be given to children whose parent or guardian work for the County, followed by children whose parent or guardian work or live in Arlington County,” the webpage said.

County Board quadruples threshold for projects needing a vote to $1M

By Jo DeVoe
Construction workers at Oakland Park in 2019 (file photo)

Arlington County, like the rest of us, is realizing $250,000 does not get you as far as it used to.

With inflation, gone are the days that a construction contract of any significance could realistically come in under that sum, the threshold for a project that requires Arlington County Board approval. Gone too are the days that most professional services contracts, for things like engineering work, would cost under $80,000.

So, on Saturday, the Board adjusted for inflation — and then some — greenlighting a new threshold of $1 million for capital construction contracts and professional services. Contracts under this sum will no longer need Board review and approval.

“Establishing a higher threshold corrects for these cost increases and provides some
insulation against future inflationary pressures, which is prudent given the infrequent nature of these threshold adjustments,” a county report says.

The two thresholds were last set in 2000 and since then, the impacts of inflation in the D.C. area construction market “have been particularly acute,” the report says.

“While different construction market indices reflect varying degrees of inflation, they consistently support that $250,000 in the year 2000 more closely approximates $500,000 [to] $600,000 in 2023,” it said.

Although $1 million is a higher threshold even after adjusting for inflation, the county says it is reasonable.

“The proposed $1 million threshold would still be the lowest among major counties and cities in the Northern Virginia region and among the lowest in the D.C. metro area,” per the report.

How much a contract has to cost in the region for a governing body to need to sign off on it (via Arlington County)

In fact, of all the 70 road, sewer and park projects between 2015 and 2022 that received bids — dubbed invitation to bid or ITB projects — none were under $250,000, the county says.

The majority, 62%, were more than $1 million — the kind of capital construction projects that “also tend to be those with the most complexity and public interest and impact,” the report said.

The cost of various proposed bids in Arlington (via Arlington County)

The Gazette Leader newspaper, however, lamented this as a loss for those seeking a more transparent government.

“The proposal likely will add more fuel to the fire among critics of the government like the Arlington County Civic Federation, which has contended that the government is failing the public on the transparency front,” editor Scott McCaffrey wrote.

The county has a different take, saying projects under $1 million are largely “minor renovations and smaller maintenance projects.” That includes minor sidewalk or park improvements, such as those recently undertaken at Towers Park Playground, Oakland Park and Edison Park.

These projects can generate public interest but, the report says, the county has existing engagement processes to respond to such interest.

Arlington Career Center project approved despite some resident concerns

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

On Saturday, the Arlington County Board approved plans to redevelop the Arlington Career Center on Columbia Pike.

Arlington Public Schools will be building a new 5-story Career Center building at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive to house students in vocational courses, such as veterinary sciences. Also set to be built: a standalone 4-story parking garage.

Plans to update the building have gone through many iterations over the years and were most recently reprised last February in a process fraught with concerns.

In the end, four of the five Board members voted in favor of the $180 million project, with Takis Karantonis dissenting. The new facility will have capacity for up to 1,619 students.

The vote came after they heard, and in some cases echoed, concerns from representatives of civic associations and citizen commissions, as well as neighbors. Before Saturday, the Planning Commission was also divided, voting 5-4 two weeks ago with the chair abstaining after a weighty pause.

Board members who greenlit the project justified their decision using variations on the saying “the perfect is the enemy of the good.”

“The cost of the pursuit of a delay and the pursuit of a more perfect project are so high and the project brought before us — though not perfect — when delivered in its full vision… is going to be indeed a spectacular addition to an area that I think of as my broader neighborhood,” Board member Katie Cristol said. “And, more importantly, a home befitting of the incredible education happening within it.”

Some of the neighbors who spoke say they support the idea of the project and say they are not seeking perfection at all.

“The current APS plans, while ambitious, cut corners in ways that are unacceptable to the community and contrary to the our shared vision of a safe and equitable Arlington,” a coalition of leaders of civic associations along Columbia Pike said in a letter.

Top concerns from neighbors included the future of open space on the site and the environmental commitments of the proposed building. There were calls for sidewalks, undergrounded utilities and fencing that match those at other schools in Arlington, as well as a more forward-thinking solution to parking than a stand-alone, above-ground garage.

Former Arlington County Planning Commissioner Stephen Hughes said in a letter to the Board that the county should have deferred approving the use permit until APS addressed these issues.

“The Career Center site deserves to be the ‘Jewel of the Pike’; however, any claim of that today is disingenuous at best,” he wrote. “APS has failed for over a decade to address facility planning in a comprehensive way and besides the inclusion of the existing facilities on the [General Land Use Plan], we have no planning guidance to rely on with APS facilities.”

APS and the School Board intend to retrofit the current Career Center for the Montessori program now housed in the former Patrick Henry Elementary School. This building, in turn, would be torn down and turned into a green space.

Some people wanted these commitments included in the use permit that went before the County Board on Saturday. Otherwise, they say, no legal document binds APS to executing this vision and — absent funding and a plan — the Pike will lose a baseball diamond, basketball court and open green space with no commitments to recover them.

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Redevelopment plans for Columbia Pike strip mall stall after grocery tenant pulls out

By Jo DeVoe
1/9

An apartment redevelopment proposed for a strip mall on Columbia Pike is stalled for the foreseeable future after the anchor tenant — a grocery store — fell through.

But some of the existing tenants, including the restaurant Atilla’s, have already moved out. And now, the Fillmore Gardens shopping center on the 2600 block of the Pike, which includes a still-operating CVS, is attracting graffiti artists and other signs of blight, according to neighbors.

Penrose Civic Association President Alex Sakes says the development was “slated to become a new crown jewel” but is now “an unbelievable embarrassment.”

“The never ending graffiti and garbage is truly appalling and gets worse by the day,” he said. “My residents and I don’t just work here or drive past this site — we live here. We take great pride in our neighborhood and are happy to step up to help beautify this site once again. I’m not here to point fingers or place blame, but the condition of this site cannot and will not continue to perpetuate.”

The Arlington County Board approved the plans to build a a 247-unit apartment complex with a ground-floor grocery store, rumored to be an Amazon Fresh, in March of 2022. Some tenants have already moved out, anticipating the project starting in late 2022 or early 2023.

Progress halted in late December, however, when the grocery store tenant told the developer it would not be moving in. Without a major tenant guaranteed for the space, the developer — Insight Property Group — could not borrow the money it needed to proceed with the project, Insight’s Sarah Davidson told the Penrose Civic Association earlier this month.

She confirmed that an unnamed retailer pulled out of the space with ARLnow, adding that “economic conditions will determine a revised project timeline.”

The grocery tenant, Davidson said in the civic association meeting, told Insight “they were pulling out of a significant number of pipeline deals, of which this was one.”

That sounds quite similar to what is happening with Amazon Fresh: across the country, proposed locations of the tech company’s grocery store are falling through, with at least one ending in a lawsuit against Amazon.

For Sakes, watching the shopping center struggle is a “worst-case scenario” for “once a thriving hub for diverse, Black and Brown-owned small businesses, including Atilla’s, Salsa Room, Legend Kicks, and more.”

Graffiti keeps popping up. Some drawings found on Monday were apparently scrubbed off only for markings to return today (Tuesday). Davidson says they’re trying to stay on top of it.

“The property owners are committed to keeping the property in clean and presentable condition,” she said.

Insight is also trying to crowdsource ideas for how to fill the storefronts for the next few years, until redevelopment plans can be revived.

“We would love to offer pop-up space for some of the local artist communities, provide space for activities that might be supplementary to CPP’s initiatives, and business incubators as well as find ways to activate some of our parking areas,” Davidson said. “Currently, we feel fortunate to have CVS and Burrito Bros who remain as tenants of the Center.”

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Pike office building could be torn down this summer and turned into parking lot

By Jo DeVoe
3108 Columbia Pike (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) Arlington County is gearing up to raze a three-story office building on Columbia Pike this summer and turn it into a parking lot.

To get started, the Arlington County Board needs to kick off public hearings to consider the land-use changes needed for the new use. It is slated to do so on Saturday.

“These subject approvals will facilitate the final steps needed to demolish the existing building and construct the proposed interim surface parking improvements, including the review of construction plans and issuance of permits,” according to a county report.

Parking is a temporary use for the site, which the county bought last year for $7.55 million.

“Arlington County acquired the office building at 3108 Columbia Pike in March 2022, after it was identified as a potential site for a future Columbia Pike branch library and for potential co-location of County Board priorities, such as affordable housing,” the county report said.

The adopted 2023-32 Capital Improvement Plan, however, “anticipates completion of a new Columbia Pike branch library no sooner than 2028 at the earliest, thus presenting opportunities for a temporary use on the site in the interim,” it continued.

The county already determined it cannot save the office building and repurpose it.

“While the site is developed with a vacant, three-story office building, through due diligence completed prior to acquisition, the County determined the building is not fit for re-use and should be demolished,” the report said.

If the hearings are authorized on Saturday and the Board approves and the project, which could happen next month, the Dept. of Environmental Services will demolish the building this summer.

Doing so will expand the number of parking spaces from 63 to 92, per the report, fewer than originally anticipated. The county expected to add 58 spaces for a total of 121, according to a county document from last year.

For now, DES intends to lease the parking to Arlington Public Schools.

“The County has identified an expanded surface parking lot as a recommended interim use, which could support parking needs for the Career Center Campus during its redevelopment project, or accommodate other public parking needs before future redevelopment of the site,” the report said.

The Arlington School Board approved designs for the new, $182.42 million campus last October. Most of the funds were included in the 2022 School Bond referendum, according to an APS webpage.

“The project will now transition into the Use Permit phase and the new Arlington Career Center will be completed in December 2025,” the webpage says.

A letter included in the use permit APS filed for the Career Center in February said the site will accommodate 1,619 students. The site will also fit 775 Montessori Public School of Arlington students for a total of 2,394 students, per another document in the filings.

Students expected in the future Career Campus site (via Arlington County)

Park next to Amazon HQ2 set to get a new farmers market

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

When Amazon opens the first phase of its second headquarters in June, it is preparing to debut a new farmers market, too.

This farmers market is set to pop up four Saturdays a month starting June 24. It will be located inside the $14 million public park Amazon renovated as part of the Metropolitan Park or “Met Park” first phase of HQ2, at the corner of 13th Street S. and S. Eads Street.

Loudoun County-based EatLoco is set to operate the market within the park, which features meandering paths and public art.

The organization’s founder and CEO Dan Hine says it will be its first outside of Loudoun County and his “rock star” location, with at least 80 vendors and possibly live entertainment.

“When Amazon approached us back in August 2022 with this idea, we stepped up to the challenge by promising only the Best-of-the-Best Farmers, Food producers and Crafters for this one-of-a-kind, spacious venue,” Hine said in a statement on the EatLoco website. “This game-changer location has a neighboring dog park, children’s park and plenty of table seating for eating and relaxing provided by our Sponsors.”

Hine says he is working on plans for on-site entertainment “to keep customers coming and staying longer.”

“As always, we will do this the ‘EatLoco’ way,” he said. “Well marketed, professionally managed, and of course extremely well attended.”

This weekend, the Arlington County Board is set to consider a use permit allowing EatLoco to operate four Saturdays a month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., March through November. It will be located at a green space to the east of a meandering path users can access from 13th and 14th Street S. and S. Fair Street.

Aerial view of the location for the proposed farmers market in Metropolitan Park (via Arlington County)

EatLoco’s website says the market will run through Nov. 18.

As part of the agreement, the county is requiring EatLoco to work with the Aurora Highlands Civic Association and the county regarding signage, parking locations and noise restrictions.

Meanwhile, work on Met Park is almost complete, according to Clark Construction, which has overseen the project for the last three-and-a-half years.

Last week, it published the following construction update on its website:

After years of planning, and 40 months of construction, we’ve reached the final chapter in Metropolitan Park’s delivery. As our team puts the finishing touches on our work on site, we wanted to thank you — our neighbors and community partners — for your inquiries, engagement, and, most importantly, your patience and support over the last three years.

Soon the children’s park, edible garden and forest walk will be open and accessible to all. Soon, local businesses will activate new retail spaces, serving up new amenities and flavors that will further enhance this community. Soon, Metropolitan Park’s two 22-stories towers will be filled with new people and ideas.

While the physical structures our team will leave behind fill us with a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment, we are equally proud of the significant economic impact this project has created. From contracting opportunities for local, small, and diverse companies, to apprenticeships, to unique learning experiences for our craft workforce and project management team, Metropolitan Park’s construction has served as a platform for growth. We are honored to deliver this important asset that has and will continue to invigorate the Arlington community for decades to come.

Several local businesses will be moving into the 65,000 square feet of street-level retail, including a daycare and a spa, Arlington’s second Conte’s Bike Shop, District Dogs and an outpost of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Arlington.

There will also be a slew of restaurants and cafés, including Westover-based Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream and D.C.-based Taqueria Xochi, which were announced last month.

Plans to build a bridge between Crystal City and DCA poised to take two steps forward

By Jo DeVoe
1/4

A plan for a pedestrian bridge between Crystal City and Reagan National Airport is headed to the Arlington County Board for endorsement this weekend.

Specifically, the Board is set to bless a girder-style bridge that will connect a future southern entrance to the Virginia Railway Express station at 2011 Crystal Drive to the airport’s Terminal 2. It is also slated to approve more funding for an engineering firm to further develop designs for the bridge, dubbed the CC2DCA multimodal connection.

“The goal of the project is to create an intermodal connection designed to meet the needs of a broad range of pedestrians, bicyclists, and micro-mobility users of all ages and abilities between the core of Crystal City, the Mount Vernon Trail, and DCA,” per a county report.

Currently, getting from Crystal City to DCA on foot or bike involves navigating a series of trails and crossings the county has previously described as “circuitous.”

“Once completed, the journey from the foot of the bridge to the newly constructed security checkpoint at DCA would be about 1,300 feet,” the National Landing Business Improvement District said in a pamphlet published last winter. “Once completed, the new CC2DCA Multimodal Connector would make National Landing the only downtown in the country with its main street within a comfortable 5-minute walk from a major airport.”

After endorsing the project on Saturday, the Board is set to approve a new $4.2 million contract with Boston-based civil engineering firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) so it can begin drafting preliminary designs. This includes nearly $386,000 in contingency.

CC2DCA preferred alternative and limits of land disturbance (via Arlington County)

Although it may seem incremental, the county says these signs of progress are important milestones in the years-long project, which the county projects could be completed in 2028.

First, this step forward means that a conceptual design phase and environmental review process led by the civil engineering firm VHB are wrapping up.

The County Board approved its first contract with the engineering firm in the spring of 2021 for design work.

Since then, the county, VHB and state and federal agencies winnowed down 16 initial bridge and tunnel connections to a “preferred alternative” and a runner-up bridge proposal, both unveiled last October.

The county says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Parks Service signed off on the “preferred alternative” this February.

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Public input drives developer to nix drive-thru ATM from Clarendon Wells Fargo redevelopment plans

By Jo DeVoe
1/9

In response to criticism from residents, citizen commissioners and county staff, a developer has removed a drive-thru ATM from its plans to redevelop the Wells Fargo in Clarendon.

One year ago, McLean-based developer Jefferson Apartment Group filed plans to replace the bank — the one someone recently attempted to rob — with a mixed-use building. It is set to consist of 238 apartments, 60,000 square feet of office space and 30,000 square feet of retail, including a new Wells Fargo branch.

The current two-story bank building at 3140 Washington Blvd has a drive-thru in addition to a surface parking lot. Critics of keeping the drive-thru say it would detract from walkability in the area, which is seeing significant redevelopment that will result in more people living, shopping and using public amenities in Clarendon.

“This is the most walkable place in the county and drive-up for anything doesn’t make sense to me,” said Planning Commission member Jim Lantelme back in February. “You would have to have a second ATM that people could walk up to.”

One commenter said drive-thrus are “horrible for the environment and they aren’t faster than parking and going into the building,” while another called it “a relic of the 70s [that] doesn’t belong here.”

A third said it “seems like a very bad idea that will take away space from pedestrians and increase the chance of crashes and congestion in an area that is meant to be dense and walkable.”

Jefferson had originally doubled down on the drive-thru ATM, saying in a county document this was “for the convenience of existing customers and as requested by Wells Fargo based on customer feedback during and after the pandemic.”

Ultimately, it agreed to changes that resemble a suggestion from the Clarendon Courthouse Civic Association: walk-up ATMs and free, short-term parking on a new local street that Jefferson will construct as part of the project.

The walk-up ATMs will be located at the northern and southern edges of the bank, which looks out over N. Irving Street. This street, which dead-ends in a green space, is set to become a plaza through a separate, Dept. of Parks and Recreation-led planning process.

People using the ATMs will be able to park in short-term parking on the north side of a planned public road. As part of the project, Jefferson will build a new 10th Road N., which will run parallel to Washington Blvd and separate the new construction from the existing Verizon building to the south.

The proposed changes to the Clarendon Wells Fargo redevelopment (via Arlington County)

Even with the walk-up ATMs, staff have concerns that a bank, generally, is not the kind of lively retail that encourages people to use the planned Irving Street Plaza. Those who commented were not as concerned with this but suggested sculptures or water features could help “activate” the plaza.

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