Rosslyn

Rosslyn Jazz Fest Returning

By Dana Munro
Rosslyn Jazz Fest crowd shot (via Rosslyn Business Improvement District)

Update on 6/21/22 — A PR rep for the Rosslyn BID said that this event was actually the 29th annual Rosslyn Jazz Fest, not the 21st, as stated in promotional material at the time.

Earlier: The Rosslyn Jazz Fest, which was socially-distanced and live-streamed last year due to the pandemic, is returning this week in its full glory.

The celebration of jazz, now in its 21st year, begins this Wednesday and will span three weeks. There will be pop-up performances throughout Rosslyn featuring food trucks, beer and wine, restaurant deals and giveaway prizes.

The event, organized by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, is free to attend but reservations are encouraged to secure a spot.

Starting this Wednesday, bands and soloists will perform during the Rosslyn Farmers Market at Central Place Plaza (1800 N. Lynn Street), as well as at 1401 Wilson Blvd Park and the Continental Beer Garden (1901 N. Fort Myer Drive).

Planned “pop-up” performances include the following.

  • Wednesday, Sept. 1: Crush Funk Brass Band (Central Place Plaza, 1800 N. Lynn Street) from 4:30-5:15 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Sept. 1: Crush Funk Brass Band (1401 Wilson Blvd Park) from 5:45-6:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Sept. 15: Cristian Perez (Central Place Plaza, 1800 N. Lynn Street) from 5-7 p.m.
  • Thursday, Sept. 16: Kingman Island Orchestra (Continental Beer Garden, 1901 N. Lynn Street) from 5-7 p.m.

On Thursday, Sept. 9, the BID will host a Jazz Supper Club at Amuse restaurant (1121 19th St. N.) from 5:30-9 p.m. The reservation-only event includes a prix fixe menu, a complimentary themed cocktail, themed giveaways and a live performance by Akua Allrich.

Guests will be seated in two time slots — 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Reservations can be made through Amuse.

The festival culminates on Saturday, Sept. 18 with performances at Gateway Park (1300 Langston Blvd):

Around the park there will be food trucks serving hot dogs, wings and carnival-themed sweets, Salvadoran food and the flavors of New Orleans. Beer and wine will also be available for purchase.

Attendees can also dine at select local restaurants with a 10% discount. Participating restaurants currently include Continental Beer Garden, Toryumon and Vitality Bowls, but the list is subject to change.

Check-in for the final day of performances begins at 12:15 p.m. To access Gateway Park, attendees will need to enter through the middle entrance along Langston Blvd (formerly Lee Highway).

Public parking will be available at the Atlantic Parking Garage on N. Moore Street between 19th Street N. and Langston Blvd for a flat fee of $5 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., but space is limited.

Rosslyn-Based Politico Sold for $1 Billion

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn-based media company Politico is being acquired by the German publishing conglomerate Axel Springer.

The deal is worth around $1 billion, according to initial reports as the news broke this morning.

Politico was founded in 2007 in Rosslyn, in the same office tower at 1000 Wilson Blvd as its former sister outlet, local ABC station WJLA. The station was sold in 2013.

Axel Springer says the addition of Politico to its U.S. digital media holdings, including Insider (formerly Business Insider) and Morning Brew, will add to its growing reach.

Politico started out as primarily a Capitol Hill newspaper, competing with the likes of The Hill (which also recently sold) and Roll Call — complete with newspaper boxes offering free copies around Arlington and D.C. Metro stations — but has since grown a large, mainstream audience for its online political coverage. It also generates substantial revenue from a high-end subscription service called Politico Pro.

Arlington is home to a number of other media companies, including Washington Business Journal, Graham Holdings, Salem Radio Network, Washington Free Beacon and Townhall Media, all in Rosslyn.

Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei, along with colleagues Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz, broke with owner Robert Allbritton in 2016 and founded a competing publication, Axios, which is based in Clarendon. PBS has its headquarters in Crystal City, while local public broadcasting station WETA, along with the PBS Newshour, which it produces, are based in Shirlington. ARLnow and its sister sites ALXnow, Tysons Reporter and Reston Now are based in Ballston.

Axios, meanwhile, has previously been discussed as a possible acquisition target for Axel Springer.

More on the sale of Politico, below, from a press release.

(more…)

Arlington Firefighters Move Into New Fire Station 10 in Rosslyn

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

Arlington County firefighters have moved into their new, permanent Fire Station 10 in Rosslyn last Monday.

The new station, a brick building with retractable glass doors, sits at the base of one of the high-rise building in The Highlands development, two apartment towers and one condo tower on the 1500 block of Wilson Blvd.

Nearly five years ago, the County Board voted to relocate the firefighters from an aging single-story station along Wilson Blvd — which was demolished to make way for The Highlands — to a temporary station at 1791 N. Quinn Street while the new station was built. Members chose to locate the station next to the construction site for The Heights, now home to the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program and the Shriver Program, which opened in 2019.

“We cannot say thank you enough for all who have designed, funded, and built the station,” said Fire Chief David Povlitz.

The pandemic will not allow for station tours, but ACFD looks forward to sharing the features of the fire station through various media content through social media sites, said Lt. Nathaniel Hiner, a spokesman for the department.

“This is a world class facility that will allow our members to serve the community for many generations to come, while providing our firefighters a safe and comfortable work location,” he said. “The station incorporates many modern design features that improve responder turnout, safety, health, and wellness along with the ability for the department to adapt to changing needs of the community for years to come.”

The station will house a fire engine, paramedic ambulance, and technical rescue support unit, Hiner said. There are six personnel consisting of an officer, three firefighters and two medics assigned on each of three shifts.

Construction on the three towers of The Highlands, which started in October 2018, is wrapping up. The fire station appears to have finished earlier than developer Penzance anticipated. A spokeswoman previously told ARLnow the station would be ready in the fall, along with a new apartment tower and condo tower.

Passersby can see a 35-foot tall sculpture of a bronze nozzle with twisting spirals of stainless steel, representing water. At night, light illuminates the stainless spirals. The art installation, a tribute to firefighters, marks the first time public art has adorned a fire station.

Baltimore artists David and Eli Hess were commissioned for the art, which was funded by Penzance as a part of the development process.

Fire Station 10 is part of the 2015 Western Rosslyn Area Planning Study, which created a plan for developing the neighborhood. Other parts of the study included The Heights school building, the new Rosslyn Highlands Park and the recently completed Queens Court Residences affordable housing development (1801 N. Quinn Street), which features a new playground on-site.

Peruvian Restaurant Inca Social Eyes October Opening in Rosslyn

By Vernon Miles
1/2

Vienna-based Peruvian restaurant Inca Social is opening a new location in Rosslyn.

The restaurant and bar is coming to the former Kona Grill space at 1776 Wilson Blvd. We’re told the plan is to open sometime this fall.

Inca Social will have a selection of Virginia beers and various pisco cocktails, along with Peruvian food like the octopus-based pulpo anticuchero, according to Eater. The Rosslyn location will also have a sushi-and-ceviche bar, Northern Virginia Magazine reported.

Staff at Inca Social told ARLnow that the plan is for the Arlington location is to open in around two months — or late October — but that no definitive opening date has been set yet. Updates will likely be posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page closer to the opening date.

Why Is There a Chair on Top of This Rosslyn Tree?

By ARLnow.com
Chair in tree in Rosslyn’s Hillside Park (photo courtesy John Thomas)

Four years ago, we asked why a stick of deodorant was on top of a Clarendon bus stop.

Today, a new mystery: why is there a cheap plastic chair resting in a treetop in a Rosslyn park? A reader sent us the photos above, showing the chair lodged in some tree branches well above a pedestrian pathway.

“There is a plastic garden chair stuck in a tree about 40 feet off the ground at Hillside Park in Rosslyn,” writes John Thomas. “It might make an interesting story to speculate how it got there. Tornado? Cicadas?”

Trebuchet testing and aircraft door mishap are perhaps some other options that could explain it.

With the caveat that we have yet to contact Arlington’s Dept. of Parks and Recreation or the National Weather Service for official comment about what happened, the tornado hypothesis might actually make some sense.

On July 1, an honest-to-goodness EF-1 tornado touched down in Arlington, doing most of its damage in the Waverly Hills, Cherrydale and Lyon Village neighborhoods, before crossing the Potomac and snapping trees on the west end of the National Mall. The damage path finally ended near the South Lawn of the White House.

Between Lyon Village and the Mall, however, the path of the tornado did take it over Rosslyn and… Hillside Park, which is located at 1601 N. Pierce Street.

To better illustrate, here’s a line drawn between Woodstock Park in Arlington, where the tornado damage started, and where it ended. The pin in the center shows Hillside Park.

So unlike the deodorant mystery, which to this day remains unsolved (though a local bar employee’s comment that “people get drunk on the weekends, that would be my best guess,” seems as plausible as anything) it appears that the twister take is a definite maybe for Arlington’s latest head scratcher.

Have any alternative theories? Anything to disprove the tornado hypothesis? Let us know in the comments.

Narrowed Vehicle Lanes, Buffered Bike Lanes Planned for N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn

By Jo DeVoe
Part of the proposed resurfacing changes for N. Lynn Street (via Arlington County)

Arlington County plans to resurface a stretch of N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn to improve the driving and cycling experience.

The project is part of the county’s annual effort to resurface about 100 lane miles of roadway, prioritizing those in the most need of upgrades and those adjacent to development, schools or county-led capital projects. It is the second of two “complete streets” resurfacing projects proposed for 2021, the other being changes to Wilson Blvd in the Bluemont neighborhood.

The plans for N. Lynn Street extend from the exit ramp for Arlington Blvd (Route 50) to Wilson Blvd. Proposed changes include adding “sharrows” — encouraging drivers to share the road with cyclists — connecting with existing bike lanes, plus buffering existing bike lanes, improving markings for a bus stop, and adding markings where drivers have to cross a bike lane to turn right.

“This concept design accommodates the existing traffic by maintaining the same vehicular lane configurations, it adds additional separation between people driving and biking with protected and buffered bike lanes, it enhances the network connectivity with improved bike markings, and it improves visibility of right turn conflicts with the application of green markings,” said county transportation planner Catherine Seebauer during a recorded presentation.

A segment of N. Lynn Street that will be resurfaced (via Arlington County)

Right after the Arlington Blvd exit ramp, the county proposes adding northbound bike “sharrows” — markings indicating where cyclists and vehicles have to share the road — that will link up to the existing bike lane after the intersection with Fairfax Drive.

“That exit ramp is a VDOT-controlled road, so Arlington County is somewhat limited in what changes we can make there, but a reconfiguration of those on-off ramps is being looked at as part of [Core of Rosslyn Transportation Study], so long-term changes are in development for that intersection,” Seebauer said.

The vehicle lanes will be narrowed after Fairfax Drive, though they will still meet the county’s standard width of 11 feet, she said.

“The extra room allows us to provide more room for other facilities,” she said, including upgrading the existing bike lanes to be protected bike lanes. “They will be separated from vehicle lanes by parked vehicles and a small buffer strip.”

A segment of N. Lynn Street that will be resurfaced (via Arlington County)

Where the bike lane merges with an existing bus stop, the bus stop markings will be improved. Further up, close to the intersection with Wilson Blvd, green paint and bollards will alert drivers and cyclists about a conflict point, where drivers have to cross the bike lane to make a right turn.

From the exit ramp to Wilson Blvd, four parking spaces will be removed to improve sightlines, Seebauer said.

An online comment period for the project closed yesterday (Tuesday). The resurfacing work will be done later this summer and fall.

Guerra Steakhouse in Rosslyn Opens With Slow But Steady Start

By Dana Munro
1/4

Guerra Steakhouse in Rosslyn is off to a slow start after opening this past Saturday, but that is partly by design, according to owner Jackelin Barrera.

The steakhouse at 1725 Wilson Blvd does not yet have a sign, or an advertising campaign, but Barrera said she was more concerned with opening before coronavirus cases could once more threaten businesses to limit capacity.

Guerra offers steaks, wines to pair with them, and other classic steakhouse dishes in the former space of Ben’s Chili Bowl, which closed last year.

The restaurant is family-owned and operated.

“All the people who work inside are family,” said Barrera. “I feel like you can tell the love we have for each other when you taste the food.”

The steakhouse’s story has its roots in family, as it is named for her grandfather, Ermides Guerra, a Guatemalan immigrant who loved steak.

So far, Barrera said the most popular dishes have been the jumbo tiger shrimp with a “fuego spicy paste” and the iceberg wedge topped with blue cheese, bacon, grape tomatoes and radish, in a blue cheese dressing. She said the New York strip steak has also received attention.

“Most of the people that have come by have said Arlington has been missing a good steakhouse,” said Barrera.

In addition to serving quality food, Barrera said Guerra is focused on making patrons feel like part of the family.

“We don’t just give you a steak — we give you an experience,” she said.

Currently, the steakhouse only serves wine and beer, but Barrera said her family plans to add cocktails next week. Down the road, she said the Guerra Steakhouse experience could include a clam bake and a tomahawk steak that will be flamed table-side.

“We’ll hopefully have table-side cocktails too,” she said.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

New Rosslyn Food Hall Nears Opening — “American Real Estate Partners is nearly ready to take the wraps off Assembly, the food hall atop the Rosslyn Metro station, a project that’s been more than two years in the works and was thrown a curveball by the Covid-19 pandemic. Assembly at Rosslyn City Center, a 29,000-square-foot space spread over two levels at 1700 N. Moore St., is slated to open this week for a sneak peak for tenants and next week to the wider public.” [Washington Business Journal]

Northam Announcement in Arlington Today — “Gov. Northam will announce a ‘budget proposal for federal American Rescue Plan funding’ at the Arlington County offices in Sequoia Plaza on Wednesday afternoon, per a press release.” [Twitter]

Bonds Likely to Be on Ballot — “Arlington County Board members on July 20 formally requested the placement of four local-bond referendums on the Nov. 2 ballot, which if approved by voters – as seems likely – would lead to a further increase in the government’s debt-service payments… the following bonds will go to voters: $38.7 million for transportation and Metro. $23.01 million for schools. $17.035 million for community infrastructure. $6.8 million for local parks and recreation.” [Sun Gazette]

ART Buses Lifting Capacity Restrictions — “Starting August 1, rider capacity restrictions will be lifted on all ART buses. Seats inside the buses will no longer be blocked off.” [Twitter]

Ceremony Held for Urban Garden — “Project HUG revitalizes underused land at Virginia Highlands Park and illustrates how marginalized space in National Landing’s urban environment can be transformed into vibrant, sustainable, food producing ecosystems. This pilot project serves as a model of modern sustainable agricultural practices to demonstrate how community-driven farming can address food insecurity by leveraging partnerships across public, private, civic, and non-profit communities.” [Press Release]

Va. Unemployment System Struggling — “As the embattled Virginia Employment Commission has been scrambling to move through a massive backlog of unemployment claims, thousands more cases have been pouring in from jobless residents. Staff who review disputed claims have been leaving the agency, and the General Assembly’s watchdog has sounded alarms about measures being taken by the commission to hasten the process in response. Many unemployed Virginians say the commission’s unresponsive call center has stopped picking up the phone.” [Washington Post]

County Board Approves Changes to Ames Center Development in Rosslyn

By Jo DeVoe
The north tower over the Arlington Temple United Methodist Church and Sunoco gas station at 1820 N. Fort Myer Drive (via Arlington County)

The Arlington County Board approved changes at its Tuesday meeting to an already approved project for two residential towers in Rosslyn.

And the changes — including larger apartment sizes and a work-from-home space — reflect a trend toward larger layouts and more remote-work amenities in new projects in Arlington. Analysts and area developers attribute these kinds of tweaks to changing preferences during the pandemic.

Arlington-based Snell Properties is working on two towers at 1820 N. Fort Myer Drive that would replace the Ames Center office building across from the Rosslyn Metro station. A south tower will abut the Hyatt Centric hotel and a north tower will surround, and preserve, the existing Arlington Temple United Methodist Church and Sunoco gas station, dubbed “Our Lady of Exxon.”

The Board’s vote allows to convert about 3,000 square feet of “flex” commercial office space into residential space. Snell can also move forward with a plan to cut eight apartment units, from 740 to 732, and eight parking spots, from 574 to 566, and some design revisions.

The Board unanimously approved the changes — citing support from neighboring civic associations and apartment buildings — despite a plea from a lawyer representing the Hyatt Centric hotel.

“We are worried about the deterioration of the intersection with Wilson Blvd, but most significantly, we are worried about the digging at the foundation of the Hyatt,” said Gifford Hampshire, of Blankingship & Keith, who represents the owner of the Hyatt.

The Rosslyn Business Improvement District supported the changes, the report said.

“The proposed second-floor residential amenity space and various interior/exterior design enhancements are aligned with the Rosslyn Sector Plan’s guidance and reflective of the community’s feedback,” it said.

Snell will contribute 24 units and $2.5 million in cash toward affordable housing. Additionally, it will contribute $5 million to the Fort Myer Drive tunnel project, which includes plans to convert the road into a two-way street, remove the tunnel, widen sidewalks and add protected bike lanes.

A cement plaza will separate the two towers and form one segment of a planned pedestrian pathway. This street-level walkway will replace the existing, elevated passages. Mid-block crosswalks will join the plaza to 18th Street N.

The towers will share four levels of below-grade parking and the south tower will have four levels of above-grade parking.

The south building will be built in phase one, along with an interim open space and other streetscape improvements. The north tower, the plaza and remaining streetscape improvements will be built in the second phase.

A layout of the pedestrian plaza and corridor at 1820 N. Fort Myer Drive (via Arlington County)

Arlington Event Will Celebrate Local and D.C. Area ‘Red Hot’ Startups

By Jo DeVoe

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring 1515 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn. 

Fifteen Arlington startups will be recognized this Wednesday during an event highlighting “red hot” startups in the D.C. area.

Event company DCA Live selected more than 40 companies to recognize, including Courthouse-based data privacy startup Wire Wheel and Ballston-based GoTab, which facilitates to-go and in-person, contactless ordering.

“Red Hot Companies,” which will be held in Rosslyn, is the first large-scale, in-person event that DCA Live has been able to host since D.C. and Virginia reopened, according to company founder Doug Anderson. After 16 months of virtual offerings, he expects a big crowd — upwards of 400 people — for the sixth annual event.

“I didn’t move into the shallow end with a 100-person event,” Anderson said. “There was an opportunity for us to be first mover in returning to live events.”

Forty-four startups will be recognized, and the ceremony and networking opportunity at Sands Capital Management (1000 Wilson Blvd) will celebrate how the D.C. area tech sector survived the pandemic, he said.

“I think we’ve come out of this pandemic much stronger than we entered it,” Anderson said. “About half-way through the pandemic, it became clear one of the big winners would be tech businesses. They had the infrastructure, and they enabled the world to continue.”

These companies also found ways to use the pandemic to accelerate their business plans and the demand for their products, he said.

“They had to really focus on what their true value proposition was, who their true customer was and how to serve them,” he said.

A previous DCA Live ‘Red Hot Companies’ event (courtesy of Doug Anderson)

Anderson is recognizing a number of new companies as well as a few established ones. Most are smaller cybersecurity and financial technology companies, but a few are unicorns: privately held startups valued at more than $1 billion.

He picked the companies after soliciting nominations, evaluating them and consulting with people who have a pulse on the D.C. tech startup scene.

“I try to do a fresh look every year,” he said.

The event will draw out strong Arlington startups, including Brazen, Ostendio, CareJourney and C3, he said. Arlington Economic Development and property owner/developer Monday Properties are sponsors.

“It’s got a big Arlington angle to it,” Anderson said. “Arlington is a great place to start a company and host an event.”

County Looks to Sprinkle Small Seating Spots in Urban Areas

By Jo DeVoe

A small splash of green space in Rosslyn may become the prototype for similar installations, or “parklets,” across the county.

In 2018, Arlington County and the Rosslyn Business Improvement District unveiled this parklet, about the size of two parking spaces, on the northwest corner of N. Oak Street and Wilson Blvd. The county and the BID, which maintains the seating spot, installed it as an experiment to see if parklets could be a new tool for adding open space to urban areas.

After observing how people used the mini-park, the county has prepared a formal process for adding more micro oases to help compensate for the county’s dwindling supply of available land for open spaces. The County Board is slated to review the “parklet program” this Saturday.

“Parklets are publicly accessible to all and serve as extensions of the sidewalk by converting curbside parking spaces into vibrant public spaces,” according to a staff report. “Parklets are social platforms for the community and are often developed through a partnership with the county, local businesses and neighborhood organizations.”

When the prototype was installed, then-Board Chair Katie Cristol said she expected to see a plan for adding more parklets included in an update to the Public Spaces Master Plan. The update, approved in 2019, recommends the creation of a “parklet program.”

“Despite their size and atypical location, parklets can contribute to the public space network and overall sidewalk experience by providing places to sit, relax, or socialize,” the report said. “Future installations of parklets can increase social activity and enhance the pedestrian experience in the urban corridors throughout the county.”

The county would lose money on these micro-parks. Each parklet removes two parking meters, which together generate about $6,150 per year, staff estimate.

The county has found a new source of revenue, however. A new parklet application would cost $2,100 and annual renewals, $500. These fees are intended to cover the time required to review these applications, and not to recoup parking revenue, the report said.

A number of county commissions have weighed in on the program, according to the report.

Responses were “[overwhelmingly] favorable, with comments favoring the potential for an increase in outdoor public spaces, especially in Arlington’s commercial and urban centers where public space is limited,” it said.

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