Rosslyn

Here’s What to Do If Someone Leaves a Mattress Along the Side of a Road

By ARLnow.com

Last week Sarah, a Rosslyn resident, was trying to solve a problem: what do you do if a mattress is left along the side of a busy local road and no one has done anything about it for weeks?

“A mattress was dumped on the sidewalk on Clarendon Blvd between Rhodes and Quinn about two weeks ago,” she told ARLnow. “It appears that the negligent property dumper and Arlington County are at a standoff, as the mattress remains. So what’s the end resolution here? Does this mattress stay on public property for eternity?”

“It’s an interesting civic dilemma,” Sarah added. “If Arlington County acquiesces and disposes of the mattress, the negligent resident has their belief that they can skirt the rules reinforced.”

Disposing of a mattress is not a straightforward proposition for those who live in local condos, apartments or other private communities. Unlike single-family home owners in Arlington, who can generally just leave mattresses and other bulky items by the curb, residents of multi-family complexes play by the rules of the trash company their building, HOA, etc. contracts with.

In this instance, someone apparently either decided to just dump the mattress and make it someone else’s problem — or Googled “mattress disposal arlington va” and didn’t realize that Arlington County’s trash pickup service does not apply to them.

Either way, the answer for Sarah and anyone with the same issue going forward is: visit the county’s website.

“Thanks for bringing this to our attention,” said Arlington County Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien, in response to an inquiry from ARLnow. “We have placed an illegal dumping ticket for this item. Someone from our Solid Waste Bureau will pick it up soon to dispose of it.”

For future reference, according to O’Brien: “Please report any litter or illegal dumping through our online Report a Problem tool: https://topics.arlingtonva.us/reportproblem/.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

More Details on WeWork in Rosslyn — “WeWork has made it official: The coworking space provider is expanding, in a big way, into Rosslyn. Its newest location, expected to open in the second quarter of 2019, will include more than 1,400 desks across four floors of JBG Smith Properties’ CEB Tower, 1201 Wilson Blvd.” [Washington Business Journal]

Wreaths Laid Despite Rain — “Despite the rain, tens of thousands of volunteers came out on Saturday to lay wreaths on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery… President Trump made an appearance, speaking to soldiers while at the cemetery.” [WJLA, Fox News]

Explainer: State Roads in Arlington — “Though it’s not obvious, the roads you use every day are owned by an overlapping patchwork of governments, regulatory bodies, and private interests. This isn’t a story of tyrannical state governments imposing their will upon localities, but of intergovernmental coordination that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t.” [Greater Greater Washington]

New ART Route Starts Today — “ART 72 connects North Arlington to Ballston and Shirlington. The new route, along with Metrobus 22A/C, brings more frequent weekday service between Ballston and Shirlington. Service operates every 20 minutes during rush hours and every 30 minutes the rest of the day.” [Arlington Transit]

Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler

Police Charge Dump Truck Driver Who Allegedly Struck Woman Pushing Stroller in Rosslyn Crosswalk

By Alex Koma
1/5

The driver of a dump truck who allegedly struck a woman pushing a stroller in a Rosslyn intersection yesterday (Thursday) is now facing criminal charges.

Arlington Police announced today (Friday) that they’re charging 63-year-old John Washington of Silver Spring, Maryland with reckless driving and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk in connection with the crash.

The incident happened around the intersection of Lee Highway and Ft. Myer Drive around 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Police believe the woman was crossing the street with a child in a stroller when the truck driver struck her.

She was taken to the hospital with “serious but non-life threatening injuries,” though police say she was able to maneuver the stroller out of the way before the crash, and the child was not hurt.

Washington will face his first hearing on those charges on Monday (Dec. 17), according to county police spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

New Vietnamese Restaurant Looks Set to Move into Former Bistro 360 Space in Rosslyn

By Alex Koma

A new Vietnamese restaurant seems to be coming to the former Bistro 360 space in Rosslyn.

Signs posted at the storefront, located at 1800 Wilson Blvd, promise that “Saigon Noodles and Grill” is “coming soon” to the space.

The restaurant doesn’t seem to have a web presence as of yet, but county permit records show that Hien Nguyen applied for a permit for a new 80-seat restaurant in the space on Nov. 5. County officials have yet to sign off on that request.

Bistro 360 closed back in late May, after owner Art Hauptman decided to shutter the restaurant after four years in business.

Hauptman subsequently struck a deal with the D.C.-based Parlay Sports Bar and Lounge to open a “pop-up” bar in the space. He’d originally hoped to make the arrangement more permanent, but it ended up lasting only a few weeks.

Photo via @IAmAru

BREAKING: Dump Truck Injures Woman Pushing Stroller in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com
1/7

(Updated at 12:25 p.m.) Arlington County Police are investigating a crash in Rosslyn involving a dump truck and a woman who was pushing a stroller.

The crash happened around 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of Lee Highway and Ft. Myer Drive. According to a police spokeswoman, a female pedestrian was struck by a dump truck and suffered serious — but at this point non-life-threatening — injuries. The woman was pushing a stroller at the time but the child was not injured, police said.

The victim was rushed to the trauma center at George Washington University Hospital. Detectives are on scene investigating, as is standard procedure for crashes involving very serious injuries.

All lanes of eastbound Lee Highway were previously blocked at N. Nash Street, but have since reopened. Police have moved the investigation onto N. Lynn Street, closing two lanes on that road. Major backups have been reported on the Key Bridge and Ft. Myer Drive approaching Rosslyn.

Road closures are expected to remain in place “for a significant amount of time” while officers investigate the cause of the crash, according to Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

Rosslyn Coffee and Deli Set to Close Later This Month

By Alex Koma

A small deli on the first floor of a Rosslyn office building is shutting down later this month.

Rosslyn Coffee and Deli, located at 1101 Wilson Blvd, will shut down on Dec. 21, according to a note to customers posted in the store. A reader first alerted ARLnow to the closure on Friday (Dec. 7).

The restaurant’s owners attribute the closure to the shop’s lease ending, prompting the shop to close down “after 20 years in business.”

“We would like to thank our loving and caring customers of Rosslyn for your love and support throughout all of these years,” they wrote.

The building is also home to the “Spaces” coworking office, and the former “Artisphere.”

Rosslyn High Rise Owner Rolls Out ‘Flexible’ Leasing Options to Lure Government Contractors

By Alex Koma
1/4

The owner of a Rosslyn office building is changing up how it leases out some of its space, in a bid to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of government contractors.

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust announced today (Wednesday) that it’s rebranding some of its space at the Arlington Tower (1300 17th Street N.) as “Space+.” The firm acquired the property, located just across the street from Dark Star Park, back in January for about $250 million.

The program is designed to offer prospective tenants “high quality office space that can be customized and configured to be as large or small as a business needs at any given time,” according to a press release. The developer is marketing a variety of spaces in the building that resemble traditional coworking offices, but can also be customized to suit each business’s desires.

In all, about 22,000 square feet of the building’s 398,000 square feet of space will be reserved for the “Space+” offerings, according to spokeswoman Liz Wainger. The space will be available for lease right away, she added.

“Space+ reflects our willingness to be creative on lease term and structures, all to accommodate tenants who are grappling with rapid change in their industries,” Wainger wrote in an email. “Our bread and butter are smaller growing enterprises and contractors with immediate needs.”

Primarily, the company is hoping to ride a projected surge in new federal business in the area. Though many property owners in Rosslyn, in particular, have struggled with high vacancy rates in recent years, the developer doesn’t expect that trend to last much longer — particularly with Amazon coming to town soon.

“According to an analysis of government contracts awarded in the six zip codes in and around Arlington Tower, the data shows that nearly 370 contractors have been recently awarded or imminently expect to be awarded contracts that will notch a greater than 10 percent funding increase in 2018, with continued hikes in year-over-year funding in 2019,” the company wrote in the release. “With the ability to meet company demands — regardless of size — Space+ availability at Arlington Tower answer[s] the anticipated demand with straightforward pricing and fast move-ins to single offices, collaborative work spaces and furnished suites.”

Several other firms offering coworking offices and other flexible spaces have also opened in Rosslyn in recent months, including WeWork, Spaces, Convene and Eastern Foundry.

Custis Trail Narrows Temporarily for N. Lynn Street Project in Rosslyn

By Catherine Douglas Moran

Starting this week, construction to improve the intersection of Lee Highway and N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn will significantly narrow a portion of the Custis Trail.

The Custis Trail will be restricted to six feet wide for the section between N. Fort Meyer Drive and Lynn Street, as crews work to transform one lane of Lee Highway into additional trail width and buffer space.

The trail narrowing will last for nine to 10 months while construction takes place on the south side of the trail.

Construction on the two-year, $9.3 million project officially kicked off in May and will happen in phases to reduce impacts on pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers, according to the county.

Workers will add wider sidewalks, on-street bike lanes and improved curb ramps as the northbound and southbound sections of Lee Highway meet Lynn Street.

The project will also include improvements to the Custis Trail as it runs alongside Lee Highway, including bicycle and pedestrian facility upgrades, lane reconfiguration and widening of the trail.

For street beautification efforts, the “Corridor of Light” public art installation will get added to each of the four corners of the Interstate 66 bridge.

The county is helping to fund the construction. The project, expected to wrap up in spring 2020, will require some lane and sidewalk closures.

Photo via VDOT and rendering via Arlington County

Teacher Feedback Company Wins ‘Startup Arlington’ Competition

By Vernon Miles

Startup Monday header

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

EdConnective isn’t an Arlington startup, but starting early next year, it will be.

The Richmond-based company was chosen from 64 applicants as the winner of this year’s “Startup Arlington” competition. That means the firm will earn a temporary stay in the county, as well as some exclusive mentoring.

EdConnective’s mission is to provide virtual coaching and customized feedback for teachers. The startup launched in 2015 and has since worked in more than 30 schools throughout Virginia and surrounding states. More than 1,400 coaching sessions have been held with 70 coaches.

“EdConnective is thrilled to have been chosen as the winner of the Startup Arlington competition,” said Erik Skantze, Chief Operating Officer of EdConnective, in a press release. “Having a base of operations in Arlington will provide an enormous opportunity for us to grow our client base and to engage with investors. We look forward to an exciting and productive four months and beyond.”

According to the EdConnective website, participating teachers record a clip of their classroom instruction and share it with a coach, who shares feedback via Skype. These sessions are held twice a week for four to six weeks.

Pricing for the service ranges from $99 per session to $130 per session, depending on the package selected.

According to Arlington Economic Development, EdConnective will receive four months of rent-free lodging at Residence Inn Rosslyn and incubator space in Rosslyn at Spaces, a coworking space located in The Artisphere. The company staff will also receive transportation passes and exclusive mentoring.

The company is scheduled to start its Arlington operations next month.

Image via Startup Arlington

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn Lands Trump HQ2 — President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign will be opening a satellite office to its Trump Tower headquarters at a Rosslyn office building. Arlington has previously been home to a number of presidential campaign headquarters. [Politico]

Popular Popcorn Purveyor Opens at DCA — Chicago’s Garrett Popcorn Shops now has a second location in Arlington. Garrett’s new shop is now open in the pre-security section of Reagan National Airport near Terminal C. [Twitter]

New APS Weather Plan — “Superintendent Patrick Murphy on Dec. 6 announced a new plan for dealing with tricky-to-forecast winter storms, after the school system kept schools open for an unexpectedly potent November snowfall, a decision that sent many parents into spasms of outrage… If inclement weather threatens for the following day, Arlington school officials will announce a two-hour delay by 6 p.m. the previous evening.” [InsideNova]

Jamestown No. 1 on Best Teacher List — Arlington’s Jamestown Elementary School is No. 1 on a new list of “Greater Washington’s best public school teachers.” [Washington Business Journals]

APS Fails to Get Easement for Construction Crane — “Arlington School Board members on Dec. 20 are slated to approve an increase in the construction contract for the new elementary school being built adjacent to Thomas Jefferson Middle School totaling just over $292,000. The project initially assumed that the contractor would be able to use a tower crane on the site, but the school system was unable to come to terms with nearby property owners for the necessary easements.” [InsideNova]

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman

ACPD Investigating Stabbing in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

A woman was stabbed Saturday night on Fort Myer Drive, roughly between the Rosslyn Metro station and the Iwo Jima memorial, and police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect.

Police say the woman was stabbed by a man who approached her and then ran off, but the motive for the attack is unclear. She was rushed to a local hospital and is expected to be okay.

More from ACPD:

Arlington County Police are seeking the public’s assistance identifying a malicious wounding suspect captured on surveillance image.

At approximately 6:47 p.m. on December 8, police were dispatched to the 1600 block of Fort Myer Drive for the report of an assault. Upon arrival, it was determined the female victim was walking in the area when she was approached by an unknown male suspect. The suspect brandished a knife and stabbed the victim before fleeing the scene on foot. The victim was transported to an area hospital in stable condition.

The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 5’10” and weighing 160 pounds. He was wearing a long black trench coat and a white hat at the time of the incident.

Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact Detective G. Seibert of the Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4199 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers Hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

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