Virginia Square

Parkmobile Now Available In Clarendon, Ballston

By Ethan Rothstein
1/3

Arlington has accelerated its Parkmobile rollout, installing the smartphone app service in Clarendon, Ballston and Virginia Square over the weekend.

The mobile app allows users to enter their parking “zone” number and pay from their phone with pre-saved credit card and vehicle information. It has been in use in D.C. since 2011, and it was first introduced in Crystal City and Shirlington in July, and Pentagon City soon after. Clarendon and Ballston were expected to have the service available “by winter,” county officials said at the time, but the timeline has been pushed up.

“Due to the success of the app, we’re accelerating our rollout schedule,” county Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Jessica Baxter said. “We’re anticipating that the service will be available at all the remaining sectors — Courthouse, Rosslyn and Columbia Pike — by the end of the year.”

Baxter said that, to date, the app has already processed more than 18,200 transactions in Arlington.

The county has 5,329 metered spots, all of which are now expected to be Parkmobile-eligible by 2015. According to Parkmobile CEO Cherie Fuzzell, the app is responsible for 56 percent of D.C.’s parking revenue.

In 2013, when ARLnow.com first reported the county was planning on implementing smartphone payment for parking meters, then-Treasurer Francis O’Leary said there’s a chance revenue could increase from mobile payments, since they wouldn’t pose the convenience or time issues some have with the kiosks currently installed.

Hat tip to Bill Colton

New Va. Square Condo Building Plans Fall Opening

By Ethan Rothstein
1/3

The AKA Virginia Square extended stay hotel is undergoing a conversion into a condominium building and plans to open this fall.

The building, at 3409 Wilson Blvd, was purchased by Bethesda-based The Goldstar Group. The company has rebranded the building as Arc 3409, saying it will featuer “luxury condos.” The sale went through this spring, and by May the hotel was no longer taking reservations as it prepared to close.

Goldstar Senior Vice President Eric May said the company plans to open the building in mid-September, and to start sending out information about asking prices and individual units later this summer. May said the prices for the 85 units in the building have yet to be determined.

The renovations, May said, include replacing floors, kitchens and re-fitting the units. No structural work needed to be done, he said, because the building, built in 2008, was originally intended to be condominiums before it was sold to become, essentially, a short-term rental apartment building.

“The building itself is very different from Arlington standard,” May said. “It’s not brick box. It’s got angles, curves, glass and it’s a cool building. The units themselves are cool units, some of them have floor-to-ceiling glass and most of them have balconies. It’s more of cutting-edge D.C. design than you typically see in Arlington.”

The building is two blocks from the Virginia Square Metro station, but the location and the appeal of the unusual building were just part of the equation for Goldstar’s purchase.

“There is a huge lack of supply of new or any condos in Arlington right now,” May said. “There’s very little to no new product, so we saw an opportunity to bring to market effectively new condominiums at prices that are going to be competitive.”

Free Smoothies in Va. Square for ‘National Flip Flop Day’

By ARLnow.com

Brown flip flops Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Virginia Square

Friday is apparently the 8th annual “National Flip Flop Day,” and the Tropical Smoothie Cafe store in Virginia Square will be giving out free smoothies to mark the occasion.

From 2:00 to 7:00 p.m., the store at 3811 N. Fairfax Drive will be giving away free 24 ounce strawberry banana smoothies to anyone wearing flip flops, according to owner Marcus Barnett.

“This is a nationwide event that all Tropical Smoothies will be participating in and is absolutely free to anyone that comes in wearing flip flops,” Barnett told ARLnow.com. “Donations will be accepted… all proceeds will go to benefit Camp Sunshine.”

Camp Sunshine is a retreat in Maine for children with life-threatening illnesses. It’s offered free of charge to children and their immediate families and offers on-site medical and psychosocial support.

Man Arrested for Attacking, Robbing Elderly Man

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:3o p.m. on 12/23/21) A Maryland man has been arrested for allegedly attacking and robbing an 87-year-old Arlington resident.

The incident took place around 4:50 p.m. Saturday afternoon on the 3800 block of 9th Street N., in the Virginia Square area. Police say Melvin [Redacted], 57, grabbed the 87-year-old man by the neck and threw him to the ground before robbing him of the cash in his wallet and fleeing on foot.

“A witness immediately came to the assistance of the victim and contacted police, providing a detailed description of the assailant,” according to an Arlington County Police Department press release. “The victim sustained minor injuries and was treated by medics on scene. At approximately 5:00 p.m., an officer located and detained the suspect on the platform of the Ballston Metro Station.”

[Redacted], a Capitol Heights, Md. resident, was charged with robbery and held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

View of the D.C. monuments and skyline from a flight arriving at DCA

H-B Woodlawn Administrator Dies — H-B Woodlawn assistant principal Dr. Mary McBride died unexpectedly on Monday, May 26. McBride, who started her career at H-B Woodlawn as a teacher, was 70. [Legacy.com]

Torrez Sentenced to Death — Convicted rapist and murderer Jorge Torrez was formally sentenced to death Friday. The former Marine strangled a female sailor to death on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in 2009. He is also accused of killing two young girls in Illinois on Mother’s Day 2005. [Stars and Stripes]

Euille and Levine: No Regrets — At a debate Friday at a meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee, congressional candidates Bill Euille and Mark Levine couldn’t come up with an answer when asked what policy positions they’ve taken that they’ve later regretted. Patrick Hope and Adam Ebbin both regret supporting mandatory minimum sentencing, Don Beyer regrets opposing same-sex marriage in the 1990s, and Lavern Chatman said she regrets opposing medical marijuana. [InsideNova]

Testicle Festival Held Saturday — The 10th annual Testicle Festival was held in Virginia Square on Saturday. One attendee said of the Rocky Mountain Oyster tasting: “People who don’t come here and don’t try the balls aren’t living a full life.” [WTOP]

Testicle Festival Returns This Saturday

By Ethan Rothstein

Testicle Festival 2012 in Virginia SquareThe 10th annual Testicle Festival, a celebration revolving around Rocky Mountain Oysters and the state of Montana, will be held this Saturday evening in Arlington’s Virginia Square neighborhood.

Running from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. at the American Legion Post 139 (3445 Washington Blvd), “Testy Fest” will feature all-you-can-eat fried bull testicles prepared by Frank McGraw, “Montana’s most famous ball chef,” according to the festival’s organizer, the Montana State Society.

Testicle Festival 2014 logoTickets for the festival are $25 online and $30 at the door. In addition to the “oysters,” beer and Crown Royal whiskey will be served and there will be live country music performed by the Wil Gravatt Band.

Attendees must be 21 years or older. The first 100 in the door will get a free Testicle Festival T-shirt with this year’s theme, “Nuttin’ Better.” T-shirts will also be available for purchase.

“You’d be NUTS to miss this!” organizers said of the event.

File photo (above)

Va. Square Extended Stay Hotel to Become Condominiums

By Ethan Rothstein

AKA Virginia Square (photo via AKA)AKA Virginia Square, an extended-stay hotel at 3409 Wilson Blvd, will be closing later this month and will undergo a renovation in order to be converted into condominiums.

The building was sold recently, according to an AKA employee, and the hotel is no longer taking reservations as it prepares to close.

Attempts to reach AKA representatives who could further discuss the sale were unsuccessful. The hotel was constructed within the last 10 years and, we’re told, it was originally intended to be a condominium building. So far, there’s no word on when the building will re-open or start selling units.

Photo via AKA

Displaced MMA Studio to Move Across from W-L High School

By Ethan Rothstein

Nova MMA (photo via Google Maps)Northern Virginia Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness, the martial arts and Crossfit studio next to Wilson Tavern in Courthouse, is moving to a studio across the street from Washington-Lee High School.

The new location, at 1425 N. Quincy Street, was necessitated by the plans to tear down Nova MMA’s building and replace it with a hotel. According to Nova MMA’s Facebook page, the gym will move into its new location on June 2.

The new location will be 18,000 square feet of first floor warehouse space, double the space for Crossfit and dedicated rooms for Ultimate Fitness Kickboxing classes, grappling, and striking/Krav Maga classes. A 20-foot-by-20-foot boxing ring and heavy bags will be in the striking area, according to Facebook.

When the hotel, planned to be a Hyatt Place, was approved, the Washington Business Journal reported Wilson Tavern was considering a move to Ballston, but nothing has been made official yet. Schupp Companies, which owns the property and is coordinating the redevelopment, hopes to break ground in June.

Photo via Google Maps

Man Arrested After Pepper Spraying GMU Law Prof

By ARLnow.com

George Mason University's Arlington campus (photo via Google Maps)A George Mason University law professor was pepper sprayed in his classroom today after a man tried to place him under a citizen’s arrest, according to Arlington County police.

The incident happened at GMU’s Arlington campus, near Virginia Square, around 3:00 p.m. Police say the man entered the classroom and attempted to place the professor under a citizen’s arrest. The professor tried to get the man — described as a white male in his 20s or 30s — to leave, at which time the man pepper sprayed him and a scuffle ensued, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

The professor did not know the man, Sternbeck said.

An off-duty police officer heard the commotion and tried to intervene. The suspect fled but was arrested outside the school by Arlington County police officers, according to Stenbeck. He’s now being questioned by police. Several charges are pending.

Paramedics evaluated the professor and about a dozen students who were in the classroom at the time and suffered residual effects from the pepper spray. There were no reports of anyone being taken to the hospital.

Photo via Google Maps

GMU Expands Presence… In Faulty Va. Square Metro Sign

By ARLnow.com

Erroneous Metro signage at Virginia Square (photo via @DCtransitnerd)

Some erroneous new signage in the Virginia Square Metro station would have one believe that George Mason University is greatly expanding its local presence beyond Arlington and Fairfax County.

The sign correctly labels the station it’s in as “Virginia Sq-GMU” — but then labels the first Orange/Blue Line station in the District of Columbia as “Foggy Bottom-GMU.” Flip the M upside down and you get the correct abbreviation for the institution of higher education in Foggy Bottom, George Washington University.

The error was pointed out this afternoon in a Twitter post that was retweeted by the tireless, anonymous WMATA critic Unsuck DC Metro. “Unsuck” subsequently opined: “If Metro can’t even get signs right, what’s going on with the tracks, trains and other safety gear?”

Photo via @DCtransitnerd

Va. Square Snowball Fight Attracts Big Crowd

By Ethan Rothstein
1/16

More than a hundred people gathered in Quincy Park in Virginia Square yesterday afternoon to participate in the Battle at Ballston snowball fight.

Snowball fight organizer Danny Douglass set up a game area and held four dodgeball-style games, with more than 90 people participating in some of the matches.

Douglass said he was drinking at Wilson Tavern (2403 Wilson Blvd) Saturday night with some friends when he had the idea. Sunday night, he launched a website, created a Facebook event and got a sponsor — Wilson Tavern, naturally — and a charity for which to collection donations: Research Down Syndrome.

“We were just talking about it and thought it would be fun,” Douglass told ARLnow.com between games, for which he served as referee. “I had no idea so many people would show up. I was expecting no more than 25 or 30, just my D.C. street hockey friends. But very few people here are friends of ours.”

Douglass got help organizing — and refereeing — from his friend Robert Heintz and Wilson Tavern bar manager Conor Mattil. Mattil said he went around other Courthouse-area bars and recruited people to participate Sunday night.

“Once the charity got involved, it was more than just drunken fun,” Mattil said. “Hopefully we do this every time it snows and it will keep picking up.”

The event generated well over $100 for the charity.

Friends Manuel Cordoves and Van Dang were among the participants who heard about the snowball fight from word of mouth. Each have lived in the area for at least two years and this was the first snowball fight in which they had participated.

“It’s been a while since there was enough snow,” Dang said. “It was much more fun, and more organized, than I expected.”

“I was expecting more of a free-for-all,” Cordoves added. “It was great that so many people came out and it was so organized.”

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