A space under Arlington Rooftop near Courthouse that was once home to a Subway.
A space under Arlington Rooftop near Courthouse that was once home to a Subway.
The Subway restaurant on Wilson Blvd near Courthouse has closed.
The space the fast food eatery once occupied at 2424 Wilson Blvd, under the Arlington Rooftop Bar & Grill, now sits empty. Signs currently list the space for lease.
A tipster first notified ARLnow about the Subway’s closure last week, noting that a sign was posted at the shop thanking patrons for stopping by the business for the last 15 years.
As of Monday, however, that sign was gone, and all of the restaurant’s furniture and equipment had been removed from the site.
Anyone craving a sub won’t have to go far to find other options, though — Subway’s website shows seven other restaurants along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor alone.
The left-hand lane of westbound Wilson Blvd is blocked at N. Nelson Street in Virginia Square due to a sinkhole in the roadway.
The sinkhole is relatively shallow, but large enough to cause concern of it deepening. Crews were on scene as of 10:30 a.m., investigating the cause of the roadway indentation.
Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services encourages residents to report potholes and other road issues on its website.
A rendering of improvements at the intersection of Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards (via Arlington County)
Construction on Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse
Construction on Clarendon Blvd in Courthouse
Work is wrapping up on improvements to one of Courthouse’s trickiest intersections, with some night paving set to close a few streets this week.
The county is putting the finishing touches on some changes to sidewalks and bus stops around the intersection of Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards, near the Courthouse Metro station. Starting last night (Tuesday), workers began paving the area and the county expects the work to last through Friday (Sept. 7).
Arlington officials are advising drivers to avoid the area where Clarendon Blvd meets N. Veitch Street and 15th Street N. during the paving, set to run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through the rest of the week.
Workers permanently closed the lane turning from Clarendon Blvd. to 15th Street N. in March, and have spent the ensuing months widening the sidewalks in the area and adding a new bus stop to accommodate additional Arlington Transit service in the area. The county hopes the project “will improve pedestrian safety, circulation and access in and around Courthouse Plaza,” per its website.
Construction was originally set to wrap up sometime this winter, but the county says it’s now “nearing completion, ahead of schedule.”
The former American Tap Room in Clarendon (file photo)
Plans for the “FootFire” gym that could be on the way for 3101 Wilson Blvd in Clarendon (via Arlington County)
A boutique fitness studio could soon move into the space once occupied by the American Tap Room in Clarendon.
A gym branded as “FootFire” is applying for a use permit to open in a 49,200-square-foot space adjacent to an office building at 3101 Wilson Blvd, according to documents filed with the county on July 17.
Located just across from the Clarendon Metro station, the space has sat empty since the American Tap Room closed its doors in 2016. The restaurant had struggled for years with noise complaints from neighbors and the area’s high rent prices.
Lawyers for Christopher Hoffman, the gym’s owner, wrote in a permit application that the new fitness studio “will be a member-based running, training, recovery and education center focusing on the complete training experience for runners and other endurance athletes of all fitness levels.”
The attorneys added that the gym will offer both indoor and outdoor running classes, including “treadmill-based courses, group outdoor running exercises, indoor weight training, yoga and stretching courses.” Plans sketched out for the facility also call for a juice bar and daycare area.
The County Board is set to consider the permit request at its first meeting of the fall on Sept. 22.
Arlington’s opened up another protected bike lane, this time connecting Rosslyn and Courthouse.
This newest lane runs along Wilson Blvd, between N. Quinn Street and N. Courthouse Road near the post office in the area. The county previously built a protected lane between N. Oak and N. Quinn Streets back in 2016.
Today's #betterbikelane update: Wilson Boulevard has a brand new protected bike lane!
The county’s added several new protected bike lanes this summer, including one along N. Veitch Street near this latest addition, as part of summer paving work around Arlington.
It has stood empty and unused for a year and a half, but there are signs that interior construction could be starting soon at the former Walgreens in Clarendon.
The branch is one of four planned for the D.C. area as part of an expansion of the financial giant’s consumer banking arm. The company purchased the property at 2825 Wilson Blvd for $25 million, according to the Washington Business Journal.
Asked for additional details, including an expected opening date, a JPMorgan Chase spokesman said the company has “no further information to provide at this time.”
A rendering of the renovated 4201 Wilson Blvd (photo courtesy Jamestown LLP)
A rendering of the renovated 4201 Wilson Blvd (photo courtesy Jamestown LLP)
A rendering of the renovated 4201 Wilson Blvd (photo courtesy Jamestown LLP)
A rendering of the renovated 4201 and 4121 Wilson Blvd (photo courtesy Jamestown LP)
A rendering of the Ballston Exchange’s planned plaza (photo courtesy Jamestown LP)
The former National Science Foundation headquarters (file photo)
A Brooklyn-based coworking space will become the first office tenant in the former home of the National Science Foundation’s headquarters, now known as the Ballston Exchange.
Industrious will open its third location in the D.C. area on the third floor of 4201 Wilson Blvd, according to a news release from the building’s owner, Jamestown LLP. The coworking space signed a 10-year lease at the location in a 24,795-square-foot suite.
Jamestown bought the building, as well as the adjacent 4121 Wilson Blvd, for a combined $300 million in 2015. But the NSF decided to relocate its headquarters to Alexandria last fall, spurring the property owner to kick off $140 million in renovation work at the buildings and go on the hunt for new tenants.
“The addition of Industrious shows our commitment to providing Ballston residents, workers and commuters alike with premier business and lifestyle opportunities,” Jamestown President Michael Phillips wrote in a statement.
Jamestown has already lured several restaurants to the development, with Shake Shack, We The Pizza, Philz Coffee and Cava setting up shop in recent months.
Those stores and others will line a shared courtyard between the two buildings, set to open in full by the end of the year. A pedestrian bridge will eventually connect 4201 Wilson to the newly revamped Ballston Quarter mall, but that project has encountered some delays recently.
As for Industrious, the company hopes to open its Ballston location by early 2019. It operates more than 40 coworking spaces across the country, including locations in downtown Bethesda and in D.C. near Logan Circle.
The old Ballston mall’s pedestrian bridge (file photo)
The old Ballston mall’s pedestrian bridge (file photo)
The developer behind the renovated Ballston Quarter mall is pushing back its plans to open a new pedestrian bridge over Wilson Blvd, as part of a host of proposed changes to the project.
Forest City had originally hoped to open the overhauled bridge connecting the mall to 4201 Wilson Blvd and the Metro station in time for stores to begin opening this fall. Yet work on the bridge is “currently behind schedule and is now expected to be completed in the winter or early spring of 2019,” according to a report prepared for the County Board.
Accordingly, Forest City is asking the Board to tweak some of the planning documents governing the project to account for the delay, which county staff believe will allow for “additional time for public engagement” around changes to the bridge’s renovation. Staff are recommending that the Board push off any consideration of that request until next month, though Board members won’t get a chance to vote on that recommendation until Saturday (June 16).
County staff also suggest that the Board wait until its July 14 meeting to consider a request from Forest City to add “large media screens” to the development. The big TV screens would face Wilson Blvd as part of Ballston Quarter’s west plaza. A spokeswoman for Forest City said “nothing is yet confirmed” when it comes to the purpose of the screens.
The Board could take some action related to the development on Saturday, however. Forest City is hoping to open six “outdoor cafes” as the mall welcomes back patrons in September, though construction plans originally called for some additional landscaping and construction work to be completed before those restaurants could open.
Staff noted that Forest City’s plans are “not ideal,” but they also didn’t see any “public safety risk” in letting the cafes open first. They’re recommending that the Board approve the request, then consider individual permits for each restaurant over the course of the next month.
The developer has already unveiled a variety of restaurants and retailers that will open at the mall, with plans to release more information in the coming months.
“Clarendon Circle” intersection on 1/26/17 (file photo)
Rendering of the Clarendon Circle improvements (via Arlington County)
Rendering of the Clarendon Circle improvements (via Arlington County)
Intersection of Clarendon Blvd and Washington Blvd in Clarendon in June 2018 (Staff photo)
Map of “Clarendon Circle” intersection (via Google Maps)
Plans for the Clarendon Circle improvements (via Arlington County)
Arlington could soon kick off work on improvements at one of the county’s trickiest intersections for pedestrians and cyclists.
The County Board is set to approve a $2.5 million contract for the overhaul of the “Clarendon Circle” — the area where Clarendon, Washington and Wilson Boulevards all meet, just past the Metro station.
Planners have hoped for years now to add improvements to the intersection, like shortening the distances pedestrians have to walk across roads. The work will also include the installation of additional bike lanes, the widening of Washington Boulevard to four lanes — while nixing the current reversible lanes — and the addition of upgraded traffic signals.
Plans also call for adding a “green streets” element to better manage stormwater on N. Irving Street, next to the Silver Diner.
The Board is scheduled to vote on the construction contract at its Saturday, June 16 meeting as part of its consent agenda, which is typically reserved for non-controversial items. Should Board members approve the deal, the county estimates that work could begin this fall and wrap up in the winter of 2020.
The Clarendon Circle project is designed to move in conjunction with the county’s plans to do away with the reversible lanes on Washington Boulevard and create a “T” intersection with 13th Street N. That construction is projected to kick off in the winter of 2019, after the Board voted on May 22 to let the redevelopment of the nearby Red Top Cab properties move ahead.
(Updated at 12:10 a.m.) Dozens — if not hundreds — of adoring fans flocked to Clarendon tonight (June 8) to welcome home the Washington Capitals as they brought home the Stanley Cup.
The team gathered for a private celebration at Don Tito along Wilson Blvd, and fans congregated on both sides of N. Hudson Street to cheer and offer their thanks. Players arriving at the restaurant early on included T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson and Philipp Grubauer.
Wilson even got the chance to hoist the Cup and show it off to the assembled crowd.
The Caps returned from Las Vegas earlier this afternoon, after besting the Golden Knights in five games to win D.C. its first major sports title since 1992.
ARLnow broadcast the staggered arrivals of players and the Stanley Cup on Facebook Live. The Cup can be seen in the beginning of the video.
Caps star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner and one-time Arlington resident Alexander Ovechkin arrived after our live feed ended. Later Ovi brought the Cup down from the party to show screaming, smartphone-wielding bar-goers, as seen in the video below.
Despite a brief summer thunderstorm rolling through — and Thursday’s excitement putting a slight damper on Clarendon’s Friday nightlife — the line to get into Don Tito’s remained relatively long as of 11 p.m.
More social media posts from the celebration, after the jump.
A new Turkish restaurant is now open for business near Ballston.
Istanbul Grill started serving up kebabs and other traditional Turkish fare yesterday (June 7), according to owner Turgut Yiğit. The new eatery, located at 4617 Wilson Blvd, replaces long-time Mexican restaurant El Ranchero.
Yiğit says he’s a newcomer to Arlington, but spent the last eight years working as a chef at a McLean restaurant. He added that he fully renovated the inside of the restaurant and installed all new appliances to spruce up the space.
The building was constructed back in 1949, according to county property records.
Istanbul Grill will also eventually offer beer and wine, once Yiğit’s state license is approved. He’s even planning to someday enclose the restaurant’s front-porch to offer a “European-style” experience, but those plans are a long way off, he said.
