GAINSWave Therapy in Rosslyn, VA

As transportation remains the top contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, cities are taking action to make sustainable transportation easily accessible. One county in particular is working continuously to provide a sustainable future for its residents: Arlington County.

The D.C., Maryland and Virginia area is awash with commuting options, including public transit, bike trails, walking trails, carpooling and vanpooling. And the region has displayed its commitment to sustainable transportation through initiatives including Sustainable D.C. 2.0 and Arlington Transit’s Zero Emission Bus program.

ARLINGTON, VA — With its newly renovated Courthouse library branch scheduled to open later this month and firm plans in place for a new full-service library to open in Crystal City in 2025, Arlington County now wants to take a look at the overall direction and vision of the county library system that could guide the library's growth over the next few decades.

Arlington Public Library leadership will be meeting with officials from the county manager’s office later in 2023 to discuss how the library can best provide services in the decades ahead and how the locations of the county’s library branches can best meet the needs of county residents.

“In the second half of 2023, the County Manager’s Office and Arlington Public Library leadership will engage with the community in longer-term strategic discussions about these issues and how to best provide library services in a changed and changing environment,” Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz said in his message included in the county’s fiscal year 2024 proposed budget.

In these meetings, officials will likely discuss how to prioritize competing needs of new locations, established locations, a sustainable budget for library collections, and a staffing model that provides the highest level of reliability and service for residents, according to Schwartz.

“The public library plays a pivotal role in leveling the playing field of opportunity and providing free access to all community members regardless of income or status,” Schwartz wrote. “Using data and an equity lens framework, the strategic discussion will look at how current and future library services and locations can best meet the needs of all Arlington residents, today and in the future.”

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Any recommendations that come out of the 2023 meetings could be included in the county’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, according to the county manager.

Schwartz emphasized that Arlington County remains committed to its libraries, "a highly valued and trusted resource in the community."

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent labor market issues hit library services particularly hard due to an over-reliance on temporary employees, according to the county manager. Now that the libraries are back to regular service, the county manager is recommending a review of future facility and materials funding for the system.

Arlington’s population has grown from 135,449 in 1950 to an estimated 235,500 in 2022. A lot of this growth has occurred in the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor and the Richmond Highway Corridor. Together with the Columbia Pike Corridor, 84 percent of Arlington’s population growth is forecast to occur in these three planning corridors between 2020 and 2045, according to the county manager.

Since 1950, though, the general siting of Arlington public library locations has remained largely unchanged. In 1950, the library locations in Arlington were Aurora Hills, Cherrydale, Clarendon (now Central), Columbia Pike, Glencarlyn, Fairlington (now Shirlington), and Westover.

Aside from the remodeled and expanded Courthouse library scheduled to open in March inside the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center, the most recent change to the county’s libraries was the Westover library moving in 2009 from its cozy location on 18th Street N. to a larger building at the corner of N. McKinley Road and Washington Blvd., next to the new Cardinal Elementary School.

ALSO READ: TikTok Of Arlington Public Library Shows Ease Of Library Card Signup

“After nearly 15 years, Arlington Public Library is about to embark on a time of growth, which brings the opportunity to reach new and more Arlington residents with library services,” Schwartz wrote in his county manager’s message in the budget proposal.

As part of this growth, the county will be looking at the future of the Columbia Pike library branch. With Arlington Public Schools’ planned expansion of the Arlington Career Center building, which has housed the Columbia Pike library since 1975, the county purchased just under an acre at 3108 Columbia Pike in 2022.

The location is identified as a potential site for a future Columbia Pike library and for co-locating affordable housing, one of the county’s top priorities, Schwartz wrote. The site on Columbia Pike currently has a surface parking lot.

As for currently approved plans, the newly renovated library in the Bozman building’s lobby will offer children’s services for the first time and offer similar hours to the county's other neighborhood-based locations, including evening and Saturday hours.

As part of a residential redevelopment project, JBG Smith is financially supporting a new 7,200-square-foot library location at 1901 S. Bell Street in Crystal City. The full-service library is scheduled to open in 2025.

A 36-story, 331-room “state of the art” Hilton hotel is coming to Rosslyn.

The hospitality giant this morning announced the signing of an agreement to operate the high-rise hotel on the former Holiday Inn site. With rooms overlooking D.C. and the Potomac River, the hotel will also feature a rooftop event space and 28,000 square feet of meeting space.

More from a press release:

Today, Hilton announces the signing of Hilton at The Key, Arlington-Rosslyn, providing even more options to travelers looking for a state of the art, full-service hotel just minutes from Washington, D.C. Located at the foot of the Potomac River’s historic Francis Scott Key Bridge in Arlington, Virginia, the 36-story, 331-room property is surrounded by numerous corporate headquarters based in Rosslyn’s business district and minutes from the 11-acre riverfront Fort Bennett Park and Palisades Trail.

The modern hotel is under development as part of The Key, a project that includes a destination restaurant, street-level retail, and 517 luxury apartments with panoramas of the water and the nation’s capital. Once completed, Hilton at The Key will feature approximately 28,000 square feet of flexible and modern meeting spaces, including an event space on the 36th floor with sweeping 360-degree views of the Washington, D.C., skyline, the Potomac River and Arlington, Virginia.

“Dittmar Company is proud to partner with Hilton as we bring a true destination meeting and event facility to Arlington, Virginia, and the surrounding DMV area,” said Greg Raines, an executive at Dittmar Company.

The 18-story, 50-year-old Holiday Inn was imploded two years ago to make way for the massive new development, which has since been dubbed The Key. A construction update last month noted that crews were preparing to pour concrete for the tenth floor of the building.

The development’s 500+ unit rental apartment building has been christened “Rosslyn Towers.”

“Rosslyn Towers is the latest in the Dittmar Company portfolio of Arlington Luxury Multi-Family deliveries,” says The Key’s website. “The residences will have first class finishes to rival the unmatched location and views present at this iconic location.”

The apartment’s “uplifting live/work/play environment” will feature “an amenity package that is second to none.”

“A 3,000+ square feet fitness center will boast all modern fitness concepts, including fitness on demand,” the website says. “A sports simulator will be located within the large game room to allow interaction with the sports you love, while enjoying the company of others and multiple TVs. A business center, quiet rooms, and community rooms will all be available on the amenity floor and will seamlessly integrate with the 15,000 square foot exterior amenity deck. This deck will have multiple grilling stations, outdoor pool, green space for activities, and much more.”

The Washington Business Journal reported this morning that the apartments are expected to open before the hotel.

” The first of the multifamily units are slated to deliver in early 2024, to be followed by other components including the hotel by 2026 if not sooner,” WBJ reported.

More on the hotel plans, below, from the Hilton press release.

Located within steps of the Rosslyn Metro Station, Georgetown and the National Mall, The Key is also conveniently less than five minutes from Reagan International Airport, making Hilton at The Key an ideal hotel destination for business and leisure travelers. Previously home to a 307-room full-service hotel for more than 50 years, the original hotel was demolished to make way for The Key, a brand-new 1.3-million-square-foot development.

“For more than a century, Hilton Hotels & Resorts has set the benchmark for hospitality around the world. The signing of Hilton at The Key, Arlington-Rosslyn heralds an exciting addition to the global footprint of our flagship brand right in our own backyard,” said Leonard Gooz, global brand head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts. “This new development will be located in the most prime location of the area and will be a highly desired destination for leisure and business travelers visiting northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C., metro area.”

Hilton at The Key will also be part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton’s 18 distinct hotel brands. Members who book directly have access to instant benefits, including a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose nearly any combination of Points and money to book a stay, an exclusive member discount, free standard Wi-Fi and the Hilton Honors mobile app.

RetailersChicago-based Foxtrot will open a new location in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday, expanding its presence in the DMV area.

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Foxtrot, a label-defying hybrid of urban convenience store, local market and café, will open its sixth Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia (DMV)-area location on Friday in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Virginia, the Chicago-based retailer said on Monday.

Located at 1771 Pierce St. in Arlington, the 4,077-square-foot store will feature the “biggest product assortment Foxtrot has available,” the retailer said in a statement.

Foxtrot’s all-day café offerings include seasonal café drinks, smoothies, breakfast tacos, chef-prepared salads and bowls, and grab-and-go meals for lunch and dinner. The store also contains local craft beers and wines hand-selected by an in-house sommelier, as well as everyday grocery essentials. The store will offer delivery and pickup.

Looking to expand its homegrown offerings, Foxtrot currently carries more than 150 local products from over 50 local makers and will continue to add new brands to its shelves. Local brands interested in being featured on Foxtrot’s shelves can submit their products here. Foxtrot currently has 23 locations across Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Dallas, with plans to continue expansion in both existing and new markets this fall.

As part of the store’s opening celebration, live music, food and drinks and other features will be held on Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Shoppers who download and use the Foxtrot app opening week will receive a gift while supplies last, the retailer said in a statement.

Founded by Mike LaVitola and Taylor Bloom in 2014, Foxtrot, which raised $100 million in a Series C funding round led by D1 Capital Partners last year, calls itself "the convenience store of the future."There are currently 23 Foxtrot locations across the cities of Chicago, Washington D.C. and Dallas with stores in Austin, Texas, coming soon.

The following deep dive was funded by and first sent to members of the ARLnow Press Club. Join today to support local journalism and to get the exclusive Early Morning Notes email with previews of the day’s stories.

River Place in Rosslyn is perhaps one of the most well-known multifamily complexes in the county.

The series of four buildings containing about 1,720 units between Route 50 and Wilson Blvd make up the cooperative complex that was built seven decades ago. Despite its age, River Place remains valued by residents, owners and real estate agents.

In conversations, phrases like “oasis of affordability,” “jewel of Rosslyn,” “prime location,” and “views that… can’t be beat in the market” get tossed around with regularity.

But what makes River Place truly unique is that it very well could be on borrowed time.

It’s a fact that has been known for awhile, as detailed in this 1982 Washington Post article. The complex was built in the early 1950s on top of 13 acres of land owned by a developer. That land is, essentially, rented from the developer through an agreement that’s known as a “ground lease.”

In 1953, a 99-year lease was agreed to, meaning River Place’s lease runs out in 2052 — 30 years from now. That timeframe, of course, holds a good deal of significance for those looking to take on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in order to buy a property inside of the complex.

Today, the underlying land is owned by local real estate development firm Monday Properties.

When the lease expires in 2052, Monday Properties will be able to do whatever it wants with the well-located land in Rosslyn. Theoretically, Monday Properties — or a new developer, if Monday ends up selling the land — could demolish the by-then century-old River Place.

This potential would leave unit owners out in the cold and their investment, essentially, a pile of bricks.

Monday Properties hasn’t disclosed its plans just yet.

James Marandi, president of the River Places Owners Association, tells ARLnow that neither he, the association, nor the committee assembled to deal with the ground lease situation has had any “recent” conversations with the company.

Monday Properties wouldn’t discuss the situation with ARLnow, either. When reached for comment, a company spokesperson said in an email that Monday Properties does “not have a comment on this story.”

An Arlington County spokesperson tells ARLnow that there isn’t much the county can do.

“​​This is a private property matter, which limits what the County can do,” the spokesperson said. “This is a matter between the building occupants and the landowner.”

This uncertainty has left some unit owners and residents thinking, perhaps even anxious, about an uncertain future that’s now not as far off as it once was.

“We are not necessarily nervous yet. Thirty years is a long way away,” Marandi tells ARLnow. “But we do realize that the lease expires and something has to be done.”

The unresolved ground lease situation also could have a direct impact on the accessibility of lower-priced housing stock in Arlington, a long-running concern that the county is now trying to grapple with.

As of Friday afternoon, there appeared to be 15 River Place condos for sale on Zillow. All of the units were listed for sale under $300,000, with most under $200,000.

The average price for a home in Arlington, as of earlier this year and including townhomes and condos, is more than $800,000.

In theory, this could make River Place one of the best buys in the Arlington market. But the expiring land lease makes it potentially inaccessible for some.

Dan Perez is a veteran real estate agent with the Keri Shull Team who’s been involved in at least a dozen deals at River Place. According to his data, the average sale price for a River Place unit so far this year is just over $158,000.

The unresolved situation has undoubtedly played a part in pushing prices down, he says. However, banks are eyeing that 2052 date and are already hesitating to lend to buyers who would be taking out a conventional 30-year mortgage.

“Lenders are starting to be a little bit hesitant with lending,” Perez says. “Typically, they are going to require 25% to 40% down [payment] and [interest] rates are usually about a point higher than normal.”

The need for more cash and a less favorable interest rate has pushed what would otherwise be affordable properties out of reach for some.

Because of these parameters, Perez says he’s had a lot of investors looking to buy and then lease out units at River Place contacting him recently. It’s a great deal, he notes, if you have a lot of cash on hand.

“If you pay cash or if you can put a significant amount of money down and have a small mortgage, then it’s one of the best cash flow properties in Arlington.”

That 1982 Washington Post story, with the headline “River Place Co-Op is Selling Borrowed Time,” starts by describing an ad showing young people coming across the Memorial Bridge with all of their belongings in order to move into River Place.

Marandi remembers that ad, having first moved into the complex when he was a student in 1982. Two years later, he bought his first property there.

As a long-time property owner and, now, president of the owners association, he’s known that River Place’s time is ticking. He loves the building and co-op he bought into nearly 40 years ago and believes that River Place still has many good years ahead of it.

“Even though the beautiful brick structure may look to some people, compared to the glass and the steel structures around us, a little bit historic, the insides have been upgraded, updated, and fully maintained,” he says.

But Marandi admits he’s concerned that the situation remains unsettled and the place he’s called home might end up becoming rubble with little recourse.

There are a few scenarios that could play out. One is that Monday Properties could simply negotiate with stakeholders and extend the land lease. Or they could buy out the co-op’s interests prior to the lease ending, as a Wall Street Journal story suggested in 2019.

Others involve Monday Properties selling the 13 acres in Rosslyn to another developer. No one really knows how much that land is worth, but as Marandi put it, “it’s not going to be cheap.”

At that point, the question would be will the new developer keep River Place or demolish it?

No one, but perhaps Monday Properties, knows the answer to that question or any other around the future of the four buildings that have graced Rosslyn’s skyline for seven decades.

“I look forward to hearing from someone soon,” says Marandi. “My door is always open.”