Category Archives: Virginia Square

Post-Hurricane Updates

Please visit the County’s website and check the Weather Alert on the right side of the page for emergency contact information, power outage status, event cancellations and more. Additionally, please see the County’s update regarding trash and recycling service in italics below.

Trash and Recycling Services Suspended Monday, October 29 – Tuesday, October 30:
Trash and recycling services, including brush and leaf collection, have been suspended for Monday and Tuesday due to inclement weather. Please do not put carts at the curb including bagged leaves.

-Monday/Tuesday pickup is rescheduled for Wednesday.
-Wednesday/Thursday pickup is rescheduled for Thursday
-Friday pickup is normal.

At this time, the Arlington Public Schools have not determined whether schools will be open. Please check the Schools’ website for information regarding school closings or delays.

Hurricane Sandy Trash and Recycling Update – Updated Schedule

Please see below the email from Arlington County regarding trash and recycling pickup:

All Monday and Tuesday collection services – trash, recycling, brush and leaf collection – will be deferred to Wednesday due to inclement weather. Please do not put your trash or recycling on the curb on Monday or Tuesday. Bagged leaves should be brought back from the curb to avoid leaves blowing into the street and storm drains. Once the storm has passed, crews will work to catch up on the collection schedule by the end the week (Saturday COB).

  • Monday/Tuesday customers should put bring trash and recycling to the curb on Wednesday morning
  • Wednesday/Thursday customers should bring trash and recycling to the curb on Thursday
  • Friday customers should still put their trash and recycling on the curb on Friday

Note that it may take crews an additional day to get to your route, but we do expect to complete this week’s service by Saturday. Thank you for your patience!

Please continue to watch for an announcement regarding brush collection following the storm. Additional services may be provided depending on the amount of storm damage.

New Site Plan Proposal For Virginia Square

The Site Plan Review Committee will be holding a meeting at 7:00pm this Monday, October 22nd to discuss the proposal to build an apartment building at 3601and 3625 Fairfax Drive. We encourage all members of the neighborhood to attend if they are able to hear more about the applicant’s site plan. While we will have that opportunity at a later date, those that attend Monday’s meeting will not be able to ask questions or give input. It will be purely informational.The applicant will be attending a future BVSCA meeting where we will have the opportunity to give input and ask questions.

The Site Plan Review Committee meeting will be held in Room 311of the County Office Building, which is located on the 3rd floor. Please look at the staff report for the project, which includes an agenda for Monday’s meeting and subsequent Site Plan Review Committee meetings. Monday’s meeting will be in lieu of our normal monthly membership meetings.

Mosaic Park Update

Please see the email from County Staff regarding the construction of Mosaic Park below. Thank you to Allyson Ugarte for her continued participation in this community process.

Dear Mosaic Park Stakeholders:

I am writing to inform you that there will soon be an improvement to Mosaic Park. As you may know, the County purchased Mack’s Auto to incorporate this area into the Park and we are about to begin demolition of the auto repair shop. This work will begin within two weeks and conclude this summer. We do not anticipate using existing park space for demolition.

Once completed, the site will be grassed, usable, and combined with the existing Park. Within the next few years, the entire park will be redeveloped as the result of a larger project. For information on this overall effort (Mosaic Park Master Plan & Design), please visit our website at http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/parksrecreation/scripts/planning/MasterPlanning/page65582.aspx. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact me.

Thank you,

Scott McPartlin
Urban Planner
Park Development Division
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 414
Arlington, VA 22201
703-228-0929
smcpartlin@arlingtonva.us

3901 Fairfax Dr. Construction Schedule

Please attend our next membership meeting which will be held on May 29 at 7:00pm in Room 716 (located on the 7th floor) to hear a presentation about the construction schedule for the 3901 Fairfax Drive (Arlington Funeral Home) site. For more information, please view the Demolition Site Utilization Plan. Should you have any questions regarding the above, please contact Christopher Lukawski at 703-547-6829 or by email at cjl@crimsonpartners.net.

Glebe & Randolph Park Temporary Improvements Community Meeting

Arlington County will be holding a public meeting on Tuesday, May 15th at the Washington-Lee High School Little Theater on 1301 N. Stafford Street at 7:00 pm to present and discuss temporary improvements at Glebe and Randolph Park.

If you have questions, please contact Scott McPartlin, Senior Park and Open Space Planner, at smcpartlin@arlingtonva.us

Earth Day at GMU Today

What are you doing today to celebrate Earth Day? See GMU’s press release below. We encourage everyone to participate.

Attend Mason’s Arlington Earth Week Community Fair on Sunday, April 22, 12-3 PM. Rain or shine, the fair will be in Founders Hall – Mason’s eco-friendly building. The event is FREE and open to the entire Arlington community.

Parking in our garage is free and we are easy walking distance from both the Clarendon & Virginia Square Metro stops.

– Enjoy over 40 green-friendly exhibitors

– Bid on amazing artist rain barrels created by
Arlington Public Schools

– See who wins the inaugural Green Patriot
Award

– Kids Show: “Go Green With Gunston”

– Food, music, face painters & balloon artists

– Learn about energy efficient vehicles and
hear from the real-life “Car Free Diet” heroes

– Get great tips on going green in the garden

– BONUS: CARBON LEAF performance!

Police Training Exercise Tomorrow in Oakland Park

The BVSCA has been notified that the Arlington County Police Department will be holding training exercises in Oakland Park this Saturday, March 10, 2012, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Please read the Police Department’s advisory and also see the story about it on www.ArlNow.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@ballstoncivic.org.

County Board Approves Funeral Home Site Plan

The Planning Commission met on January 11, 2012, to discuss the proposed site plan amendment. Planning Commissioners expressed concern about the project, especially the absence of a Scope of Work and Business Plan for the black box theater. Despite the Commission’s concerns, the Commission voted 9-2 to recommend that the Board adopt the site plan amendment. Please see the Commissions comments to the County Board regarding the project in the Commission’s revised letter.

The County Board approved a site plan amendment for the Arlington Funeral Home site (3901 Fairfax Drive, SP #386) on Saturday, January 21, 2012, by a unanimous vote. The project provides significant community benefits, including a black box theater, an expansive plaza, and a bonus density contribution for improvements to open space. County Staff convened meetings with the Arts community and hired a theater consultant to draft a Scope of Work for the black box theater. While the Scope of Work does provide great deal about how the space is supposed to be designed, it does leave substantial unanswered questions.

First, the payment of operating costs for the black box theater are not addressed within the Scope of Work. County Staff and Arts Commissioners stated that operating expenses would be roughly $250,000 per year. County Board members expressed reluctance about having the County fund yearly operating costs for the facility, especially in lieu of the current budget implications of the Artisphere. Terry Holzheimer, head of Arlington Economic Development, proffered that his office will be developing a business plan within the next six to nine months to address the issue of operating costs for the theater to ensure that it is economically sustainable.

Second, County Staff stated that while there is a Scope of Work for the black box, this plan does not address the complete needs of the theater. The space would need between $500,000 and $1 million to fit out the space for use by end-users. The additional expenses include sound and lighting equipment, completing a catwalk, furniture, and additional needs to ensure groups can use the space for performances. Board Members stated that they saw a viable black box theater as a great community benefit and wanted to ensure that it did not become empty, unused space.

The Board also asked about the bonus density contribution of roughly $1 million for improvements to open space, which is outlined in Condition #89. The condition, as written initially, set aside the bonus density contribution to be utilized for improvements to Quincy Park by 2022. The amended Condition #89 language, which may be found in the Staff Supplemental Report, allows the bonus density contribution to be used to improve other parks in the County outside of Virginia Square.

County Board Members asked the County Manager, Barbara Donnellan, and County Staff about the possibility of using the bonus density contribution to pay for the cost of the additional build out of the black box. Ms. Donnellan and Staff said that the bonus density contribution was set aside for open space improvements and could not be used for improvements to the black box. The County Manager stated that the revision to Condition #89 contained in the Supplemental Report could allow Staff to use the designated open space funds from this project to pay for improvements to other parks, which could potentially free up County funds to pay for the complete fit out of the black box theater. Ms. Donnellan was careful to say that while this change would open this possibility, that there was no guarantee funding would be available for the black box fit out.

If you have additional questions about this site plan or would like to be involved in the consideration of future site plans, please send us an email at info@ballstoncivic.org

County Board Approves Virginia Square Towers Complex

Our Association has been involved in this project for many months, including participating in four Site Plan Review Committee meetings to discuss the proposal. The BVSCA submitted a letter to the Planning Commission and Board Members on September 6 which contained our remaining concerns about the site plan. The letter stated opposition to the designation of “flex” space along the Wilson frontage of the project and raised concern about safety of the plaza on the new 9th St N, specifically with regard to the new interactive water feature. After the Planning Commission considered the project, the Commission also stated their opposition to the designation of “flex” space along Wilson Blvd in their letter to the Board.

Representatives from our civic association spoke at public comment during the Board’s consideration of the project on Saturday, September 17. Chairman Zimmerman and other members of the Board agreed with our Association and the Planning Commission that there should not be “flex” space as part of this project. Therefore, the Board adopted an amendment to the site plan condition #63, which eliminated the proposed “flex” space along the Wilson frontage, and made all the commercial space on both Wilson Blvd and Fairfax Dr dedicated, service commercial. After consideration, the County Board approved the Virginia Square Towers site plan in a unanimous vote.

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