The Buckingham Herald Tribblog

Representatives of Harris Teeter, Goodyear, and the American Service Center have been meeting with each other over months to discuss possible redevelopment options in the 500 and 600 block of N. Glebe Road. The potential changes—a long-shot at best—would completely change the look of the block, especially the section north from the Harris Teeter grocery store to the Goodyear Tire company at the corner of N. Carlin Springs Road. The ideas floating would move or expand the businesses, creating underground or garage parking, retail space and apartments.

This is according to Terry Serie, an Arlington County Planning Commission member who spoke at the Buckingham Community Civic Association last night. (He actually was invited as a member of the Bluemont Civic Association, and was not speaking officially for the Planning Commission last night.)

The companies have been speaking on their own, and the Planning Commission hopes to get all of them in the room together this summer to see what, if anything, would be worth pursuing, Mr. Serie said.

“I’m expecting that nothing will happen,” he said, given the complexity and scope of a project like this.

He said that last year’s proposed redevelopment of the Goodyear and the small house on N. Carlin Springs next to the tire company is currently off-line, but that has nothing to do with the discussions with the other companies, he said.

The Planning Commission is a citizen advisory board that helps the elected county board with "orderly development of the locality" the county's web site says.

The topic that Mr. Serie actually came to speak about, however, was the newly approved outdoor seating at the Union Jack’s pub, located on the ground floor of the Ballston Commons Mall with a store-front on N. Glebe Road. The outdoor space allows for 54 seats, but many more people than that for standing room. Couple that with Rock Bottom Brewery’s Wednesday night outdoor kegger next door, and the noise, especially in the evening is a bit much for people living in the townhouses across the street from the mall, said Mr. Serie, who lives in one of the townhouses, part of the Bluemont Civic Association.

That civic association only learned last week about the proposed expansion of the outdoor seating, too late to mount an effective campaign. Plus, the company scaled back its plan so that it did not need the complicated Site Plan review or an Arlington County Board vote. County staff could OK the project on their own, consulting only the Ashton Heights Civic Association where the mall is located.

Bluemont Civic Association voted to write a letter to County Manager Ron Carlee, asking that Bluemont receive notices of decisions being made in the 600 block of N. Glebe Road that face the Bluemont, even though the mall and garage property are inside the Ashton Heights neighborhood.

The BCCA voted to write a similar letter.

Also speaking at the BCCA meeting was Tom Hutchings, an Arlington County planner who ran through the $2.4 million renovations of three N. Glebe Road intersections at Fairfax Drive, Wilson Blvd., and Carlin Springs Road, called the North Glebe Road Pedestrian Improvements Project. This has been years in the making, and much of the construction has already been completed.

Wider sidewalks and skirts on the Exxon gas station and Goodyear corners has been completed, as has been shrub removal —allowing greater driver/pedestrian visibility—on the median just south of the intersection.

The most heated of the discussions among the people was how best to calm traffic entering and exiting the Ballston Mall parking garage.

Mr. Hutchings explained that planners tried to place raised crosswalks across the entrance to the garage, but the Virginia Department of Transportation would not allow it.

“We were hoping the bump-up would slow the cars down,” he said. VDOT also would not allow 10.5 foot traffic lanes, insisting instead on 11 feet.

People talked about getting better signs alerting drivers to watch for pedestrians. Mr. Hutchings said he would ask, at the request of the BCCA, that the entire corner, and especially the exit from the mall, be made “no right turn on red.” No promises in that, though.

This project started in 1999 and was projected for completion at least six months ago. Last report put the project at $1.9 million.

Finally, BCCA President Pat Hope made official what was clear to many: he will not seek another term as BCCA president. Mr. Hope is running as a Democrat in the 47th District of the Virginia House of Delegates. As a Democrat, he is widely expected to win the race and will not have time for both positions. He can serve until November, he said at the meeting. The BCCA will pick up the search for a replacement at the September meeting.

Proposed Mixed-use Building for Goodyear Site

A Decade for New Lights and Curb Cuts

I am still on summer hiatus, but the news was just too big to ignore at last night's meeting, so I thought I'd give a quick post. More on this in the fall, no doubt. --ST

Labels: asc, ashton heights, bluemont civic association, goodyear, harris teeter, pedestrian, redevelopment, traffic

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 6:01 AM 0 comments

We'll be meeting at our usual meeting place at the Arlington Oaks Community Center located at 4490 N. Pershing Drive.

We've confirmed the developer for American Service Center to discuss their project under review located on the east side of N. Glebe Road. We'll also provide updates of various projects around the neighborhood.

Next week's meeting will also include an update from Rolda Nedd, one of Arlington County's planners, to discuss future community needs. We're asking Buckingham residents to take this opportunity to weigh-in on community needs through this survey (click here).

I hope to see you at next week's meeting.

Thanks,

Patrick Hope
President, BCCA

Labels: asc, BCCA, hud

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 10:05 AM 0 comments

Hyde Park Condominium residents were largely cordial to the representatives of American Service Center at a meeting of the two groups last night. Hyde Park invited ASC to present its plan to redevelop its Mercedes dealership at the N. Glebe Road at N. Randolph Street corner which ASC shares with Hyde Park.

Hyde Park board secretary Ronald Bashian opened the meeting saying it was “noteworthy and commendable” that ASC was redeveloping in this down economy, but that the 30 residents attending had questions.

“We don’t want to put American Service Center at a disadvantage,” against other companies in the area, he said near the end of the meeting.

The car dealership plans to redevelop all of its property where the current building and a surface-level parking lot now stand. As well, the company must remain open during the renovation of the building. This requires phased reconstruction that will take at least six years, officials said.

The first section to go will be the parking lot at the corner of N. Glebe and N. Randolph. A six-storey addition will rise in its place. Given that the company must remain open, each new section will house a portion of the operation that will be dislocated in subsequent phases.

Phase I, for instance, will include a new employee break room and parts department because those two departments in the old building will be razed during Phase II. Only one section of the current building, along N. 5th Road, will remain when the reconstruction is complete.

The point of the renovation, officials said at last night’s meeting and during a tour of the facility last month, is to move the entire new car service and sales inside the building, and to allow all employees to park on site. Currently, some operations take place in various buildings in the Ballston area, and about 100 of the 250 employees park at the Ballston Commons mall parking lot, a block away. The blue car racks on N. Randolph Street, near the Super Pollo restaurant, will no longer be needed.

Hyde Park residents were concerned with the look of roof-top parking across N. Glebe from their east wall, with nighttime lighting, with the height and scale of the large building, with the noise of reconstruction, and with the impact on traffic.

One resident wondered about turning the roof of the building “green,” with shrubbery or trees.

“If you have a new building, you should change that because it’s ugly,” she said of the parking lot on top of the roof.

But Dave Clear, an architect with Lessard Commercial, said at last month’s tour that they cannot build the roof strong enough to support the heavier, green roof, especially if they are to have space enough for cars.

ASC officials shot down an underground parking garage because of the difficulty and expense. Above ground parking was hard enough, Mr. Clear said, calling the triangular shape of the site the “least efficient” shape for parking.

Hyde Park residents seemed happy to have ASC employees continue to park at the mall, if that meant ASC would take a storey or two off their building.

Another resident wondered about the noise of construction, especially given that the last reconstruction effort by the dealership a few years ago included nighttime demolition. General Manager Ralph Mastantuono said that was a unique situation because the building’s garage needed to be reinforced when fewer cars were present, that is, at night. That should not be the case with this reconstruction.

The residents gave mixed, generally unfavorable, reviews of the building’s facades, especially the one facing Hyde Park. It includes stainless steel mesh between the levels of the parking garage to keep birds away from the new cars, and to make the building look less like a garage, Mr. Clear said.

The façade at the corner of N. Glebe and N. Randolph, includes wavy aluminum, reminiscent of architect Frank Gehry’s work. Although many at the meeting complained of the look as too large, resident Alan Flora, an architect himself, said the structure “shows a progressiveness” that is not too often seen in Arlington. At the same time, he called the phasing “disjointed.” He was not overly impressed with the design.

Mr. Clear said one of the difficulties designing this project was that “most buildings have a back. Our building has no back.” Each side of the building must blend into the next side and must be able to be constructed in phases.

Patrick Brady, another resident and architect, said, “I was disappointed that they’re not going for more LEED points.” LEED is an independent certification process that determines how environmentally friendly a building is. According to a county report, the design has 24 LEED points, two shy of the lowest LEED certification.

Mr. Clear said they will be looking more closely at the certification in the future. When to apply in a phased project like this is a consideration.

The project has come before the county's Site Plan Review Committee twice, once for design and once for other issues. The SPRC is a sub-committee of the Planning Commission and is made up of county staff and citizens, including some from the Ashton Heights neighborhood, where the building is located.

“We’re focused on how the building looks and operates,” said Rich Dooley, the county’s lead planner on this project. “Does it meet what the people want?” he asked, “It remains to be seen.”

Labels: asc, hyde park, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 2:07 PM 0 comments

Earlier tonight Arlington’s Site Plan Review Committee considered plans for a redevelopment of the American Service Center Mercedes dealership at the corner of N. Glebe Road at N. Quincy Street. The dealership is proposing a six-storey building that will combine many of the of the dealership’s operations under one roof.

The dealership’s managers gave the SPRC and other stakeholders in the community a tour of the facility on Saturday in order to show what a large operation it is and what would be compiled under one roof. The dealership employees about 275 people, sold about 1,000 cars last year, and had total sales of about $170 million, said General Manager Ralph Mastantuono.

“We take a lot of pride in this place,” Mr. Mastantuono said.

At its tallest, the new building would reach about 79 feet, said officials of the project. Although portions of the property would allow this development, others require zoning changes. By comparison the Ballston Commons Mall parking lot is about 55 feet. The Hyde Park Condominium which would sit across N. Glebe from the building is about 120 feet.

Tom Lauria, Hyde Park’s vice president, wrote in an email that they have been late in coming to the discussion about this project, but that they will ask to lower the building to four storeys.