The Buckingham Herald Tribblog

It’s still too tall. And too close to Glebe Road. And Pershing Drive. And the police might not like their substation. And the project is 110 parking spaces short. And no one wants you to pave over grass on AHC property. And is there enough landscaping on the sidewalks?

Buckingham’s own Bernie Berne set that last question in motion at the Historical Affairs and Landmarks Review Board meeting Wednesday night, Dec. 17. The HALRB discussed the possible development of the Buckingham Shopping Center at the intersection of N. Glebe Road at N. Pershing Drive in which the commercial buildings on the CVS and Glebe Market corners would be razed and replaced.

Mr. Berne stood before the group and said that the zoning variance the developer, Georgetown Strategic Capital, is asking for regarding the placement of landscaping should be denied. The developer has asked to move some of the street-level landscaping onto a second floor terrace as part of a “green roof” for that level of the project.

Last month, Mr. Berne cajoled the Buckingham Community Civic Association into drafting a letter to the county board asking that they deny the change in zoning.

“It’s just not neighborhood friendly,” Mr. Berne said at Wednesday’s meeting. “I hope staff recognizes this.”

But the comments around the table indicated that people either didn’t know of, or did not notice the request.

“I don’t think we’ve heard that,” HALRB Chair Isabel Kaldenbach-Montemayor said. “I’m pretty sure that we’ve never heard that a portion of the open space would be on the second floor.”

“To be fair to you all, they [details of the landscaping] weren’t in any drawing but this,” said the architect, Scott Matties at another point. He indicated a plan from months ago, “But they were in this.”

In the other major hurdle to come up Wednesday evening, Jennifer Fioretti from the county’s transportation department said the project is 110 parking spaces short and she discussed some changes that could be made on the east side of Glebe, such as using the space behind the post office more efficiently, to make up some of the difference.

The plan had called for some extra street-level parking to come from Gates of Ballston property adjacent to the Glebe Market. However, that was shot down Wednesday, too.

“Planning staff cannot support this off-site parking,” said a county staffer at the meeting, especially given that some space has been freed up with the removal of the CVS and their requested drive-thru window.

County staff and the citizen board members also brought up issues with the height of the buildings which will have ground floor retail and apartments above. The buildings are still four-storey, flat roofed buildings, but the fourth floors have been pulled back, taking up space only at the centers of the buildings to avoid being quite so visible from the street. Some board members called for pulling the buildings even further back from the street.

Bob Moore, of Georgetown Strategic wondered aloud how they could pull back the buildings from the streets farther and make more parking.

“There’s only so much space,” he said.

In a story two weeks ago, Mr. Moore said his company was close to the breaking point on this project, that the changes were paring back the project so much it becomes economically unfeasible.

“We’d rather know now and pursue other things,” Mr. Moore said Wednesday. “If it’s [the project is] too problematic…we’d rather have a quick bullet than swing in the wind.”

Moments later he added, “We’ll try. We’ll come back and we’ll see what we can do about the green space.”

However, in a quick interview after the meeting, he did not wish to comment on whether they would return.

For a whole mess of related stories, click here, and scroll down through them.

Labels: buckingham center, CVS, Glebe, pershing

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:35 AM 0 comments

Labels: CVS, Glebe, intersection, pershing, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 7:33 AM 1 comments

We heard that you are interested in opening a new market at Glebe and Pershing Streets. As your potential new neighbors, we wish you success in your endeavor and we look forward to shopping in the new store.

Ken and Yoko Moskowitz
Ashton Heights

Labels: CVS, Glebe, pershing, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 7:26 AM 0 comments

Bruce Quantic, Derby, Kansas

The writer is referring to this video of the recent ribbon cutting at the intersection of N. Glebe Road and N. Pershing Drive. He is also my father-in-law. --ST

Labels: Glebe, intersection, pershing

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 8:52 AM 0 comments

Great pictures and video of the intersection! Thanks!

Brian Berger

To see the slide and video show, click here. --ST

Labels: Glebe, intersection, pershing, renovation

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:02 AM 0 comments

It has been so long in coming that people cannot even recall when the whole process began, but the date it ended was Thursday May 22, 2008, when county board members and local civic leaders snipped the ceremonial ribbon on a N. Pershing Drive bus shelter, ending a tumultuous process of renovation at N. Pershing’s intersection with N.Glebe Road.

The process started, most likely, in 2000, when county staff organized the “Buckingham Charette” and the idea for improving pedestrian safety and designing common sense traffic patterns was discussed. The idea quickly became part of the Neighborhood Strategy Area Plan, written in 2000.

In late 2002 and early 2003, the county was saying this project would be completed “by spring.” But county staff cited troubles working with the many people and businesses that own the property and buildings, troubles working with the slow-moving Virginia Department of Transportation, and concerns raised by the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmarks Review Board.

So much was slowed down that staff chose to cut sculptures from the project and instead limit the “arts portion” to etched-glass bus shelters.

The irony of this is that in the intervening years, the property on that corner has risen in value, and the CVS and Glebe Market buildings will be torn down and rebuilt if current plans are executed. The new curb cuts and landscaping on the west side of N. Glebe Road are not consistent with the plans for the new buildings.

Videos and images from yesterday’s event and some more history are a included as part of the following video. Links to stories covering this renovation appear below the video.

Participants in the forum held by the county's planning division also talked about what grocery store should replace the Glebe Market, about the men who stand on the corner, about safety, about pedestrian traffic, and many other issues. About 35 people other than county staff attended. Many came from Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights as well as from various citizen boards and committees in the county.

Part of the civility may have come from the fact that county staffers who ran the meeting divided the participants into three groups based on where people were sitting. Friends and neighbors sat next to each other as they discussed Use, Design and Transportation at the intersection.

This was the first time that the county has heard from citizens on a large scale regarding this project.

The developer, Georgetown Strategic Capital, is looking to raze and replace a few buildings on the west side of N. Glebe Road at the intersection with N. Pershing Drive (see the map, below). Bob Moore, a principal with the company, said they had met about 13 times with county staff, citizens boards and the community.

But past meetings with Arlington’s Historical Affairs and Landmarks Review Board have largely taken place without regular citizens in attendance. On March 24, the company met with the Buckingham Community Civic Association, but turnout was light, and county staff, other than police, were not there, according to people who attended.

Many people at the meeting, in at least two of the groups, said they did not want a Trader Joe’s grocery store to replace the Glebe Market, which will close when the buildings are razed. They preferred another small, independent grocery that would more closely meet the needs of the largely Latino community.

“Most of us, more than 80 percent of us, are Hispanics, and we use it [the Glebe Market] everyday,” said Johny, a Buckinghamster. A few people in his group said they feared a store like Trader Joe’s would be too expensive or would not have the right products. Johny said he has a petition with 100 signatures of Buckingham families asking that the Glebe Market remain. [Many people left before I could get last names. –ST]

Months ago, Mr. Moore said his company was trying to get the popular, upscale (but low price) Trader Joe’s in the neighborhood. Some people at the meeting last night expressed support for that idea.

However, the county’s Tom Miller said the likelihood of a Trader Joe’s is slim. In an interview after the forum, he said that experiences in planning tell him that Trader Joe’s likely wants space on the Ballston-Rosslyn metro corridor and would not accept a space on the southwest corner of the Glebe and Pershing intersection.

“El projecto es muy bonito,” (“The project is very nice”) said Julio in one group, as a county staffer translated, “but what will be done with the people who currently use that space?”

What will happen with the day laborers? Where will they go? Will the police get them? he wondered.

This is a theme that runs under many discussions in the Buckingham neighborhood. This is a community often divided between the largely white, English-speaking community who own homes or condominiums in the neighborhood and renters who are often Latino, Spanish-speakers.

“I just don’t go there [to the Buckingham Center] at all,” said Stacy in a group different from Julio’s. She said that the graffiti and trash in the bus stops along with other issues keep her from going. Others in her group agreed.

The project will have 190 new market-rate apartments, and that has people from BU-GATA, a tenants association, worried about upward pressure on the rents at the Gates of Ballston and other neighborhood apartments. They say they are already seeing that change.

“It [the project] just plain doesn’t look like it belongs there,” said Patè McCullough a Gates resident and BU-GATA board member who did not support the project. Then she looked sideways at Mr. Moore and joked, “Then, too, if you want to put some affordable housing in there, we can work something out.”

At least two of the three groups said they supported the idea of a police substation in one of the buildings. This is one area of agreement between the English- and Spanish-speaking communities in the neighborhood. Mr. Moore said his company and the police supported the idea of the substation.

[AHC Inc. recently said they are looking for space to put the substation on their Gates of Ballston property. A substation was part of the Gates before its major renovation over the past two years.]

The building that will replace the CVS/Ravi Kabob building on the southwest corner will hold about 23,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and about 90 apartments on the top three floors, said Scott Matties, of Cunningham Quill Architects. Drawings show the commercial space in the building divided into about 10 storefronts of about 2,500 square feet each. None of the space has been leased yet, Mr. Matties said.

Do Chon said he is planning to open a coffee shop with his father in one of the new buildings. His father, Sam Chon, owns the Glebe Market, but plans to retire assuming the redevelopment moves forward, the younger Mr. Chon said.

The CVS will move across Pershing Drive into a building that will replace two buildings on the northwest corner. The Glebe Market building, and the El Paso building will be razed. The CVS will occupy the corner in the new building and El Paso might get some outdoor seating.

The design brings the buildings much closer to Pershing.

“We’re talking about a urban kind of streetscape” along Pershing, Mr. Matties said.

Ariana Kincaid, the general manager of Woofs! Dog Training Center said she wanted to make sure the signs for her company are more visible from the street. Her company occupies the back half of the El Paso Cafe building. Getting adequate signage in Arlington is tough, she said.

Lois Athey, a long-time activist that works with the BU-GATA tenants association, said, Woofs! is “detrimental” to the neighborhood. A dog training facility without any yard of its own should not be there, she said last night as she has many times in the past.

Participants said they want CVS to remove the walls from behind its windows so that people can see into, and through, the store. Others talked about the need for better sidewalks and accessibility for the disabled, for safer intersections both for pedestrians and bicyclists.

In one group people discussed the idea of using the space around the Post Office building for community events. That side of the street will get only superficial changes according to Georgetown Strategic.

The county plans to compile and analyze the notes from last night. Advisory commissions in the county (such as the Planning Commission) will review community feedback with stakeholder representatives, followed by a formal review of the use permit (Georgetown Strategic has not yet officially filed a use permit).

Other items that staff summarized in bullet form on jumbo sticky notes (the items are complaints, wishes, or ideas):

Labels: georgetown strategic capital, Glebe, pershing, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 1:16 PM 7 comments

One of the stories in the hopper, of course, will deal with results of the survey—67 of you logged on to give your opinion (I am quite happy with that number). The survey has been closed.

I will have something on that either tomorrow or Friday, so check back; it will probably be the first in a series of articles, so keep checking.

Also, the survey has been translated to Spanish; now I just am waiting for my friend Sarah Zoeller to translate an introduction to the survey, then I can send it out to the Spanish-speaking community. (Big shout out of thanks to Sarah who does this for me, for no pay, while watching her infant! You go girl!)

I can tell you that “Arlington County Police substation” was the biggest winner in the question of which county office should be in Buckingham. We used to have a substation in a Gates of Ballston second floor apartment, and AHC Inc., the owner/manager of The Gates, tells me they are looking again to house a substation.

“We would very much like to have a police substation again on the property, but we’re not in a position to offer them an apartment; we need to keep those units rented. However, we’re looking to identify another space that would be appropriate for their substation,” said Catherine Bucknam, an AHC spokesperson, in a voice mail. “It’s in the works.”

Officer Timothy Koch said in a recent Buckingham Community Civic Association meeting that the main concern is that the office be fully secured when police are not there. He said computers and files have classified information that must be protected.

When that Gates of Ballston apartment complex was emptied for renovation more than a year ago, the sub-station was lost. Police officers have said at civic association meetings and elsewhere how much they liked that substation. They liked having quick access to people in the community.

In an interview last fall, Ofr. Michael Lutz said that on occasion they even got anonymous notes, in Spanish, about crimes that had been committed. He admitted that the officers needed the notes translated, but he was happy that someone trusted them enough to tell them what was going on. That contact has been lost without the substation, he said.

A police substation in the community meant that the officers could hang out, see and be seen. Plus, it was nice to have a place outside the main headquarters where officers could take a break without the bosses right over their shoulders, admitted Ofr. Koch at the BCCA meeting.

He told stories of watching, lights off, from the upper floor window as people conducted illegal activity in the alleys around the apartment. The police were on the people before they could run, Ofr. Koch said.

Ms. Bucknam also confirmed a topic that came up during last week’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board meeting. Officials for Georgetown Strategic Capital, a developer that is planning to renovate the intersection of N. Glebe Road at N. Pershing Drive (see the related story here), said they were in negotiations with AHC, Inc. regarding the parking lot north of what is now the Glebe Market.

In design drawings, a new building, larger than the Glebe Market building, would have a parking lot entrance on Glebe Road. Most of the parking would run along the north side of the building and into the covered area in the middle of the multi-storied building.

To add more street-level parking, the developer is asking AHC to grant an easement that would take some space from a back courtyard on AHC’s Gates of Ballston Property.

“We have been in discussions with them,” Ms. Bucknam said in the same voice mail as earlier. “Nothing has been decided about an easement. It’s our understanding that their primary interest is to create an entrance and exit that his off Glebe Road." She said AHC is waiting to see more definite plans.

As always, you can scroll down to see all the recent stories, or simply click the links below (if the link doesn't work, scroll down to find the story, and email to tell me what's busted: heraldtrib@gmail.com --Steve Thurston).

Today's Headlines:

Police Notes for Buckingham Feb. 6, 2008

Letters from Earlier in the Week:

Letter: Wilson Unsafe Walk to Ashlawn

Letter: Thanks for Field Coverage

Letter: Good Job on the Survey

Headlines from Earlier in the Week:

Barrett Field Question Answered (a quick update on the field renovation)

Dams Can't Keep Bridge Deck Dry

McDonalds Reopens with WiFi

All is Quiet at the HALRB Meeting with NEW COMMENT--This covers Glebe/Pershing Redevlopment. I shot photos similar to the architectural drawings in order to show readers what to expect. Check it out.

Labels: ahc, georgetown strategic, Glebe, pershing, Police

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 12:09 PM 0 comments

The following are the latest drawings of potential redevelopment at the N. Glebe Road and N. Pershing Drive intersection. The photos are an attempt to capture the same angle and distance as the drawings to give viewers a clear sense of what might come. They are not exactly the same, as that is probably not possible.

The drawings were distributed at last night's Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board meeting. Bob Moore, of Georgetown Strategic Capital (the potential developer of the site) and Scott Matties, of Cunningham Quill Architects, were on hand to present these latest ideas and take questions.

The discussion at the HALRB meeting was congenial, as both sides (the board and the developer) agreed that the buildings are moving in the right direction. The architect is going to try to lessen the abrupt change in height from the two storey buildings of the Gates of Ballston apartments to the planned buildings on the corner (see the first comparison, below, to get a sense of the difference in heights).

The board asked the developer to start thinking about the materials they would use on the outside of the large buildings, as well.

"That will tell us if the clothing will help hide the girth," said Board Chair Nancy Iacomini.

"Quote of the night," responded Bob Moore, during much laughter.

The basic plan with the property is to remove three commercial buildings from the west side of the N. Glebe Road and N. Pershing Drive intersection (the CVS, El Paso, and Glebe Market buildings). They would be replaced with two buildings with street-level retail and three floors of apartments above.

Mr. Moore also said that his company plans to paint the buildings east of Glebe Road and to find ways to put in greenery on that side (the Cassianna Spa side) of the street.

Please find a list of stories below the illustrations.

I'm so glad you put the survey together and out into the neighborhood.

It is nice to know that the developer is interested in the results.

Because of you, residents may have a direct impact on the development of the neighborhood. Bravo!

Thanks Steve,

Liz Vizard

Labels: Glebe, pershing, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 1:47 PM 0 comments

Not here at the HeraldTrib.

The survey, linked below, asks you for input regarding the potential redevelopment of the intersection of N. Glebe Road and N. Pershing Drive.

Drawings I have seen, showed a lot of open retail space, and I got thinking we in the neighborhood (and nearby places) should at least let the developer know what we think, give them some ideas about what might work in that space.

The survey, therefore, asks you about three general areas of retail: restaurants, grocery, and general retail (stores/offices). It won’t take you but about five minutes, and will be a wonderful way to blow-off a little steam and have some mid-afternoon fun.

I should say that the developer has no idea that I have thought this up. The developer might have already leased all available space. The developer might not care what we think. But that won't stop me from telling him.

I also will say that I recognize that the answers here will most likely skew white and middle-class, in a neighborhood that is very Latino. Still, I think it’s worth getting some input.

Click Here to take the HeraldTrib Retail survey

Not familiar with the whole redevelopment? Here’s the skinny:

Georgetown Strategic Capital is hoping to tear down three buildings on the west side of Glebe (the buildings that currently house CVS/Ravi Kabob; Glebe Market; Popeyes/El Paso/Woofs) and replace them with two larger buildings with retail space on the ground floor and apartments above.

What will stay (according to the latest I have heard):

The Glebe Market (the grocery store on the corner)

Labels: Glebe, pershing, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 12:07 PM 1 comments

This was something I had heard from a few county staff members, and the staffers at the HALRB meeting did not refute what was said. As well, citizens of Buckingham had told me about it over the past months. I was foolish to write it without verifying it.

At the HALRB meeting, Mr. Moore had said his company was looking to “pocket stores,” such as Trader Joe’s and Yes! Organic Markets to fill some of the space in one of the new buildings that Georgetown Strategic is planning to build. These buldings would replace the CVS, Glebe Market and El Paso/Popeye’s buildings.

When I caught up with Mr. Chon, 65, earlier this month he said he was “half-and-half” decided on retirement. For him, though, non-retirement might mean closing the Glebe Market and working at a Giant, he said.

However, he also said that he had asked for 3,000 square feet in the new buildings. At the time, he said, “I think they’re going to give it to me.”

Then I called back Mr. Moore, a principal at Georgetown Strategic, and asked if he was aware that Mr. Chon thought that the Glebe Market was still in play.

"That's not correct,” Mr. Moore said, adding that Mr. Chon had a letter. "These are things that are really not related to you,” Mr. Moore said, shortly before cutting off discussion on this topic. He did not go into the details of the letter and said all of the negotiations for space were “confidential.”

Mr. Moore did say that Georgetown Strategic and Mr. Chon had discussed a bagel shop that Mr. Chon might run with his son.

Last night I went to confirm this with Mr. Chon, who smiled and laughed a bit, and said, basically, “no comment."
++++++++++

On Another Note...
Mr. Moore said that his company is still working on the designs of the buildings, and was happy with the reaction the designs received at the Design Review Committee meeting in January.

"It had a very positive sort of step forward as of last week," as committee members, he said, liked what they saw and had specific ideas for improvements.

Mr. Moore said that the idea to add a second level to the Suntrust Bank and Buckingham Florist buildings on the east side of N. Glebe Road at N. Pershing Drive was unfeasible.

HALRB Says Envisioned Buildings West of Glebe "Too Big"

Labels: Glebe, pershing, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:26 AM 0 comments

The buildings envisioned for a redeveloped corner on the west side of the N. Glebe Road and N. Pershing Drive intersection were called “horrible,” “fussy,” and “wedding cake” (because of the layered look) by members of the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board last night. But mainly, the buildings were called too large.

The buildings were so large that Robert Dudka asked if the companies should consider adding a second floor over the buildings on the other side of the street, over the strips that house the Buckingham Florist and the SunTrust bank.

“Is this heresy?” Mr. Dudka asked the other HALRB members, county staff, and the developers, Georgetown Strategic Capital, all sitting at the table.

The general consensus was no, it’s not heresy to add a second storey to these historically protected buildings. The original plan for the buildings was to extend the second floors, already in place above the post office and Cassiana Spa, over the rest of both strips. In a way, adding a second floor would be finishing what had been started 50 years ago.

I often wondered about that house in the middle of the block on Glebe surrounded by the Gates. What a great idea to house a museum there! I am in favor of reopening the Buckingham Theater as well. If there are to be new buildings on the corner, let the market and the post office, as well as El Paso and the other businesses that make up our neighborhood be in bright new quarters.

I am happy to hear that you are excited about putting the arts right here in Buckingham. The rich people have theirs. We, the people of Buckingham, while not rich and of very modest means, appreciate the arts too. We have talented kids in the youth group who paint very well. And a place to showcase local artists is a fine idea. A theater group is a great idea too.

There is more to Buckingham than affordable housing. While it is one cause, it isn't the only one. I am glad to hear of your support for the arts. This neighborhood is rich in history. A museum could showcase all of the best of Buckingham through the years.

Bravo, Steve.

Pate McCullough

The writer is a board member of the BU-GATA tenants association. If you are interested in more feedback on this topic, check out the "Art on the Four Corners" story and comment. --ST.

Labels: art, Buckingham, Glebe, pershing

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 11:10 AM 0 comments

It started last Wednesday evening when the kids and I went to see “Peter and the Wolf” at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. It was a “Family Literacy Night,” giving families whose children go to “Title 1” schools the chance to see live theatre. Lots of fun; the review is below.

Also below is today’s big story on the sculptures that will not be a part of the Glebe Road and Pershing Drive intersection renovation.

I had been thinking about that story for months when I was out to breakfast Friday morning with Vic Socotra at RinConCito Chapin (literally translated that name is “The tiny bowlegged place.” I’m guessing it means something closer to “The little sitting spot.” I think “chaps,” which one wears sitting in the saddle somehow is related to Chapin, but I digress—they have great refried black beans and fried plantains).

He and I got talking about the neighborhood (he has a long, at times odd, history with the place that he’s trying to put into a book) and about the house on Glebe Road, just a little south of Henderson Road. It’s one that is historic and could not be significantly renovated into a community center, so AHC, Inc., which owns the Gates of Ballston and that little house, does not know what to do with it.

The Buckingham Museum
Now, they may have already made plans, but I’ll be on the phone later today to figure it out. If they have not, however, Vic and I were saying it would be perfect for a Buckingham Museum. Think about it; it could be historical, but also could have space for neighborhood artists (such as Ubaldo Sanchez who helped the Buckingham Brigade kids paint the mural on the side of the Glebe Market), or artists with ties (culturally, ethinically, what have you) to the people of Buckingham.

Maybe there would be space for readings, or a writer’s group, or something similar. The county library already offers events at the Buckingham Center on N. 4th Street, why not shift some of the activities to a space in our own museum when that center closes?

Once that flood-gate opened, I thought, Sheesh, let’s go whole hog on this. When will Buckingham have a better chance to offer arts and cultural spaces to the neighborhood than now? Think about it for a second. Go on, think:

Georgetown Strategic Capital is planning to redevelop the corners of the N. Glebe Road and N. Pershing Drive intersection. The earliest ideas that have been bandied about include knocking down the CVS and Glebe Market buildings (and possibly the El Paso/Popeye’s building) and putting in four-storey buildings of mixed use retail and housing with an affordable component.

Bring Back the Buckingham Theatre, Baby!
So this is my idea: Move the post office across the street into one of the new buildings. At one time, the post office was where El Paso Restaurant is, and the post office was a theatre. Let’s bring it back! (The owner of Georgetown Strategic once told me that he saw a Daniel Boone flick at that theatre.)

Instead of movies, though, I am picturing a small, black box type theatre that could show the “-tets,” octets and smaller (I don’t really know what kind of space they have inside that building). Or show one-person acts. Blues nights. Jazz Nights. Bolivian dancers. Ecuadorian bands. Ritmo Latino! High school garage hip-hop bands (I know the county used to have a contest for garage bands).

Maybe it would seat 80 people. I don’t know. But it would also house the offices of a local troupe, maybe the Arlington Philharmonic Orchestra? Most likely, the space would not be big enough for a full orchestra, but why not have it full of offices with a space for a Chamber or, as I said, a “-tet.”

Come on, dream a little!
What would it say about Arlington that we’re investing in the arts not where the rich people are, but where the lower-middle-class people are? What sort of inspiration would we be putting into the heads of kids in the neighborhood? Hell, I feel inspired just writing about it!

Buckingham is going to be, for at least another 30 years, a low- to moderate-income neighborhood. Most likely it will be an immigrant community, too. What better way for those of us who have lived in the States all our lives to get to know those people who are new here than to have us share in cultural activities? This could be a chance for high art without gentrification!

So that’s my big idea; you may have others…
I just think that having some cultural connection with all this redevelopment would be grand. What do you think? Feel free to comment below, or send emails to HeraldTrib@gmail.com.

++++++++++
As always, you can scroll down to see all the recent stories, or simply click the links below (if the link doesn't work, scroll down to find the story, and email to tell me what's busted: heraldtrib@gmail.com--Steve Thurston).

Today's Headlines:

Headlines from Earlier in the Week:

Labels: art, Buckingham, culture, Glebe, pershing, redevelopment, renovation

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 10:39 AM 0 comments

“The artwork for [this] project will be the bus shelters that our arts work program designed,” said Angela Adams in a voice mail last month. She works in the Arlington County Public Arts Program. The word “Open” will be etched into the glass in various languages. Bus shelters in other neighborhoods have similar etchings.

When first reported here in June that the work of sculptor Judy Sutton Moore had been cancelled, Lois Athey, who sat on the original committee that picked Sutton Moore, said the story was the first she heard of the cancellation. Ms. Athey is a civic activist who works with tenants in Buckingham Village and the Gates of Ballston.

Pat Hope, the Buckingham Community Civic Association president, called the news of the lost art a “slap in the face.”

County staff involved in this discussion said the main problem with the artwork was its size and style for the historic corner. The Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board, which regulates changes to the corner, largely killed the idea, officials have said.

However, Michael Leventhal, a historic affairs coordinator for the county, could not find the minutes from the particular HALRB meeting in which the art was discussed and dropped. Therefore, no one could say for sure whether people from Buckingham were on hand to discuss the decision.

“The BCCA was never consulted and there was no attempt to compromise the proposal to make it acceptable to HALRB,” Mr. Hope wrote in an email last month.

The project has been more than seven years in the making and has become “the project from hell” said Mr. Leventhal during an interview in September. Others have called it by similar names.

Only last month could the county finally hire a contractor, pledging over $800,000 if needed, to begin the process of redeveloping the gutters, sidewalks and crosswalks at the intersection. Other improvements, requiring other contracts, include more trees, fancier light posts and the bus shelters. In the past year, the utility wires have been moved underground.

Drivers should expect to see signs on Glebe Road announcing the road work soon, and the construction can begin two weeks after the signs go up, William “Bill” Roberts, the county’s project manager, said in a telephone interview yesterday.

This project has a long, tortured history, with too many cooks in the kitchen. VDOT controls the Glebe right-of-way, and therefore can veto decisions on lane widths, turn lanes and signals on the corner. (The rule about the signs going up for two weeks before work begins is VDOT’s rule, Mr. Roberts said.)

Although Jenco Group, of Arlington, owns much of the property on the corner, there are other owners and investment partners all who needed to sign easements to allow the work to go forward. Not all were eager to sign, Mr. Roberts has said in the past.

The plans themselves had to go through public review at the start, and the HALRB can control what is seen on the landscape.

When the HALRB had misgivings about the art, it became a layer of frustration that county staff did not want to deal with both Mr. Roberts and Mr. Leventhal have said.

As well, Mr. Roberts and Mr. Leventhal said the artist had gotten sick. For her part Ms. Sutton Moore could not remember ever being sick.

“I tell you what,” she said with recollection yesterday, “I did have surgery during that period of time, but that’s like a month, maybe six weeks, of recovery.” Since then, she has finished many projects, she said.

Mr. Leventhal, who sat on the committee that chose Ms. Sutton Moore, said that planning was a bit nonsequential in order—they had art before they knew what the corner would look like. It was the artist’s ideas for the corner that made the county realize they would need to underground the utility wires, he said.

“She really had the most interesting stuff,” Mr. Leventhal said. “She just didn’t do the same thing several different times.” He said Ms. Sutton Moore looked to the neighborhood and found inspiration in the immigrant experience.

In a profile in the Buckingham Independent News, the predecessor of the HeraldTrib, Ms. Sutton Moore talked about conducting research for projects like this, studying the architecture and talking with the neighbors. The story was also naively upbeat with an expected completion by the end of the summer of 2003.

Her plans included humanistic figures in boats and other modes of transportation, people who were arriving here, immigrants. Yet it was modern, and stainless steel with bronze, geometric. Not historic. Her figures—not quite “people”—often look similar to stainless steel bowling pins.

Ms. Sutton Moore said in an interview yesterday, “All I know is that the design was approved by the people who lived in the neighborhood. They gave their support to it....And the public art committee approved of it.” She said she had heard the project hit roadblocks, but never really understood why it died. “I was very disappointed that the Arlington project fell through,” she added later.

Her sculptures, are often large, 20 feet tall or more.

“Was any of the sculpture going to fit on the corner?” Mr. Leventhal said people asked.

The idea of the large sculptures appealed to the committee when they chose Ms. Sutton Moore’s work, Mr. Leventhal said. “I don’t know if we’d do it again that way…at the time it was great.”

In a voice mail last month, Ms. Adams said, “Our Research shows that we paid Judy Sutton Moore just over $1,000 to do design work in 2002 for the Buckingham four corners project.”

Mr. Roberts said he has been in contact with Mr. Hope about bringing more art back to the four corners.

In his email, the civic association’s Mr. Hope wrote, “My effort will be focused on trying to come up with something that would be distinctly Buckingham and acceptable to HALRB. It suddenly has become our project, but I think we can do it.”

Until then, however, the bus shelters are planned.

“I think the bus shelters will be a beautiful addition to the intersection,” Ms. Adams said in an interview yesterday.

Labels: art, halrb, pershing, redevelopment, renovation

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:53 PM 1 comments