February 21, 2013

Agenda

Alcova Heights Civic Association (AHCA) Meeting
February 21, 2013 – 7:00 pm
Arlington Baptist Church (714 S. Monroe Street)

1. Introductions  – 5 minutes
2. Status of Columbia Pike Development Projects (Old Rosenthal site and Old Brown’s Automotive site) – Takis Karantonis, Executive Director of Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) – 25 minutes
3. Conservation Plan Update – 10 minutes
4. Business Meeting
   – Treasurer’s Report – 5 minutes
   – Committee Reports – 5 minutes
   – Need for committee chairs and volunteers – 2 minutes
5. New Business – 5 minutes

Meeting Minutes

1. Introductions

• 18 Alcova Heights residents were in attendance.
• 6 of 7 Board Members were in attendance
• Takis Karantonis, Executive Director, Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization
• Juliet Hiznay, President of the Board, Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization

2. Status of Columbia Pike Development Projects

• Takis Karantonis, Executive Director of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) provided an overview of CPRO.
  • CPRO was created to respond to a lack of economic development along Columbia Pike.
  • CPRO’s goal is to promote and facilitate economic development and make the Pike a “place”, rather than just a road.
  • CRPO is a “multi-stakeholder partnership”. The CPRO board is made up of 8 representatives from the business community and 8 representatives from Columbia Pike civic associations. In addition, there are two “at-large” seats.
  • An example of what CPRO has accomplished is the “form-based code” (Information here or here). This shortens the time to begin new projects.
  • CPRO sponsors the farmer’s market (Walter Reed and ColumbiaPike).
• Karantonis and Juliet Hiznay, President of the CPRO Board, provided details on the development at the site of the former Rosenthal Auto dealership (south-west corner of Columbia Pike and Glebe. (Site and architectural drawings here)
  • This is the sevenths new building in seven years on Columbia Pike
  • The scale of the project is approximately equivalent to the Sienna Park development.
  • The new development is bounded on the north by Columbia Pike; on the east by Glebe Road; on the west by Monroe (and the existing bank property) and on the south by 12th Street.
  • When complete, the building fronting Columbia Pike and Glebe will be six stories. There will be 245 apartments and retail space – ~20,000 square feet – on the ground floor. To date, no retail tenants have signed leases (Karantonis stated that this is not unusual this early in a project).
  • There will be 338 underground parking spaces. Approximately 100 will be reserved for retail customers.
  • The project is expected to be complete late in 2014.
  • Behind the the retail and apartments, a developer is constructing 44 townhomes. There will be 44 parking spaces associated with this development.
  • There will not be any new public green space offered as part of the project.
  • New streets associated with the project: An north-south alley opening to Columbia Pike; 11th Street South will be extended west from Glebe but will dead-end at the bank property (will not access Monroe). 12th Street South will be extended west from Glebe but will dead-end (cyclists and pedestrians will be able to transit) at Monroe due to Douglas Park concerns about opening a new road that might encourage “cut-through” traffic.
• Karantonis and Hiznay provided details on the development at the site of the former Brown’s Auto dealership (south side of Columbia Pike; east of Glebe)
  • Property is owned by the Rosenthal family.
  • Will be an Audi dealership. Auto body shop will remain
• Other development project possibilities on the Pike
  • Arlington Mill scheduled to be complete by the end of 2013. May be the site of a second farmer’s market.
  • The site on the south-east corner of Columbia Pike and Glebe, currently a gas station and Midas shop, is a likely candidate for re-devleopment.
  • Nearly the entire section on the north side of Columbia Pike between George Mason and Glebe could be redeveloped with projects similar to Penrose.
• Status of road work (utility work) on Columbia Pike between Wakefield Street and Dinwiddie
  • Work will take at least another year. Maybe more. Delays are due to the inefficient coordination between the County and utilities.
  • Completion of Arlington Mill may drive urgency.

3. Conservation Plan Update

• Content is complete. A few additional photos will be added.
• Conservation plan authors are requesting a photo of the traffic situation on George Mason near the National Guard complex during morning rush hour.
• Once photos are included, the plan will be sent to the county. Finalization of the plan is expected to take another four to five months.

4. Treasurer’s Report

• Calendar Year 2012:
  • Beginning Balance: $253.91
  • Deposits: $4,107.60
  • Withdrawals: $2,992.41
  • Ending Balance: $1,369.10
  • $1,277 of income came from Nicolson’s yard sale. This is a non-recurring event.
  • Primary expense was the printing of the newsletter – $1,409
• Calendar Year 2013:
  • Current cash balance: $1,309.65
• Need residents to pay dues:
• Even if dues payments are similar to 2012, the Civic Association is projected to spend more than it takes in.

5. Committee Reports

• No committee chairs in attendance

• Sara Uzel and Marie van Ness attended the Arlington Civic Federation.

6. Request for Volunteers

• Alcova Heights Civic Association needs you. There are many organizations and committees in Arlington county engaging topics potentially of interest to our neighborhood. The Association would appreciate volunteers willing to participate and share the activities of these groups with your neighbors. If there is a topic that you are interested in and passionate about, there is a probably an organization or committee working on that topic. Information on opportunities will be posted on the Alcova Heights website shortly. Please contact members of the Board for more information.
• For many years, Alcova Heights has benefited from the talents and time of Dellynn. She has led the organization of our most popular events – the summer block party and the Halloween Parade. Now that Dellynn has left the neighborhood, we need neighbors willing to step forward and help with organization and with the food infrastructure Dellynn previously provided.

7. Other Topics/New Business

• Group homes in Alcova Heights
  • There are two group homes in Alcova Heights. In the past months, neighbors have expressed serious concerns about specific events at these houses, as well as their overall management. The Civic Association is working to facilitate engagement with these houses.
• A restaurant on Glebe Road just south of Rt. 50 has contacted the Association to discuss their interest in obtaining a live entertainment permit. The restaurant would like to understand the expectations of the neighborhood and establish an ongoing dialogue.
• Neighbors raised questions about the status of several new home development projects.
• Sara Uzel enouraged neighbors to contact Arlington County code enforcement (contact information below) with concerns.
  • Website
  • Telephone Number: 703-228-3800
• Neighbors are encouraged to visit the Alcova Heights website alcovaheights.com (note: no www!). If you are interested in helping us maintain and improve this site, please let us know. Suggestions for additional content that would make the site more useful are also welcome.