Landbay K at Potomac Yards trail (Potomac Avenue and Main Line Boulevard)

In the next couple of weeks someone should also be fixing the gaps around the electrical access panels on the officially open segment north of the Route 1 bridge.

@CaseyKane50 84291 wrote:

It looks like work is starting on the section of the Potomac Avenue and Main Line Boulevard trail (I haven’t found any reference to a formal name for the trail) that will connect the trail to Braddock Road. I rode on Main Line south of Monroe Avenue this morning and ran into a Miss Utility contractor who was marking out utility lines in the area of the trail. He indicated that work has already begun to mark out the trail.

So far, that trail is shaping up to be very nice. I’m looking forward to them finishing the Braddock Road connection.

I usually take the newly paved section of that trail until it ends and crosses the street (I then take the road). One thing I’ve noticed, however, is that the area around the playground is turning into a miniature Gravelly Point with little kids and/or other people wandering aimlessly onto the trail staring at the minivans/SUV’s they are about to board, not realizing the 200+ lb force of nature coming at them (I slow down, but still).

The Potomac Yard developer is installing outdoor exercise equipment along that trail. Might be useful for cross-training, cyclocross training and American Ninja Warrior training.

https://twitter.com/vtspaeth/status/514481066405801984/photo/1

@PotomacCyclist 95230 wrote:

The new apartment building at the corner of Potomac Ave. and Rte. 1 (Station 650) is scheduled to be completed by Spring 2015. Their website indicates that the building will have an on-site bike shop. I don’t know what that means, whether it’s limited to residents or whether it will be open to the general public.

http://station650potomacyard.com/

The cynic in me says that it’s only going to be available to residents, and the on-site bike shop will be, at best, the equivalent of the Phoenix Bikes vending machine and work stand by the Crystal City Connector.

As for all the other fru-fru $H!T that’s going into this apartment building, if you ever wonder why infill development, TOD, redevelopment/gentrification sometimes meet so much hostility, this is a large part of why. How much more stereotypical can it get than “private pet spa- connect with boutique-style personal service”. Personally, I’d like to see some regular apartments be built sometime… anywhere in Alex/Arl, especially near metro. I’m OK with contractor grade everything if my rent doesn’t have be $2000 a month for a “pet spa” I’ll never use. Ugh… guess I got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.

@cyclingfool 95254 wrote:

The cynic in me says that it’s only going to be available to residents, and the on-site bike shop will be, at best, the equivalent of the Phoenix Bikes vending machine and work stand by the Crystal City Connector.

As for all the other fru-fru $H!T that’s going into this apartment building, if you ever wonder why infill development, TOD, redevelopment/gentrification sometimes meet so much hostility, this is a large part of why. How much more stereotypical can it get than “private pet spa- connect with boutique-style personal service”. Personally, I’d like to see some regular apartments be built sometime… anywhere in Alex/Arl, especially near metro. I’m OK with contractor grade everything if my rent doesn’t have be $2000 a month for a “pet spa” I’ll never use. Ugh… guess I got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.

The reality is that the incremental cost of building and operating amenities is low compared to the incremental rent they can get – and incremental rent for shared space can be well worth it for someone in a relatively small unit, for whom the apt is a substitute for a house that would have had room for exercise equipment (vs a fitness center) room to entertain (vs a clubroom) an outdoor space (vs pool/patio/firepit/grill) etc. In fact many older buildings are adding/renovating shared space amenities (as well as adding other in unit improvements.)

More on topic – its nice that many new buildings are becoming more bike friendly – improved bike parking, and yeah, repair stations since most people don’t want to repair their bike in their apartment.

I really can’t speak to the uses of a pet spa though

Its also nice that the newer buildings are in

WeWork and Vornado are building the glorified dorm in Crystal City. The micro units will be tiny, more like dorm rooms than traditional apts. A micro unit building is also being added in Georgetown.

EDIT – 223 23rd St. is a different building on the same block. That building is also scheduled for a complete overhaul, but it will be a complete demolition and construction. The WeWork building is an interior demolition project, but it appears that the exterior and the main structure are being retained.

@PotomacCyclist 95284 wrote:

WeWork and Vornado are building the glorified dorm at 223 23rd St. in Crystal City.

An interesting project indeed. Vornado was going to just shut the building down, but instead is converting it from an office building to these micro-units with shared kitchen & lounge spaces. Targeted more at contract workers in town for a short-term assignment than actual long-term employees. They haven’t announced the rent yet either. I’ll be interested to see where it shakes out.