In Potomac Yard-Arlington news, it looks like the empty National Gateway buildings (empty except for the LA Fitness gym on the bottom floors) will finally get its first tenant. The law school plans that I posted about earlier in the thread fell through. Now Germany-based discount grocer Lidl seems to be moving in. Their real estate affiliate signed a deal for a majority of the space in National Gateway I. Other than the LA Fitness gym, the entire two-building complex has been empty ever since it opened in 2010.
While this doesn’t have a direct effect on cycling, it will have a positive effect on County tax revenue. I also wonder if the new Metroway bus rapid transit line helped to pull in Lidl. That block is kind of far from the Crystal City Metro station. Far enough that most people wouldn’t walk from the Metro on a regular basis. There was an old Metrobus line near that area. I never took that route because it was always such a hassle to figure out exactly where it went and what the operating hours and schedule were. (There’s also the fact that it’s pretty easy to bike over there, but not everyone bikes.)
The new Metroway line runs more frequently with longer operating hours. It’s not as important to know the exact schedule. In recent months, I’ve seen the blue Metroway buses very frequently throughout the area. I took the bus a couple times myself. Metroway runs between the Crystal City Metro station, Crystal City, Potomac Yard-Arlington, Potomac Yard-Alexandria, Rte. 1 and the Braddock Road Metro station. (The line will expand to the Pentagon City Metro station by this summer.)
Maybe Lidl saw that there would be a convenient transit system right next to the building and that helped them to go for the deal.
I think it’s good for the County to fill up all that empty office space, especially since those are the first office buildings people see when they drive into Arlington on Rte. 1. Metroway and the new office deal have some interest for cyclists in that it can be another example of how Arlington can continue to grow and prosper without relying on single-occupant car driving. While many of the employees will probably still drive to the new office, many may choose to rely on Metro and the Metroway bus line. Capital Bikeshare is an option too. There are two bike stations within a block of National Gateway. I believe they usually empty out on weekday mornings and fill up on weekday evenings, because nearby residents use the bikes to travel to the Crystal City Metro station. Lidl employees would follow a reverse pattern. This would help with rebalancing of the Potomac Yard-Arlington bike stations. That in itself could provide a benefit to CaBi users in the nearby residential buildings.
There will be more demand for restaurant options in that immediate area. Some of the restaurants near National Gateway have struggled to survive with the lack of a customer base of nearby office workers. Melody Tavern, the Asian (pricey) buffet and the Subway all closed. New restaurants/bars might open up once Lidl occupies the building. (The Melody Tavern space is now a daycare center, I believe. But the other spaces are still empty.)
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/04/international-discount-grocer-lidl-to-establish.html?page=all
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