The owners of the former Blanca’s Restaurant at the corner of Columbia Pike and S Walter Reed Dr have recently applied for an outdoor café seating use permit in hopes of attracting a new restaurant tenant to the property. The application will be heard by the County Board at their regular December meeting. Details on the proposal are available here [PDF, 1.3 MiB].

Douglas Park residents will have two opportunities in October to weigh in and learn more about Arlington Public Schools (APS) plans for Randolph Elementary School.

Background:
As many of you are aware, the School Board is seeking to place additional elementary schools seats in South Arlington. Early this summer, the grounds of Thomas Jefferson Middle School (TJMS) was identified as APS’s preferred location to build a new South Arlington elementary school. The County Board has commissioned a working group to evaluate the site with a report due to the County Board in January 2015. The Douglas Park community is represented on that working group. In August, APS identified Barcroft and Randolph Elementary Schools as preferred candidates for expansion should the County Board reject siting a new school at TJMS.

On Mon 20 Oct at 7p at Gunston Middle School, 2700 S Lang St, APS staff will conduct a community-wide forum on South Arlington elementary school expansion options, including TJMS, Barcroft and Randolph.

On Thu 23 Oct at 7.30p in the cafeteria of Randolph Elementary School, 1306 S Quincy St, the Douglas Park Civic Association (DPCA) will conduct a special meeting to discuss the specific options for Randolph Elementary and their impact on Douglas Park. John Chadwick, APS Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations will be among the APS staff in attendance.

All interested Douglas Park residents are encouraged to attend either or both fora.