Rosslyn BID Gets Neighborhood Ready For Phase 3

ROSSLYN, VA — Along with the rest of Virginia, Arlington is poised phase three of Gov. Ralph Northam's phased reopening from statewide closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Since the pandemic hit in March, the Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID) has been taking a holistic approach to how it was going to serve its business and restaurants, while getting the neighborhood ready for the different phases of it reopening, according BID President Mary-Claire Burick.

"It was a neighborhood-wide approach to both the physical space, but then also making sure that those businesses and those restaurants would be ready," Burick said.

In phase one, Rosslyn BID launched its Ready For Reentry program by hiring Gensler, a planning and consulting firm, to provide digital resources and a workbook with information on space management and cleaning protocols. Then, it hosted a series of webinars so that businesses could interact with Gensler, certified industrial hygienist Hilmann Consulting, and law firm Bean, Kinney & Korman to work out their human resources considerations.

BID also worked with Streetsense, a design and strategy firm, to help gather information for Rosslyn's restaurants.

"Our goal was just to ensure that the neighborhood was ready to welcome everybody back to work, to their favorite restaurants and to our outdoor spaces with new signage and spacing, and sanitation all in place and ready for them," Burick said.

With its Rosslyn Ready program in phase two, the BID began to prepare the neighborhood for the influx of people return to Rosslyn to work, dine, and play.

To that end, Rosslyn BID installed hundreds of new signs, stickers, banners, building wraps, and instructional materials in high-traffic areas throughout the district.

The BID also contracted with Hilmann to enhance the cleaning and sanitizing of the BID's public assets.

"The BID Ambassadors help keep the neighborhood clean," Burick said. "They have all received additional specialized training and we've updated their cleaning zones with extra sanitation, particularly for high-touch areas."

The final piece of Rosslyn BID's preparations was to adapt safe social distancing guidelines to its open spaces.

"We've installed wipes stations throughout the neighbor, so people can take a wipe and wipe down a piece of furniture before they sit," Burick said. "We've placed a the furniture 6-8 feet apart. And then we've transformed any under utilized space by adding additional seating. We want to make sure people have plenty of places to go outdoors and do so in a safe way."

Although most nonessential businesses were forced to close when the governor issued his stay-at-order at the end of March, many Rosslyn restaurants were able to stay open for delivery and carryout service. Rosslyn BID supported their efforts by maintaining a comprehensive list of Rosslyn restaurants on its website.

When Arlington entered phase pwo of the governor's reopening plan, restaurants were able to offer service via outdoor seating. Rosslyn BID worked with the county to dedicate sidewalk space outside some restaurants to do just that.

Even though phase three is still a couple of days away, Burick said she was already seeing foot traffic pick up in the BID.

"It's absolutely starting to pick up, both the foot traffic as well as the bicyclists," she said. "We're even starting to see a little bit more of the vehicular traffic as well. Rosslyn is a growing community, and so, our residential base continuing to grow. We're starting to see them comfortable coming out."

Also see ...

Virginia's Phase 3 Reopening Scheduled To Begin July 1: Governor

Arlington Prepares For Phase 2 Of Reopening

Rosslyn BID Highlights Dining Options During Coronavirus

Virginia 'Stay-At-Home' Order Issued, Coronavirus Cases Top 1K