Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

County-owned West Falls Church and Bailey’s Crossroads sites may become affordable housing

Published June 12, 2023 at 3:30PM

2859 Annandale Road (via Google Maps)

Fairfax County is moving to make two vacant properties in the Mason District available for development as affordable housing.

At Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross’s request, the Board of Supervisors directed staff on June 6 to schedule public hearings on potential transfers of county-owned land at 2859 Annandale Road and 5831 Columbia Pike to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA).

News

BREAKING: Man dies by suicide after shooting and stabbing in Reston, police say

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 12, 2023 at 2:50PM | Updated June 12, 2023 at 3:09PM

Fairfax County police car lights flashing (file photo)

(Updated at 3:10 p.m.) A man who died by suicide in Richmond today (Monday) was responsible for a shooting, stabbing and carjacking in Reston yesterday, Fairfax County police say.

Officers were dispatched to a home in the 12000 block of Thunder Chase Drive at 1:58 a.m. yesterday, where they found one person inside with “multiple gunshot wounds,” according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

Around Town

Persian restaurant is opening in Chef Geoff’s former Tysons space

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 12, 2023 at 1:30PM

Joon, a new restaurant coming to Fairfax Square in Tysons, will serve Persian cuisine (courtesy Joon)

A new restaurant has moved into the Fairfax Square space once filled by Chef Geoff’s.

Described as a “high end” Persian restaurant from noted chefs Najmieh Batmanglij and Christopher Morgan, Joon will open at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) at 8045 Leesburg Pike in Tysons.

News

Man will serve two years in prison for fatally shooting friend in Vienna

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 12, 2023 at 9:30AM

The Fairfax County Courthouse (file photo)

A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to serve two years in prison for a fatal shooting at the Vienna Park apartments that the judge described as “a parent’s worst nightmare.”

What began as an intoxicated hangout between friends ended in tragedy when Vienna resident Andrew Gordiyenko shot 21-year-old Matthew Chadwick on June 10, 2021, according to defense attorney Erik Jurgensen’s recounting of the incident at a sentencing hearing on Friday (June 9).

News

Plan to convert former Inova HQ into live-work development advances

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 9, 2023 at 1:30PM

Developer Madison Highland has proposed a "game table community park" outside 8110 Gatehouse Road with its repurposing as live/work units (via Fairfax County)

The proposed repurposing of Inova Health System’s former corporate headquarters in Merrifield as live/work and workforce housing units got a hearty recommendation from the Fairfax County Planning Commission earlier this week.

The commission recommended on Wednesday (June 7) that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approve the plan from Madison Highland, a developer focused on live/work projects that’s pursuing similar conversions at the Skyline Center in Bailey’s Crossroads.

News

Providence Community Center’s new name is up for a vote

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 9, 2023 at 11:45AM

Providence Community Center (file photo)

Fairfax County has already decided to rename the Providence Community Center after the late Jim Scott, a former Providence District supervisor and state delegate.

The exact phrasing of the new name, however, remains up for debate.

News

Grill grease behind McLean house fire that displaced four people

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 9, 2023 at 9:30AM

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responds to a house fire in the 6000 block of Chesterbrook Road in McLean (via FCFRD)

Four McLean residents lost their home last week in a fire that investigators say was ignited by grease on an outdoor grill.

The fire started accidentally in the 6000 block of Chesterbrook Road on June 2 when grease that had accumulated on the back patio grill ignited, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department reported yesterday (Thursday).

News

Vienna will send 1950s-era Faith Baptist Church building to ‘house heaven’

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 8, 2023 at 2:15PM

The former Faith Baptist Church building in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Faith Baptist Church that has occupied 301 Center Street South in Vienna for about seven decades will officially be torn down.

Faced with increasing maintenance costs, the Vienna Town Council voted unanimously on Monday (June 5) to demolish the entire two-story building, which was originally built in the 1950s, according to Fairfax County records.

Around Town

Handmade ice cream shop to expand from Arlington to the Mosaic District and beyond

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 8, 2023 at 11:00AM

A scoop of roasted red pepper ice cream from Mimi's Handmade (photo by Rollin Amore)

An Arlington-based ice cream shop that brings together flavors from around the world is planting its flag in the Mosaic District to further an ambitious expansion plan.

Mimi’s Handmade will take up residence in the Merrifield neighborhood at 2985 District Avenue, Suite 160, replacing 520 Ice Cream and Tea after the cafe closed late last year.

Countywide

Poll: Fairfax County’s air quality is hazardous today. Have you limited your outdoor activities?

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 8, 2023 at 9:45AM | Updated June 8, 2023 at 10:28AM

The Capital Beltway at Lewinsville Road is hazy and congested (via VDOT)

(Updated at 10:30 a.m.) It’s another day of poor air quality for Fairfax County and the rest of the D.C. area.

As wildfires continue to burn in Canada, the resulting smoke has clouded the East Coast in a sometimes orange-tinted haze of particulate matter. As of 9 a.m., Fairfax was at 313 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) — a Code Maroon for hazardous air that’s even more severe than yesterday’s Code Red.