Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

Heavier fines approved for speeders outside McLean park

Published September 27, 2023 at 2:30PM

Linway Terrace in McLean (via Google Maps)

Drivers will now have to pay more if they exceed the speed limit on Linway Terrace in McLean.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors gave its support yesterday (Tuesday) to an additional $200 fine for speeding on the residential street between Birch Road and Kirby Road, a half-mile stretch that includes the entrance to Linway Terrace Park (6246 Linway Terrace).

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Proposal to replace Herndon area cricket field with affordable housing gets hearing

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 27, 2023 at 10:30AM

The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority has acquired land at 13500 Dulles Greene Drive for future affordable housing (via Fairfax County)

The community will soon get a chance to comment on whether a temporary cricket field near the Innovation Center Metro station should be opened up to affordable housing proposals, even as the search for a replacement athletic facility continues.

The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 yesterday (Tuesday) to schedule a public hearing on the proposed transfer of county-owned land at 13500 Dulles Greene Drive for Oct. 24 at 4:30 p.m.

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Draft McLean Community Center budget funds energy study, playground and more

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 27, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated September 27, 2023 at 4:41PM

The McLean Community Center at 1234 Ingleside Avenue (courtesy MCC)

(Updated at 2:50 p.m.) Operations at the McLean Community Center (MCC) are starting to look a lot more like 2019 — at least as far as its budget is concerned.

The center’s governing board will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) to gather community input on its proposed budget for fiscal year 2025, which will begin July 1, 2024 and end on June 30, 2025.

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Report: Comstock wants a casino in Reston, but state legislation still needed

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 26, 2023 at 3:30PM

Reston Station from the Wiehle Avenue bridge (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A casino may still be on the table for Fairfax County, though it faces some long odds to becoming a reality.

According to a new report by Patch, the real estate company Comstock is interested in building a casino in the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station area, where it owns nearly 80 acres of land for the still-growing Reston Station development.

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McLean’s Chesterbrook Shopping Center seeks to make businesses more visible with renovation

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 26, 2023 at 2:30PM | Updated November 20, 2023 at 3:45PM

Chesterbrook Shopping Center owner Federal Realty has requested more signage space for South Block and other tenants (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The new signs planned for Chesterbrook Shopping Center in McLean won’t point to their corresponding businesses with big, flashing arrows, but that’s essentially the effect property owner Federal Realty hopes to achieve.

The developer got the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s support on Sept. 14 for a special exception that would allow more signage space at the shopping center on Old Dominion Drive.

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Commercial vacancies decline in Fairfax, defying national trends, city says

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 26, 2023 at 1:15PM

Engineering consultant CDM Smith celebrates its recently opened, 13,300-square-foot office at 10600 Eaton Place in Fairfax City (courtesy Fairfax City Economic Development)

At a time when cities from D.C. to San Francisco are grappling with historically high vacancy rates, Fairfax City is feeling pretty good about the rising demand for its commercial space.

General commercial vacancy rates have dropped from 6.6% at the beginning of 2023 to 6% in the third quarter, Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED) — a partnership between the city’s economic development office and the Fairfax City Economic Development Authority (EDA) — reported last week.

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Reston Association proposes increase in member dues, which will cover recreation passes

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 26, 2023 at 11:30AM

Reston Association

The assessment fees that Reston Association members pay every year are expected to go up again in 2024, based on a newly proposed budget.

To cover the actual costs of running the organization, the annual assessment would need to increase to $872 next year — a 14.3% jump from the $763 that RA charged this year, RA CEO Mac Cummins said in a report to the board of directors.

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Bailey’s Crossroads man arrested for online threats of violence against church

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 26, 2023 at 9:30AM | Updated September 26, 2023 at 12:10PM

Park Valley Church in Haymarket (via Google Maps)

A Bailey’s Crossroads resident has been arrested after allegedly threatening violence at a church in Haymarket.

Rui Jiang, 35, posted multiple “threatening” messages to his Instagram account on Sunday (Sept. 24), including ones where he pointed a gun at pictures of churches, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

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Fairfax Station man dies after two-vehicle crash on Ox Road

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 25, 2023 at 3:45PM

A Fairfax County police SUV with lights on (file photo)

An 89-year-old man has died in the wake of a two-vehicle crash on Route 123 (Ox Road) in the Lorton area.

Around 9:40 a.m. on Saturday (Sept. 23), Lloyd South, 89, of Fairfax Station was headed east on Ox Road in a 2014 Nissan Frontier truck when he “disregarded” a stop sign and collided with a 2018 Volvo XC90 SUV, the Fairfax County Police Department reported today (Monday).

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Reconfigured Route 7 and Lewinsville Road intersection to open Thursday

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 25, 2023 at 2:30PM | Updated September 26, 2023 at 3:58PM

A new, permanent traffic pattern will take effect at Route 7 and Lewinsville Road on Sept. 26 (via VDOT)

Updated at 4 p.m. on 9/26/2023 — The traffic pattern change at Lewinsville Road and Route 7 has been rescheduled for 5 a.m. on Thursday (Sept. 28), the Virginia Department of Transportation says.

Earlier: One portion of the ongoing project to widen northern Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) is complete.