Reston Association is seeking candidates for its 2024 Board of Directors’ election.
Four seats are open for the election, which will take place in March. Specifically, two at-large director seats are open, along with the South Lakes district director and the apartment owners’ representative.
Ed Abbott, chair of RA’s elections committee, said the positions offer residents a chance to contribute to the community’s legacy.
“The Board has played a crucial role in shaping our community. Its members have been stewards of Reston’s values, advocating for green initiatives, recreation, and preserving our neighborhoods,” Abbott wrote in a statement.
Candidate forms are due by 5 p.m. on Jan. 26 via email or in person at RA’s headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive). An election information session is set for Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. All homeowners and tenants in good standing are eligible to apply for positions on the nine-member board.
Voting for the month-long election kicks off on March 1.
The renovation of Reston’s Lake Thoreau pool has officially been completed in time for the 2024 pool season.
Construction on the project at 2040 Upper Lake Drive began in the summer of 2022 after a nearly seven-month-long permit approval process.
“The renovations at Lake Thoreau pool provided some much needed improvements and expansions to make the site fully ADA compatible, ensuring it is accessible for all Restonians,” Reston Association said in a statement. “In addition, the community will find new improvements to the spa as well as a new elevated deck, which will offer additional opportunities for relaxation.”
The new, roughly $3.5 million facility includes a pool with six lap lanes, a ramp to provide ADA access, a redesigned deck, a larger 25-space parking lot, an overlook with a pollinator garden, and expanded bathhouses, which have been moved away from the spa.
The bathhouse has also been fully gutted and replaced with a 400-square-foot addition that includes a family bathroom.
Lake Thoreau pool has been closed since 2020 in anticipation of the renovation.
An initial groundbreaking in the winter of 2021 was delayed due to extended contract negotiations, according to RA. Unforeseen sight repairs and site conditions pushed the opening out of this year’s pool season into next year, RA announced in July.
A new Shadowood pool is currently under construction and expected to open in time for next year’s pool season, which typically begins in May.
Photo courtesy RA/YouTube
Housing could be on the horizon for Roger Bacon Drive in Reston.
At a meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 5), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion to initiate a review of a development proposal for 11260 Roger Bacon Drive, adding it to the county’s existing Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program.
The proposal would add the option of residential mixed-use development at the site, which is currently developed with a five-story office building that was constructed in 1980. Existing tenants of the building, which is across the street from a McDonald’s, include FVC Bank.
The preliminary plan pitches roughly 275 units and 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said that if the proposal moves forward, a “coordinated analysis” would be necessary to ensure that the project is in harmony with neighboring areas.
“The addition of this plan amendment to the work program was coordinated with staff and it did not raise issues with staff resources,” Alcorn said.
The county’s comprehensive plan currently envisions a pedestrian-oriented environment with mid and-high-rise buildings and a mix of uses, including ground-floor retail. Parcels on Roger Bacon Drive are developed with office buildings, a 23-unit condominium building and three restaurants, along with surface parking.
The potential amendment would also include a planned grid of streets linking Roger Bacon Drive, Michael Faraday Court, and Lake Fairfax Business Center.
Alcorn also asked the county to remove a proposal by Brookfield Properties from the work program. The developer had requested an increase in the amount of housing allowed around the Sunset Hills Road and Hunter Mill Road intersection.
The nomination, which also suggested the possibility of retail, was one of several Reston-related proposals accepted by the county board in April as part of its Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process, which allows particular properties to be submitted for land use changes.
Many of the Reston nominations were prioritized for review in an overall study of the Reston Transit Station Area, but the Brookfield proposal had already been deferred in the lowest, third tier of the work program.
“Review of this area could be considered during the next Site-Specific Plan Amendment nomination period if a nomination is received at that time,” Alcorn’s board matter said.
The SSPA process kicked off in October 2022. Nominations for site-specific evaluations were accepted following a screening phase in December last year.
Image via Google Maps
Sixty Vines, a restaurant with a vineyard-inspired menu, will open in Reston Town Center on Monday (Dec. 11).
Located at 11905 Market Street in the former Clyde’s of Reston, the restaurant previously announced that it would open this December but didn’t set a firm date.
The 12,857-square-foot location — which has an open layout and communal table — is the first in the state. It also includes a bar, private events space and outdoor seating.
“Guests are invited to discover the perfect pour for their palate with wine served by the flight, half glass, glass, or bottle,” Sixty Vines said in a news release. “Selections include a variety of reds, rosés, and whites sourced exclusively from iconic winemakers, along with a variety of cocktails and mocktails.”
The restaurant will open from 4-10 p.m. on its first day. After that, the restaurant will be open on Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Items on the menu include wood-fired pizzas, custom charcuterie boards, pasta, seafood and fresh salad. There will also be 60 wines on tap from countries around the world.
A plan that will guide the redevelopment of 94 acres of 25 privately owned properties near the Herndon Metrorail Station is expected to go before the Herndon Planning Commission early next year.
The final draft of the Transit-related Growth (TRG) plan will head to the commission by Feb. 1, but one of three property owners that collectively pitched $500,000 to complete the study pulled out from the plan, staff told the Herndon Town Council at a work session yesterday (Tuesday).
Herndon Hotel Ownership LLC has asked to remove itself from the planning effort. The town will still receive the full $500,000 to complete the study, according to Elizabeth Gilleran, Herndon’s director of community development.
Gilleran told the council that the owner changed his future plans for the property, which appears to be Hyatt House at 467 Herndon Parkway, per Fairfax County property records.
“Since his plan changed, he wasn’t ready,” Gilleran said, adding that the trio of property owners had committed to moving forward with redevelopment.
At the work session, the council considered a proposal that would extend the review period for the TRG plan and add a brief reference to it in the town’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan.
The town hired Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to complete the plan. So far, after public input, the town is settling on one of three preferred alternatives for the future of the TRG.
The area is bounded to the south by Herndon Transit-oriented Core (HTOC) redevelopment area, to the east by Fairfax County Parkway, to the north by Spring Street and to the west by the Downs and Van Buren Estates residential subdivisions.
Work on the TRG plan kicked off in early 2022. Once approved, the document will establish a long-term vision for the future redevelopment of the hodgepodge of parcels into a “well-designed and viable mixed-use district,” according to the town.
From a Dec. 5 staff memo:
The plan is expected to encourage redevelopment, recognize the probability of disparate development timelines, provide redevelopment, provide appropriate buffers to abutting neighborhoods, formulate a unique sense of place as well as an identity integral to the Town of Herndon, contribute to a multi-modal transportation network, and establish a pattern and expectation for innovative, sustainable, and excellence in architectural and urban design.
Lauri Sigler, the town’s deputy attorney, said that while work on the plan has taken time, all parties have worked diligently to move forward.
“Things have taken a little longer than expected even though staff and SOM have been working diligently to get the plan over the finish line,” Sigler said.
Goodwill is launching a new express donation site in the Herndon area.
The drop-off site is expected to officially open in the Village Center at Dulles sometime this month, according to Brendan Hurley, a spokesperson for Goodwill of Great Washington & The Goodwill Excel Center.
Goodwill’s existing retail store in the shopping center will remain at its current location.
Hurley told FFXnow that the new location is more convenient and easily accessible, since it’s right off Centreville Road and provides easier ingress and egress for donors.
“The location will also…include a drive through canopy under which donors can make donations without stepping out into the uncontrollable and often inconvenient weather conditions,” Hurley wrote in a statement.
Donations accepted at the new site include household goods, electronics and apparel, which are then resold to the nonprofit organization. The center will operate as a goods distribution hub and provide short-term storage for donations.
The donation center is located at 2545 Centreville Road in suite Q18. Donations will be transported to the Goodwill in the same general plaza (2421 Centreville Road).
Construction on a new pedestrian bridge in Reston Town Center will begin this week.
According to the town center, the bridge will cross over the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, which passes by the town center south of Bluemont Way.
It will provide a link between Reston Town Center and the nearby Metro station, “while significantly increasing the safety of those who utilize the trail,” a press release says.
Boston Properties (BXP), which owns the town center, expects that construction will result in some detours.
“A short diversion off the trail around the construction will be implemented in January and will be in place for the duration of the project,” Reston Town Center said in the press release. “In late winter, a portion of the trail will be closed for a short period of time requiring an additional detour.”
Reston Town Center didn’t address follow-up questions about the project, including exactly where the bridge will be located.
The bridge is being built by the contractor Clark Construction. Work is expected to wrap up around late spring or early summer of 2024.
A 93,100-square-foot office building in Fairfax City may soon have a new future on its horizon.
The Fairfax City Council is meeting tonight (Tuesday) to discuss a preliminary proposal to redevelop the office building on 1201 Fairfax Blvd into a six-story residential building with roughly 300 apartment units and about 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial retail.
Two levels of underground parking and amenities on the first floor, including a central courtyard, are also planned, according to the preliminary proposal.
Each unit would be “efficiently designed” with space-saving beds that drop down from the ceiling and dining tables that can be folded away for storage, according to the Nov. 17 pre-application.
“The smart home technology includes features such as the ability to control appliances ranging from the washing machine to the dishwasher to the vacuum with a smartphone, dry cleaning system built into closets, the ability to see inside of the refrigerator without opening the refrigerator door and mirrors that display the date, time and temperature,” Odin, Feldman & Pittleman attorney Sara Mariska wrote in a letter to the city’s community planning and development director on the developer’s behalf.
The nearly 3-acre parcel is located in a primarily commercial corridor. Preliminarily, staff noted that residential uses aren’t recommended in commercial corridors.
The city’s planning commission also noted that the “proposed use might not be the best use at the site,” questioned the “need for a well occupied office building to be repurposed,” and raised concerns about the proposed height and distance from single-family homes, according to meeting materials.
Transwestern Investment Group sold off the building in August. At that time, the company reported that the property was 96% occupied.
(Updated at 1:05 p.m. on 12/6/2023) Reston Station area residents and visitors will soon be able to return to Starbucks for their coffee fix.
The Starbucks at 1908 Reston Metro Plaza will reopen this weekend after closing on Nov. 26 for a renovation, a company spokesperson told FFXnow. Operations are expected to resume on Friday, Dec. 8, Reston Station said on Instagram.
The Starbucks spokesperson described the renovations as “standard” for a store.
(Correction: Starbucks initially told FFXnow that the Reston Station shop would be closed through “winter 2024” for ongoing renovations.)
“As a standard course of business, we continually evaluate our store portfolio, using various criteria to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers,” the spokesperson said.
All Starbucks employees that worked at the store got the chance to transfer to nearby locations until the location reopens, the company said.
Hat tip to Adam Rubenstein, and to commenters Allison Kinneberg and cosmo for pointing out the timeline error.
The Town of Herndon is formalizing its donation program for cultural festivals in an effort to create a system for supporting and encouraging events that encourage cultural celebrations and promote its brand.
The move follows the council’s adoption of a policy statement that supports community cultural festivals on Oct. 24.
“Often referred to in discussions with Town Council as ‘mini-festivals,’ the desire is to complement the town’s already robust community event opportunities, with focus placed on celebrating and sharing the cultures represented in the community,” the policy statement reads.
The Herndon Town Council will discuss the matter in a meeting tomorrow (Tuesday). Organizations may request donations, but not all events will be eligible to receive town money.
Under the approved policy statement, the host organization must be a nonprofit or not-for-profit in good legal standing that’s either located in the town or offers services and programs that directly benefit the Herndon community.
The event itself must be a new community-oriented event, located within the Town of Herndon, free and open to all, and celebrate cultures found in Herndon.
If the program is approved, applicants must request a donation at least 90 days before the proposed event and submit a companion review application for the event itself.
Events that receive donations will be allowed to feature the Town of Herndon’s logo and will be used in the town’s marketing efforts.
Once the donation program is agreed upon, the town will launch it on its website.
Discussions on ways to support cultural programming in the Town of Herndon have been underway for several months. In October, the council approved $2,015 for Pakistan Heritage Day organized by town Councilmember Naila Alam and the nonprofit Global Beat Foundation. During those discussions, council members called on town staff to formalizes the processes for donation and event approvals.
