Author: Scott McCaffrey

A Northern Virginia native, Scott McCaffrey has four decades of reporting, editing and newsroom experience in the local area plus Florida, South Carolina and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. He spent 26 years as editor of the Sun Gazette newspaper chain. For Local News Now, he covers government and civic issues in Arlington, Fairfax County and Falls Church.

News

New GMU grads urged to take chances at winter commencement ceremony

By Scott McCaffrey
George Mason University winter 2024 commencement student speaker Caroline Oduro (via George Mason University screenshot)

George Mason University has ushered a new class of graduates out into a world that they were told yesterday (Thursday) is filled with both opportunities and challenges.

“Believe it or not, your learning journey is just beginning,” George Schindler, former president and CEO of the technology firm CGI, said during winter commencement ceremonies held at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax.

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Countywide

2025 housing forecast projects more sales, higher prices in Fairfax

By Scott McCaffrey
Northern Virginia Association of Realtors 2025 preview (via NVAR)

Potential economic and political headwinds are unlikely to derail sales and price increases Northern Virginia’s 2025 housing market, industry experts believe.

That’s good news for prospective sellers, but purchasers, especially first-time homebuyers, could face continued challenges, according to a 2025 housing market forecast publicly unveiled on Tuesday (Dec. 17) by George Mason University researchers and the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR).

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News

The Virginian developer urged to improve outreach on plan to add cottage housing for seniors

By Scott McCaffrey
The Virginian is proposing to add cottages to its community in Mantua (via Fairfax County)

A plan to build 24 cottage-style independent living units on The Virginian compound along Arlington Blvd in Mantua have taken a key step forward.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 11 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the new facilities at 9229 Arlington Blvd on the south side of Route 50 between Blake Lane and Nutley Street, just east of Fairfax City.

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News

Departing Dranesville District planning commissioner lauded for service

By Scott McCaffrey
John Ulfelder (via Fairfax County)

During their final meeting of 2024, members of the Fairfax County Planning Commission paid tribute to their colleague John Ulfelder, who is departing his post as the Dranesville representative.

Ulfelder “is very balanced in his view of all the cases,” Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina said at the Dec. 11 meeting. “He looks out for the people in his community as well as the rest of Fairfax County.”

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News

Planned Reston senior living facility advances to county board

By Scott McCaffrey
Rendering of The Canopy, Silverstone Senior Living's proposed senior living facility at 10819 Leesburg Pike (via Fairfax County)

A proposal that would bring 131 independent-living, assisted-living and memory-care units to a parcel along Route 7 in the Reston/Great Falls area is advancing to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended approval on Dec. 11 of the facility planned by Silverstone Senior Living at 10819 Leesburg Pike, across from Riva Ridge Road and west of Baron Cameron Avenue.

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News

Proposal to redevelop Commons of McLean apartments wins Planning Commission support

By Scott McCaffrey
The proposed McLean Crossing redevelopment and its surroundings in Tysons (via LCOR and Fairfax County)

The Fairfax County Planning Commission gave its support last week to a mixed-use development dubbed McLean Crossing in Tysons.

The proposal for redeveloping the Commons of McLean apartments at 1640 Anderson Road will now be considered for final approval by the Board of Supervisors in the new year. Ultimately, as many as 5,000 people could call the property their home.

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Countywide

Fairfax County looks for creative ways to support growing retail sector

By Scott McCaffrey
Plaza America shopping center in Reston (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County’s overall retail environment is booming, but county leaders say targeted support is needed to assist some lagging areas.

Despite predictions even before Covid that in-person sales would be supplanted by online commerce, the brick-and-mortar retail sector remains strong across Fairfax County, according to new data presented last week to the county’s Board of Supervisors.

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Countywide

N. Va. leaders criticize possible return-to-work edict for federal employees

By Scott McCaffrey
Work from home (via Chris Montgomery/Unsplash)

A number of regional leaders are pushing back on the incoming Trump administration’s goal of having federal workers quickly return to offices five days a week.

Despite concerns about the impact of work-from-home patterns on local transit and the commercial office sector, requiring federal workers to be back in the office full-time brought concerns from speakers at a recent Dulles Area Transportation Association (DATA) forum.

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Countywide

McKay: County board’s position on possible casino remains unchanged

By Scott McCaffrey
Casino (image via Kvnga/Unsplash)

Fairfax County elected officials intend to take the same position on a proposed Tysons casino in 2025 that they held during the 2024 legislative session.

While some individual members have expressed explicit opposition to the possibility, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors as a whole has hedged its bets: it has concerns but isn’t averse to getting the power from Richmond to conduct a referendum on the matter.

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News

GMU begins gauging public sentiment on future of its 190-acre West Campus in Fairfax

By Scott McCaffrey
George Mason University proposes ideas for developing its West Campus (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

George Mason University officials opened community engagement efforts on Wednesday (Dec. 11) to determine a development plan for the 190-acre western portion of the school’s main campus in Fairfax.

The forum at the Fairfax City Hall attracted about 100 participants and was designed to “usher in a process that gets the community engaged,” Andrew Lieber, the university’s senior associate athletic director for capital planning, said.

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