News | FFXnow - Part 622

New plan submitted for Virginia Tech campus redevelopment near West Falls Church Metro

Published September 27, 2022 at 11:00AM

Virginia Tech's Northern Virginia Center in Idylwood (via Google Maps)

A developer has officially filed plans with Fairfax County to bring housing, retail, and new office and academic facilities to Virginia Tech’s campus in Idylwood.

As a joint entity named Converge West Falls LLC, real estate investment firm Rushmark Properties and the construction company HITT Contracting have proposed replacing the existing Northern Virginia Center at 7054 Haycock Road with a 283,000-square-foot office building, up to 440 residential units, and a 2,000-square-foot retail pavilion.

Reston’s Halley Rise development to feature new urban farm, fall festival

By Fatimah Waseem

Published September 27, 2022 at 10:15AM

The Halley Rise development in Reston will include a nearly half-acre farm (courtesy Brookfield Properties)

Halley Rise — a major mixed use development at the door of the Reston Town Center Metro station — will debut its inaugural Halley Rise Fall Festival on Oct. 22.

The event, which includes live music, food and activities, also kicks off the introduction of the Farm at Halley Rise, an urban farm by Up Top Acres that grows food and donates products to organizations that work to reduce food insecurity.

Upgraded bridge on Mount Vernon Trail in Fort Hunt officially reopens

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 27, 2022 at 9:30AM

National Park Service staff, elected officials, and community volunteers celebrate the reopening of Mount Vernon Trail's Bridge 12 (via National Park Service)

The National Park Service has completed the first of four planned projects to reconstruct bridges along Mount Vernon Trail.

Park service staff, elected officials and community members celebrated the reopening of Bridge 12 near Fort Hunt Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday (Sept. 24). The occasion coincided with National Public Lands Day, which encourages volunteers to help restore and improve national parks and other public lands.

Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published September 27, 2022 at 7:30AM

Snakeden Branch at Lake Audubon in Reston (photo by Ray Copson)

Tolls on First Day of New I-66 Lanes Top $6 — “Washington-bound drivers paid an average of $6.10 during the Monday morning commute to use new Interstate 66 toll lanes from Gainesville to Centreville, according to the toll operator. The highest toll in the eastbound lanes was $6.50 at the peak of the commute, officials said.” [The Washington Post]

Monkeypox Vaccine Eligibility Expands — “The VDH announced eligibility expansion for JYNNEOS, the monkeypox vaccine to include people of any gender or sexual orientation living with HIV/AIDS or who were diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the past three months.” [Fairfax County Health Department/Twitter]

NEW: Developer questions county’s handling of proposal for new Reston library

By Fatimah Waseem

Published September 26, 2022 at 3:00PM

Reston Regional Library (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A developer that filed a competing proposal for a new Reston library and affordable housing is calling into question Fairfax County’s handling of an unsolicited proposal it received for a new library near the same site.

Developer Norton Scott says the county mishandled the solicitation process after developer Foulger-Pratt filed a proposal to redevelop 4.5 acres of land at the intersection Bowman Towne Court and Town Center Parkway in October 2021.

Vienna proposes bonuses to attract more maintenance truck drivers

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 26, 2022 at 2:30PM

A kid runs past Vienna Town Hall (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

With the national shortage of commercial drivers continuing to strain services from trash collection to school buses, the Town of Vienna plans to increase salaries and offer bonuses to bolster its maintenance workforce.

As part of a new incentive program, the Department of Public Works recommends that the town increase its entry-level salary for maintenance workers to $55,000 and offer a $2,000 hiring bonus to new employees with a commercial driver’s license (CDL).

West Falls Church development plans will require major Metro parking cuts

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 26, 2022 at 1:30PM

A rendering of the proposed development outside the West Falls Church Metro station (via WMATA)

Metro anticipates reducing the parking capacity at its West Falls Church station by over 700 spaces in order to accommodate a planned redevelopment of the property between I-66 and Haycock Road.

Under review by Fairfax County, the project would replace the Metro station’s surface parking lots with 24 acres of mixed-use development, including up to 900 residential units, 110,000 square feet of office, and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

Remains found in Tysons identified as teen who disappeared 47 years ago

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 26, 2022 at 11:45AM

Police have identified the remains of Patricia Gildawie, a 17-year-old Fairfax City resident who went missing in 1975 (via FCPD)

Human remains discovered by a drainage ditch in Tysons over two decades ago have been linked to a teen who went missing back in 1975, Fairfax County police announced today (Monday).

With help from the private forensics lab Othram Inc., cold case detectives have identified the remains found behind the Post apartments in 2001 as those of Patricia Agnes Gildawie, a Fairfax City resident who disappeared when she was 17.

Convenience store approved for longtime family-owned gas station in Springfield

By Fatimah Waseem

Published September 26, 2022 at 10:30AM

A Springfield gas station that has been owned by the same family since 1955 is getting a big makeover.

After sorting through several hiccups, the Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously approved the project to upgrade the Ravensworth Shell station (8011 Braddock Road) at a Sept. 21 meeting.

Metro unveils new map with addition of Silver Line extension

By Fatimah Waseem

Published September 26, 2022 at 9:30AM

The latest map includes phase two of the Silver Line (Image via Metro).

Metro has officially debuted changes to its 2019 map of the rail system.

This past Friday (Sept. 23), Metrorail began rolling out the new maps — which feature the Silver Line extension and stations with new name — to its stations, trains and transit centers.