Chantilly | FFXnow

Route 1 BRT, Elden Street upgrades among transportation projects vying for regional funds

Published April 9, 2026 at 9:15AM

Residents attend an in-person update on the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project at the Gerry South Hyland Government Center on Jan. 15, 2025 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County is pinning all its hopes for a new round of regional transportation funding on a single major project, but local travelers could also benefit from some of the other contenders.

As authorized last fall by the Board of Supervisors, the county is seeking $463 million from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) for its planned “The One” bus rapid transit (BRT) system, which would serve nine stations along a 7.4-mile stretch of Richmond Highway, also known as Route 1, from Huntington to Fort Belvoir.

Around Town

Playa Bowls plans grand opening this weekend at Greenbriar Town Center

By Katie Taranto

Published April 7, 2026 at 10:00AM

Playa Bowls menu items (courtesy Playa Bowls)

Festivities are in order to celebrate a new spot for acai and smoothie bowls at the Greenbriar Town Center in Chantilly this weekend.

Playa Bowls is hosting a grand opening at 11 a.m. this Saturday (April 11) for its shop at 13059-A Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, replacing a vacancy left by Subway. The New Jersey-based franchise serves up a variety of acai bowls, smoothies and oatmeal, in addition to juice and cold brew coffee.

News

FCPD hunting ‘con artist’ accused of swiping jewelry through sleight of hand

By Jared Serre

Published April 1, 2026 at 11:45AM

Police have identified Cristina Paun as a suspect in a series of jewelry robberies on March 20, 2026, including one incident at Backlick Plaza in Springfield (photos via FCPD)

Local law enforcement is searching for a 21-year-old Baltimore woman accused of swiping jewelry from multiple victims through sleight of hand.

Cristina Milhaela Paun has been connected to two different incidents where a woman’s necklace was stolen — both on March 20, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

Countywide

Herndon student wins Fairfax County Spelling Bee, earning spot in national contest

By Inside NoVA

Published March 26, 2026 at 3:45PM

Sign for Floris Elementary School in Herndon (via Google Maps)

Laasya Mohan, a fourth-grader at Floris Elementary School in Herndon, won the 2026 Fairfax County Spelling Bee on Sunday (March 22).

Mohan, who is 9, and first runner-up Aadhya Vijayakumar, 13, an eighth-grader at Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly, will both advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington in late May.

News

County buys Chantilly property for mental health treatment expansion

By Jared Serre

Published March 25, 2026 at 11:45AM

The location of Fairfax County's newly-purchased mental health crisis facility at 14554 Lee Road in Chantilly (via Google Maps)

Fairfax County officials finalized the purchase of a Chantilly property earlier this month to support an expansion of care for adults seeking mental health treatment.

The property, located at 14554 Lee Road, currently operates as Connections Chantilly, a 16-bed, short-term residential treatment center. It will soon be reclassified as a Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Center, meaning it will “provide an alternative to psychiatric hospitalization … and will offer treatment for those who also need safe withdrawal from substances.”

Countywide

Regional teen detox and crisis center opens next week in Fairfax County

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published March 20, 2026 at 10:30AM

Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Northern Virginia Adolescent Treatment Center in Chantilly (photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

A new center for teens struggling with addiction and their mental health has opened in Chantilly.

Government officials and community members gathered yesterday at the Northern Virginia Adolescent Treatment Center for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The 16-bedroom facility — located 4211 Walney Road, near a county-run detox center that serves adults — will offer residential, medically managed detox services to youth patients from throughout the region beginning next Tuesday (March 24).

News

Fairfax County OKs Chantilly land sale to data center builder, as some cry foul

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 19, 2026 at 9:15AM

Security gate blocks access to the Fairfax County Police Department's training compound in Chantilly (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Rebuffing concerns raised by residents on both environmental and transparency grounds, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved the sale of 41.7 acres of county-owned land in Chantilly for development as a data center.

Without making any comments, the supervisors voted 9-0 on Tuesday (March 17) to sell part of the police department’s training facility at 3721 Stonecroft Blvd to Starwood Capital Group under the name SCG Capital Holdings LLC.

Around Town

Acai bowl chain now hiring for planned Chantilly location

By Jared Serre

Published March 9, 2026 at 3:45PM

Playa Bowls menu items (courtesy Playa Bowls)

It doesn’t appear to be long before an acai bowl chain opens its latest location in Chantilly.

Playa Bowls is currently hiring for its forthcoming store in the Greenbriar Town Center (13059-A Route 50), according to a social media post.

News

Environmental groups seek more details of plan to sell Chantilly land for data center

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 9, 2026 at 10:00AM

Portion of Fairfax County's property at 3721 Stonecroft Blvd that could be sold to developer SCG Global Holdings for a future data center (via Fairfax County)

A coalition of environmental advocacy organizations is asking Fairfax County officials for more information about the proposed sale of 42 acres in Chantilly to a data center developer.

County supervisors have set a March 17 public hearing to consider selling a portion of the county-owned parcel at 3721 Stonecroft Blvd where the Fairfax County Police Department has several training facilities.

News

Fairfax County approves loans for affordable housing projects after federal funding loss

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 5, 2026 at 2:45PM

Coralain Gardens apartments in West Falls Church (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved nearly $11 million in loan funding on Tuesday (March 2) to support two affordable housing projects — one that will preserve units and another that could add dozens of new homes for seniors.

One of the proposals won unanimous support, while the other drew flak from the board’s lone Republican.