A family-owned interior design shop that has been furnishing Herndon homes for two generations could soon embark on a reconfiguration of its own.
The owners of Designs and Interiors by The Upholstery Shop are seeking a special exception from the Town of Herndon to allow a private events venue on the first floor of their historic downtown building at 757 Elden Street.
A Fairfax County Circuit Court judge last week issued a summary judgment against the Town of Herndon in its ongoing legal battle against Comstock after the developer backed out of a long-stalled downtown redevelopment project in 2024.
The town’s lawsuit, filed last year, had demanded that Comstock return the title of a nearly 5-acre site in the northeast quadrant of the Elden and Center Street intersection, that had been transferred to the developer with plans for a mixed-use block with apartments, an arts center, retail space and a parking garage.
Despite recent discussions regarding zoning changes in the town, Herndon has never been the target of Comstock Companies’ plans for a Fairfax County casino, the developer said in a rare public statement on the issue.
“Comstock has not proposed, pursued, or supported casino development anywhere in Herndon,” the developer said yesterday (Thursday), also denying that it has ever harbored plans for a casino in Reston.
Herndon is officially taking legal action against Comstock Companies after the developer backed out of its long-stalled downtown redevelopment project last year.
The town filed a lawsuit in Fairfax County Circuit Court this afternoon (Friday) demanding that Comstock return the nearly 5-acre site that it planned to transform into a mixed-use block with an arts center, apartments, retail space and a parking garage.
With an entrance flanked by a Little Free Art Gallery and a colorful “LOVE” sign, Arts Herndon brings visible energy to a block of downtown Herndon otherwise dominated by an asphalt parking lot.
After this month, however, there will only be the parking lot and an empty concrete building, even though the development project that necessitated a temporary displacement of the art groups on the property has ground to a halt.
A potential legal battle is brewing over the stalled project to revitalize Herndon’s downtown.
The Town of Herndon filed a declaration in Fairfax County Circuit Court last Friday (Feb. 28) terminating Comstock Companies’ rights to the nearly 5-acre block at the northeast corner of Center and Elden streets that the developer had planned to turn into an arts center, apartments, retail space and a parking garage.
Herndon leaders past and present are surveying the aftermath of Comstock’s decision to officially pull the plug on its long-percolating downtown redevelopment project, but so far, they’re not blaming the developer.
With details of its separation from Comstock still being worked out, including the fate of the Arts Herndon building that would’ve been demolished, the Town of Herndon declined to comment beyond interim town manager Chris Martinez’s announcement last Tuesday (Dec. 10).
The full impact of Comstock’s decision to halt its plans for a mixed-use development in downtown Herndon is still solidifying, but at least one ripple effect of the project appears to be irreversible.
The independent bookstore A Thousand Stories announced earlier this month that Saturday, Dec. 21 will be its last day in business. In a push to clear its shelves, the store at 750 Center Street is offering extended hours and discounts of 20% to 40% off all items until it closes.
Years of work to redevelop the core of downtown Herndon have officially fizzled out.
Developer Comstock informed town leaders last Friday (Dec. 6) that it will no longer move forward with a long-awaited project that promised apartments, retail, an arts center and a public parking garage, interim town manager Chris Martinez announced at the Herndon Town Council meeting tonight (Tuesday).
Though it’s now 145 years old, the Town of Herndon’s identity continues to evolve.
A small-town feel and diversity were among the salient attributes highlighted by an emerging brand strategy, a consultant reported to the Herndon Town Council at a work session on Tuesday (Oct. 1). But questions remain on how the town will engage its minority-majority community.
