Building permits are still under review for the stalled redevelopment of downtown Herndon.
At a work session on Feb. 6, town manager Bill Ashton II said the town was still engaged in discussions with Comstock on the site plan process. At the time, Comstock had several items it was working on after town feedback.
A spokesperson for the Town of Herndon told FFXnow there were no further updates to report. Comstock, the Reston-based developer of the project, paused the development in April 2022, citing increased construction costs.
Under an agreement between the town and the developer last updated in late 2020, construction must begin by April 2024.
The cost of the $101 million project increased by $25 million due to issues related to materials, labor, and workforce restrictions caused by the pandemic. It’s unclear what the current estimate is.
Ashton reported in mid-November that Comstock had submitted a revised site plan to the town. Related permits are now in review.
In the works since 2017, Comstock’s plan for downtown Herndon would transform nearly 5 acres at the northeast corner of Center Street and Elden Street into a mixed-use development. The site is currently occupied by the Arts Herndon building.
The proposal calls for 273 apartments, approximately 17,000 square feet of retail space and a 16,265-square-foot arts center. The area would be served by a new, 726-space parking garage.
Town of Herndon staff are currently reviewing building permits for the stalled redevelopment of downtown Herndon.
At a Herndon Town Council meeting on Tuesday (Nov. 14), Town Manager Bill Ashton II said the review should be completed by the holidays.
“It’ll be ready to rock and roll,” Ashton said.
Reston-based developer Comstock paused the development — which is a public-private partnership with the town — in April last year, citing unfavorable market conditions. Movement on the project resumed around August when Comstock submitted a revised site plan to the town.
Once expected to break ground in 2019, the project will transform nearly 5 acres of land into a mixed-use development with 273 apartments, roughly 17,000 square feet of retail, a new arts center, and a 726-space parking garage.
Ashton told the council that he plans to meet with Comstock officials today (Thursday) after nearly three weeks.
The development pause can be in place for up to two years since it went into effect. That means the latest construction would begin is April 2024.
The redevelopment of downtown Herndon — a long-delayed partnership between the Town of Herndon and Reston-based developer Comstock — continues to advance after more than a year-long pause.
At a Herndon Town Council meeting on Tuesday (Sept. 26), Town Manager Bill Ashton II said building permits for the project have gone to the fire marshal for approval.
The project will transform nearly 5 acres of land into a mixed-use community with 273 apartments and roughly 17,000 square feet of retail. A new arts center and a 726-space parking garage are also planned.
Staff have also sent comments and revisions back to Comstock after the developer submitted revised plans for the project. The revisions are not substantive updates, instead simply bringing the delayed project up to code.
Ashton II said Comstock’s representatives noted “there was nothing difficult in the comments.”
That process could take between two to four weeks, Ashton II said. Building permits would then receive approval.
In the interim, Comstock will send the project out for a contractor rebid in the next “couple of weeks,” Ashton II said. Town staff will then examine the project about two months after that process is underway.
The developer elected to pause the project in July 2022 due to “economic conditions.” The $101 million cost increased by $25 million as a result of rising expenses for materials, labor and workforce restrictions, FFXnow previously reported.
The pause can be in place for up to two years after it went into effect. That means the latest construction can begin is April 2024.
Little remains known regarding when the $101 million redevelopment of downtown Herndon will officially begin.
Comstock Companies, the Reston-based developer leading the project with the Town of Herndon, declined to provide information on the timeline of the delayed project, including an anticipated groundbreaking — even after the company recently submitted a revised site plan.
The project will transform nearly 5 acres of land into a mixed-use community with 273 apartments and roughly 17,000 square feet of retail. A new arts center and a 726-space parking garage are also planned.
But the project — which was supposed start construction more than two years ago — is now more than a year into a two-year pause requested by Comstock last summer. That means it has to break ground by April 2024.
A Comstock spokesperson told FFXnow that the company does not have “any updates” on the project. A spokesperson for the Town of Herndon also said no information is available on the development timeline.
Comstock recently submitted a revised development plan for the project, which was put on pause last year due to what the company said were market constraints. Since then, few details have been released to the public.
The new site plan doesn’t include substantive changes from one approved by the town back in May 2019.
Anne Curtis, a spokesperson for the town, told FFXnow that the site plan revision was a necessary step for the company to update its designs to meet the current building code.
“Building permit drawings must be consistent with the site plan drawings. What was submitted was a revision of the site plan that incorporates design changes needed for compliance with the latest version of the building code,” Curtis wrote in a statement.
The town continues to roll over roughly $4 million that was previously appropriated for parking in the redevelopment, which will involve nearly 4.7 acres of land bounded by Elden, Center and Station streets. The town has continued to carry over this amount into the next fiscal year as part of the reappropriation process, Curtis said.
After more than a year-long pause, the redevelopment of downtown Herndon appears to be moving again.
Reston-based developer Comstock Companies has filed a revised site plan for the long-anticipated project, which will transform nearly 5 acres of land into a mixed-use community with 273 apartments and roughly 17,000 square feet of retail. A new arts center and a 726-space parking garage are also planned.
At a Herndon Town Council meeting earlier this month, acting town manager Scott Robinson said the town received the revised site plan, which he described as a “big step” in “reworking their design to bring it up to the current code.”
The revised site plan was not immediately available for review.
Comstock declined to offer any comment on the redevelopment project, which is a public-private partnership between the company and the town.
The company elected to pause the project in July last year due to “economic conditions.” The cost of the $101 million project increased by $25 million due to issues related to materials, labor and workforce restrictions, FFXnow previously reported.
The pause can be in place for up to two years since it went into effect. That means the latest construction would begin is April 2024.
The project was anticipated to break ground nearly two years ago.
A sign on a fence surrounding the site of the project has since said “excitement is building.”
The Town of Herndon is considering a proposal to demolish two historic structures on the Adams-Green Funeral Home property.
At a Historic District Review Board work session yesterday (Wednesday), staff recommended denying the proposal to demolish a historic house at 724 Elden Street and and a historic carriage house near the primary house.
According to an application filed with the town in January 2020, there are no immediate plans to demolish the buildings and secure the site with fill dirt and grass.
“The applicant is not proposing any development or construction on this property at this time,” the application says.
In a Feb. 1 letter to the town, the applicant’s attorney, Michael O’Reilly, argued that it’s not practical or cost-effective to relocate the building — an effort that the applicant undertook when they previously relocated a building on the property in the early 2000s.
Both historic structures are located in the Herndon Historic District. They were built in the late 1800s by Charles Reed, a prominent member of the community at the time. His family also started the first funeral business in the town.
“The house is a classic and well-preserved example of the Folk Victorian residential architectural style,” the staff report said, stating that it retains much of its original structure despite alterations over the years. The carriage house on the lot is simpler in form.
Staff noted that the demolition of historic buildings in that area is strongly discouraged because it results in the permanent loss of the historical integrity of the district.
“Historic resources once removed are gone forever and create gaps in the fabric of historic neighborhoods,” the town said.
Staff also said the pair of historic buildings are in a particularly prominent location in the historic district and do not have any known damage or deterioration issues.
The applicant filed a demolition plan after an engineering analysis found that the building is “not a candidate for renovation and commercial reuse,” according to a report by Goughnour Engineering.
“The work to strengthen the structure and foundation and to meet fire code and accessibility requirements will result in the demolition and reconstruction of significant portions of the building to the extent that very little of the existing building will remain to be incorporated the new structure,” the O’Reilly wrote.
While on vacation over the summer, Michelle Ratto became aware of the lack of independent bookstores in Herndon and realized she wanted to fill that void.
Ratto and her business partner Beth Luke — who describe themselves as avid leaders — made that dream come true last month by opening A Thousand Stories, a bookstore with more than 1,000 titles.
The store’s name is inspired by the mission of the business.
“One of the things we love most about bookstores is the magical feeling of being surrounded by so many stories. We decided to name our store…as a way of describing that sense of possibility,” Ratto said.
The bookstore is located in a room at Arts Herndon (750 Center Street), a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance the arts in the town. The idea came from Jo Ormesher, the organization’s president.
While focused on kids and young adults, the store has books for readers of all ages and is happy to fulfill special orders.
The owners are just getting started with hosting community events. Preschool story time started yesterday (Wednesday), and more book clubs and author readings are also planned in January.
The bookstore is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to. 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. The store is closed on Sundays.
“We want everyone to feel comfortable here and to meet new friends and neighbors while finding the perfect book,” Ratto said.
Deli Italiano is planning to open its location in the Town of Herndon in early- to mid-December.
The pizza shop — which originally was slated to open in early September — was hit by staffing shortages and ongoing renovation work. It will be located at 700 Elden Street.
“To keep our vision for what the Herndon community needed we delayed the opening,” Bianca Moskaitis, a spokesperson for the company, told FFXnow. “Between staffing shortages which is being felt across many sectors in the local workforce and making sure our renovations of the space were conducive to our business future potential, we were not able to keep our original timeline.”
A ribbon cutting ceremony and opening day offers are planned once the opening date is determined.
Meanwhile, the Reston location is still undergoing renovations. Located at 1631 Washington Plaza, that spot plans to open at Lake Anne Plaza in early 2023.
Deli Italiano serves a variety of salads, sandwiches, pizzas, subs, pastas, and calzones. The menu is available online.
The restaurant has other locations in Leesburg, Sterling, Great Falls, Arlington and Burke.
The possession and consumption of alcoholic drinks could be allowed in some public areas in the Town of Herndon.
The Herndon Town Council is considering legislation that would allow the town to create Designated Outdoor Refreshment Areas (DORAs) in the Downtown Herndon Arts District. Businesses will need licenses for outdoor refreshment areas from the ABC.
Town staff met with Downtown Herndon restaurants in July to explore the idea, according to Dennis Holste, the town’s economic development manager.
So far, the fiscal impact of the project is unclear, Holste wrote.
“These resource commitments will include such budget categories as labor, most likely overtime or contractor support, vehicles and equipment used for road closures, and increases to insurance premiums. A non-profit taking over as the DORA sponsor would help to reduce the town’s fiscal commitment,” he wrote.
Any alcohol within the area must be purchased from an ABC-licensed vendor within the designated DORA.
Each licensee is limited to certain conditions. For example, businesses cannot have more than 16 events where alcohol beverages are sold in the DORA area. Each event also cannot exceed three consequence days.
If the proposal is approved, the town would install signage along public sidewalks near the DORAs. Each sign will delineate where alcohol consumption is not allowed or restricted between midnight and 10 a.m.
Any private property owner within the DORA could prohibit the consumption of alcohol on their property. People also won’t be allowed to consume alcohol within town-owned buildings or facilities — unless otherwise approved — or on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.
The Herndon Police Department plans to patrol the DORAs to monitor compliance and ensure enough security is present for special events within those areas.
If passed, the legislation won’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2023. The state recently enacted legislation allowing localities to establish DORAs.
The council plans to discuss the matter a meeting tonight (Tuesday).
Market conditions remain unfavorable for the redevelopment of Downtown Herndon, a public-private partnership that is led by developer Comstock and the town.
At a Herndon Town Council meeting earlier this month, Town Manager Bill Ashton II said Comstock remains committed to pausing the development for up to two years. Currently, Comstock is unable to approve financing for the project and conditions remain economically unfavorable for the project to proceed.
The redevelopment seeks to transform five acres of land into a mixed-use project. The cost of the $101 million project increased by $25 million due to materials, labor, and workforce restrictions caused by the pandemic. It’s unclear what the current estimate is.
Comstock announced the project pause in mid-July.
“They want to be ready to go the moment they think the economy is right for them to move,” Ashton said at the Oct. 11 meeting.
He said Comstock stands to lose money on the deal if they proceed as is. Ashton also emphasized that town officials meet biweekly with Comstock for status updates on the project.
Ashton noted that the redevelopment project is governed under the Virginia Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002, bringing different conditions and requirements from a typical design-build contract.
The town’s comprehensive agreement with Comstock was amended in 2020. Ashton II said the agreement contains protections that would kick in if the project does not proceed.
“If nothing is happening within two years, the deal could unwind,” Ashton said.
