Fairfax City | FFXnow

Fairfax City elects Democratic-endorsed mayor, keeps three incumbents on council

Published November 4, 2026 at 1:45PM | Updated November 5, 2026 at 9:01AM

Campaign signs outside Fairfax City Hall for the 2026 mayor and city council elections (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax City Planning Commission Vice Chair Kirsten Sides Lockhart won her race for mayor against current city council member Thomas Peterson last night (Nov. 3), joining four Democratic-endorsed candidates who appear to have won spots on the city council, according to unofficial election data.

Clocking in at just under 55% of the vote to Peterson’s 44.46%, as of this morning, Lockhart brought home a clear and decisive local victory for Democrats in the midst of a nationwide “blue wave.” She will succeed current Mayor Catherine Read, who elected not to pursue a third term.

News

Courthouse Plaza redevelopment heads back to Fairfax City Council despite height concerns

By Scott McCaffrey

Published November 3, 2026 at 9:15AM

Architectural rendering of the proposed Courthouse Plaza redevelopment in Fairfax City (via Combined Properties/City of Fairfax)

A split Fairfax City Planning Commission on Oct. 26 recommended approval of Combined Properties’ most recent redevelopment plan for the Courthouse Plaza shopping center.

The 4-2 vote came after some residents raised concerns about a host of issues, including the property’s overall size, height and impact on the surrounding Old Town Fairfax community.

Countywide

Fairfax County sees massive increase in early voting ahead of midterm election

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published November 2, 2026 at 3:45PM

Early voting at the Fairfax County Government Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Election Day is still a day away, but Fairfax County voters have already been surging to the polls as part of a statewide and nationwide upswing in early voting.

More than 227,000 county voters have already cast their ballots for the Nov. 3 election through early voting, which concluded at 5 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 31), according to data from the Virginia Department of Elections collected by the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).

News

Virginia man runs 200 miles to Fairfax to raise awareness of opioid addiction

By Tadi Abedje

Published October 29, 2026 at 9:15AM | Updated October 29, 2026 at 10:55AM

Cole Parvin as a child with his mother, Helene (photo provided by Cole Parvin)

One Northern Virginia man recently ran 200 miles from Hampton to Fairfax to raise money and awareness about the seriousness of opioid addiction.

Cole Parvin called this challenge Helene’s Run in recognition of his late mother, who died from an opioid overdose in June 2014 when he was 12 years old.

News

Seven-story apartment building in Fairfax City set to open in 2027, developer says

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published October 23, 2026 at 2:45PM

A rendering of The Botanist apartment building in Northfax (courtesy Middleburg)

A new seven-story apartment building is on track to meet its anticipated completion date in the third quarter of 2027, bringing hundreds of new apartments to the Northfax area of Fairfax City when it opens, its developers said this week.

The structural frame for The Botanist, a 260-unit building on 2.97 acres at 10350 Eaton Place, is now complete, according to the Vienna-based company Middleburg and Capital City Real Estate (CCRE), which has a D.C. office.

News

City Centre West mixed-use plan may need tweaks to be viable, developer says

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published October 22, 2026 at 3:45PM

A rendering of Ox Hill Companies' City Centre West development on fencing around the planned construction site in Fairfax City (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Once on track to break ground this year, the City Centre West mixed-use development now needs numerous changes to be financially viable, a representative for developer Ox Hill Companies recently told the Fairfax City Planning Commission.

Approved by the City Council in 2023, Ox Hill’s application for housing and retail on a 1.7-acre site of three lots from 10501 to 10523 Main Street was eventually closed by the city in September 2025 due to inactivity, despite two buildings having been demolished.

News

Fairfax City meetings go offline, as FBI warns of AI-detected vulnerabilities

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published October 21, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated October 21, 2026 at 4:17PM

The sign in front of Fairfax City Hall (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

The City of Fairfax’s public meetings are currently inaccessible online after the platform that hosts its videos and agendas detected a vulnerability in its web programming language.

“Granicus has identified a PHP vulnerability and temporarily took all Media Manager services offline as a precaution, while they assess any potential impact,” the city said in a notice issued this morning (Wednesday).

Around Town

Five N. Va. restaurants ranked among region’s 40 best by new WaPo food critic

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 15, 2026 at 10:00AM

Mama Chang is located on the ground floor of an office building in Fairfax City (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Northern Virginia remains a hot spot for Asian cuisine, judging by the five local establishments that found spots on the Washington Post’s annual ranking of the top 40 restaurants in the D.C. region.

Released yesterday (Wednesday), the 2026 list is the first compiled by new food critic Elazar Sontag, who took over the position in November 2025 following the retirement of longtime reviewer Tom Sietsema.

News

Fairfax City’s Historic Blenheim closed today for oak tree removal

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 13, 2026 at 11:55AM | Updated October 13, 2026 at 1:36PM

Southern red oak tree at Historic Blenheim (via City of Fairfax)

The Historic Blenheim grounds in Fairfax City are closed for today (Tuesday) to accommodate the removal of a large southern red oak tree near the preserved 19th-century home.

The tree was initially scheduled to be removed on Oct. 2 as part of a larger project to restore the site’s woodland habitat, including by eliminating dead or invasive trees, but the contractor’s plans were foiled by “equipment problems,” the City of Fairfax said.

News

‘Momentous’ groundbreaking sets stage for new health, community center in Fairfax City

By Scott McCaffrey

Published October 1, 2026 at 11:45AM

Groundbreaking at Willard Sherman Health & Community Center (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Fairfax City officials and some of their Fairfax County colleagues gathered Wednesday (Sept. 30) to kick off an expected three years of construction of the future Willard-Sherwood Health & Community Center.

Built on the Blenheim Blvd site long occupied by the Joseph Willard Health Center, the new 100,000-square-foot facility will serve both city and county residents with health offices and recreational programming.