Though the heat of summer is waning, Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard hopes Franconia residents are still in the mood for some chilled desserts.
The Pennsylvania-based chain will hold a grand opening tomorrow (Thursday) for its new shop in Hayfield Shopping Center (7592 Telegraph Road), which is anchored by Planet Fitness and Goodwill.
Starting at 5 p.m., the first 50 people to line up for the event will receive coupons for a full year of free treats from that location. All customers will get slight discounts of $4 and $5, respectively, for a small Italian ice or a small gelati, which combines layers of Italian ice and frozen custard.
The grand opening will also feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6 p.m., with merchandise giveaways and photo opportunities with the company’s mascot, Ice Guy, lasting from 5-7 p.m.
Rita’s Franconia franchise is owned by Terrain and Toya Davis, Kingstowne residents who wanted to “bring positive energy and a family-friendly atmosphere to their own backyard,” according to a press release.
The Davises partnered with Rita’s for their first franchise after frequenting the business as customers. Rita’s also has locations in Fairfax, Vienna and Chantilly, but the opportunity to bring it closer to home proved enticing.
“We desired a business opportunity that fostered a culture of family, community, and fun,” Terrain and Toya Davis said in an emailed statement. “By opening a Rita’s Italian Ice & Custard we’ve achieved that goal. Our guests are families spending quality time together and creating memories. We are able to engage with and give back to our community.”
In addition to running the brick-and-mortar store, which introduced itself to the community with a soft opening in June, the franchisees plan to introduce a food truck that will support events throughout Northern Virginia.
“The endless ‘Thanks for opening!’ we receive from guests is a real testament that partnering with this unique business originated in Philly was a great decision!” the Davises said. “It truly feels amazing to spread a little joy with each treat we serve.”
Launched in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in 1984, Rita’s Italian Ice began life on former firefighter Bob Tumolo’s front porch, according to its website. Named after its founder’s wife, the company has expanded with franchises in more than 30 states.
Operating year-round with outdoor seating for eight customers, the 1,300-square-foot Franconia shop is open from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, extending its hours to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Like at other locations, the Italian ice is made fresh on-site and rotates daily through over 75 flavors. The menu also includes frozen custard, gelati, thick concretes, milkshakes and frozen drinks.
Those who miss out on tomorrow’s giveaways will have another opportunity to get free Italian ice. The company has an annual tradition of offering free cups on the first day of spring, which will fall on March 19 in 2024.
Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk is asking the owner of Rose Hill Plaza to lower the number of residential units and increase retail space in its next redevelopment proposal.
The six-decade-old shopping center located off Franconia Road is slated for significant redevelopment but has met some community opposition in terms of how exactly that will be done and what the new center will include.
In response, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted in April to essentially defer the proposed plans to allow owner Combined Properties to “further engage” with the community.
The developer’s preliminary proposal submitted on Oct. 25, 2022 envisioned adding a six-story, mixed-use residential building with 56,000 square feet of retail and green space to the shopping center.
Now, Lusk is asking for specific changes to that initial plan based on “community feedback” after meeting with Combined Properties twice since April, he said in a recent newsletter. Lusk said he was set to meet with the developer again shortly.
“My message to them will be the same as it has been in the previous two meetings,” Lusk wrote. “My expectation, based on community feedback, is that the next version of their proposal should significantly lower the amount of proposed residential units and significantly increase the proposed amount of retail space.”
Lusk said he believes Combined Properties will follow this request, but if not, the proposal will be deferred once again until “I believe [it’s] ready for public consideration.”
He anticipates the new proposal to be ready by the fall or early winter. If so, the Board of Supervisors could then approve a review by staff and remove it from Tier 3 of the county’s 2023 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program.
Eventually, public hearings will be scheduled, sending the plan to the board for approval — potentially by the end of the year, Lusk noted.
However, some residents oppose reducing the amount of housing proposed at Rose Hill Plaza. The YIMBYs of Northern Virginia — a budding regional group that advocates for “more and denser housing” to make housing more affordable, per its website — said it is “disappointed” in Lusk’s request in a statement to FFXnow.
Rose Hill faces the same crisis that most of NoVA faces: working class residents – including essential workers like teachers, nurses, and government employees – cannot afford to live in the area. We remain excited by plans to upzone and develop the Rose Hill development with newer retail, more green space, and hundreds of new residential units. We are disappointed to hear that Supervisor Lusk has recommended deferring the project until the plans include more retail and less housing. The two need not be mutually exclusive: by building up, there’s plenty of space for more retail and more housing.
The group said that while a “vocal subset” of locals may oppose more housing, the idea has support from plenty of others who don’t have time to speak up, use English as a second language or are currently “priced out” of living in Rose Hill.
“Building a place people want to live and linger in is more important than an arbitrary amount of square footage assigned to retail,” local resident Alexis Glenn said. “Retail space will remain empty if we continue to scale back the housing needed to support it. Rose Hill will never be able to support the kind of high-quality retail and services the community desires if there isn’t a significant increase in housing.”
On the other side of the argument is the Rose Hill Coalition, a group of private citizens fighting against reducing retail at the shopping center. Founder Sharada Gilkey says the group is “neither encouraged nor discouraged” by Lusk’s statement, which she says came after she and the Rose Hill Civic Association talked to the supervisor last month. Read More
Nearly 9,000 people in Fairfax County are without power after this afternoon’s storms, the most intense of which have moved on into Maryland.
As of 5:30 p.m., 8,971 Dominion Energy customers in the county had lost power, according to the real-time tracking database PowerOutage.US.
The most sizable outages have cropped up in Belle Haven along the Route 1 corridor, where 3,429 customers have lost power, and near Kingstowne along Beulah Street in Franconia, where 1,895 customers are affected, according to Dominion Energy’s outage map.
Per the map, Dominion has confirmed that the Franconia outage was caused by the storm, which produced high-speed winds that prompted a Tornado Warning from 4:18-4:33 p.m. Crews are currently working on the incident, potentially restoring power between 5 and 10 p.m.
Causes for the most significant outages in the Belle Haven area are still pending investigation, but crews are now assessing the damage, according to Dominion. The estimated time of restoration ranges from 6 p.m. to midnight.
Power outages have also been reported in West Springfield and Mantua.
While there hasn’t been any confirmation of tornadoes, wind gusts reached 58 mph at Reagan National Airport, according to the Capital Weather Gang.
A Flash Flood Warning remains in effect until 7:45 p.m. Some flooding was reported in Springfield and the Alexandria area, where 2 to 4 inches of rain had fallen as of 5 p.m., the National Weather Service said.
(Updated at 3:10 p.m.) An extra $150,00 is being requested to add a “unique lighting feature” to the colorful “Springfield” welcome sign set to be installed on a pedestrian bridge near Old Keene Mill Road later this year.
At last week’s Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting, Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk proposed that the board consider spending $150,000 from the fiscal year 2023 carryover adjustment on a lighting feature to “complement” a welcome sign going up on the pedestrian bridge near the new Springfield Commuter Parking Garage.
The lighting would be part of a branding project to install colorful welcome signs at four different sites around the greater Springfield area in the fall. It’s being done to “raise the visibility and reputation of Springfield as a great place to live and do business,” per the project’s website.
One of the signs will be on the pedestrian bridge connecting the commuter parking garage to Springfield Plaza. The bridge and garage are expected to be completed in December.
The requested lighting feature would illuminate the pedestrian path underneath the bridge, known as the Frontier Drive underpass.
However, an extra $150,000 is needed for the feature, which was not part of the initial planned project. Lusk is requesting that the money be allocated from the FY 2023 Carryover Budget, which has a balance of about $203 million (which is slightly more than last year).
“This lighting feature will improve the connection with the Franconia- Springfield Metrorail station while also improving pedestrian safety and comfort,” Lusk’s board matter said. “This installation is beyond the budget of the initial gateway project, so additional funds are being sought to complete the gateway system for Springfield.”
Lusk noted in a follow-up statement to FFXnow that the extra lighting is needed for safety and security and to enhance the signage visually.
The priority for the lighting is to provide increased pedestrian safety beneath the underpass. The new lighting will enhance visibility and security for pedestrians who are walking from the Metro to the Springfield Towne Center. Additionally, the lighting will be designed to highlight the new Springfield Branding elements including color and design from the Springfield logo and new gateway signage. The preliminary design intends to project lighting on the columns of the underpass providing a brighter, more well-lit space with color.
A public hearing and board action on the package is scheduled for Sept. 26. Other items suggested for consideration by individual supervisors include funds to continue an economic visioning study for Lake Anne in Reston.
If the Springfield lighting feature is approved for inclusion, then the final design work and construction would move forward.
Construction on the gateway signs is now underway and expected to finish between October and December, according to Lusk’s office. However, the Frontier Drive underpass lighting is more likely to come along next year, depending on when funding, the final design and permits are secured.
“The lighting installation for the Frontier Drive underpass is conceptual at this time, and subject to change,” a spokesperson for Lusk’s office said.
Metro’s bus facility in Franconia is a step closer to going electric, thanks to a big infusion of funding from the federal government.
The Federal Transit Administration has awarded Metro a $104 million grant to convert its Cinder Bed Road Bus Division garage at 7901 Cinder Bed Road into a fully electric facility, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Monday (June 26).
In addition to supporting new charging infrastructure, the funds will enable Metro to buy about 100 battery-powered buses and develop a training program for drivers, mechanics and first responders, according to Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, who lauded the grant in a joint statement.
“We appreciate the Federal Transit Administration’s leadership in the transition to zero-emission bus technology that will help reduce air pollution and improve quality of life across the region,” WMATA Board Chair Paul Smedberg said, thanking the senators and other federal, state and local elected officials for helping secure the money.
Metro’s board of directors adopted a plan in 2021 directing the transit agency to purchase only buses that don’t produce carbon emissions by 2030 and fully transition to a zero-emission bus fleet by 2045.
Metro’s first electric bus arrived this month as part of an initial 12-vehicle batch that will operate out of the Shepherd Parkway garage in D.C., according to WMATA. The vehicles were expected earlier, but the delivery got delayed after a fire in Connecticut last summer forced the manufacturer New Flyer to recall hundreds of buses.
Located northeast of the I-95 and Fairfax County Parkway interchange, the Cinder Bed Road garage houses 121 40-foot buses that serve 11 routes, as of December 2021. It has parking for 160 vehicles and 13 maintenance bays.
According to Metro’s transition plan, the facility could host 112 battery-powered electric buses. It has “safe and efficient site circulation,” but a stacked bus parking layout and existing underground infrastructure for utilities and stormwater pose hurdles.
To fully cover the cost of converting the Cinder Bed garage, the federal grant will be matched by “a combination of local funding,” a Metro spokesperson said.
Fairfax County plans to use the facility for its future Richmond Highway bus rapid transit service. Branded as The One, the system will operate all-electric buses from Fort Belvoir to the Huntington Metro station, potentially beginning in 2030.
“Thanks to our partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and federal support, we will soon deliver a fully converted battery-electric bus facility in Fairfax County,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said. “This project aligns with the county’s important goal of carbon neutral government operations by 2040 and is an investment in the region’s transit system and clean energy that will bring significant environmental and community benefits.”
The conversion design process is slated to begin later this year, with a projected opening coming in 2027-2028, according to WMATA’s transition plan. Read More
The Fairfax County Police Department has bolstered its presence in Franconia today (Wednesday) after a man reportedly tried to abduct a child near Island Creek Elementary School yesterday.
The encounter occurred at 4:15 p.m. when a 10-year-old was walking on Morning View Lane to get to a playground, police said:
A suspect, described as a black man, 40-years-old, 6’1”, thin and bald, was reported to have grabbed the victim by the arm. The child was able to pull away and quickly run back to the school. The suspect was wearing a gray shirt, blue jeans and had a black backpack.
Officers with the assistance of our K9 and helicopter searched the area, but the man was not found. Detectives are continuing to investigate, and our Franconia District officers will have an increased presence in the neighborhood.
Fairfax County Public Schools had no comment, stating that the case is being handled by the police.
This spring, the FCPD investigated incidents in Reston and Lorton where “suspicious” buses had tried to pick up children at school bus stops. Detectives later determined that no criminal activity had occurred, as both vehicles were in the area for “normal business.”
Photo via Google Maps
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is asking for public input on how to reduce congestion and the number of crashes on two half-mile sections of road in Springfield.
A new survey is open through June 15, asking residents about their traveling habits and safety concerns along Franconia Road between Backlick Road and Loisdale Road. The survey also focuses on Commerce Street between Amherst Avenue and Franconia Road.
The survey marks the beginning of a STARS (Strategically Targeted Affordable Roadway Solutions) study that will help develop “proposed improvements that localities can pursue for funding,” a press release says.
Those two sections of roads, particularly Franconia Road, are of concern because they often have traffic congestion due to the nearby I-95 interchange. There’s also a high number of crashes, according to VDOT.
That half-mile section of Franconia Road averages about 69,000 vehicles a day and has had 162 crashes between January 2015 and October 2022, per a VDOT presentation. That includes at least one fatal crash and several that resulted in severe injuries.
The portion of Commerce Street in the study has much less volume, with only about 19,000 vehicles every day. But there have been even more crashes along the road during that same time period.
A large number of the 171 crashes have resulted in property damage only, but several did lead to severe injury.
VDOT is looking into a number of improvements along those roads focused on safety, the presentation notes.
That includes “innovative intersections” that have different shapes or traffic flow patterns. It could also mean adding Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, high-visibility crosswalks and improved bicycle facilities, including better bicycle lane transitions and pavement markings.
What exactly will be done will, at least partially, depend on the results of the public survey, VDOT said.
In the questionnaire, respondents are asked to rank their top concerns, with traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, public transit access, and speeding among the options listed. They are also asked when they typically traveled along those roads, by what method of transportation, and when they typically experience congestion.
The survey “will be used to help develop potential safety and operational alternatives that will be evaluated and presented during the second round of public involvement scheduled for this winter,” the project website reads.
The study is set to be completed in spring 2024. No construction timeline has been set as of yet, per the press release.
Proposed transportation changes at the West Falls Church and Franconia-Springfield Metro stations will advance to the agency’s full board, even as some raised eyebrows at the amount of public opposition to its Franconia plan.
To accommodate an upcoming extension of Frontier Drive, Metro intends to reconfigure traffic patterns at the Franconia station by adding three new bus bays and a bus layover facility, eliminating a pick-up and drop-off area, and signalizing the Metro Access Road and Frontier Drive intersections.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority staff recommended proceeding with the plan but noted that about 42% of community members who commented on the proposal opposed it, primarily because of the pick-up/drop-off area removal.
“That is a big number to oppose something,” Matt Letourneau, the WMATA Board of Directors’ finance and capital committee chair, said at a meeting last Thursday (March 9).
Currently on a median between the station’s parking garage and bus bays, the pick-up area needs to be removed to meet “adequate traffic flow requirements and reduce vehicular and pedestrian conflicts,” staff said in a presentation to the committee.
As noted in the report, the station has a Kiss and Ride lot on the parking garage’s ground floor with “significant capacity,” as well as a surface lot available for picking up and dropping off riders.
Staff said the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Frontier Road Extension project should provide clearer signage explaining where the lots are and that they’re free to use.
“The pedestrian bridge that goes from the garage to the station, I think, in part is blocking the view to that Kiss and Ride,” WMATA Real Estate and Station Area Planning Director Steven Segerlin said. “So, one of the things we talked about to VDOT was having a large sign on the garage or on the pedestrian bridge [that says] Kiss and Ride or pick-up/drop-off ahead.”
West Falls Church plan heralds future of Metro development
At last week’s meeting, the committee also accepted a report recommending reductions to the West Falls Church station’s parking and bus facilities, paving the way for over 1 million square feet of mixed-use development.
While the Fairfax County Planning Commission deferred a decision on the project to tomorrow (Wednesday), Metro board members seemed optimistic about its potential to transform not just that area in Idylwood, but the transit agency’s overall approach to development around its stations. Read More
(Updated at 12:10 p.m. on 3/9/2023) A plan to reconfigure the West Falls Church Metro station’s parking and bus facilities in anticipation of redevelopment will soon be finalized.
The finance and capital committee of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Board of Directors is set to vote tomorrow (Thursday) on whether to accept a staff report recommending the proposed changes, which would significantly reduce the number of parking spaces and bus bays at the station in Idylwood.
Based on feedback from an online survey and a public hearing in October, staff concluded that no revisions to Metro’s original plan are needed, according to the report, which was posted on WMATA’s website in February.
“Staff recommends approval of the proposed changes to the West Falls Church Metro Station needed to facilitate joint development adjacent to the Curtis Memorial Parkway (I-66),” the report says. “Staff finds that there should be no revisions to the proposed transit facility changes as a result of the Compact Public Hearing and staff report analysis.”
The developer group FGCP-Metro LLC intends to replace the station parking lots at 7040 Haycock Road with over 1 million square feet of residential, office and retail space, a project that supporters hope will bolster ridership and revitalize the community with new amenities.
To accommodate the development, Metro has proposed:
- Eliminating the south parking lot, which will drop the park-and-ride capacity from 2,009 to 1,350 spots
- Replacing the kiss-and-ride lot, reducing its capacity from 64 to about 20 spaces
- Reducing bus capacity from eight bays to four bays
- Eliminating 68 paid on-street metered parking spaces
The station’s 1,200-space parking garage will stay. A future phase of development will replace the north parking lot with office and residential buildings, but that construction isn’t expected for another decade.
According to the staff report, WMATA received a total of 170 public comments on the proposal, all but two of them through its online survey or comment portal. Those two comments came at the Oct. 19 public hearing.
Echoing testimony shared at a Fairfax County Planning Commission public hearing on Feb. 8, about half of the comments (51%) were in favor of the redevelopment, saying it will benefit the neighborhood more than the existing, “underutilized” parking lots.
An environmental evaluation commissioned by Metro found that the West Falls Church station has seen a 35% drop in utilization of its park-and-ride facilities since the Silver Line’s first phase opened in 2014.
Other commenters expressed concern about the parking and bus bay reductions. Some opposed eliminating any parking spaces, while others advocated for keeping more kiss-and-ride spots or suggested building a garage so parking can be retained without taking up as much land. Read More
Each election cycle requires some tweaks to Fairfax County’s polling precincts, and 2023 will be no exception.
This year’s proposed revisions aren’t quite as intensive as 2022’s, which affected over half of the county’s precincts to account for redistricting changes. However, they’ll still have an impact on hundreds of voters in a year when nearly all key state and local offices will be on the ballot.
According to a staff memo, Tysons has grown enough to need two polling places. With the Tysons precinct now exceeding 5,000 registered voters, the county recommends splitting it up to create a new “Jones Branch” precinct.
The Jones Branch precinct will take over the existing polling place in the Providence Committee meeting room (7921 Jones Branch Road). Staff have proposed relocating the Tysons polling place to The PARC at Tysons (8508 Leesburg Pike), the county-owned events venue that replaced the Container Store.
“This building is well-situated in the Tysons precinct…and will accommodate the continued growth in this area,” staff said in the agenda for last week’s Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting.
It costs the county $23,865 to add a precinct, a price tag that covers voting equipment, election supplies and notices to affected voters. There’s also an annual cost of $4,800 per year to staff the new precinct with the election officers for at least two elections.
Also in the Providence District, the county suggests renaming the Oak Marr precinct to “Oaktree Crossing,” since the polling site is no longer in the Oak Marr Rec Center.
The polling place was relocated to the Oakton Library in March 2021 “to provide the 4,000 voters a more accessible voting location,” according to staff. The Oak Marr Rec Center now hosts a different, small precinct called Island Pond that was created after redistricting.
Nearby, the Difficult Run precinct in Oakton is permanently moving to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax (2709 Hunter Mill Road) after getting relocated there temporarily last year when its previous site became unavailable.
The church already has a polling place for the Oakton precinct, but it will have “separate voting rooms” for each precinct, per the staff memo.
The county is also considering moving the precinct Spindle #2 out of the Centreville Regional Library, where it’s currently co-located with Spindle #1. The polling place would be relocated to Bull Run Elementary School and renamed “Robinson Mill.”
Staff recommends the change after the county’s election team “reported that the library cannot logistically support colocated precincts” based on last November’s election.
Finally, the county intends to rename the Franconia #1 and #2 precincts as Edison #1 and #2, since they’re both located in Edison High School.
“This name change will avoid voter confusion resulting from the renaming of the magisterial district from Lee to Franconia,” staff said.
As authorized by the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 21, a public hearing on the proposed changes will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7.