RELAC Water Cooling will begin delivering air-conditioning services to residents and businesses in Reston’s Lake Anne area this weekend — ahead of its official launch date of May 22.
The volunteer-run utility announced today that it will “go live” tomorrow (Saturday) to test its services, providing chilled water from the artificial lake to cool 635 residential and commercial properties.
“Being ready for the start date, which is prescribed by state regulations, is mission-critical,” RELAC Steering Committee Chair Simon McKeown said in the announcement. “We want to avoid any adverse impact on our community’s health and comfort when the temps go high. That’s why it’s imperative we implement a rigorous testing period.”
RELAC will have full services available during the testing period, which will begin before a surge in temperatures next week. The National Weather Service’s current forecast for Reston shows highs in the 80s, starting this Sunday (April 28) through at least Thursday (May 2).
While some maintenance and refurbishment work remains in progress, engineering contractor, Innovative Mechanical Systems (IMS), confirmed last night that RELAC can start its chilling operations, according to McKeown.
Since it was created in the mid-1960s, the Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning Corporation has been required for certain homeowners by the Reston deed, which prohibits individual air-conditioning units for residential clusters where the central AC service is available.
However, the State Corporation Commission-regulated utility announced last December that it would cease operations, citing increased operating and maintenance costs as well as difficulties with getting customers to pay their bills.
In response, McKeown and other residents moved to take over the company with plans to turn it into a community-run co-op. The new RELAC officially registered with the SCC as a nonprofit on Feb. 5.
That reorganization unfolded concurrently with a Reston Association referendum that sought to repeal the RELAC requirement. Like previous efforts, the campaign fell short of the two-thirds majority vote needed to pass.
RELAC’s new leaders announced earlier this month that they had received enough community donations to restart operations for the upcoming cooling season.
“This has involved a team of extremely dedicated people: the members of the Initiative Steering Committee and the subsequent members of the Advisory Board and the generous support of many of our neighbors that have financially played a critical role and provided thoughtful input and been so supportive,” McKeown said in this morning’s notice. “In short, this IS a community initiative.”
Properties where RELAC’s services will be available include the Coleson, Governours, Hickory, Wainright, Waterview, Washington Plaza and Chimney House Road clusters as well as the Vantage Hill Condominiums, the Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association (LARCA) and Lake Anne businesses, such as Reston’s Used Book Shop and the Washington Plaza Baptist Church.
OmBaked CBD Boutique at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston is hosting a holistic health fair next month.
The event , Scheduled for May 19, aims to promote sustainability and environmental stewardship, according to a press release. It will feature local vendors showcasing eco-friendly products and practices, along with educational exhibits on the importance of preserving natural resources.
Located at 11414 Washington Plaza, the boutique opened late last year and offers a variety of cannabidiol products focused on holistic wellness.
According to the owner, Radhika Murari, all profits from the event will go to Earth Sangha, a local native plant nursery involved in conservation efforts in Northern Virginia for over 30 years.
Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra and Hunter Mill Supervisor Walter Alcorn are also expected to attend, discussing their health initiatives.
The Lake Anne Plaza summer concert series is making a comeback after a five-year break.
Beginning on Wednesday, June 12, the community will host weekly music events every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. in the plaza until Aug. 12, per a press release. Before 2019, the concert series, known as “Sunset Concerts at Lake Anne Plaza,” had been held consistently for 20 years.
“We are delighted to bring a high-quality variety of musical styles to Lake Anne again,” Reston Community Center (RCC) Board Chair Beverly Cosham said in the release. “Lake Anne Plaza is where RCC’s summer concert series began. As we’ve branched out to some of Reston’s newest neighborhoods, it’s sweet to be back where we started in 2024.”
RCC has agreed to support Reston nonprofit events at Lake Anne Plaza by becoming an annual Community Sponsor.
This sponsorship will allow the the Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association (LARCA) to waive use fees for Reston nonprofits hosting events on the plaza. RCC will also have its concert series fees waived. Two sponsorships will be implemented this year: one for $12,000 covering plaza events in May and June, and another for $50,000 starting July 1, covering events until June 30, 2025.
“We are happy to host RCC-funded Reston area organized events on our property for the enjoyment of the greater Reston community, while at the same time ensuring the maintenance, cleaning, and insuring costs are not borne by the association,” President of LARCA George Hadjikyriakou said in the release. “We look forward to the continued partnership as it benefits everyone.”
The first event is scheduled for June 12, featuring a performance by the Mystic Warriors.
Reston’s central air-conditioning service is officially returning to keep hundreds of residents and businesses cool this summer.
RELAC Water Cooling announced on Sunday (March 31) that it has received enough community donations to be able to provide chilled water for air-conditioning to roughly 635 residential and commercial properties in the Lake Anne area.
Now run as a community-driven, volunteer nonprofit, the organization says the infrastructure and operations of its cooling plant will be “significantly enhanced.”
“This project has been made possible only with your and the community’s support,” the RELAC team said. “We will be able to refurbish much of our plant, upgrade equipment, and provide seamless service starting May 22, 2024, or as soon as temperatures hit 80°F for two consecutive days in May.”
The announcement came just a couple of weeks after a failed referendum conducted by Reston Association that would’ve revoked a provision in the Reston deed requiring homeowners to use central air-conditioning service if it’s available to their lot line.
Established in the mid-1960s and regulated by the State Corporation Commission, the Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning Corporation (RELAC) uses cooled water from Lake Anne to provide air conditioning to Washington Plaza, Waterview and four other residential clusters in the area.
The utility abruptly announced in December that it would no longer provide cooling services after 2023, reporting that increased electrical costs, an inability to get a loan for a new chiller and some customers refusing to pay their bills made it unable to continue operating.
In its announcement, RELAC said it had considered increasing its tariff but anticipated that would drive more customers to seek medical exemptions, since rates would increase by up to 30%.
As some members worked to restructure RELAC as a co-op, RA held a referendum vote from Feb. 13 to March 8 to repeal the provision requiring residents to use the central AC service. If passed, the repeal would’ve allowed those residents to instead install individual AC units, with the approval of RA’s Design Review Board.
The measure fell short of the two-thirds of voters needed for approval. Similar referendums failed in 2008 and 2015.
Now led by residents on a steering committee, RELAC Water Cooling was registered as a non-stock corporation with the SCC on Feb. 5. The new organization still ultimately hopes to become an official cooperative run by members but was unable to make that happen in time to prepare for this year’s cooling season, according to its website.
In order to resume operations this summer, RELAC solicited community donations to cover $296,000 in equipment repairs and replacements, including new motors and filters. Plans to obtain a new chiller have been deferred to 2025, when the organization says it will more likely be able to “obtain funding…and in turn reduce cost[s] to users.”
RELAC says its tariff for the 2024 cooling season will remain the same as they were in 2023. Rates are regulated by the SCC.
Reston founder Bob Simon Jr. will once again be the focus of celebrations next month during the annual Founder’s Day celebration.
The festivities are set to take place at Lake Anne Plaza (1609 Washington Plaza North) on April 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It began as a celebration of Simon’s 90th birthday in 2004, when artist Zachary Oxman unveiled a sculpture commemorating him.
Organizers say this year — which is the 20th anniversary of the event — is “extra special” for several reasons.
“Besides being the 20th anniversary of Founder’s Day, the event will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Reston documentary ‘Reston: Another Way of Living‘ and is in remembrance of what would have been Simon’s 110th birthday,” Reston Museum Executive Director Alexandra Campbell said.
The celebration will kick off at 11 a.m. with a community cleanup. The afternoon program features a reading of Reston’s 1966 dedication and remarks from local elected officials. Performances and exhibits are also planned.
It will also feature a book fair celebrating local authors, bookshops and community organizations. Authors in the “Pages on the Plaza” fair will speak at their booths, Reston Museum, Reston Community Center and Reston’s Used Book Shop.
“The addition of a Book Fair as a component of Founder’s Day is a wonderful way to celebrate Reston’s living legacy and also April as National Poetry Month and National School Library Month,” Campbell said. “Featured in the program this year is Reston’s Used Book Shop, which has been at Lake Anne Plaza since the 1970s and is Reston’s oldest bookshop still here today.”
Between 2 and 4 p.m., attendees can also decorate a journal with Public Art Reston at Reston Art Gallery & Studios.
The event is presented by Reston Museum and Reston Community Center with support from Public Art Reston.
Lake Anne resident Alec Berry was excited when he learned a new pizza restaurant planned to move in underneath his condominium in Reston.
But that excitement and goodwill dissipated once construction started, and Berry discovered that Fairfax County planning staff had mistakenly approved plans for an exterior ventilation shaft to be installed along the side of the building — right outside his window.
“They put the shaft in and bolted it to the sidewall,” he told FFXnow. “I was given no notification of this and at roughly 7:30 in the morning, they have an impact drill into the side of my bedroom wall… So, that has soured my opinion of this whole thing.”
According to the county’s Department of Planning and Development, the application for a new Deli Italiano at 1631 Washington Plaza was processed through the county’s old planning and land use system, FIDO.
However, the system bypassed what should’ve been a required review by the Architectural Review Board (ARB) for exterior modifications because it was labeled as a “new tenant layout,” which typically implies no external changes.
“Fairfax County takes the preservation of its historic districts very seriously, requiring that any exterior modifications to buildings within these areas receive approval from the Architectural Review Board,” a county spokesperson said in a statement. “Unfortunately, in this case that did not occur due to an oversight in the approval process that did not flag the exterior changes.”
The county’s new system, PLUS, which launched with some hiccups in 2022, uses GIS technology to flag all applications in Historic Overlay Districts for review.
Nevertheless, the ARB can’t retroactively rescind its approval of Deli Italiano’s application, according to the spokesperson.
“We are dedicated to enhancing our processes and leveraging technology to uphold the integrity of our historic districts and ensure that such oversights do not occur in the future,” they said.
The central question now is whether Deli Italiano owner Yasser Baslios can continue construction after Berry appealed to the Lake Anne of Reston Condominiums Unit Owners Association (LARCA) and the Reston Association Design Review Board (DRB) — separate entities from the ARB — to stop the project.
Both the DRB and LARCA approved Baslios’s initial application for exterior modifications, including a mechanical duct with a rooftop exhaust fan, records show. But the DRB voted last month to defer a vote on Berry’s appeal to give staff more time to review the case.
Cara O’Donnell, RA’s director of communications and community engagement, told FFXnow there is no firm date yet for a decision on the appeal, but she anticipates it will come within the next few months.
“The DRB will determine if the project is permitted to remain as submitted and move forward with completion,” she said in an email.
In the meantime, Baslios is moving forward with construction as planned.
“We will follow the rules and regulations set by Fairfax County,” he told FFXnow.
Baslios disputes Berry’s recounting of events, including his description of constant construction noise in the early morning and on the weekends. He also noted the ventilation shaft is “not even close to being done.”
“We’re gonna come in as good neighbors,” he said. “We love the community very much and that’s why I keep…trying to do my best just to be in this community. I do appreciate this community, and then hope they understand that I’m doing all this just because I wanted to be at this community to make a big difference.”
Deli Italiano originally hoped to open at Lake Anne Plaza by early December 2021. The pizza chain has since opened a location in Herndon, and it can also be found in Great Falls.
It’s been 20 years since an iconic sculpture honoring Reston’s founder Robert E. Simon was unveiled at Lake Anne Plaza.
To celebrate the anniversary of the sculpture’s installation, Reston Museum is hosting an event featuring its creator, artist Zachary Oxman. The event will take place at Reston Community Center Lake Anne (1609-A Washington Plaza North) next Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m.
“We are thrilled to host Mr. Oxman for our March program,” Reston Museum Executive Director Alexandra Campbell said. “It’s a perfect start to our Founder’s Day 20th-anniversary celebrations, highlighting the installation of the ‘Bronze Bob’ sculpture. We will also feature photographs from the sculpture’s original unveiling throughout March at the museum.”
The event will also feature longtime Restonian Cheryl Terio-Simon, widow of Bob Simon Jr. and author of the book “Community is What It Is All About: An Ode to Lake Anne.”
The artist talk is free, but registration is required.
Known officially as “Untold Stories” and informally as “Bronze Bob,” the statue will get a full anniversary celebration next month as part of Founder’s Day, which will be held on April 6 this year.
Oxman’s sculpture has become a “cherished symbol of Reston’s rich heritage,” Reston Museum says.
A Carnegie Mellon University alumnus with a bachelor’s of fine arts degree, the artist is also the brain behind Convergence, a sculpture at the Aperture Apartments in Reston Station.
“His career and contributions to public art underscore a deep connection to community and storytelling through sculpture,” Reston Museum said.
A traditional Hindu festival is set to light up Lake Anne Plaza next month.
The inaugural Holi Festival, which is sponsored by local CBD business OmBaked, will take place on March 23 from noon to 4 p.m.
“We’re thrilled to bring the joy of Holi to Lake Anne Plaza,” OmBaked CEO Radhika Murari said. “Rallying behind the Women Empowerment Foundation makes this celebration not just fun, but meaningful too!”
Holi — sometimes known as the Festival of Colors or Love — is celebrated across India. It often involves attendees throwing colored powder to mark the beginning of spring, the renewal of friendship, and letting go of resentment.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Women Empowerment Foundation, a nonprofit that provides domestic violence counseling, educational programs, workshops and other support services to women.
The festival is free, and vendors can apply online. It will include traditional tunes, food vendors, crafts and henna.
A thorny set of issues continues to complicate Deli Italiano’s arrival in Reston’s Lake Anne Plaza.
The Reston Association Design Review Board (DRB) voted Tuesday (Feb. 20) to defer a decision on the application after attorney John Cowherd, who was representing an appealing Lake Anne condominium owner, flagged some concerns about the proposal.
Alec Berry, a member of the Lake Anne of Reston Condominiums Unit Owners Association (LARCA), has appealed conditional approvals by the DRB and LARCA — entities that considered the project separately — of the architectural plans for the restaurant.
Berry, who lives behind the restaurant’s planned unit at 1631 Washington Plaza, said he was concerned metal equipment, an exhaust shaft, an exhaust pipe, gas line and louvres would be installed on LARCA common space, not in the commercial unit, which is owned by Baslios Family Real Estate.
Berry asserts that he has an exclusive easement to an area where the restaurant plans to install a shaft, equipment and gas lines. The front facade of his house faces the back of the property, and the front of the restaurant faces Washington Plaza.
According to Cowherd, he was also concerned about a contractor that cut a large hole through LARCA’s common elements that separates the floor of Berry’s unit and the restaurant. The slab provides strucural support and is essential to protecting the home from a grease fire in the restaurant.
“I just don’t think this shaft project is really moving Reston or LARCA forward. I think it’s going to kind of hold things back with respect to this particular building,” Cowherd said.
Cowherd said Berry is awaiting a books and record request to LARCA in order to get more information about the drawings, architectural approvals, and documents referenced in Deli Italiano’s application and decision-making process.
The board deferred the appeal to allow staff to look into those issues following a discussion held in executive session.
Deli Italiano has been working on plans for the Reston location for several years. A spokesperson said the company was not ready to comment by press time.
Deli Italiano opened a restaurant at 700 Lynn Street in Herndon in December 2022. It serves pizza, pasta, subs and more.
A Tysons-based organization is bringing a polar dip to Lake Anne Plaza in Reston.
The Kiwanis Club of Tysons plans to host the event on Feb. 10 at Lake Anne Village Plaza (1609 Washington Plaza North) to raise funds for Reston-area organizations. The event is organized in partnership with the Lake Anne Washington Plaza Merchants Association.
Check-in opens at 12:30 p.m., and jumping begins at 2 p.m. The club hopes to raise $25,000 for Food for Neighbors, Friends of Reston and Kiwanis youth programs in the area. A portion will also go towards Camp Sunshine, which provides a retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses.
To supplement the event, the merchants association will host a winter market with opportunities to shop and take part in children’s crafts and other activities. Registration is open online.
Sponsors of the event include Reston Association, Reston Community Center, Fairfax County Cold Water Dive Team, Kalypso’s Sports Tavern, Quickspin Quick Planning and photographer by Scott Ripley.
The Kiwanis Club of Tysons was founded in 1998 and is part of Kiwanis International, a worldwide community service organization that includes adult clubs and youth service clubs.
Camp Sunshine had previously organized a polar dip at Lake Anne Plaza, a run that ended last January. Known then as the Virginia Polar Dip, the event raised over $1 million over 18 years.
