A vacant property along I-95 near Lorton Marketplace may not be vacant for much longer.
Milestone Properties is pitching either a recycling center or storage facility for the nearly three-acre site at 9420 Gunston Cove Road, which is currently home to a 75-foot retaining wall that will remain on the property.
The applicant is considering three options for the property: a recycling center, storage yard, or storage for building materials and sales purposes.
The recycling center operation would involve buying scrap metal from demolition and construction projects in the area. Metal would be consolidated and sold wholesale to users. A dozen employees would work at the site, with roughly 10 to 15 daily deliveries from contractors dropping off scrap metal.
The second option would also require up to 15 employees but would only involve the storage of construction and landscaping equipment, along with other large items. No sales of goods will occur on site, according to the application.
The final use would involve storage and sales of lumber, rock, gravel, landscaping and other materials. Sales would be allowed but not to the general public.
So far, Milestone Properties wants to phase the uses. In the first phase, a trailer with an office, two 90-foot truck scales, and outdoor storage in three locations would be provided. The plan calls for 21 parking spaces and three loading spots.
The second phase will consist of a nearly 16,000-square-foot building. The 40-foot-tall building would contain most of the storage areas.
The application is in the early phases of Fairfax County’s proposal process and has not yet been formally accepted for review.
Photo via Google Maps
(Updated at 12:40 p.m.) A massive fire broke out last night (Monday) at the Rainwater Landfill on Richmond Highway in Lorton, occupying Fairfax County firefighters for hours.
As of 9 a.m., the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department remains on scene in the 9900 block of Richmond Highway after units were dispatched to a reported outside fire at 11:03 p.m.
The department reported at 5:47 a.m. that the fire had been contained, but smoke was still visible from Route 1 and I-95.
Given the size of the fire, it will be at least 24 hours before investigators can determine a cause, FCFRD spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt told FFXnow.
“The fire was contained to the landfill,” Hildebrandt said, describing the site as an area for construction debris rather than a trash landfill.
Established in 1969, Rainwater Topsoil & Recycled Concrete provides mulch, soil, construction and other debris disposal services to Northern Virginia, according to its website.
The mulch section of the landfill appears to have been most affected, since the fire department says the site is “mainly logs & brush.”
“Due to the amount of smoke generated, HazMat units conducted atmospheric monitoring. All readings are within normal levels,” the FCFRD said at 12:25 p.m.
Around 11pm #FCFRD units responded to a landfill in the 9900 blk of Richmond Hwy in Lorton for reports of an outside fire. Crews are actively working to get the large volume fire under control & will be on scene for an extended period of time. Smoke is visible from Rte 1 & I-95. pic.twitter.com/d9sLBnKfuC
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) June 6, 2023
UPDATE 9900 Richmond Hwy: The fire is under control. The landfill is mainly logs & brush. Due to the amount of smoke generated, HazMat units conducted atmospheric monitoring. All readings are within normal levels. Crews to remain on scene to assist w/ extinguishment efforts. pic.twitter.com/0nDFtDB0nM
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) June 6, 2023
Fairfax County Public Library is kicking off its summer reading program with a different approach this year.
The Fairfax Library Foundation will launch its inaugural Children’s Summer Reading Festival at two libraries this month to celebrate the beginning of FCPL’s annual summer reading program.
“We hope these festivals help get Fairfax County kids and adults excited for our Summer Reading Adventure,” FCPL Director Jessica Hudson said. “This year’s summer reading theme is All Together Now so we thought throwing a huge party would be a good fit! Thank you so much to the Fairfax Library Foundation for organizing these festivals.”
The first festival takes place on June 10 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lorton Library (9520 Richmond Highway). The second event takes place on June 24 from 4-7 p.m. at Chantilly Regional Library (4000 Stringfellow Road).
We are so excited to announce the launch of an exciting new event to kick-off @fairfaxlibrary’s summer reading program this year. Join us for the fun on June 10 at Lorton Library or June 24 at Chantilly Regional Library. Details here: https://t.co/Z4PODbulh5 pic.twitter.com/Z4vrGlrw0O
— Fairfax Library Foundation (@FLFoundation) May 19, 2023
The festival will include games, crafts, a bounce house, mini zoo, snacks, face-painting, food trucks and a photo booth.
Although both festivals are free, online registration is encouraged.
Registration for the summer reading program opens online on June 10. Paper logs will be available at all branches before the program kicks off on June 16. Individuals who register early will get priority for raffle entries to win Scrawl Books gift cards.
Adults who finish the program will get a coupon book and will be entered into other raffles for $25 gift cards for AMC, Barnes & Noble and VISA, along with other prizes — including four tickets to Escape Room Herndon.
In Chantilly, the festival will be followed by a free outdoor screening of Disney’s “Frozen: Sing-Along Edition,” Fairfax Library Foundation Development Director Cheryl Lee said.
(Updated at 10:25 a.m. on 5/24/2023) Construction has begun on a new warehouse for the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) in the Newington area.
The organization, which supports nonprofits and provides meals to residents throughout the D.C. region, broke ground on the 43,000-square-foot distribution facility at 6833 Hill Park Drive, Lorton, on May 15.
Expected to more than double CAFB’s capacity in Northern Virginia, the new warehouse replaces a smaller building on the same site that the food bank says “no longer had the size or efficiencies required to address the area’s rising need.”
“Building an expanded facility in Northern Virginia couldn’t come at a more important time: in the wake of the pandemic and sustained rates of inflation, there are still so many in our community who are struggling to make ends meet and to access enough nutritious food,” CAFB President and CEO Radha Muthiah said. “This building is an investment in the future of thousands of Northern Virginians, both today and in the years to come.”
About 24% of Fairfax County residents reported experiencing food insecurity in 2021, putting it on the lower end of a spectrum that ranged from 21% in Arlington County to 48% in Prince George’s County, according to CAFB’s 2022 Hunger Report.
Expected to be released this September, the next hunger report could tell an even more sobering story after a year of inflation and diminishing public assistance. As of February, food prices were 10% higher than that time last year, CAFB said in its annual report, and the end of emergency SNAP benefits placed new pressure on local food banks.
(Correction: This article previously said the next hunger report is expected this summer. While last year’s report came out in June, CAFB says this year’s will likely be published in September, coinciding with Hunger Action Month.)
Capital Area Food Bank distributed nearly three times as many meals in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic as in the preceding year, Fairfax County leaders said last year. In February 2022, the county’s Board of Supervisors approved a $5 million contribution from its federal Covid relief funds to support to the food bank’s warehouse expansion.
CAFB projects that the project will cost a total of $35 million, which it hopes to cover with both public and private funding. So far, seven localities and Virginia have invested over $9 million, and Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Rep. Gerry Connolly, have requested federal Community Project Funding.
“The new 43,000 square-foot facility will be nearly 3.5 times larger than the existing building, allowing the food bank to store and distribute more produce, provide more space for its partner nonprofits to pick up food, and offer volunteering opportunities at its Virginia warehouse for the first time,” CAFB said in a press release.
In addition to hosting a new volunteer center, the warehouse will be larger and more flexible with updated equipment compared to the previous building, which was built in 1982.
The old warehouse’s cooler and storage space had become inadequate, and maintenance was “cost-prohibitive,” CAFB said.
The new building is expected to be completed by late summer 2024.
CAFB isn’t the only local food assistance nonprofit to seek a capacity boost recently. Food for Others opened an addition to its Merrifield warehouse in February that allows clients to shop for groceries.
CAFB distributes more than 50 million meals across the D.C. region annually, according to its website. The organization’s main distribution facility is in northeast D.C.
A 46-year-old motorcyclist died in a crash on Hooes Road in Lorton late last week.
Springfield resident Samuel Gensler was riding a 2001 Harley Davidson north on Hooes Road Friday (May 19) afternoon when he lost control at the curve approaching the Crosspointe Glen Way intersection, the Fairfax County Police Department says.
According to police, Gensler veered off the roadway, “struck a driveway and was separated from the motorcycle.”
Police officers responded to the scene at 4:54 p.m. Gensler was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died.
“Detectives continue to investigate to determine whether speed and alcohol were factors in the crash,” the FCPD said in a news release on Saturday (May 20).
Gensler is the sixth non-pedestrian to be killed in a crash on Fairfax County roads this year — double the number of fatalities seen at this point in 2022, according to the FCPD. Earlier this month, another motorcyclist died in a crash on Richmond Highway in Lorton.
There have also been four pedestrian deaths, most recently when a fire engine hit a woman in Reston.
Those numbers from the FCPD don’t include highway incidents, such as last week’s fatal crash with a deer on the Dulles Access Road in Tysons. In total, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles has recorded 11 fatalities in Fairfax County this year, though state data doesn’t show any deaths in May yet.
Fifteen years after it emerged from the shell of the former Lorton prison, the Workhouse Arts Center will take the spotlight at Capital One Hall in Tysons as the top honoree of the 2023 ArtsFairfax Awards.
The center will receive the Jinx Hazel Award at the annual ceremony and fundraising event on Oct. 26, ArtsFairfax, the county’s official arts agency, announced earlier this month.
Awards will also be bestowed on developer and philanthropist Lola Reinsch, George Mason University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the Inova Schar Cancer Institute.
“The 2023 ArtsFairfax Awards honorees all demonstrate how the arts revitalize communities, improve our wellbeing, and spark creativity in unexpected places,” ArtsFairfax President and CEO Linda Sullivan said. “We’re thrilled to celebrate each of these awardees for enriching the lives of Fairfax County residents.”
Given to Capital One Hall last year, the Jinx Hazel Award recognizes “an individual or organization whose vision and commitment has helped shape the cultural life of Fairfax County,” ArtsFairfax says.
Opened to the public in September 2008, the Workhouse Arts Center is the only multi-disciplinary arts facility in the area of southern Fairfax County recently rebranded as Potomac Banks, according to ArtsFairfax.
The 55-acre campus hosts art studios, galleries, performing arts space, classrooms and the Lucy Burns Museum, drawing about 100,000 patrons annually with exhibits and special events like Fourth of July fireworks or the upcoming BrewWorks Festival.
The center is still being built out, with a new location for Bunnyman Brewing expected to open in a recently refurbished building this year. Future developments could include an amphitheater, more events and educational venues and even housing, depending on the master plan that the county is currently finalizing.
Reinsch is this year’s recipient of the ArtsFairfax Philanthropy Award, which goes to a person, corporation or foundation “that has provided leadership funding or long-term monetary support to the arts.”
As president, owner, and CEO of the Reinsch Companies, a residential and golf course developer, Reinsch has been a regular donor for numerous local arts nonprofits, including the McLean Project for the Arts (MPA), the Virginia Chamber Orchestra, 1st Stage theater in Tysons and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.
Her contributions to MPA include a matching gift to support a future art and education center at Clemyjontri Park, according to ArtsFairfax.
Meanwhile, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will be recognized with an Education Award for providing arts education classes, clubs and events to older residents of Northern Virginia.
The ArtsFairfax Impact Award will go to the Inova Schar Cancer Institute for its Arts and Healing program, which supports a permanent art collection, ongoing exhibitions, performing arts events and 20 artists-in-residence to help patients and their families going through treatment or recovery.
Tickets and sponsorships for the awards ceremony are now for sale. Reston Community Center is the visionary sponsor for the awards, which typically attract over 300 guests, according to ArtsFairfax.
“The arts are the heartbeat of all truly great communities, and we can’t envision any world in which the arts aren’t central to what makes us human,” RCC Board Chair Beverly Cosham said. “The arts play a central role in Reston’s neighborhoods and Fairfax County has embraced their vital importance to building vibrant places to live and learn. ArtsFairfax is the catalyst for these successful efforts.”
Fairfax County police are investigating an apparent domestic dispute that involved a Centreville man and his family’s dog getting stabbed.
Brendan Hadermann, 22, of Centreville was arrested by Virginia State Police on Tuesday (April 25) after a pursuit that extended into Lorton. He has been charged with malicious wounding, animal cruelty, and disregarding police commands to stop.
Officers were dispatched to the 5500 block of Cedar Break Drive at 9:14 a.m. for the reported stabbing, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
“The victim reported he suffered multiple stab wounds from a domestic-related incident,” the FCPD said in a news release yesterday (Wednesday). “When officers arrived, they also found the family dog suffering from a puncture wound to its abdomen.”
The man, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The dog was transported to an animal hospital, where it is currently in stable condition, the police said.
Scanner traffic suggests the man is Hadermann’s father, but the FCPD said it can only confirm that the incident is “domestic related” right now.
According to police, Hadermann was seen leaving the scene of the stabbing in a black Chevrolet pickup truck.
After an alert for the vehicle was sent to neighboring jurisdictions, Virginia State Police troopers encountered the truck on I-95 and attempted a traffic stop around 10:30 a.m. Hadermann evidently fled, leading to a high-speed chase that ended around 10:37 a.m. in the Lorton Valley area.
Hadermann is currently in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, where he’s being held without bond.
The FCPD says anyone with information about this or similar cases can contact its detectives at 703-246-7800, option 5. Tips are also accepted through Crime Solvers by phone (1-866-411-TIPS) and online.
(Updated at 8 p.m.) A white bus with a blue strip attempted to pick up children at a bus stop in the Southington Lane area of Reston earlier this morning (Thursday).
Local police are investigating the incident, which happened around 7:44 a.m.
The driver reportedly drove off after a community member tried to speak with the driver. The driver, who is described as a white male with facial hair, shut the door and drove off.
A second incident happened about 10 minutes later involving a different bus. An unmarked yellow school bus with black stripes tried to pick up elementary school students at a bus stop in the area of Chynoweth Street and Telegraph Road in Lorton, Fairfax County police said.
That driver also drove away when confronted by a community member. He was described as a man with long curly brown hair who wore a surgical mask and dark clothing.
Police said later that the Lorton driver was identified.
“The bus was there for another pick up and no criminal activity suspected,” the Fairfax County Police Department said.
The FCPD urged anyone with additional information to use the following means to contact investigators:
If you have any information about this incident, please call 703-691-2131. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone – 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), and online [at] www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org. You may also download the ‘P3 Tips’ App “Fairfax Co Crime Solvers”. Anonymous tipsters are eligible for cash rewards. Please leave contact information if you wish for someone to follow up with you.
Several county-run farmers markets are returning for the spring season this month with the remainder opening soon after.
The Fairfax County Park Authority operates 10 farmers markets across the county where residents can pick up fresh veggies, fruit, meat, and other locally produced goodies.
“Our markets are strictly producer-only, meaning that all of our farmers and producers may only sell what they raise on their farms or make from scratch,” reads the county’s website.
Three farmers markets are coming back later in April.
- April 19: McCutcheon/Mount Vernon on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon
- April 22: Burke on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon
- April 29: Reston on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon
The seven remaining farmers markets will open in May.
- May 3: Oak Marr on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon, Wakefield on Wednesdays from 2-6 p.m.
- May 4: Annandale on Thursdays from 8 a.m. to noon, Herndon on Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- May 5: McLean on Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon, Kingstowne on Fridays from 3-7 p.m.
- May 7: Lorton on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Each market’s webpage has a list of vendors that are set to be selling. Besides food for sale, many markets will also offer family-friendly activities, live music, and civic-engagement opportunities.
Besides the county-run farmers markets, the nonprofit FreshFarm also has a number of local markets, including three that operate year-round.
- Oakton on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Mosaic District on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Reston on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Two other FreshFarm markets — Springfield and Mosaic on Thursdays — were open last year, but it is not immediately clear if those will be open starting next month. FreshFarm is the area’s largest farmers market operator, and in February, its employees voted to unionize.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recently honored a local police district that help crack down on a string of car thefts earlier this year.
At a meeting last week, the Board of Supervisors recognized the Franconia District Police Station and the Fairfax County Police Department’s Auto Crimes Enforcement Team.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said Lorton has seen a rash of vehicle thefts this year.
“Car thefts are on the rise around the region including an apparent coordinated effort around Lorton in January targeting Kia and Hyundai vehicles,” Storck said. “In January alone, 33 vehicles were stolen in Fairfax County.”
Lorton in particular had nine vehicles stolen, Storck said. In response, police increased their presence in the neighborhoods and were able to make two significant arrests in January.
“The Lorton community had a significant number of autos being stolen and the community was very frustrated,” Storck said. “They were teenagers regrettably but fortunately they were then stopped.”
Beyond just the issue of vehicles being stolen, Storck said there were concerns about the stolen vehicles being used in other crimes.
Chairman Jeff McKay said his own car had been stolen years ago and shared the sense of frustration and unease that can bring.
“As someone who had their own car broken into many years ago, I can tell you, the victims of that…feel personal violation,” McKay said. “I don’t think anyone understands what it feels like to have your car stolen. It’s not the same as other crimes committed against persons, but that particular crime against property is a personal intrusion that not only has an effect on people, but has the potential to give the wrong impression about the safety of a community.”
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity said his hope is not only that community members feel safe, but that the crackdown instills a wariness in criminals.
“This is just another example of the quality of our force,” Herrity said. “When we see an issue, we go out and get in front of it and solve it. I think it sends a message we need to send not just to our community… but the message it sends to the bad guys: if you come to Fairfax County, we’re going to get this solved.”
Image via Google Maps
