The Oakton driver behind a 2022 crash that killed two teenagers has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Earlier this week, 20-year-old Usman Shahid was convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the June 7, 2022 crash on Blake Lane, where he struck and killed two Oakton High School students while driving 46 mph over the 35-mph speed limit.

A jury proposed the sentence today (Friday) after issuing its verdict Wednesday (April 24).

“At trial, prosecutors proved that Shahid’s high rate of speed and lack of evasive action to avoid the situation were responsible for both the initial crash and the subsequent pedestrian collision,” the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in a press release.

Multiple news outlets reported that, during the trial, prosecutors stated Shahid was driving his BMW at 81 mph on Blake Lane shortly before noon on the day of the crash. Students had been released early that day with the end of the school year approaching.

Upon seeing a yellow traffic light, Shahid accelerated and collided with a Toyota 4Runner that was turning left. Police testified that the collision forced Shahid’s vehicle off the road and onto the sidewalk, where it struck three teenage girls.

According to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, a crash expert testified during the trial that the data recorder in Shahid’s vehicle showed he accelerated from 60 to 81 mph in the five seconds before the crash as he approached the intersection. The recorder also indicated that Shahid didn’t attempt to brake.

Two of the victims, 14-year-old Ada Gabriela Martinez Nolasco and 15-year-old Leeyan Hanjia Yan, died of their injuries, while a third teen was seriously hurt.

“This is one of the most tragic cases in Fairfax County’s history,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in the release. “I have a daughter just a few months younger than Ada and Leeyan were – and I can’t imagine how broken I would be in her absence. My heart breaks for the families, friends, and loved ones of these young girls. While there is nothing that can make up for such an immense loss, I hope that this conviction can help our community finally begin to heal from this tragedy.”

A judge will finalize the sentence — which could be lower but not higher than the jury’s determination — later this year.

Fairfax County is gearing up for the return of its 10 farmers’ markets this spring, with some locations set to return later this month and others in May.

The 2024 season starts on April 17 with the McCutcheon/Mount Vernon Farmers Market outside the Sherwood Regional Library (2501 Sherwood Hall Lane), the Fairfax County Park Authority announced last week.

Farmers and producers are only allowed to sell what they raise on their farms or make from scratch and come from within a 125-mile radius of Fairfax County, with a few exceptions for hard-to-find products, according to the county website.

“This year, you can expect to find locally grown produce, delicious baked goods, and prepared foods at our farmers markets,” the Fairfax County Park Authority said in a news release. “Additionally, enjoy a variety of family-friendly activities from musical performances, games — and don’t forget to bring your food scraps to support our community composting efforts.”

A list of vendors can be found on each market’s webpage, and SNAP will be accepted at the Mount Vernon, Annandale, Lorton, Reston and Wakefield locations.

Three farmers markets are coming back later in April, all operating from 8 a.m. to noon:

• April 17: McCutcheon/Mount Vernon on Wednesdays
• April 20: Burke at Burke Centre Field (5671 Roberts Parkway) on Saturdays
• April 27: Reston at Lake Anne Plaza (1608 Washington Plaza North) on Saturdays

The seven remaining farmers markets will open in May:

• May 1: Oakton at the recently renamed Oakmont Rec Center (3200 Jermantown Road) on Wednesdays 8 a.m.-noon, Wakefield at the Audrey Moore Rec Center (8100 Braddock Road) in Annandale on Wednesdays 2-6 p.m.
• May 2: Annandale at Mason District Park (6621 Columbia Pike) and Herndon outside the Herndon Municipal Center (765 Lynn Street) on Thursdays 8 a.m.-noon
• May 3: McLean at Lewinsville Park (1659 Chain Bridge Road) on Fridays 8 a.m.-noon, Kingstowne (5844-5862 Kingstowne Center) on Fridays 3-7 p.m.
• May 5: Lorton at Lorton Station Town Center (8994 Potomac Bend) on Sundays 8 a.m.-noon

A Chantilly office has landed AT&T for a rare full-building lease.

In late February, the telecommunications company signed a lease for 111,000 square foot at 4807 Stonecroft Blvd, part of the Westfields International Center at Dulles office park. It will take over the building in 2025 under a long-term lease, building manager Stream Realty Partners announced on Feb. 29.

“We are excited to welcome AT&T to Stonecroft IV and into our regional portfolio,” said Max Sanford, a partner at Menlo Equities, which owns the building. “Their decision to lease the entire building reaffirms the strength of the property’s offerings and its strategic location, and we look forward to their long-term occupancy in the building.”

The building includes new amenities like a fitness center, lounge, upgraded lobby and conference center.

The move comes as AT&T consolidates its Virginia offices, according to Bisnow. Plans for mixed-use development on the company’s longtime corporate campus at 3033 Chain Bridge Road in Oakton are already in the works.

Here’s more from Bisnow on how Stream Realty Partners landed the lease:

The telecommunications giant is consolidating from multiple Virginia offices, including 3033 Chain Bridge Road in Oakton, Stream Realty co-Managing Director Jeff Roman told Bisnow. Its Oakton building is slated for a 1.5M SF redevelopment from EYA and Carlyle Group.

The 4807 Stonecroft building had been occupied by Northrop Grumman starting in 2008, but the defense contractor vacated a few years ago, said Roman, who leases the building along with Stream Executive Vice President Malcolm Schweiker.

After Northrop Grumman left, then-owner Franklin Street Properties Corp. worked with the Stream brokers to secure an agreement with another defense contractor, Roman said, declining to name that firm. Franklin Street renovated the building as part of the effort to bring in that tenant, but the company decided not to proceed with the deal due to pandemic-related shifts, Roman said.

Franklin Street sold Stonecroft IV and another Chantilly building to Menlo Equities in November 2021 for $40 million. The Stonecroft building was vacant at the time, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Stream Realty Partners also touted the building’s location for providing “unparalleled connectivity” to government operations, including the CIA and FBI.

“This whole building lease represents another great office success in Westfields and continues to show commercial resilience in the Westfields community,” Westfields Center said in a statement welcoming AT&T.

Photo via Google Maps

Police have arrested four people in connection with multiple home burglaries involving pretend flower deliveries in Fairfax County.

The Fairfax County Police Department announced on Jan. 10 that it was investigating five recent home burglaries linked by a woman who was seen on surveillance cameras pretending to deliver flowers. After determining that no one was inside, she alerted two men in a waiting vehicle who broke into the houses and stole cash, purses and other valuable items, police said.

In an update released today (Thursday), police reported that they have now connected seven cases between Dec. 28 and Jan. 11. Burglaries were reported in McLean, Reston, Oakton and Great Falls.

Detectives closed in on the suspects in January after identifying their vehicle, which was then spotted on Jan. 17 in a residential area of Cobb County, Georgia, according to the FCPD.

When contacted by Fairfax County detectives, the Cobb County Police Department reported that the vehicle was involved in a recent burglary in their area. That led to the arrest of four people who were charged with the Cobb County burglary.

“Our detectives traveled to Georgia to coordinate with CCPD detectives and review evidence obtained from the vehicle the suspects were driving when they were arrested,” the FCPD said. “Detectives were able to link the four suspects to multiple burglaries in Fairfax County.”

Detectives obtained warrants on Feb. 7 charging a 34-year-old man, a 27-year-old man, a 23-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman in connection to the Fairfax County burglaries. The charges include burglary, conspiracy to commit a felony and acting as an accessory to a crime.

All of the individuals are currently in custody in Cobb County, which is in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The FCPD says they will be extradited to Fairfax County after the Georgia burglary case is resolved.

Fairfax County police believe a recent series of home burglaries were committed by the same people, based on one suspect’s floral accessories.

Detectives are currently investigating five burglaries that started on Dec. 28 and continued most recently on Tuesday, Jan. 9:

• Dec. 28, 6 p.m. — 900 block of Dominion Reserve Drive in McLean
• Dec. 29, 6 p.m. — 1100 block of Bishopgate Way in Reston
• Jan. 1, 2 a.m. — 1100 block of Windrock Drive in McLean
• Jan. 8, 5:30 p.m. — 11000 block of Lance Lane in Oakton
• Jan. 9, 12:30-6:30 p.m. — 11100 block of Farm Road in Great Falls

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, home surveillance footage from four of the incidents shows a woman with flowers approaching the houses and knocking on the front doors.

“When no one answered, she returned to an awaiting vehicle,” the FCPD said. “Two men then forced entry into the home and stole valuables. The items stolen from the homes included jewelry, cash, and purses.”

Police say the individuals have used spray paint to try to tamper with security cameras at the homes.

The department is now seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the woman using images caught by a Nest camera.

“Anyone who recently had someone attempt to deliver flowers to your home or has seen someone matching the picture above is asked to contact our officers” at 703-556-7750, the FCPD said.

The FCPD reported an uptick in residential burglaries and break-ins last year. Through September, there had been 126 such incidents compared to 115 at that point in 2022.

A redevelopment plan for the former ICF headquarters in Oakton has officially been submitted to Fairfax County.

Filed in late December, the application from IBW HB LLC — an apparent affiliate of Arlington-based developer Insight Property Group — envisions replacing the 1980s-era Hunters Branch office complex at 9300 and 9302 Route 29 with a 8-story apartment building and townhomes.

With a comprehensive plan amendment to allow the redevelopment already in the works, the developer says a change is needed for the property “to contribute positively to the community and to better serve the local economy” after its longtime tenant, the consulting firm ICF, moved to Reston.

“IBW HB LLC is excited for the opportunity to put forward a thoughtful and high quality redevelopment that will replace obsolete and predominantly vacant office uses with modern residential uses within close proximity to transit,” a statement of justification for the application says.

Developer requests to turn commercial properties into residential ones have become common, as offices struggle to rebound from the pandemic, which fueled an embrace of telework. A similar redevelopment has been proposed for AT&T’s Oakton campus, and nearby, the Pan Am Shopping Center is poised to add housing in an effort to rejuvenate the strip mall.

“Extending this pattern to the Hunters Branch Property is logical and creates inherent compatibility and additional opportunities to deliver meaningful connections and open spaces that will benefit the new and existing residences of the Vienna [Transit Station Area] alike,” McGuireWoods land use agent Scott Adams wrote in the statement.

Pitched as a “gateway development” for the Vienna Metro station area, the proposed apartment building at Hunters Branch would have up to 485 dwelling units across 485,000 square feet of space. It would be located on the western side of the 13.9-acre property along Hunters Glen Way, replacing an existing, four-story parking garage.

A second five-story garage would remain, but in a change from an initial concept that exclusively suggested residential uses, the developer proposes converting the eastern portion into up to 2,000 square feet of retail space — potentially “a small coffee shop or eatery.”

“This retail/restaurant space softens the exposed portion of the garage, activates the adjacent public plaza and uses some of the excess parking spaces in the garage for additional density,” the application says, noting that the immediate Vienna Metro station area is currently lacking in retail.

Approved plans for retail and commercial development elsewhere in the TSA have largely failed to materialize so far.

The plan also calls for around 76 townhomes as a “logical transition from the multifamily building to the large open space and environmental corridor on the eastern portion of the site.” While the units are described as “stacked” townhomes, they could be built as conventional side-by-side townhouses instead.

To reflect a theme of “enhancing human-scale connections with nature,” the developer has offered to reposition the Hunters Branch stream valley corridor as a natural park with reconstructed trails, a dog park, children’s playground, and other recreation areas.

Proposed road improvements to enhance pedestrian safety and connectivity include a redesigned Hunters Glen Way and Route 29 intersection with better crosswalks and a “Multi-modal Transportation Amenity Plaza” that could have bicycle racks, a bicycle repair station, electronic charging stations, seating, wayfinding signs for the Metro station and more.

Changes to the Route 29 and Nutley Street intersection are also being considered.

“Expanded pedestrian landing areas at the Nutley Street and Route 29 intersection will provide new pedestrian refuges and create a sense of arrival to the Vienna TSA,” Adams wrote. “Additional pedestrian and bicycle enhancements on the Property will further establish safe and accessible connectivity towards the Metro.”

The county hasn’t formally accepted the application for review yet.

The Oakton office campus that has hosted AT&T for decades is poised for a transformation.

An affiliate of developer EYA, CB Oakton Associates LLC submitted a plan to Fairfax County in late November that would replace the aging, 440,000-square-foot office building with up to 1.4 million square feet of mixed-use development, including townhomes, multi-family residential buildings and retail.

Closely resembling a concept shared with the community in the fall, the application calls for up to 1,000 residential units: 625 multi-family units and 375 traditional and stacked townhomes. The amount of housing was reduced from the developer’s initial vision after area residents raised concerns about traffic and incompatibility with the neighborhood’s park-like character.

While not indicated in the plan, EYA has previously stated that the multi-family housing will be rental apartments. The developer will include affordable dwelling units “in accordance with County requirements…in each of the housing types proposed,” according to the application.

The approximately 33-acre site will also be redeveloped with 120,000 square feet of retail space and retain 80,000 square feet of office space.

“The Applicant proposes to rezone the Property…to permit a mixed-use community that maximizes the Property’s size and central location and will serve as a central core to the broader Oakton community,” Cooley LLP lawyer Mark C. Looney wrote in a statement of justification. “…This mix will provide the Applicant with the optionality required to redevelop as appropriate to meet future market demands.”

Built in 1981, the office building at 3033 Chain Bridge Road has been occupied by AT&T ever since, but the presence of workers at the campus has “dwindled,” particularly after the pandemic led to more flexible work-from-home policies, according to the application.

The building’s “deteriorated” condition also convinced the property owner that change is needed. AT&T’s lease is set to expire at the end of 2025, the Washington Business Journal reported.

In addition to adding housing and retail, which will range from 60 feet tall for the townhomes along Flagpole Lane to 120 feet tall at the corner of Chain Bridge Road and Jermantown Road, the proposed redevelopment will reconfigure the site with a new grid of streets and 16.1 acres of open spaces, including:

• The Preserve — A “gateway feature” where the preserved tree canopy is integrated with gathering spaces, a multi-use trail and dining and retail on the north portion and a plaza and dog play area to the south
• Borge Street Park Expansion — An 0.7-acre supplement to the existing Borge Park with “themed play equipment inspired by the site’s history as part of a railway corridor and passive seating areas”
• Retail Promenade — Terminating at a retail kiosk with outdoor seating, the promenade could feature gathering areas, landscaping, areas for public art, a shade structure, fountains and a lawn for small events
• Linear Park — Boardwalks or decks with seating, birdhouses, interpretive signage and art could enliven the southwestern portion of the property, where bioretention areas will be located
• Perimeter Park — Adjacent to Flagpole Lane, this 0.31-acre park will feature “fitness nodes” to encourage exercise

The plan also include a nearly 1-mile-long shared-use path around the property. The emphasis on open and green spaces was a priority for many residents, including the neighborhood advocacy group Options for Oakton.

Looney notes that EYA met convened over 25 community meetings before filing its application, which hasn’t been formally accepted for review by county planners yet.

“The Application is the product of incorporating the feedback received in those meetings with the Applicant’s vision to revitalize the Property with a mixture of uses in a vibrant community,” Looney wrote.

The county is already conducting a planning study that would amend its comprehensive plan to allow mixed-use development on the AT&T campus. An estimated timeline suggests the draft amendment could be released this coming spring, setting the stage for public hearings in summer and fall 2024.

Oakton High School’s marching band could win $15,000 from playing “Enter Sandman” and other Metallica tunes.

The Marching Cougars, as the band is called, was selected as a national finalist in the inaugural “For Whom the Band Tolls” competition, which invited high school and college marching bands to submit videos showcasing their performances of Metallica’s work.

Oakton is the high school finalist from Virginia and one of only two selected from the East Coast, according to the Oakton High School Band Boosters.

The finalists were determined by a judging panel made up of music educators, but the winners — two collegiate bands and small, medium and large high school bands — will be chosen by singer and guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich and the other members of the heavy metal band.

“It is surreal to me that one of my all-time favorite bands is going to watch my band,” said Oakton Band Director Dr. Jamie vanValkenburg, who designed the Cougars’ showcase to engage “both performers and the audience through thrilling visuals and dynamic sound.”

The Cougars submitted a performance from an October varsity football game where Oakton played Westfield High School. Titled “Parade to Black,” the show features “The Unforgiven,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” the regular Metallica cover song “Turn the Page,” “The Memory Remains,” and “Enter Sandman” as the finale.

In addition to the categories judged by Metallica, there are two fan favorite categories — one for colleges and one for high schools — that will be decided by public vote. All of the submissions can be viewed online, where community members can cast their vote.

Votes can also be submitted by text to 1-833-609-0330. To back the Marching Cougars, voters would need to send text “VOTE #HSOAKTON.” The voting window will close on Dec. 31.

All of the winners will be announced the week of Jan. 1. Prizes range from $10,000 for the fan favorite choices to $75,000 for the Division I collegiate category.

Members of the Marching Cougars were thrilled by their selection as finalists. Trumpet player Jayden said the honor “means a lot” to him and everyone else in the band and color guard, while bass clarinet player Jennifer said it was rewarding to contribute “to something cool and potentially beneficial to our music community and school.”

“The video turned out amazing and really showcased all the work that our band put in this season,” Deniz, a drum major, said. “Watching it back makes me so proud of us, as it really demonstrates our great improvement over the past few months.”

(Updated at 4:50 p.m.) After initially holding off, Fairfax County is now ready to consider allowing a redevelopment of the former ICF International headquarters in Oakton.

At Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik’s request, the Board of Supervisors authorized county staff on Nov. 21 to craft a comprehensive plan amendment that would open the door for residential or mixed-use development at the Hunters Branch office buildings (9300 and 9302 Route 29).

Constructed in 1987 and 1989, the 12-story, 200,000-square-foot buildings housed ICF for over three decades until the consulting firm relocated to Reston Station, a downsizing finalized in November 2022.

“Since ICF has moved out to Reston, this tower has been sitting there, and it’s surrounded by a very, I think, underappreciated area that needs environmental support,” Palchik said at last week’s board meeting. “…I know that the owners and developers are very committed to ensuring both the ecological support as well as the community amenity for this area.”

Property owners BCSP Hunters Branch Fee and BCSP Hunters Branch Lessee (BCSP) nominated the 13.9-acre site for potential land use changes last year as part of the county’s Site-Specific Plan Amendment process.

(Correction: This story initially suggested that the Hunters Branch owners are affiliates of the firm Beacon Capital Partners based on their corporate addresses. FFXnow has been told that they aren’t affiliates, and Beacon hasn’t had an ownership stake in the property since 2021.)

With the nomination, the property owners suggested two options for redeveloping Hunters Branch:

1. “Adaptive reuse” of the office buildings as senior living facilities and/or multi-family dwelling units, and a replacement of an existing 706-space parking garage with multi-family housing
2. An exclusively multi-family residential development

The proposal called for mid-rise buildings with five to seven stories and between 913 and 1,124 units. A second, 1,462-space parking garage would be retained in both scenarios.

However, the Board of Supervisors adopted the ICF nomination on April 11 in the third tier of its plan amendment work program, deferring a review to “allow for further development” of the scope, according to Palchik’s board matter.

With last week’s vote, the nomination was elevated to the work program’s highest-priority tier.

In a change from BCSP’s original proposal, the plan amendment could allow non-residential uses, such as ground-floor retail, as well as multi-family and townhouse buildings. Palchik said the site’s location within the Vienna Transit Station Area suggests “there may be advantages to consider a mix of uses.”

With demand for older office space declining post-pandemic, the property owners noted in their nomination that redeveloping the Hunters Branch offices would boost the county’s senior and multi-family housing stock. A “meaningful portion” of the new residences would be designated as affordable dwelling units.

“The area surrounding the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metrorail Station is emerging as a residential hub, and the community’s need for an increased and varied supply of housing in this location is growing,” Hunton Andrews Kurth counsel Jill Parks wrote as BCSP’s legal agent. “As such, it is critical that a mix of housing options be made available to the neighborhood’s current and prospective residents.”

When asked about the changes to the development proposal, Parks told FFXnow the developer doesn’t have any comment “at this time.”

Known as Land Bay A in the 56.9-acre Hunters Branch neighborhood, the former ICF office isn’t the only property in the Vienna Metro station area getting a new look. The board approved a plan on Sept. 12 to allow housing and additional retail at the nearby Pan Am Shopping Center, and discussions are underway for a redevelopment of AT&T’s Oakton campus.

Just south of the Metro station, the MetroWest development is also slated to get more residential buildings and a town center, though Fairfax County’s land use database indicates that site plans for both projects are still under review.

Fairfax County has shed another vestige of its Confederate past.

Oak Marr Park, which is home to the Oak Marr RECenter and Golf Center Complex, was renamed “Oakmont” earlier this month by the Fairfax County Park Authority board, which approved the change at its Nov. 8 meeting.

Located at 3200 Jermantown Road, the facilities were originally named after John Quincy Marr, a Warrenton militia captain who became the first Confederate soldier killed by the Union Army in the Civil War.

“The elimination of ‘Marr’ from the name of these park facilities follows the county’s pattern of moving away from names and titles that glorify the Confederacy,” the park authority said.

Until recently, Marr had also been recognized with a stone monument outside the old Fairfax County Courthouse at 4010 Chain Bridge Road. The monument was erected in 1904 by the Daughters of the Confederacy, marking the spot where he died on June 1, 1861, according to the FCPA.

The monument, which was accompanied by two howitzers and a state memorial marker, was the subject of a protest by the local advocacy group Reston Strong in June 2020, ultimately leading to their removal on Nov. 6, 2020.

Continuing a trend that began in 2017 with J.E.B. Stuart High School’s renaming as Justice High School, the Fairfax County History Commission conducted a review that identified more than 26,000 streets and landmarks in the county with names related to the Confederacy.

The most significant change to come out of that review and a subsequent Confederate Names Task Force has been the elimination of Lee Highway and Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway as the county’s names for routes 29 and 50. Those renamings took effect on July 5, though the street signs are still being changed.

FCPA staff initially proposed replacing Oak Marr with “Oak District,” noting that the site’s scope and amenities classify it as a district park, per the county’s comprehensive plan. But some board members wondered at an Oct. 25 meeting if the name might create confusion by implying the existence of an Oak magisterial district.

One board member admitted finding it “just a little plain.”

“You cannot incorporate Oakton into the park, because there’s already an Oakton Community Park, although some of the feedback I got indicated folks want Oakton in there somehow,” said Ken Quincy, who represents Oakton as the board’s Providence District member.

Before the board vote on Nov. 8, FCPA Executive Director Jai Cole credited Quincy with proposing Oakmont, noting that it “keeps the O and the M as Oak Marr and Flint Hill next to Oakmont.”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Mount Vernon District Representative Linwood Gorham said, while another board member suggested that it “sounds like a winery.”

An FCPA spokesperson says the park authority is in the process of transitioning its website and registration systems for camps, classes and other services to the new name, a process expected to finish by mid-November.

The signage at the affected facilities will likely take longer to get replaced.

“We do not currently have a set date for the installation of the physical signs at the Oakmont Rec Center and Golf Center as they need to be manufactured and transported to the site,” the spokesperson said. “We will hope to have a better idea of that timeframe within the coming weeks.”

Image via Google Maps