Good Wednesday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.

🕗 News recap

The following articles were published earlier today — May 15, 2024.

• 8:15 am: Morning Notes | 🗣️ Comments
• 9:35 am: Police investigation underway in Falls Church’s first fatal crash since 2010 | 🗣️ Comments
• 10:30 am: UPDATED: Two men shot in Centreville during apparent drug deal, police say | 🗣️ Comments
• 11:30 am: JW Marriott hotel makes progress toward 2025 opening at Reston Station | 🗣️ Comments
• 1:30 pm: Beauty school closes Tysons location after 18 years | 🗣️ Comments
• 2:30 pm: Senior living developer proposes additional housing option for planned Reston facility | 🗣️ Comments
• 3:30 pm: Annandale residents question county’s plan to remove Kendale Woods pickleball courts | 🗣️ Comments

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on Thursday throughout the county, from our event calendar.

• 6:00 pm: Reston Plant Swap
• 6:00 pm: Reston Plant Swap
• 7:30 pm: Have FUN Improving Your Communication/Leadership Skills at Fairfax Toastmasters

🌦️ Thursday’s forecast

Isolated showers can be expected after 2pm, with mostly sunny conditions and a high near 76. The north wind will blow at 10 to 14 mph and gusts may reach up to 22 mph. There is a 20% chance of precipitation. On Thursday night, it will be partly cloudy, with the low temperature around 57 and a gentle northeast wind at 6 to 8 mph. See more from Weather.gov.

🌅 Tonight’s sunset

The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.

News that the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) will eliminate the Kendale Woods Park pickleball courts came as a complete surprise to Sarah Wysocki.

An Annandale resident whose house backs up to the park, Wysocki says she and other neighbors first learned about the plan to renovate the courts in June from Annandale Today, which shared the FCPA’s announcement on May 3.

The noise and parking challenges cited by the park authority don’t reflect Wysocki’s experiences as a resident and pickleball player, she told FFXnow. The group she plays with every Friday afternoon has never encountered any issues, including with noise complaints or conflicts with tennis players, she says.

“It’s a valuable asset to our community and to our neighborhood because it’s so specific to where we live…that you can’t go somewhere else and replicate that,” Wysocki said. “For the people who live there, it’s important.”

Wysocki isn’t alone in her disappointment at the prospect of losing pickleball at Kendale Woods, which has had two racquetball courts lined for both tennis and pickleball since 2020. The facility was re-lined and re-surfaced to accommodate movable pickleball nets in 2022.

An online petition that Wysocki started last Friday (May 10) in a bid to preserve the pickleball courts has almost 400 signatures, as of this writing, though it’s unclear how many supporters live in the neighborhood. One commenter said they recently played pickleball at the park with their daughter and grandson, while another said the courts have helped “build a community and friendships.”

FOX5 reporter Chad Ricardo said in a May 3 story that the overall sentiment from residents he interviewed was that, though they can hear noise from pickleball games, they “will be sad to see the courts go.”

Wysocki says Kendale Woods is a valuable location because it’s within walking distance and adjacent to the neighborhood pool run by the Broyhill Crest Recreation Club (BCRC), so players can hit the courts while their kids go for a swim.

“Yeah, we could drive five miles, but most people walk there. It’s only two courts, so it’s not like tons of people are coming and playing,” she said, noting that the courts aren’t used at night since they don’t have lights. “It’s very much a neighborhood and community court.” Read More

The Canopy, a planned assisted living community that was once supposed to open in Reston last year, has resurfaced with hopes of attracting a broader range of future residents.

Developer Silverstone Senior Living submitted a rezoning application to Fairfax County on May 6 that would allow it to provide independent living units in the facility at 10819 Leesburg Pike, along with the previously approved assisted living and memory care services.

“It is Silverstone’s experience that current and future demand for senior-based supportive housing in Fairfax County is strong,” Walsh Colucci land use lawyer Lynne Strobel wrote in a statement of justification for the developer. “Residents who have lived lives in Fairfax County wish to stay in the area as they age to be close to familiar services and family. In addition, active seniors wish to relocate to Fairfax County to be near adult children and grandchildren as they age. Silverstone’s proposal addresses these needs.”

Now vacant after an existing single-family house got demolished, the nearly 22.5-acre site off of Route 7 was approved for a medical care facility in February 2016. At that time, the prospective developer, Singh Senior Living, which manages the Waltonwood at Ashburn, intended to build a 155,150-square-foot, three-story complex with 135 assisted living and memory care units.

It’s unclear why the facility never got off the ground, but county records show that Waltonwood Reston sold the property to Silverstone for $12.1 million in July 2021.

Silverstone announced plans for The Canopy in November 2021, anticipating that it would break ground later that year and complete construction around fall 2023, Reston Now reported at the time. However, the company requested additional time to start development in 2022 and again in April 2023, citing delays related to a construction loan and site plan revisions.

Silverstone and Strobel, the developer’s representative for the new rezoning case, didn’t return requests for comment by press time. Read More

Paul Mitchell’s beauty school is departing Tysons Corner Center after almost two decades of providing hair care services and training at the mall.

After halting acceptances of new students, the school is observing its last day of business today (Wednesday).

“We hope to continue to serve the community and applicants at another one of our franchise locations,” Paul Mitchell Tysons said in a message on its website. “We encourage you to visit our location finder to find a school location nearest you.”

Confirming that the school isn’t being relocated, an employee in Tysons told FFXnow that the closure was “unexpected” but didn’t have any information about what led to the decision. FFXnow has reached out to Paul Mitchell’s corporate office for comment.

A Tysons Corner Center spokesperson said the mall had nothing to add beyond confirming that the move by Paul Mitchell is “a corporate closing.”

Located at 8041-L Tysons Corner Center next to Nordstorm, Paul Mitchell The School offered a range of cosmetology programs to aspiring beauticians, who could get practical experience with haircutting, coloring and styling as well as makeup, skin care and nails.

The 11,000-square-foot salon also sold hair and beauty products, such as shampoo and lotion. In the weeks leading up to the closure, all products have been available at a 50% discount.

Paul Mitchell opened its school at Tysons Corner Center in January 2006 as a partnership with Ratner Companies, the now-defunct, Vienna-based parent company of Hair Cuttery, according to a Washington Post article from that time.

The Tysons salon was the company’s only location in the D.C. area, but it does have a school in Roanoke and a partner academy in Virginia Beach.

Hat tip to Jewel Weien

The Dragons Concord is a tabletop roleplay gaming center that focuses on providing a safe and professional roleplay and miniature wargaming experience.

Our themed private gaming rooms, free public gaming tables, and growing staff of professional game masters, are all oriented toward one goal — to make roleplay gaming as accessible and fun as we can for everyone! We’ve had an amazing reception by the community since we first opened our doors last June, and to celebrate we’re hosting a special event at our store in Fairfax on June 1st.

In addition to hosting a variety of special game sessions and events throughout the day, we’ll also be hosting several local creators and crafters showing off their talents in 3d printed miniatures and dice towers, board game development and even introductory blacksmithing classes being offered by our partner Semicolon Craft and Forgeworks! Visit www.dragonsconcord.com for more information.

The demand for quality game masters is increasing faster than ever before, and we intend to meet that demand head on. Our Storytellers are some of the best in the area, and we work together as a team to both improve our own skills and find ways to improve the community as well.

If you think you have the passion and experience to take your game to the next level and help us grow this community, fill out an application to join our team!

Join Dragons Concord Today!

The developer behind Reston Station celebrated a milestone last week in its construction of a new Marriott hotel.

Comstock held a “topping out” ceremony last Wednesday (May 8) at 1800 Reston Row Plaza for the 26-story JW Marriott Hotel and Residences, the hospitality brand’s first location in Virginia and an anchor for the future Row at Reston Station neighborhood.

Marking the moment when construction reached its highest point, the ceremony was attended by more than 100 local and state elected officials, community leaders, representatives of the building contractor and other stakeholders in the project.

“Developments [like this] are where workers want to live, it is where new businesses want to come. They all want to be near transit,” Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said in a press release. “These projects are not possible without people that have the kind of vision like [Comstock CEO and Chairman] Chris Clemente does. And to me the future is really bright.”

Initially expected to open this year, the Marriott building at Reston Station Blvd and Wiehle Avenue will consist of 243 hotel rooms and 94 condominiums with approximately 25,000 square feet of event and meeting space. Amenities for residents will include personalized concierge services, private lounges and kitchens, a private fitness center, and grilling areas and a dog park on the roof.

Parking will be provided in a garage with 24/7 valet service and electric vehicle charging stations.

Adjacent to the existing, fully built Metro Plaza District, The Row at Reston Station will expand the development outside the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station by roughly 1.5 million square feet. In addition to the Marriott, the new neighborhood will deliver a residential building called BLVD Haley and two office towers at 1800 and 1880 Reston Row Plaza.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved revisions to the plan for the $1.3 billion project last fall, allowing Comstock to shift planned but unbuilt office space from the Metro Plaza District, increase the residential building’s height and number of units, and create a private outdoor dining area.

The dining area will serve Ebbitt House, a new restaurant from the company behind Clyde’s of Reston that’s expected to open at 1860 Reston Row Plaza next year. Other tenants confirmed for Reston Row include the mini golf facility Puttshack, French bakery Tous les Jours, the Japanese restaurant Noku Sushi and VIDA Fitness and Spa, a 55,000-square-foot gym that will occupy three levels of 1800 Reston Row Plaza.

Comstock confirmed Vida Fitness remains on track for a May opening, but an opening date still hasn’t been announced.

“World-class businesses like Marriott…are coming here and will help bring this place to life,” Clemente said. “The Row at Reston Station is a sought-after destination that is raising the bar for mixed-use development [and] will set a new standard for placemaking within transit-oriented communities.”

A sales gallery for JW Marriott’s residences opened in mid-April at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza. The tower is expected to be delivered in spring 2025, according to Comstock.

Marriott also has a dual-branded hotel under construction at Reston Town Center. The combined Marriott AC and Residence Inn is scheduled to open at 1975 Opportunity Way sometime in 2024.

(Updated at 8:50 p.m.) One man was killed and another seriously injured in a shooting in Centreville this morning, police said.

Officers were dispatched around 9:30 a.m. to in the 14600 block of Route 29 after getting a call that shots had been fired in a commercial parking lot, Fairfax County Police Department Capt. Kent Bailey said in a media briefing shortly after 11:30 a.m.

“Two male victims sustained a gunshot wound to the upper body,” the Fairfax County Police Department said at 10 a.m. today (Wednesday).

Michael Alcantara, 18, of Manassas was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other man — identified as Hassan Kanu, 18, of Centreville — was taken to a hospital with injuries considered life-threatening, according to a police news release published at 8:11 p.m.

Though the FCPD initially stated that officers were searching for a suspect who had fled on foot, a preliminary investigation suggests the two men shot each other during an “illegal narcotics transaction,” Bailey said at the briefing.

“Preliminarily, detectives determined that both men were inside of a car,” the FCPD says. “The men exited and exchanged gunfire with one another, resulting in both subjects being struck.”

Bailey confirmed that there was no third person involved. Two firearms and drugs were found at the scene, but detectives are still trying to determine who owned which gun, according to the FCPD.

“I do want to emphasize that all individuals in this shooting are accounted for, and there’s no threat to the community,” Bailey said.

Kanu has been charged with second-degree murder and using a firearm while committing a felony, the police department said in the release. He remains hospitalized.

Police are officially investigating a multi-vehicle crash that occurred in Falls Church this past April, which resulted in the city’s first crash-related fatality since 2010.

According to authorities, at approximately 12:17 p.m. on April 18, 89-year-old Annandale resident Barrick Tibbet’s 2001 Honda Accord collided with a trailer stopped at a red light in the 200 block of N. Washington Street. The trailer was being towed by a truck at the time of the incident.

Tibbets was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital due to injuries sustained from the crash. Medical responders suggested a medical event may have contributed to the accident. The truck’s occupants were unharmed.

The City of Falls Church Police Department was informed last week that Tibbets, who was recovering in a nursing facility, died on May 1. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia later determined Tibbets’s death was caused by injuries sustained in the crash.

This incident is the city’s first crash-related fatality in the City of Falls Church since 2010, according to police.

Photo via Google Maps

Depression-Era Building in Groveton Set for Demoliton — “A historic building in Groveton will soon be demolished in preparation for the construction of the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit system. The property at 6821 Richmond Highway…is described in Fairfax County documents as a two-story Colonial Revival commercial building of domestic origin that was built in 1934.” [On the MoVe]

Virginia to Study College Policies After Protests — “The Virginia House of Delegates has formed a select committee on maintaining campus safety and allowing students to exercise their First Amendment rights, after more than 125 arrests at four of Virginia’s college campuses” where students staged protests of Israel’s war on Gaza. [Virginia Mercury]

Chanel Opens New, Bigger Tysons Store — The fashion brand Chanel has opened a new boutique at Tysons Galleria, the mall announced on Monday (May 13). “Designed by longtime Chanel collaborator Peter Marino, the new 5,000-square-foot boutique more than triples the size of the previous one, which first opened at the mall in 2004.” [WWD/Yahoo]

Glass Recycling Bin Added at Clifton School — “Fairfax County’s Solid Waste Management program is proud to announce the installation of a new glass recycling bin at Clifton Elementary School, expanding the ‘Purple Can Club’ in the region. This initiative was spearheaded by two Robinson Secondary School juniors, Shaan Agarwal and DK Nguyen, who identified the need for more accessible glass recycling options in Clifton.” [DPWES]

Springfield Sports Complex to Launch Youth Academy — “The St. James is opening an academy for young athletes at its Springfield location starting in fall. The St. James Performance Academy will combine academic instruction with athletics, conditioning, nutrition, and more for young athletes in grades 6 through 12 in a number of sports, including basketball, baseball, figure skating, golf, and swimming.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]

McLean Company Rethinking GPS — Tech firm NextNav Inc. is working to make a more precise and secure complement to GPS technology,” but it needs the Federal Communications Commission’s approval. The company is seeking access to “a small part of the 900 MHz public wireless spectrum” so it can provide location services with signals from telecommunications towers instead of satellites. [DC Inno]

Memorial Day Ceremony Planned in McLean — “American Legion Post 270 will host its annual Memorial Day Service on Monday, May 27, at 11 a.m. at the Memorial Garden in front of McLean High School, 1633 Davidson Road…The public is invited to attend the service, which will last about 30 minutes.” [Gazette Leader]

It’s Wednesday — Expect showers and possible thunderstorms after 2pm, alongside patchy fog from 7am to 2pm, with a high near 65. Precipitation is 80%, and new rainfall may reach up to three quarters of an inch. At night, there’s a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low around 59. [NWS]