It’s getting down to the wire for the Reston Association member referendum on the purchase of the former visitors center.
Haven’t voted yet? You have until Friday at 5 p.m.
RA needs a quorum of member approval to borrow and spend up to $2.65 million on the 3,123-square-foot building on the shores of Lake Newport. RA will spend additional money to repurpose the building, currently office space for Tetra Partnerships, into event and community space. It forecasts bringing in more than $100,000 annually from event rentals. It also says purchasing the building, which sits on 3.48 acres adjoining other RA community space, will preserve open space and fend off possible commercial development.
There is a vocal opposition that says the purchase price is far too high as the most recent Fairfax County tax assessment was $1.2 million. The opposition also says the site sits on a resource protection area and cannot be redeveloped commercially.