Reimagining Reston’s Pony Barn

Classic Reston is a biweekly feature sponsored by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce that highlights businesses, places and people with deep roots in Reston.

When Reston was founded in the mid-1960s, Reston founder Bob Simon envisioned horse owners buying homes in the south end of his “New Town.”

Many of the streets in the Hunters Woods area were given horse-related names and clustered around a barns  where Hunters Woods Park sits today and at Steeplechase and Triple Crown Road. The new construction was marketed to prospective residents as a place to work, play and ride — even taking your horse to run errands at the new Hunters Woods Village Center.

The pony barn at Steeplechase and Triple Crown burned down in more than 30 years ago. On the site, Reston Association opened the Pony Barn Picnic Pavilion, a 2006 square foot picnic pavilion near the Glade Stream. There is also a swing set, grills and an open lawn area.

But it may be time to repurpose the Pony Barn area. Reston Association’s Board of Directors is about to begin a community engagement process to get feedback on what residents would like to see in the wooded spot.

Last November the RA Board of Directors marked $30,000 in the 2014 Capital Expense Budget for renovations to the Pony Barn area.

The board will consider a variety of uses, including a memorial garden of reflection.

To kick off the process, RA will send mailings to homes within a quarter-mile of the Pony Barn. They plan on organizing a task force, holding several community meetings, and developing a plan in conjunction with the Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) and the RA Design Review Board. Any plans would have to go through the county planning process as well.

RA says it hopes to begin organizing the project this summer, with a final plan presented to RA, IPAR and the DRB by November.

What would you like to see in the Pony Barn spot? Tell us in the comments.

Photo: Pony Barn Pavilion in South Reston