Another Reston Town Center restaurant is joining the fight against paid parking just months after the settlement of the first lawsuit challenging Boston Properties’ controversial parking system.
Uncle Julio’s filed a suit against Boston Properties and several affiliated limited liability companies for at least $5 million over the paid parking, the Washington Business Journal reported today (Jan. 11).
The Tex-Mex restaurant at 1827 Library Street claims in the suit that it has lost approximately $1 million in sales annually since paid parking was implemented in January 2017, according to the article.
Uncle Julio’s is suing RTC’s owners on several counts, including breach of contract and conspiracy, according to the story. Boston Properties has not yet responded to the lawsuit, which was filed on Dec. 21 in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Nearly two months ago, Boston Properties and Jackson’s Mighty Fine Food & Lucky Lounge settled a dispute over the developer’s paid parking system. Jackson’s filed its suit, which also alleged breach of contract, in March 2017, Reston Now previously reported.
Boston Properties continues to face an uproar from many local businesses and residents. In 2018, nine businesses closed at RTC, with several owners and employees telling Reston Now that the paid parking drove customers away.
In December alone, two restaurants — Hen Penny and Obi Sushi — left.
This year doesn’t look any better. Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn, which are both operated by Williams-Sonoma Inc, are set to close at RTC later this month.
Image via Google Maps
Updated at 4:45 p.m. — Includes information from Fairfax County Public Schools.
Fairfax County is reminding locals of winter safety tips as the first snowfall of the year is anticipated to appear this weekend.
The National Weather Service forecast expects 3 to 4 inches, with snow moving into the area most likely after 1 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 12) afternoon. By nightfall, about half of an inch will probably be on the ground, a Fairfax County Emergency Information post says.
Locals can expect temperatures tomorrow in the low to mid-30s with calm winds. Overnight, a steadier snowfall is expected to bring another 2 to 4 inches with temperatures in the upper 20s with a light wind of 5 miles per hour.
On Sunday (Jan. 13), snow should continue and then taper off by around 1 p.m. with temperatures in the low to mid-30s again. Winds may reach 5 to 8 mph. Additional snow showers on Sunday evening may occur, but aren’t expected to add to the accumulation.
In a video posted today (Jan. 11), Courtney Arroyo from the county’s Emergency Management Office urges residents to prepare by imagining the worst case scenario.
Her advice includes:
- making a communications plan including out of town contacts
- having alternative plans for work, daycare and elder care
- stocking up on items to survive at home for up to 72 hours, including nonperishable food, water, medications and any supplies for pets and children
- staying off of the roads
“Don’t get blindsided,” she says.
Meanwhile, Fairfax County Public Schools tweeted that all activities scheduled in Fairfax County public schools and school grounds are canceled beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday and all day Sunday.
Happy Friday! With snow predicted for our region in the coming days, here are a few winter weather reminders as we head into the weekend: https://t.co/SmzA17v5Go @ReadyFairfax @fairfaxcounty @ffxconnector @VaDOTNOVA pic.twitter.com/stuHNqPukB
— Sharon Bulova (@SharonBulova) January 11, 2019
NEW: Winter weather advisory issued for immediate DC area for the weekend snow. Winter storm warning south of Fairfax County. Update: https://t.co/Ezc0aOOFDQ pic.twitter.com/XSCnhW2XDj
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) January 11, 2019
Photo via Charlotte Geary
This story has been updated
Performance Bicycle Shop is closing at 11634 Plaza America Drive in the Plaza America Shopping Center.
The Reston location’s plans to shut down comes nearly two months after its parent company filed for bankruptcy in November.
An employee at the store was not able to share any information about the closing date. The store currently has sales with 30 to 50 percent off items.
Performance Bicycle Shop started as a bicycle catalog company in 1982. Currently, the national chain sells bikes, bike gear, accessories and cycling apparel in more than 20 states across the country.
Image via Google Maps
The curtain rises on Reston Community Players’ production of “Superior Donuts” next week.
The comedy kicks off Reston Community Players’ first show of the year by taking audiences on a visit to a small donut shop in Chicago’s historic and diverse Uptown neighborhood.
What’s the show about? Reston Community Players gave this plot description:
Arthur Przybyszewski (Michael Kharfen), a burnt-out hippie owner of a fading Chicago donut shop, has lost interest in life because of guilt over avoiding military service and a failed marriage. When a charismatic young African-American man named Franco Wicks (Bryce Monroe) talks his way into a job, Arthur begins to recover his spark. He encourages Franco’s goal of publishing the next Great American novel. When the would-be novelist’s past catches up with him, Arthur finds more than his livelihood may be in danger. A comedy-drama from the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Letts of “August: Osage County,” “Superior Donuts” explores the challenges of accepting the past and the redemptive power of friendship.
Director Seth Ghitelman said he wants people to come away from the show with a better understanding of what it means to be a friend and to be an American.
“On the surface, it’s a funny play about a rundown donut shop in Chicago and the characters that pass through, but on a deeper level, it speaks about the people in a community that is going through changes,” he said.
Ghitelman says the play embodies the American Dream and the American experience. “We share a common dream that success is available to everyone, and I think it is the right time to remember what we Americans share in common and embrace, not repulse, the diversity of our people,” Ghitelman said.
The full cast is the following:
- Tel Monks as Max Tarasov
- Mattie Cohan as Officer Randy Osteen
- Matthew McCarthy as Officer James Bailey
- Sally Cusenza as Lady Boyle
- Michael Kharfen as Arthur Przybyszewski
- Bryce Monroe as Franco Wicks
- Ian Brown as Luther Flynn
- Michael King as Kevin Magee
- Tice Rust as Kiril Ivankin
Performances will be held at the Reston Community Center’s CenterStage (2310 Colts Neck Road) at 8 p.m. on Jan. 18, Jan. 19, Jan. 25, Jan, 26, Feb. 1 and Feb. 2. A matinee will be held at 2 p.m. on Jan. 27.
A champagne reception will follow the show on its opening night next Friday (Jan. 18).
Parents, be advised: the production is rated PG-13 for language and violence.
Photos via Reston Community Players
(Updated at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 14) The Reston Association is honoring the memory of David Bobzien, a former president of the RA who succumbed to cancer in December.
“David was a great steward of Reston,” RA President Andy Sigle said in the homeowners’ association’s newsletter sent today (Jan. 11).
Sigle highlighted Bobzien’s service to the Reston community. “Much of his time was spent volunteering, be it for his church, Reston Runners, the Reston Triathlon or for the legal community in Virginia,” Sigle said. “His time on the RA board really showed what a professional David was and that whatever he chose to pursue he did it passionately and diligently.”
After serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps at Fort Meade, Md. for four years, Bobzien became an associate with Fitzgerald and Smith in Fairfax, Va. He then served as assistant counsel in the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility from 1979 until 1992.
He was the president of the Virginia State Bar from 2004 to 2005 — the first local government attorney to serve in that capacity. He was also a past president of the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, Lawyers Helping Lawyers, the Virginia Law Foundation and the Fairfax Law Foundation.
He also served as a Virginia State Bar Delegate to the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates, on the ABA Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and as chairman of the Virginia Law Foundation’s Virginia CLE Committee.
In June of 2016, he retired after 23 years as the county attorney for Fairfax.
Bobzien was first elected to serve a three-year term as the RA apartment owners’ representative in 2017 before accepting the role as president. In May last year, he resigned from his position as RA president after revealing he has recently been diagnosed with cancer.
“My hope is to get through this so that I can continue to enjoy the people and pathways that [my wife] Cathy and I fell in love with when we moved to Reston in 1975,” Bobzien said at the time of his resignation, the newsletter wrote, adding that he publicly revealed the nature of his illness so that he might help others in similar situations.
Bobzien died at the age of 72 on Dec. 30 at The Johns Hopkins Hospital after battling leukemia, according to his obituary.
He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter-in-law, three grandsons, a granddaughter, a sister-in-law, niece and four nephews.
A memorial mass will be held on Friday, Feb. 8, at St. John Neumann Catholic Community (11900 Lawyers Road). The family will receive friends at the church from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. prior to the mass and reception in the church hall. Interment at Arlington National Cemetery will happen at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Bobzien’s name to either the Fairfax Law Foundation or the Virginia Law Foundation.
RA Chief Executive Officer Hank Lynch said the association will contact family members to discuss ways to honor and recognize Bobzien’s service to Reston.
Photo via Reston Association
This story has been updated
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue wants to educate locals on how to prevent hoverboards issues after an overcharged hoverboard battery caused a Herndon house fire last week.
Firefighters responded to the reported fire in the 2600 block of Meadow Hall Drive around 12:33 a.m. last Wednesday (Jan. 2.).
The fire was out upon the fire department’s arrival, causing roughly $1,000 in damages, according to the fire department.
Fire investigators determined that the fire started by accident in the home’s basement after a third party replacement charging adapter overcharged the battery.
The fire department published a video today (Jan. 11) by Captain Tim Palmer, who provides steps hoverboard owners can take to prevent a fire like the one from last week.
“The fire occurred overnight, and fortunately for the occupants a working smoke alarm sounded near the hoverboard and awake them, allowing them to evacuate the home,” Palmer said about the Jan. 2 fire.
Palmer suggested that owners contact the manufacturer for an approved replacement if the hoverboard’s original charger becomes damaged, worn out or lost. “We also suggest never charge your overboard or device when you are not present or overnight when you can’t monitor the device being charged,” Palmer said.
MLK art exhibit opens — An art exhibit by Reston elementary school students debuts today at RCC Hunters Woods ahead of Reston’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations planned for next week. The exhibit will run through Jan. 31. [Reston Community Center]
Gymboree music — Discover melody and rhythm in songs at the Reston Regional Library with two dance sessions cosponsored by the Friends of the Reston Regional Library. Gymboree Music I runs from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. for ages six months to 18 months with adults. Gymboree Music II from 11:15 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. is meant for kids ages 18 months to two-year-olds with an adult. [Reston Regional Library]
Deltek expands industry reach — The Herndon-based provider of software and solutions for project-based businesses recently announced it acquired Avitru, a content and software company. Deltek’s acquisition will expand its offerings to the architectural, engineering, construction and facility operations industry. [citybizlist]
Reston startup secures funding — Reston-based LifeFuels, which makes portable beverage makers, secured its Series-A funding. [Cision]
County expands drug disposal boxes at police stations — Fairfax County announced this week the expansion of the Prescription Drug Take Back Box Program Countywide, where locals can drop off prescription medications at boxes at district police stations. [Supervisor Pat Herrity]
Photo via Marjorie Copson
It’s been nearly two years, and Aslin Beer Company is still waiting for approval to move into its planned tasting room and bar in Herndon.
The company is waiting on the Department of Public Works to approve grading plans as a deadline looms for the Heritage Preservation Review Board to consider approval of the project at its upcoming meeting next month.
In the summer of 2017, the brewery was told it would have to leave the Town of Herndon due to the limitations of its current space (257 Sunset Park Drive). So Aslin found a new home at 771 Elden Street, which was the location of the former Napa Auto Parts, and planned to open the Aslin Tasting House later that year, Reston Now previously reported.
Originally, the new location planned to have 2,500 square feet of interior tasting room space and another 2,500 square feet of outdoor space — including a rooftop deck and bar, bocce ball court and covered deck.
Then last year on Dec. 10, Aslin resubmitted plans with a revised design that include terrace seating and a rooftop bar.
Herndon’s Heritage Preservation Review Board held a work session last Wednesday (Jan. 2) that included discussion on the redesign and amendments, which the board had previously approved.
Ira Saul, an attorney representing Aslin, “stated no additional structural changes would be made, other than the removal of the cantilevered deck area on the second floor and removing the exterior stairway for an internalized stairwell to the second floor,” according to draft minutes from the meeting.
Saul said that a second-floor fireplace with a stone veneer, second-floor rain screens and a second-floor overhead trellis near the rear of the building that appeared to have been removed from the submitted design would be included in future drawings. Additionally, the two different color schemes in the submission will get clarified in the future to have just one color scheme.
Board Member Ossolinski requested that the formal application submission include perspective color renderings of the structure — as had been provided during the original case review and subsequent approval — to help clarify the differences between the new and the revised design.
Once the Department of Public Works approves the grading plans — a prerequisite to Heritage Preservation Review Board approval — the beer company will be able to submit the final application by the Jan. 14 deadline for the board’s February meeting.
Aslin Beer Company declined to comment for the article.
“The town remains committed to working with Aslin’s owners through this process,” Anne Curtis, the chief communications officer for the Town of Herndon, told Reston Now.
Images via Google Maps and the Town of Herndon
The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a workshop tonight on a proposed zoning amendment opposed by several local groups.
The proposal would increase the maximum allowed population per acre in the Planned Residential Community (PRC) district — Reston’s primary zoning district — from 13 persons up to 15.
While county planning officials say the change is needed to put into action Reston’s Master Plan, which allows for future growth over the next 40 years, critics argue it is rushed through and under-explained. Several opponents reaffirmed since the New Year why they think the proposal should get axed.
Reston Association’s Board of Directors, which opposes the proposal, held their own workshop last week on Jan. 2 where the board considered various options to try and prevent the county from passing the amendment. The RA does not have legal jurisdiction in the matter, yet the board voted to send a letter to tell the county that RA membership, which includes 21,000 residential units, need a prominent voice in the decision.
Less than a week later on Tuesday (Jan. 8) RA President Andy Sigle, on behalf of the Board of Directors, sent a letter to the Fairfax County Planning Commission, reiterating RA’s opposition to the proposed PRC zoning amendment. The letter outlined initiatives the association could take to potentially stop the adoption of the amendment and strongly urged the commission to ask the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to not approve the amendment.
“As we have often stated, our primary basis for our opposition stems from the repeated failure of Fairfax County’s staff to provide a thorough and convincing explanation of the need for the proposed ordinance amendment at this time,” Sigle wrote in the letter.
RA’s position is that any potential change to the density cap must be done concurrently with the next upcoming review of the Reston Master Plan. Sigle said the Reston Association “has no choice but to vigorously pursue any and all options available to us to inform and engage its members, including, but not limited to, a ballot initiative adjunct to its upcoming elections as well as a strong and substantial social media campaign about the proposed PRC zoning amendment.”
Reston 2020 wrote in a post on Monday (Jan. 7) that Reston would get crowded if the proposal is approved. “At the same time, the county has not funded plans to meet Reston’s transportation, school, park and other needs associated with this growth, even as required by its own county policies,” the post says, adding that the “massive unplanned imbalance between growth and infrastructure will be a dramatic loss of quality of life in Reston.”
Also on the same day, Coalition for a Planned Reston encouraged locals to write to the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission and also to wear yellow clothing to the upcoming Planning Commission public hearing scheduled for Jan. 23.
Dennis K. Hays, the president of the Reston Citizens Association, outlined 10 reasons to leave the cap alone in a letter to the editor posted on Reston Now last week. (Letters to the editor do not reflect the opinions of Reston Now.)
Amid the many concerned voices, the proposal has still found supporters.
On Jan. 2, 17 people, including Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Ingrao and Reston Master Plan Study Task Force Chair Patricia Nicoson, sent a six-page letter to Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins supporting the Reston PRC District Residential Density Zoning Ordinance Amendment.
They wrote the following in the letter:
The intent of this letter is not to prejudge or determine what if any changes may be appropriate to address specific issues discussed in the extensive community meetings the county pursued in recent months. But we think it [is] important that there be greater understanding and appreciation for what is actually contained in the Comprehensive Plan and the rationales that underlie those decisions. We all appreciate that growth is not universally accepted and is not without challenge, but the decision to embrace very significant growth, with an accompanying process and plan for necessary infrastructure development, was incorporated into the Reston Comprehensive Plan as the result of an extensive and participatory community process that had the widespread support of community representatives intimately engaged in that process…
Reducing or disincentivizing residential growth is at odds with the comprehensive vision the Task Force so powerfully (and almost unanimously) endorsed. These issues were exhaustively discussed throughout an arduous, inclusive, five-year Task Force and Village Center process; revisiting and endlessly debating these issues will create uncertainty about the Plan’s stability and risks halting needed development or creating uneven or disjointed results, which we don’t think is in Reston’s interests. There will be numerous opportunities for community input as this process evolves over the next several decades, and individual projects will be subject to multiple approvals and community input before they can proceed. For all these reasons, we support County Staff’s pending administrative recommendations, which we think are broadly consistent with implementation of the vision adopted in the Comprehensive Plan.
The letter included eight points “that are sometimes missing from the ongoing dialogue about staff’s proposals,” arguing that adding significant new residential development is central to the Task Force recommendations and essential to ensure balanced growth. The letter also said that build-out — along with “phased-in infrastructure” — of the plan will take decades and that the community’s ability to participate throughout that process is protected.
Hudgins has supported moving forward the zoning proposal’s consideration. Meanwhile, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust and Braddock District Supervisor John Cook have expressed frustration about the process.
The Planning Commission workshop takes place tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Board Auditorium of the Government Center at 12000 Government Center Parkway in Fairfax, Va. The workshop will be for the commissioners’ questions and discussion only and will not be an opportunity for public input.
People can watch it remotely via online streaming.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ public hearing is set for March 5. The Planning Commission must say “yea” or “nay” to the proposal by March 15, according to county rules.
File photo
A GoFundMe page is raising funds for the family of the South Lakes High School student Marvin Daniel Cruz Serrano, who was struck and killed by a car nearly two weeks ago.
The campaign, which was created on Jan. 5 and activated today (Jan. 10), aims to help Serrano’s family and friends cover funeral costs and any other expenses.
People can also send donations to the Biblica Bautista Emanuel Church at 21770 Beaumeade Circle in Ashburn, Va., which will also disperse all of the funds raised to Serrano’s family.
The GoFundMe page says the following:
Friends and family of Daniel Serrano suffered a heart breaking loss on December 29 when Daniel was killed by a hit and run driver as he was attempting to cross South Lakes Drive in Reston, Virginia. Daniel had just exited the bus he was taking to return home after his work shift at a restaurant. Daniel was 16 years-old and attended South Lakes High School. He is remembered as a kind, generous and loving young man who will be greatly missed by his family and friends. Many have asked where to donate to help with funeral and other expenses. Donations can be made here or to Biblica Bautista Emanuel Church, 21770 Beaumeade Circle, Ashburn, VA 20147. The church will disperse all funds raised.
Reston Now previously reported that Principal Kim Retzer said funeral arrangements are still being planned.
The day after Serrano was killed by a driver while crossing South Lakes Drive, family and friends gathered at the spot for a vigil.
Fairfax County Police are still looking for the driver, who fled the scene, and are asking anyone with information to contact the Crash Reconstruction Unit witness phone line at 703-280-0543 or to submit a tip anonymously through Crime Solvers.
Detectives believe the sedan involved “may possibly be gray or silver, and it likely has significant front end damage.”
Photo via GoFundMe
Toronto-based singer-songwriter Shawna Caspi is coming to Herndon for a performance next Tuesday.
Caspi is set to perform on Jan. 15 as a part of The Folk Club of Reston/Herndon, a volunteer organization that meets on Tuesday evenings at 7:15 p.m. at Amphora’s Diner Deluxe (1151 Elden Street).
Classically trained, Caspi shifted to folk singing, which she pairs with a fingerpicking guitar style.
In September 2017, she released her fourth album, “Forest Fire,” which delves into “burning things down and building them up again” with bluegrass instrumentation.
Her song “Not So Silent” from her 2014 album “Apartments for Lovers” was selected for the Silver Award in the folk acoustic category of the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest presented by the Songwriters’ Association of Washington, she wrote on her website on Tuesday (Jan 8).
Her travels as a musician inspired Caspi to paint. “Shawna loves the landscapes of her travels, and while weaving them into her songs, she has also been portraying them on canvases, painting one-of-a-kind works of art inspired by the rich scenery she sees on tour,” according to her bio. So far, she has sold more than 100 original paintings.
The upcoming Herndon show has a suggested donation of $10 for members of the Folk Club and $11 for nonmembers.
Heading back on the road in just one week! #Teaneck NJ, #Bethesda MD, #Herndon VA, #Darlington MD pic.twitter.com/OgsSh9dS2j
— Shawna Caspi (@shawnacaspi) January 4, 2019
Image via World One Video on YouTube
Shyamali Hauth is joining the race to unseat Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins.
Hauth, a United States Air Force veteran and community advocate, announced her candidacy last night (Jan. 9) at the Hunter Mill District Democratic Committee meeting.
Hauth is focused on construction practices, budgets, security and education systems, according to her website. She wants to tackle transportation issues and affordable housing with SMART housing solutions.
“Our local government is where the rubber meets the road,” Hauth said in the press release. “This is where we make change that affects each of us on a daily basis. I want Fairfax County, and specifically the Hunter Mill District, to be the leading edge of a progressive vision of community.”
Other major issues she wants to address include:
- public education
- environmental issues
- securing funding for social services
- developing public-private partnerships that help businesses
- keeping a low unemployment rate
She lives in Reston with her husband, who is also an Air Force veteran. Two of their four children attended Fairfax County public schools, according to her bio.
She has worked with Rescue Reston to preserve the Reston National Golf Course from development. She founded her own group called Hear Our Voice-Reston (HOV-R) where she led 70 people who worked to elect progressive candidates in Virginia in 2017. The group then joined up with Herndon Reston Indivisible, her bio says.
She also works with the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Virginia as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. The Hunter Mill District Democratic Committee awarded her the Ed Herlihy Activist Award for 2018.
Currently, she chairs the Fairfax County Democratic Committee’s Veterans and Military Families Committee, according to her LinkedIn profile. She is also an independent business owner of Mahari Yoga, a veteran-owned business that offers yoga therapy in Northern Virginia, and self-employed as a Celtic harp instructor, professional speaker, according to LinkedIn.
She studied psychology and management at Saint Leo University in Florida. After receiving her Masters of Science in human resource management from Troy State University in Alabama, she joined the Air Force.
Hauth plans to host a listening session for Reston residents next Thursday (Jan. 17) night.
Another Democrat, Parker Messick, announced his campaign for the seat in December. Messick is running on a platform to “stop big development.”
Hudgins, who is nearing the end of her fifth term, was first elected to the board in 1999. The election for the county’s Board of Supervisors will take place on Nov. 5.
Deadline to order commemorative bricks — Today is the last day to order a commemorative brick for installation at Lake Anne Plaza later this year. [Reston Historic Trust and Museum]
Leidos is leading naval health research — The Reston-based company was awarded a contract by the Naval Medical Logistics Command to provide research support services at its Naval Health Research Center. [Leidos]
Safe drug disposal — Locals can drop off prescription medications and ointments and also over-the-counter drugs to boxes at Fairfax County’s police stations. [Fairfax County Police]
Lego club — Kids ages five to 12 can have fun with Lego bricks at the Herndon Fortnightly Library from 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. today. [Fairfax County]
Hunter Mill District Representative Pat Hynes announced today (Jan. 9) that she won’t seek reelection to the Fairfax County School Board.
Hynes has been a member of the 12-member board for the last seven years. Previously, she was an elementary school teacher in the county’s public schools from 2002 to 2011 and has worked as a lawyer with Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett in New York City and community organizer, according to her bio.
The announcement arrived in her newsletter. In one section, she wrote:
As you may know, my current term as your school board member expires at the end of 2019. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to represent the welcoming, resilient, creative people of Hunter Mill for the last seven years. But I’ve decided not to seek reelection after this term. My first calling is the classroom and I’ve been teaching full time in Arlington these last two years. (The law does not allow me to serve on the board and teach in FCPS at the same time.) I was hopeful that I might be able to balance the time commitments of both jobs, but it really is not reasonable and I find myself stretched too thin too often. I look forward to the next year of work and progress on your behalf, but I also think it’s time for someone else to step up. I’m sure we will all be engaged in the November election and I have no doubt Hunter Mill will choose an excellent new school board member.
Her term expires at the end of 2019.
Until then, she outlined in her newsletter several school board issues on her radar, including climate change and equity.
With Virginia’s General Assembly starting today, Hynes said “we are fortunate here in Hunter Mill to have state representatives who fight for public education and other critical needs of families and communities.”
File photo
Updated at 9:45 a.m. — Includes information from Starbucks and Virginia ABC.
Four businesses closed up shop in Woodland Park Crossing in Herndon last year, adding to its list of retail vacancies.
The mixed-use development, which includes a Harris Teeter and UFC Gym, currently has nine vacant retail spaces, according to a list from Rosenthal Properties.
Marion Myers, a spokeswoman for Rosenthal Properties, told Reston Now that some of the closures were not surprising. “It’s normal in the retail cycle when leases come up for renewal for there to be churn,” she said.
While the development saw several closures in 2018, it has upgrades in store for this year.
“We are working to improve the customer experience at Woodland Park Crossing,” according to Rosenthal Properties, adding that upgrades include LED lighting along with more parking and a new green space that will get added in the first quarter of 2019.
The Starbucks closed last year at 2309 Woodland Crossing Drive, which Myers said was a part of Starbucks’ larger plan to shutter 150 stores in fiscal year 2019.
A spokeswoman for Starbucks told Reston Now that the Woodland Park Crossing location, which closed on Nov. 30, was “special to our customers and our partners.” Now, those customers can go to the nearby store at 2465 Centreville Road, and the partners have been relocated to other nearby stores, she wrote in an email.
“As part of Starbucks standard course of business, we continually evaluate our business to ensure a healthy store portfolio,” the spokeswoman said. “After careful consideration, we determined it was best to close the store at [Woodland Crossing Drive].” She added that Starbucks expects to grow its store numbers by 3 to 4 percent in the U.S. at a rate of 550 new stores per year.
Cleaners located at 2310 Woodland Crossing Drive, Suite 1 closed at some point last summer, according to employees at businesses near the former cleaners.
Next Day Blinds at (2976 Highland Crossing Drive, Suite A) closed its doors on Nov. 21 and now services Herndon customers out of the Sterling, Va. location, according to its website.
“We are still here for you, for life. We look forward to seeing you in Sterling,” the website says.
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority relocated its store at 12950 Highland Crossing Drive, Suite B to the Village Center at Dulles (2435 Centreville Road) on Aug. 22, Dawn Eischen, a spokeswoman for the Virginia ABC Authority, told Reston Now. “We chose the new location because of potential profitability and better parking,” she wrote in an email.
Next to the parking lot, an existing building that used to house a Capital One bank branch that closed in 2016 is currently getting torn down, Myers said. The demolition started last fall and is slated to wrap up this quarter, she said.
Between 1,135-square-foot to 6,512-sqaure-foot retail spaces are cuurently available for lease, along with 2,589-square-foot and 4,641-square-foot office/retail spaces.
“We are currently looking for the right mix of retail and restaurants and feel it’s worth being strategic, even if it takes some time,” according to the commercial real estate company. “There are new leases in the pipeline, but they cannot be discussed until finalized.”
Image and map via Rosenthal Properties
This story has been updated
