A local effort to help homeless people in Reston is taking another step: looking to Fairfax County for relief.

The community group Reston Strong plans to ask county supervisors to change zoning rules to make it easier for temporary transitional housing in commercial buildings and spaces by making those adaptations “by right,” meaning a property owner wouldn’t need extra approvals if a project is within certain areas.

The 2,000-member group originated from a donation drive from Sarah Selvaraj-D’Souza, who noted in a statement how several buildings have been empty and felt that the change would be the cheapest and easiest solution to help get people indoors this time of year. Among its efforts, the county since 2005 has worked to provide hypothermia shelters during the winter.

Advocates are also looking for the county to pilot a mobile mental health crisis unit. Selvaraj-D’Souza stated that Reston Strong helped a woman while she was experiencing a mental health emergency a few months ago after police found her in the snow without a jacket. She had lost her bearings, and the group placed her in a hotel.

In addition, Reston Strong wants the county and Inova to consider a housing feasibility study for the former Cameron Glen rehab facility that closed in 2014.

The county already assists and coordinates with other groups to help those experiencing homelessness through its Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, and it recently revived efforts to pair mental health crisis specialists with specially trained police officers for certain 911 calls.

Last weekend, Reston Strong staged reflective emergency tents the Reston Parkway to raise awareness of about homelessness. Signs said “Love thy neighbor; no exceptions.”

“By showcasing tents along Reston Parkway we brought visibility for one night to our unhoused neighbors sleeping in outdoor tents during the cold winter,” volunteer coordinator Mary Barthelson said in a statement.

The group is looking to submit its concerns to the county board in March.

A senior housing provider is holding a farewell tour for a building from the ’70s that’s being replaced.

The outreach will include monthly events as residents are eventually relocated to a new facility, Lake Anne House, this summer. The facility’s operator, Fellowship Square, is commemorating the senior living facility where residents currently are.

Lake Anne Fellowship House, built in 1970, provides affordable housing to over 300 seniors; the new facility next door that will provide 240 apartments.

Fellowship Square is asking the public to share memories with anything from Reston’s founding vision to the development of the building and the impact of diverse housing options.

“Fellowship Square is taking the next several months to communally and collectively remember, reflect, share stories, and say good-bye to this community touchpoint that has served as a home for thousands of seniors over the past 50+ years,” Christy Zeitz, CEO of Fellowship Square, said in a statement.

Other farewell programming will include monthly events such as a spring garden event as well as an open house for all in May to visit the building one last time.

The weekly planner is a roundup of interesting events over the next week in the Herndon and Reston area.

We’ve searched the web for events of note. Want to submit a listing? Submit your pitch here!

Monday, Feb. 7

• Babes in the Woods — 10-11 a.m. at Walker Nature Center — Have your toddler make crafts, eat a snack and take part in activities that build motor and other skills. Cost starts at $8.

Tuesday, Feb. 8

• March & April Herndon Community Center programming registration — Begins at 10 a.m. online — After Herndon residents got first dibs, signs-ups for upcoming classes, from martial arts to yoga classes and more, open up to non-Herndon residents.

Wednesday, Feb. 9

• Beginner Yoga Series — 6:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. at New Trail cycling studio — A four-week series delivers 30-minute classes on Wednesdays. Cost is $60.

Thursday, Feb. 10

• Josh Allen Band — Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern — Hear a range of rock ‘n’ roll and country covers and more as this local band delivers its first performance at this Herndon hangout.

Friday, Feb. 11

• Bobby Thompson – Acoustic Blues — 6-9 p.m. at Lake Anne Coffee House and Wine Bar — Taste wine and hear music from Arlingtonian, blues rocker Bobby Thompson.

Saturday, Feb. 12

• Calamity Improv — 7:30-9 p.m. at ArtSpace Herndon — Dark Horse Theatre Co. delivers zany, one-of-a-kind performances that form a blend between “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and “Saturday Night Live.” Tickets start at $15 ($10 for students).

Sunday, Feb. 13

• Valentine’s Day Carriage Rides — Noon to 3 p.m. at Reston Town Center — Take part in a horse-drawn carriage ride. Reservations required. Following rides on Saturday, event also continues Monday. Tickets start at $30.

While “the show must go on” mantra took effect last year amid the pandemic, a hybrid format is bringing harmony to students and audiences.

South Lakes High School Chorus‘ annual Broadway show is returning to the stage at 7 p.m. this Friday with a live show called “Broadway Night: Mixtape” that features 120 students and 20 Broadway-style songs.

On Saturday, in-person shows will also occur at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., also taking place at the Little Theater at South Lakes High School. And the show will also be streamed online at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets are available online and cost $20 for adults and $15 for students/seniors, but there’s restricted seating capacity due to COVID-19. There are two prices for the live stream: $25 for an individual and $45 for a family. Tickets can be purchased online now.

With last year’s performance produced and presented virtually, musical theater students in the show welcomed the return to a traditional format and expressed how much of a difference it makes:

“I’m really happy about it. Being online just wasn’t the same and I’m excited to be able to perform in front of an audience,” eighth grader Mia said.

“It’s a lot of fun with an audience and stuff. It gets you more excited about it,” eighth grader Melanie said.

“Last year felt like another Zoom call. But it really feels nice to get to be on stage,” seventh grader Lucy said.

“It’s much better than being online. It’s cool to talk to actual people and not screens,” eighth grader Avery said.

“It is so exciting to be back on stage and it reminds me of why I love performing. I think that the live stream option is a super cool way to include family and friends who can’t be here with us physically,” 12th grader Chloe said.

This year’s production also features a striking boombox set created by volunteers.

The annual show brings together students from across the region who take on a variety of roles. Per a news release:

Broadway Night: Mixtape features 20 Broadway style numbers performed by students from South Lakes High School and feeder schools including Langston Hughes and Rachel Carson Middle Schools, Dogwood, Forest Edge, Fox Mill, Hunters Woods, Lake Anne, Terraset and Sunrise Valley Elementary Schools.

South Lakes High School Choral students assume roles in running every aspect of the show: performing, directing, choreography, technical theatre, publicity, and playing in the band. Guidance and instruction are provided by qualified performing arts professionals and parent volunteers through Parents for Choral Arts and dedicated FCPS staff.

South Lakes High School choral director Rita Gigliotti noted the show is made possible through an extraordinary professional creative team; talented, dedicated students; Parents for Choral Arts Booster organization; the Reston Community Center; and local community business sponsors.

A distillery and restaurant will transform a space at Reston Town Center, possibly at the end of this year.

Open Road Distillery — along with a chef-driven speakeasy-style restaurant Heirloom — will share a space at the former Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market (1871 Fountain Drive), part of numerous changes coming to the shopping-office-residential destination.

The Burn first reported the exact location of the new  business.

Matthew Carlin, president of the West Falls Church-based Metropolitan Hospital Group, tells Reston Now that the end of 2022 is a target date for opening, but it will likely be pushed to the beginning of 2023.

“Having been born and raised in Northern Virginia, I have always wanted to be part of a great landmark like the Reston Town Center. We are excited to bring something truly unique to the Reston community,” Carlin also said in a statement.

The new space will feature a casual dining room, indoor/outdoor patio bar, live music and a tasting room with distillery tours.

The new distillery comes through Carlin and Metropolitan Hospitality Group chief operating officer Vince Spinoso, who have brought forth other restaurants throughout Virginia and D.C., including CIRCA, Open Road, Trio Grill, El Bebe and Salt. The distillery marks a new approach for the pair.

Carlin says they’ll be in need of many workers.

Photo via Google Maps. 

A developer wants to repaint buildings and add a bike locker station if the town allows the company to redevelop the Herndon Residence Inn into multifamily housing.

The Denver-based hospitality business Stonebridge Companies bought the nearly 6.5-acre Residence Inn property in February 2020 for $17.25 million and has been working for over a year to get the property approved for reuse as multifamily housing. It would include affordable (so-called “workforce“) housing and market-rate units.

The town’s Architectural Review Board is reviewing proposed exterior changes and is slated to meet tonight (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m.

A town memo provides the following context on how the review board’s decision will affect the application:

The board’s preliminary review and feedback is part of the official review process of a Zoning Map Amendment (ZMA) land use case currently in review for the conversion project. Following board review, the ARB chair will produce a report of the Board’s findings and provide it to the Planning Commission for consideration during its deliberation of the ZMA case. The project will return to the ARB as a formal item following approval of the ZMA and a site plan.

Among the changes, the bike locker station would be about 24 feet wide by 24 feet long and 6 feet high. Additionally, a refuse and recycling station would be added, but the applicant didn’t provide renderings at this point, according to the town.

Town staff said the proposed exterior changes are both acceptable and would help with the general improvement of the “out-of-date” hotel.

Town officials reviewed a contract yesterday (Tuesday) to make street improvements for pedestrians along a key corridor in Herndon.

The 0.57-mile project affecting Van Buren Street, from Herndon Parkway to Spring Street, will involve a “complete streets” enhancement, according to the town.

During its work session, the council approved putting the item on a consent agenda for its regular meeting next week, where it’s slated to get the go-ahead.

Upgrades include the addition of curbs-and-gutters, widening of travel lanes to 11 feet, on-and-off-road bike lanes in each direction, five-foot-wide sidewalks, added crosswalks, traffic signals at Alabama Drive and more.

At the meeting, the town noted that A&M Corporation Construction was the low bidder at $5.3 million. The project involves local, regional and federal funds, and the town is prepared to approve an $800,000 (approximately 15%) contingency.

It’s part of an effort to upgrade pedestrian and bicycle connectivity with the pending Herndon MetroStation.

(Updated on Feb. 2) A communitywide effort seeking to revitalize Lake Anne Plaza appears to no longer be viable.

Community partners and property owners at Lake Anne Plaza were looking to provide donations as part of a $250,000 proposal envisioned to help revitalize the area.

Cofounders of the Herndon-based Gupta Family Foundation, which provides assistance to programs across the world to help address poverty, disabilities and discrimination, were looking to donate $25,000, and other Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association property owners like them had agreed to donate $45,000, Margaret and Shashi Gupta said. The Reston Community Center also was looking to contribute $50,000, according to a presentation.

The foundation’s cofounders said they had been trying to work with the Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association.

“We thought if we could get community backing it would lift up the community’s spirits,” Shashi Gupta said, recalling property owners’ enthusiastic support of the proposal.

The effort was dubbed the Lake Anne Rising Program, a proposal that hinged on several community partners donating money and the LARCA board determining if the association could accept the upgrades to its property.

Margaret Gupta said in an email that the LARCA board has continued to raise objections, though, and has now reneged on a proposed agreement that had been reached between attorneys.

But property owner May Faruqi said in an email that the association’s legal counsel has denied that there was any agreement between the parties’ lawyers.

LARCA President George Hadjikyriakou didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment. He later wrote that the LARCA board agreed that any response or statements about “this or any other subjects intended for the press” will need to come from our legal counsel.

Shashi Gupta told fellow LARCA owners in an email Monday that the LARCA board “has thwarted” the plan negotiated in early December by creating new requirements on the project and “essentially killing it.” He told RestonNow that LARCA sought to revise a proposed contract, significantly modifying it with markups.

A proposed agreement included the Reston Historic Trust (a nonprofit that operates the Reston Museum) as a party and stated the project would include upgrades to ultimately be owned by LARCA. An edited proposal suggested the association wanted the Reston Historic Trust to have multi-million dollar insurance coverages.

A statement released Tuesday night stated the following:

The Lake Anne of Reston Condominium Association Board is committed to acting consistent with the authority given to it by its condominium instruments and is further committed to protecting the interests of its owners while maintaining the LARCA Condominium property.  The LARCA Board shares the community’s disappointment that the Gupta Family Foundation has, in light of LARCA‘s commitments, felt it necessary to discontinue discussions over the proposed Plaza project.

Patch reported in December that the Guptas presented details on the project on Nov. 18 at the Reston Community Center, noting it would involve filling and cleaning planters in the plaza, restoring the Pyramid Park sculpture as well as the Fonseca Monolith, and more.

The effort came as the plaza has an estimated $37 million in repairs needed to the aging area. Fairfax County could still assist $300,000.

The weekly planner is a roundup of interesting events over the next week in the Herndon and Reston area.

We’ve searched the web for events of note. Want to submit a listing? Submit your pitch here!

Tuesday, Feb. 1

• Town Center Toastmasters Zoom Meeting — 6-7 p.m. online — Practice your speaking skills with the Reston chapter of this nationally renowned organization.

Wednesday, Feb. 2

• Reston Plays Games — 5-10 p.m. at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods — Bring your tabletop games and enjoy them with other adults. Registration required. Free. Repeats on Wednesdays.
• Virtual Nature Class – Birds and Nest Boxes — 7-8 p.m. online — Bird enthusiasts of all ages can enjoy this online class, exploring types of birds and their life cycles and how to install a nest box at your home. Starts at $5.

Thursday, Feb. 3

• Friends of Reston Regional Library Mystery Book Sale — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Reston Regional Library —  The first day of a three-day book sale starts.

Friday, Feb. 4

• Ana Popović — 8 p.m. at The Barns at Wolf Trap — Bluegrass guitarist shares her fiery style that’s graced the stage with B.B. King, Gary Clark Jr. and many more. Tickets start at $30. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 5

• A Reading of American Moor with Keith Hamilton Cobb — 8 p.m. at the CenterStage — Author Keith Hamilton Cobb reads his modern play about race in America and participates in a discussion afterward. Tickets start at $15.

Sunday, Feb. 6

• Maple Syrup Boil Down — Noon to 1 p.m. and 1-2 p.m. at Colvin Run Mill — Brave the outdoors and get reward by sampling pure maple syrup. Cost is $10.

An organization that stands to benefit from a potential townhome project plans to communicate with neighbors and share its stance with planning leaders.

The board of directors for the Reston Association, which provides recreational amenities and sets standards for building exteriors, agreed yesterday (Thursday) to draft a letter to get input from residents near the Fannie Mae redevelopment project (11600 American Dream Way).

It’s looking to send the letter to the Reston Planning & Zoning Committee, an advisory board to the Fairfax County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, as the committee looks to vote on a project that involves potentially adding townhomes there.

Board members expressed their interest in having the townhomes be added to the Reston Association, where dues-paying members contribute an annual fee that covers maintenance and operational costs of amenities such as pools and tennis courts.

The organization also stated that it wants to preserve public access to the property, noting that a current arrangement allows people to traverse through the development along American Dream Way to access Plaza America Shopping Center at Sunset Hills Road.

The Planning & Zoning Committee deferred a vote Tuesday (Jan. 25). RA acting CEO Larry Butler said key concerns noted by community members involved the number of townhomes in the project and public access to the shopping plaza.

In other news:

• Irwin Flashman announced his candidacy to run for a board of directors position.
• Director Bob Petrine said the fiscal committee is looking to see whether RA should continue waiving a credit card surcharge that the association absorbs for members when they pay their assessment fee, and the committee could give a recommendation to the board.
• The board agreed to add Reston Arboretum, a yet-to-be-built development at 12700 Sunrise Valley Drive consisting of 40 townhomes, to the Reston Association.
• The board approved a contract with Titan Pool Service for $176,555 for a Ridge Heights pool project.

Advocates are questioning the design of a new traffic island near Lake Anne Plaza that currently snakes around a crosswalk.

The island allows pedestrians and cyclists from Village Road to pass a right-turn lane and continue past Baron Cameron Avenue.

Previously, the island was essentially a straight shot, but now, the sidewalk circles around a crosswalk signal. The Virginia Department of Transportation said constraints, including updating the sidewalk to conform with the Americans with Disabilities Act, were part of the design.

But advocates suggested that the new crosswalk appears to be worse off for people in wheelchairs.

Bruce Wright, president of the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, called the sidewalk design an afterthought and said this often happens.

“Anyone with a wheeled vehicle will have a hard time making the sharp left turn and then swinging around to the right,” he said in an email. “And pedestrians want to walk a direct path.”

He described the design as bad and would have preferred taking out the right-turn slip lane, requiring drivers to make a 90-degree turn.

Wright said FABB has discussed another issue with these designs with county and state transportation departments, noting that steep sides of curbs can lead to cyclists slamming their pedals there, causing crashes.

VDOT says design constraints involved

Transit officials said the upgrades were tied to Lake Anne House, a project to build 240 affordable units for seniors.

A Fairfax County staff report regarding the development previously stated “A pedestrian crosswalk across Village Road, near its intersection with Baron Cameron Avenue, will be provided. An existing pedestrian countdown signal and crosswalk are located on the east side of the site entrance, and will remain, to provide access to the Village Center.”

Fairfax County Department of Transportation spokeswoman Robin Geiger said the developer made the upgrades by right without transit approval.

But a representative for the development, Christy Zeitz, CEO of senior affordable housing provider Fellowship Square, said in an email that the Virginia Department of Transportation “controlled the design of the sidewalk.”

VDOT suggested a permit was involved but couldn’t immediately clarify who signed off on the project. It did acknowledge constraints and implications of the design, though.

“The new ramp is part of the improvements associated with the Lake Anne House site plan (right-of-way improvements are included in VDOT permit #139453) and replaces the existing ramp/sidewalk in the island at that intersection that was non-compliant with ADA requirements and would no longer address pedestrian connectivity between the project site, Village Road and Baron Cameron Avenue,” VDOT spokesperson Ellen Kamilakis wrote in an email.

Site constraints also included traffic signal boxes and at least one underground utility hole, meaning a more standard refuge island was not possible, according to VDOT, leading to the curved path.

“This unfortunately does elongate the length of walkway for pedestrians traveling across Baron Cameron Ave. to the east side of Village Road from the existing condition, pre-construction,” Kamilakis wrote.

With the design, ponding within the sidewalk shouldn’t occur.

‘Mini-golf putting course’

“You’re under certain rules when you’re redesigning something,” Reston resident Fionnuala Quinn said. “However, the redesign doesn’t serve the purpose that the island is for.”

Quinn, who works as a consultant and seeks to promote traffic improvements through her business, questioned the design through a video on Twitter, joking it was a “new mini-golf putting course.”

The corgi was highly impressed by the reconstructed pedestrian island & told us that she heard that it’s a part of a new mini-golf putting course pic.twitter.com/odHTOKBa7F

— Finn Q (@FinnQuinn) January 20, 2022

She noted she didn’t know the background of the design but contacted Fairfax County regarding her concerns. County officials suggested a contractor was involved due to a new development.

It was unclear if design constraints, such as a sewer system, played a role or if the setup was temporary.

Quinn, who previously worked as a civil engineer, said the design was convoluted and said it could be problematic for a cyclist, a person in a wheelchair or someone pushing a stroller when there’s another pedestrian.

She said she was hesitant to talk about the matter because it didn’t appear to be a finished project, but she was wondering what kinds of effects the design could have, even for able-bodied people.

Quinn said many people think infrastructure is a fixed resource that can’t be changed. But that’s not the case. She said it’s better to raise issues in the design phase and at public meetings and described the current setup as unfortunate.

“I live in Reston because it’s a walkable, bikeable place, and we have this amazing network that allows us to get around the community,” she said. “When I encountered that particular reconstruction, I was pretty surprised.”

A senior living organization has announced that its upcoming community, Brightview Innovation Center (13700 Magna Way), will offer a preview of its amenities, which include a beauty salon and pub with billiards and shuffleboard.

As previously reported by Reston Now, the project is slated for a February 2023 completion. But the organization is highlighting details on amenities of the McNair facility and announcing how potential tenants can learn more in person starting this spring.

In a press release, the organization noted the following:

The Welcome Center, which will open in April 2022, will showcase Brightview Innovation Center’s amenities, including chef-prepared meals, a library, multiple fitness rooms, pub with billiards and shuffleboard, movie theater, beauty salon, card room, sewing room, a cafe and juice bar, to prospective residents and their families. Private dining spaces are also available. Outdoors, residents will enjoy an outdoor garden area with a covered porch as well as a walking path.

Quinn Collins, a representative for Brightview Senior Living, said in an email that the seven-story facility will have 196 apartment units, from independent living units to assisted living spaces. It’ll include studios as well as one- and two-bedroom spaces.

“This region has experienced some of the largest increases in population in the entire country, and we look forward to becoming an integral part of the community and providing aging seniors a vibrant place to live in Northern Virginia,” Anne Pinter, vice president of operations for Brightview, said in a statement.

More info on the community is available online.

Following longstanding and growing complaints over parking issues, Town of Herndon officials adopted an ordinance yesterday (Tuesday) to restrict how close drivers could park to driveways, one of several changes to overhaul parking rules.

“This is the number one issue in the town of Herndon,” Councilmember Pradip Dhakal said of parking problems, referring to commercial vehicles parking in the town as well as vehicles with expired tags.

The changes, approved by Herndon Town Council, go into effect immediately. Among the new rules, the ordinance:

• bans various vehicles — such as those weighing more than 12,000 pounds or being longer than 21 feet — from parking in residential areas for more than two hours at a time
• restricts recreational vehicles from temporarily parking longer than 72 hours on a residential street
• allows the town to impose $50 fines on motorists who block curb ramps; it also allows officials to fine drivers $50 if they park within 5 feet of a driveway

Herndon police had recommended restricting parking within 10 feet of a driveway, but council revised a proposed ordinance following a public hearing. Previously, the town could only fine vehicles $50 if a vehicle blocked access to a driveway.

Police Chief Maggie DeBoard said people recognized how Herndon’s parking was considerably less restrictive than neighboring Fairfax and Loudoun counties. She said one person defiantly challenged the town’s parking enforcement officer regarding how close a vehicle could be to a driveway.

DeBoard said last week during a work session that the town’s first approach is educating drivers before issuing tickets.

During the public hearing, homeowner Pat Voltmer of Missouri Avenue said she and neighbors have been filing weekly complaints since August due to large six- to 10-wheel vehicles taking up overflow parking on streets. The parking problems also made turning around on streets difficult and dangerous for service trucks, she said.

Residents also had voiced a safety issue over limited visibility when leaving driveways due to jam-packed streets, and frustrations also came from parked vehicles interfering with trash pickup.

“It makes me feel that now is the time to act. Probably before was the time to act,” Councilmember Sean Regan said.

Council members suggested further parking issues could be explored, such as adding more stop signs in the town.