Verizon Wireless hopes to continue using a portion of Fox Mill Fire Station’s parking lot for a telecommunications facility.

The five-year lease, which could be extended for up to 25 years, would bring $30,000 to the county’s coffers in the lease’s first year. Annual payments would increase by 2.5 percent each year.

County officials do not expect that the company’s use of the parking lot will impact the station’s operations. The parking lot already has a monopole that was built by Cox Cable in the early 1980s.

The company built a fenced compound to store equipment needed to serve cable television subscribers and facilitate a relay station in the first responders’ emergency network.

In 1998, Verizon expanded Cox Cable’s compound by adding an additional 264 square feet. That lease ended last September.

Revenues collected from the lease would go to the county’s general fund.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the matter on Tuesday, May 21.

Map via handout/Fairfax County Government

The demolition of Reston Fire and Rescue Station 25 is set for the fall, bringing an end to the building that was built in the early 1970s.

Construction on the new fire station — Reston Fire and Rescue Station 25 (1820 Wiehle Avenue) — will begin later this year. The new facility is more than double the size of the current department, which officials said has long outlived its use.

Major redevelopment is planned around the fire station, which will have two levels and four drive-through bays with the capacity for adding more units in the future.

The county plans to work with the developer of Isaac Newtown Square, which is behind the fire station, to make sure the redevelopment project does not interfere with work planned at the fire station.

While the new station is under construction, fire and rescue personnel will be relocated to a temporary station at 1800 Cameron Glen Drive near the North County Government Center.

Site work and construction of the temporary facility, which consists of trailers and a large tent, is in progress, a spokesperson for the county’s fire department told Reston Now.

The project is expected to cost $14.8 million.

Photo via Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department

State and local transportation officials have been working for more than a year on clearing the Soapstone Connector through the environmental approval phase — one of the latest hurdles for the roughly $170 million project.

The connector — which extends Soapstone Drive from Sunrise Valley Drive over the Dulles Toll Road to Sunset Hills Road — provides a new north-south alternative to tackle increasing traffic congestion on Wiehle Avenue. By the time the project breaks ground, hundreds of additional residential units are expected to come on the market in Reston.

County transportation officials are working with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to determine the next steps for the project after the state determined a group of buildings on Association Drive the project could cut through are considered historic. The Fairfax County Department of Transportation must conduct an alternatives analysis to find possible ways to reduce the impact on the buildings.

Discussions have been ongoing for more than year. The county’s Architectural Review Board first determined the collection of buildings could be historically significant in early 2018. Since then, county staff have been trying to chart the best path forward to minimize the impact on the buildings  — which are considered historic as a collection, but not on an individual basis.

More hurdles are expected as the project goes through design and planning. Construction isn’t expected to begin until the mid to late 2020s.

“Anytime you’re building a new major project in a built environment, it’s more challenging than if we’re working out in a cornfield,” Tom Biesiadny, FCDOT’s director, told Reston Now. “None of them are insurmountable.”

Although funding for the project has not been secured yet, Biesiadny says the county has enough dollars to finish project design, which will move forward once the county receives necessary environmental approvals. The county plans to then tackle right-of-way and land acquisition between 2022 and 2024. Utility relocation is also complicated by the fact that area businesses rely on fiber optic cables along Sunrise Valley Drive and Sunset Hills Road.

“At the moment, money is not holding anything up,” Biesiadny said. “It’s several years out before we need the construction dollars.”

So far, the project has $24 million secured from federal, regional and local funds. A $45.4 million grand application for Smart Scale funding has been submitted. The county plans to continue to aggressively apply for grant funding.

The connector has been on the county’s planning books for years. A hybrid design for the project received county approval in 2014.

Map via Fairfax County Government

Fairfax County officials have called Capital Bikeshare in Reston a success since the program was launched in 2016.

Now, the county plans to install 10 stations by next spring.

At a Fairfax County Board Transportation Committee meeting yesterday (May 14), staff discussed plans to expand the program throughout Reston, Tysons, Vienna and Merrifield.

The 16 stations already in Reston are used more frequently than the 13 in Tysons, according to county data.

Staff have been hesitant to pinpoint exact locations of the stations, but did release a list of possible sites during yesterday’s meeting:

• Baron Cameron Avenue
• North Shore Drive corridor
• Glade Drive corridor
• Reston Community Center Hunters Woods
• Discussions are also underway to fund even more stations in the Reston and Herndon Transit Station Areas.

Overall, bikeshare use in the county increase by 3.3 percent between 2017 and 2018. The county is also now seeing more bicyclists use the bikes for trips beyond Wiehle-Reston East in Reston.

Reston Community Center’s weekly summer family fun entertainment series is back in Reston Town Center next month.

All shows are free and take place every Saturday from June 15 through August 3 from 10-10:45 a.m. All ages are welcome and no registration is required.

The series kicks off on Saturday, June 15 with the Uncle Devin Show, an interactive music experience that takes audiences through the land of percussion instruments.

On Saturday, June 22, attendees immerse themselves in the instruments and sounds of West African music with Kwame Ansah-Brew’s African Sounds. This show will include audience participation.

Mark Lohr takes attendees through a family vaudeville show on Saturday, June 29 when he shows off his circus skills and a sprinkle of magic.

The remaining schedule is as follows:

• July 6: Rocknoceros
• July 13: Guava Jelly
• July 20: Turley the Magician
• July 27: Groovy Nate
• August 3: Dixie Power Trio

Reston Town Square Park is located at the corner of Market and Explorer streets.

Parking is free on weekends in RTC.

Photo courtesy Reston Community Center

It’s time to gear up for Bike to Work Day on Friday (May 17).

More than 100 pitstops are planned from 6:30-9:30 a.m. through the D.C. Metro area, including one in Reston and one in Herndon.

The Reston pit stop will be held at the Reston Station Plaza at the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station (1862 Wiehle Avenue). A second pit stop is planned in Herndon near the entrance of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail at the corner of Lynn and Elden streets.

The first 20,000 who register and attend will receive a free T-shirt. Registration, which is free, is open online.

If biking alone isn’t your cup of tea, you can join a convoy led by experienced bicycle commuters. Convoys will travel along popular employment centers in the region. You can also try to track down a ride buddy by using the Washington Area Bike Forum.

Thousands of bicyclists are expected to commute via pedal power during the annual event, which is sponsored by Commuter Connections and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.

The event takes place rain or shine.

For more information, visit the Bike To Work Day website, or for questions about the Reston pit stop, call or email Ashleigh from the Reston Association at [email protected] or 703-435-6577.

File photo

Lofts at Reston Station will debut new one-level elevator condominiums starting at $544,485  this weekend.

The redevelopment project by Pulte Homes brings 12 two-level townhouse-style condos and 32 one-level condos just a short walk from the Wiehle-Metro East Metro Station.

Megan Skupien, a spokeswoman for Pulte Homes, said the company has sold out its two-story condos.

Heading into the grand opening weekend, almost 50 percent of the one-level condos, which have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, are sold out.

“We couldn’t be happier as we head into the weekend,” Skupien said.

All infrastructure work has been completed, with the exception of topping off the remaining roads. Other road construction work will happen in cooperation with other developers and land owners.

Construction on the project, which is located at 1825 Michael Faraday Drive, began last spring. The county approved Pulte Homes’ proposal to replace an office building and parking lot with a residential development in November 2016.

Residents of The Lofts will be Reston Association members.

Photos by Fatimah Waseem

For at least two weeks, the Fairfax Connector has been struggling with a shortage of bus drivers.

Although county officials say the number of missed and delayed trips has dropped over the last week, the shortage continues to impact riders’ commutes across the county. Some riders say buses have missed multiple trips for the last three weeks. Other buses have been delayed.

A service operation alert on the Fairfax Connector’s BusTracker website that previously alerted riders about the shortage was taken down. County officials are unsure why the alert is no longer on the website.

Tom Biesiadny, the director of Fairfax County’s transportation department, told Reston Now that MV Transportation, the current operator for the system, is “working through staffing issues.”

The county plans to switch operators to Transdev North America on July 1. The operator, which was awarded a five-year contract by the county, has started training bus drivers as part of its hiring process. Under the $443 million contract, Transdev will have 730 employees and operate 308 vehicles.

Although the cause and extent of the bus driver shortage is unclear, Biesiadny said the limited bus drivers is a regional issue.

“With the economy doing pretty well and unemployment being very low particularly in Northern Virginia, there’s a shortage of workers in general,” he said.

County officials urged riders to plan their trips ahead of time and check Twitter, Facebook and the Fairfax Connector’s BusTracker for the latest updates.

Riders can also text bus stop IDs to 414-11 to obtain information on trips and the latest bus schedules.

“What we’re trying to make sure that passengers know is that they should sign up for Bus Tracker emails or text alerts to make sure they see any important alerts,” Anna Nissinen, chief of communications for FCDOT, said. “That’s the best way to stay on top of travel.”

Photo via Facebook

A Herndon man was charged in connection with the April 25 robbery of a 7-Eleven on Sugarland Drive in Sterling.

Abdul Abid, 25, was arrested on Friday, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s office. The first suspect, Zian Rehman, 19, was arrested on May 2.

Police believe one of the suspects pushed an employee on the front counter of the store toward the cash register and commanded the victim to open the register. One suspect took cash from the register while the other took money from the victim’s wallet, authorities said.

The men threatened the employee, but no weapons were used during the robbery.

Both men were charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, grand larceny and wearing a mask in public. They are being held without bond.

Meanwhile, the Fairfax County Police Department reported the following minor incidents in Reston:

LARCENIES:

1400 block of Lake Fairfax Drive, wallet from location

10500 block of Leesburg Pike, beer from business

11900 block of Market Street, merchandise from business

2200 block of Mill Race Lane, ring from residence

2300 block of Rolling Fork Circle, bicycle from location

11800 block of Sunrise Valley Drive, work equipment from business 

2700 block of West Ox Road, purse from vehicle

Child pornography charges were a common theme last week. As we reported, FCPD unveiled 21 new charges related child pornography for a former Herndon High School teacher.

“Mr. Knick Knack,” a children’s entertainer who performed in the area, also faces 10 felony counts of possession of child photography.

Photo via Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office

Comstock has hired Mike Daugard to lead acquisitions of new properties as the real estate company moves forward on major projects near Metro sites.

Before joining Comstock, Daugard worked with the Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, Rubenstein Partners, JLL, Lowe Enterprises, and The Mills Corporation.

“We are thrilled to have Mike Daugard on the Comstock team,” said Christopher Clemente, CEO of Comstock. “Mike is a seasoned industry professional with deep market knowledge and insight that enhances Comstock’s ability to identify attractive institutional investment opportunities, increase assets under management across asset classes, and drive bottom line results.” 

Daugard graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a B.S. degree in Finance. He has been an adjunct professor at the school for the last six years.

He will probe ways to expand Comstock’s properties in the area, negotiate transaction details and identify acquisition opportunities.

Comstock announced his hire on Monday (May 13).

The American Diabetes Association will host its annual Tour de Cure in Reston Town Center next month.

The event, which is set for June 2, is the ADA’s premier cycling fundraising event and the nation’s largest diabetes cycling event.

Participants of all skill levels will use four routes ranging from 20 miles to 106 miles, as well as a 5k run and walk.

Online registration, which is $25, closes on May 31. All minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Fundraising minimums are $250 for riders age 13 and above and $50 for riders age 12 and under. Minimums do not apply to walkers and runners.

Photo courtesy ADA

A Reston man was killed at the scene of a five-vehicle crash on a highway in West Virginia over the weekend.

John King, 32, was killed on the scene on Saturday, according to a statement by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Nine people were injured in the crash.

A tractor-trailer failed to slow down in the northbound slow lane on U.S. 340, which is south of Charleston, pushing one vehicle into the other, according to Herald-Mail Media. The four pushed vehicles were mostly mangled, according to the sheriff’s office.

Two of the nine people injured — who were in the same car as King — are from Northern Virginia. Identities of the injured have not been released.

The tractor-trailer was carrying 80,000 pounds of potatoes, Herald-Mail Media reported.

File photo

Fox Mill Road Closure Rescheduled – The closure, which was originally planned for this week, has been pushed to next week from Monday, May 20 to Thursday, May 23. After that weekend, the road will close against from Tuesday, May 28 to Thursday, May 30. Closures are in effect from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each weekday. [Virginia Department of Transportation]

Walking through Selling Your Home in Reston — Shellie Calloway, a Reston Association staff member who works on covenants, walks members through the process dictated by the Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act. Requirements include RA’s disclosure packet. [Reston Today]

Big Capital Bikeshare Growth Planned — “A recently completed study of the potential for bikeshare in an area largely along Virginia Route 123 from Tysons through Vienna, the City of Fairfax and the George Mason University area recommends expanding Capital Bikeshare into most of that corridor, with future consideration of dockless options particularly in lower density areas.” [WTOP]

Flickr pool photo by vantagehill