Appian Corporation plans to relocate from its current headquarters at 11955 Democracy Drive to Tysons next month.
The cloud computing company will move into Gannett’s former headquarters at Valo Park (7950 Jones Branch Drive), bringing 600 jobs to Tysons.
“The 12.5-year lease for 200,000 square feet in the Jones Branch Drive building was officially signed April 17, complete with a press conference with Gov. Ralph Northam. The lease was a win for real estate group Tamares, which purchased the building from Gannett for $270 million in 2015,” the Washington Business Journal reported last week.
The county gave a $4 million grant to the company in December to help pay for the leasing, improvements, equipment and operation of Appian’s Tysons location.
Logo via Appian/Facebook
Pinstripes, a bowling, bocce and bar venue, is coming to the Halley Rise development, following the first retail, tenant, Wegmans, confirmed its plans to anchor the new mixed use development.
According to the Washington Business Journal, which first reported the news, Pinstripes will open a 20,000-square-foot venue at the development. WBJ also that Brookfield Properties, the developer, is also in talks with high-end movie theater Cinépolis to sign a lease for the new project.
Once completed, Halley Rise — formerly known as Reston Crescent — will have a minimum of 640 residential units, 450,000 square feet of office space and two new parks.
Rendering via Brookfield Properties
Fairfax County needs election offices for the June 11 Democratic primary election.
The Fairfax County Office of Elections is looking for officers to serve in Reston and Herndon for the primary, during which voters will select a candidate for the Hunter Mill District Supervisor seat.
Election officers must complete a three-hour training before they can work at polls. Training classes will be offered through late May. Officers are paid $175 for a full day, although officers can also volunteer their time.
Bilingual election officers who can speak Korean and English or Vietnamese and English fluently are also needed.
For more information on becoming an election officer, visit the Fairfax County Office of Elections, or call at 703-324-4735, TTY 711.
File photo
Wireless Service Available in Two-Thirds of Metro Tunnels –“Metro and the nation’s leading wireless carriers, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless announce that as of today approximately two-thirds of Metro’s tunnels are now wired for cellular and data service. This marks the near completion of underground wireless service in Virginia, with the addition of the newest tunnel segments on the Yellow and Blue lines that are “wireless ready.” [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]
Dense Fog Advisory Ends at 9 a.m. — The National Weather Service has issued a dense fog advisory, which means that driving “could be impaired due to reduced visibility.” [National Weather Service]
Opening Reception: A Purposeful Manner Towards a Vague Destination — Douglas Moulden brings his artwork to the Greater Reston Arts Center’s exhibition at the Signature (11850 Freedom Drive). The opening reception takes place today from 6-8 p.m. [Greater Reston Arts Center]
Photo by Joe Heflin
Since the Capital Bikeshare program began in late 2016, Reston’s stations have outperformed all others in Fairfax County. Given this success, the county plans to add 11 more stations by early 2020.
The county has logged roughly 16,000 trips every year since the program began in Reston and as more stations are added to the network, that number is expected to increase dramatically over the next several years. Stations in Tysons Corner are also seeing dramatic increases in utilization, especially as more corporate sponsors come on board to back new stations.
Most of Reston’s new stations are planned in south Reston. Exact locations will not be disclosed until the county finalizes places with state transportation officials, according to the county. The corridors at North Shore Drive, Baron Cameron Avenue, South Lakes drive and Glade Drive are likely candidates.
Chris Wells, the county’s bicycle and pedestrian program manager, said that the new stations will help transform the program by expanding their use beyond a quick ride to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station or Reston Town Center.
When a new station was added near Lake Anne, trips indicate that people used the bikes to run errands and pick up groceries at Harris Teeter in Spectrum Center. Wells says this suggest the functionality of the bikes is changing in the suburban community.
So far, the station at Wiehle-Reston East Metro tops all others with 4,743 annual trips last year. The RTC station came in second with 2,650 annual trips. The station at Sunset Hills Road and Isaac Newton Square brings in 1,782 annual trips, according to county data.
The county is considering moving the station at Reston Regional Library — the least popular station with just 16 trips last year — to another site until construction of Reston Town Center North is completed. The newest station and the only one south of the toll road is at Campus Commons.
A pilot program launched last year to bring battery-operated bikes to Reston was also successful, Wells said. Nearly 500 new electric bikes will be added to the Maryland, Virginia and DC network over the next few months.
Overall, utilization dipped slightly last year due to construction at Wiehle-Reston East, Wells said. He hopes to more people using bikeshare in Reston as the network becomes more connected.
“As there are places to go, we expect utilization to get even better organically.”
File photo
Candidates vying for the seat of Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins will participate in a candidate forum on the environment on Thursday (May 2).
The forum, which includes candidates for supervisor in the Dranesville, Providence and Sully Districts, takes place at the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation (1441 Wiehle Avenue ) from 7-9 p.m.
Candidates will share their environmental and energy platform with Fairfax County constituents. Star Muir, an associate professor of communication at George Mason University, will moderate the event.
So far, Hunter Mill District Supervisor candidates Walter Alcorn, Laurie Dodd, and Shyamali Hauth have confirmed their attendance, according to event organizers. The election is set for June 11.
The event is hosted by 350 Fairfax, faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, Food & Water Action, Friends of Accotink Creek, Our Revolution Northern Virginia and other community partners.
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Attention, foodies: Taste of Reston, the largest outdoor food festival in the area, returns to Reston Town Center on June 14 and 15.
Restaurants and community vendors will offer up food samples for the festival, which is produced by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce and has been voted “Northern Virginia’s Best Food Festival” by Virginia Living magazine for the last six years. The event also includes live entertainment on three stage, a family fun zone, and a Wine ‘n Dine area. Food vendors will compete for a “Best of Taste” competition as well.
On Friday, June 14, the event takes place from 4-11 p.m. and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 15.
The event is free, but tickets are needed to buy food, beer and wine. The Wine ‘n Dine area allows attendees to shop with cash and purchase food items designed to eat at home.
A sheet of two dozen $1 tickets is for $20. Tickets can be purchased online. Garage parking is free for the duration of the event.
More information about the event is available on the Taste of Reston website.
Photo by Don Renner
For Little Leaguers, kids skipping school, and fast food lovers, McTacoHut — a fast food block that takes its name from food spots on Wiehle Avenue — has a storied past in Reston. For decades, the McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut cornered on that block have served up the finest in fast food and fast casual grub, becoming what former Reston resident Michael Berger calls a “monument” in the community.
In early 2020, Berger plans to bring some big changes: The Pizza Hut, which first opened in 1977 at 1821 Wiehle Avenue, will flip to a Neopolitan pizza restaurant, Pupatella. Berger is a founding partner and head of the company’s real estate and supply chain.
As a former Restonian who played table-top Pac-Man at the Pizza Hut and attended more birthdays than he would’ve liked at the McDonald’s former PlayPlace, Berger says he is excited to “bring back the neighborhood pizzeria” to a place he still calls home.
“The Pizza Hut is a different type of restaurant now than it was 25 years ago,” Berger said. “We’re trying to bring the ‘hut’ aspect of McTacoHut back.”
For the Washington, DC resident, the opening of Pupattella comes full circle. Berger graduated from South Lakes High School in 1998 after attending Sunrise Valley Elementary School and Langston Hughes Middle School. He hopes to preserve most of Pizza Hut’s roof to pay homage to its pizza past while renovating the interior.
“We’re entering something that is a monument,” Berger said. “We don’t take that lightly. It honestly sounds kind of cheesy but it is a great honor to come back to the area and bring our pizzeria to the community.”
The Pizza Hut will operate until its lease ends in early 2020.
Until then, Berger says the community has plenty of time to rename ‘McTacoHut.’ That stretch of Wiehle Avenue has already transformed in recent years due to Metro and transit-oriented development. More change is on the way, as the fire department opposite McTacoHut is rebuilt and the coming.
For the coming era, Berger suggests ‘McTacoTella.’
Photos by Fatimah Waseem
South Lakes High School Among Best Schools in the State — SLHS was ranked the 39th best high school in Virginia, according to rankings by the U.S. News & World Report. The rankings were released Tuesday and evaluate more than 17,000 schools across the country. [Reston Patch]
Police Investigate Shots Fired in Parking Lot — Last night, officers were on the 1500 block of Cameron Crescent Drive after receiving a report that a man fired shots in a parking lot. No one was hurt and the police department is investigating the incident. [Fairfax County Police Department]
Semi-Annual Book Sale at Reston Regional Library — Reston Friends get first dibs on the book sale today from 5 to 8 p.m. Thousands of books will be available for purchase. [Fairfax County Public Library]
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Approves Budget — The board “gave preliminary approval to the $4.4 billion 2020 fiscal year budget. The proposed budget fully funds the operating budget request from Fairfax County Public Schools and holds the real estate tax rate at its present level.” [Fairfax News]
“Black America Again” and “Letter to the Free” Tonight— Enjoy a free screening at CenterStage at 7:30 p.m. “Black America Again” explores the perseverance of the black community and “Letter to the Free” documents the stories of talented jazz musicians at the Queens Detention Complex. The film is presented with promotional support from the Washington West Film Festival. [Reston Community Center]
Photo by Wade Gilley Sr
This week, the Fairfax County Police Department did not report any major incidents. However, a string of larcenies involving items taken from cars over a three-day period caught our attention.
According to FCPD, the incidents are not connected.
“We do not believe these incidents are connected, based on locality and the items that were taken,” a spokesperson for FCPD told Reston now.
The following minor incidents were reported by FCPD over the last week:
LARCENIES:
2100 block of Centreville Road, merchandise from business
11400 block of Cypress Point Court, registration stickers from vehicle
1300 block of Deep Run Lane, license plate from vehicle
12600 block of Fantasia Drive, license plate from vehicle
11900 block of Freedom Drive, merchandise from business
2500 block of Farmcrest Drive, bicycle from residence
11500 block of Links Drive, electronic device from vehicle
2500 block of Peter Jefferson Lane, laptop computer from vehicle
11100 block of South Lake Drive, food from business
12000 block of Town Square Street, cell phone from vehicle
1400 block of North Point Village Center, merchandise from business
1100 block of Walker Road, sign from property
11000 block of Villaridge Court, purse from location
STOLEN VEHICLES
None reported
File photo
Herndon’s signature outdoor concert series, Friday Night Live!, will kick off its 25th season this Friday. Since the first concert event on June 16, 1995, the series has become the longest-running free outdoor concert series in the DC area.
The season runs every Friday through August 23, with the exception of May 31, the day of the Herndon Festival. The Herndon Town Green, which is behind the town’s municipal building at 777 Lynn Street, will once again come to life with local acts from across the East Coast from 6:30-10:30 p.m. On a typical night, most bands play rock and roll covers. Some nights have themes like country and yacht rock.
The series, which is produced by the Herndon Chamber of Commerce, was created to promote downtown Herndon as a destination to visit and live. Since debuting in 1995, the town has put on 398 shows with over 525,000 fans attending. The title sponsor is Volkswagen Group of America.
“We couldn’t hold this event without our hard-working volunteers and the support of our corporate sponsors,” said Doug Downer, the event’s founder and chairman. “If you’ve never been, come on down to the Town Green on a Friday this summer to experience friends, fun, and a true sense of community.”
Food from local restaurants will be available on site and event organizers will offer beer, seltzer and wine. Proceeds will benefit the Chamber of Commerce and a portion of tip money from alcohol sales will go to Herndon High School’s after-prom and all night alcohol-free grad parties.
More information about the weekly outdoor concert series is available online. A schedule is also available on the event’s website.
Photo by Laura Poindexter
The Town of Herndon’s 1.25 percent increase in its meal tax has generated some backlash from local residents — prompting Town of Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel to clarify why the tax was increased from 2.5 to 3.75 percent last week.
In a statement on Saturday (April 27), Merkel said the increase was necessary to cover an unexpected $1 million shortfall in revenue from business professional occupancy license taxes. The estimated price tag for several capital projects also spiked, she said.
The increase could bring around $900,000 in revenue to cover funding for road projects, hiring an assistant town attorney, parks and recreation events, and connecting crosswalks that are unsafe and not ADA-compliant, Merkel said.
“I know raising taxes isn’t popular and it is not a vote that I took lightly,” she said. “If you go back and look at all the discussions, staff reports and PowerPoints, you will that it was not a flippant decision.”
Merkel said her nine years of experience on the council demonstrates that raising taxes is not a go-to approach. Ultimately, the move could generate cost savings, Merkel said. The town currently outsources legal work that the town attorney cannot take on at a high rate, she said.
“With Metro and the growth we are facing in the area the town is dealing with many more complicated legal issues than in decades past when we were a much sleepier little town,” she said.
Merkel’s entire statement is below:
Tuesday night the Council voted to pass our FY2020 budget. For the first time in many years the council raised the meals tax by 1.25%. I understand that many do not favor this decision and I want you to know that I certainly did not make the decision lightly. I think my record on council for the past nine years demonstrates that I am not someone who looks immediately to raising taxes whenever there’s a tough budget before us, so I hope you’ll read along to see my reasoning for my vote supporting this increase.
The additional revenue generated will be funding road projects for the most part. The town suffered a very unexpected $1million shortfall in BPOL (Business Professional Occupancy License taxes) revenue this budget cycle, and several road projects that have been in the CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) for years have had a significant increase in their estimated costs. After a lot of grappling our Town Manager suggested a 1 cent meals tax increase to offset the difference (1 cent meals tax is approximately $900k of revenue.) BPOL is paid mostly by people who do not reside in the town (it is business professional occupancy license fees and is based on gross receipts of the business, the larger the business, the larger the fee. Most of our Herndon businesses are 10 employees or fewer, so you can surmise that a very large company is the reason behind this loss of BPOL revenue) Meals tax is also paid mostly by people who do not live in the town, but use our roads, police, etc. Herndon is an employment center where more than 17,000 people come to work every day, and the biggest portion of our meals tax comes from the M-F lunch crowd.
It was NOT an easy decision for me. The additional .25 that was added was a result of trying to cover some unfunded priorities that were important to the town – some parks and rec events related to the farmers market and family fun days and connecting some sidewalks and completing crosswalks that are currently unsafe and some that are not ADA compliant.
It will also allow us to hire an assistant town attorney which will ultimately save the town money because now we are outsourcing some legal work that the Town Attorney cannot take on, and that is at a MUCH higher hourly rate. With Metro and the growth we are facing in the area the town is dealing with many more complicated legal issues than in decades past when we were a much sleepier little town.
I know raising taxes isn’t popular and it is not a vote that I took lightly. If you go back and look at all the discussions, staff reports and PowerPoints you will see that it was not a flippant decision. Honestly, without the $1million dollar BPOL shortfall I would have likely voted against this increase, because it wouldn’t have been necessary. And I do support the projects these monies will fund. Which is ultimately why I decided to support it.
I understand that not everyone is happy with the meals tax increase; that’s just how these things go. I will still be supporting our local Herndon restaurants because this is home, and I love our local restaurant scene. Did you know that restaurants receive a 6% rebate for remitting the meals taxes they collect on our behalf on time? (This is a fairly typical practice in the commonwealth) and the large majority take advantage of this.
Please remember that since 2010 Herndon’s real estate tax RATE has not increased. In fact we decreased it once in 2011. Every single surrounding jurisdiction has raised their RE rate multiple times during that time frame, even as assessments have increased. I am proud of the fact that Herndon has worked to not put our property owners in that situation.
If you’ve read this entire post, Thank you. If you would like additional information on the discussions and reasons behind this difficult decision I’d be happy to hear from you and share more of my perspective. Thanks again for joining me in caring about our hometown.
Photo via Town of Herndon
A $313.9 million project is underway to improve almost seven miles of Route 7 between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive. But before construction begins later this year, state transportation officials are courting public comment on the “Connect Route 7” project, which has been contemplated since 1975.
The project, which should be complete by July 2024, widens the road from four to six lanes, adds a 10-foot wide shared-use path on both sides, and improves several intersections along the corridor.
A public meeting on the project is set for May 7 from 7-9 p.m. at Forestville Elementary School (1085 Utterback Store Road) and on May 14 during the same time at Colvin Run Elementary School (1400 Trap Road). Experts will be on hand to answer questions about the project.
It’s possible that more than 500,000 square feet of noise barriers could be installed along the corridor, according to VDOT. Property owners will be surveyed to determine if noise barriers will be constructed.
The project will not be completed until July 2024. Utility relocation could take until the summer of 2023 and right of way acquisition will likely be complete by early 2021, VDOT says.
“These improvements will increase capacity, improve safety and traffic flow, and enhance mobility for cyclists and pedestrians, all in conformity with Fairfax County’s Comprehensive Plan.”
Map via VDOT
Farmers and Makers Market Kicks Off Today — Local farmers and artisans will sell a mix of items in Reston Town Center today. The market is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through November. [Reston Town Center]
County Weighs More Housing for Amazon Workers — “Fairfax County officials are weighing new steps to beef up their investments in affordable housing programs, with the promise of even more ambitious spending next year. The Board of Supervisors’ budget committee signed off on the changes at an April 26 meeting, ensuring they’d be included when officials vote on a full spending plan for fiscal year 2020 next month.” [Washington Business Journal]
South Lakes High School Sophomores Learn About Careers — Around 50 career professionals came to the high school to talk to sophomore about education, training, and career experiences. The event was coordinated by the career center and local parents. [Fairfax County Public Schools]
County Guide: It’s Snake Season — “Fairfax County is home to an array of snake species, most of which are non-venomous and pose no threat to people. Among the most frequently observed resident snakes are the Eastern rat snake, Eastern garter snake, Dekay’s brown snake, Northern water snake and Northern ring-necked snake; common and important predators in our ecosystems. These snakes, and others, are beneficial and provide a valuable service in our communities in the way of pest control.” [Fairfax County Government]
Photo via Charlotte Geary
Restonians returning the Reston Association’s pools will see several upgrades this season, especially at the Lake Newport Pool (11601 Lake Newport Road).
That pool, which opens May 25, closed last summer for several improvements, including a new pool plaster surface, new pool tiles, and new sinks, countertops and flooring tiles in the bathhouse. Plumbing was also redone for the bathhouse system, according to Nate Wheeler, RA’s aquatics facility supervisor.
A new 50-meter lane was also added to the pool, which will be open from noon to 8 p.m. on weekends and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. The pool is closed on Fridays.
Wheeler said that this year has been a “big year” for spas as well. New plaster surface was installed at the spas at Glade, North Hills, and Hunters Woods. The spa at North Shore was rebuilt to address an underground leak.
The circulation equipment for the fountain at Uplands was replaced as well, Wheeler said.
“We’re looking forward to having people enjoy the bright colors and smoother operations all summer,” he said.
Pool passes can be renewed online. This year’s pool schedule is also available on RA’s website. The aquatics facilities at North Shore and Ridge Heights are the first to open this season on May 11.
Photo by Reston Association/YouTube
