Town of Herndon officials are seeking the public feedback as the town works to revitalize the South Elden Street area, a corridor that runs along Elden Street from Worldgate Drive to Sterling Road.

Officials plan to present what they described as a “moderate scale” redevelopment plan for the area at a meeting today (June 26) at 7 p.m. in the Town of Herndon Council Chambers (765 Lynn Street).

Ideas on how to revitalize the corridor are requested, including whether or not older properties in the area should be redeveloped and the desired mix of retail, residential, office and other uses.

Last year, the town jumpstarted an initiative to create a plan for the commercial corridor between Herndon Parkway and Sterling Road. In 2015, an amendment to the town’s comprehensive plan called for making improvements to South Elden Street. Possible changes include creating a shared use path for bicycles and pedestrians, dedicated turn lanes, a raised median, updated pedestrian signals and the placement of overhead wires underground.

If funding sources are received, the town could begin designing the project in 2024. A conceptual plan of improvements and the preliminary application for improvements has not been made public yet.

A public hearing is set before the Planning Commission on July 2 and August 6.

Photo via Town of Herndon

Police are searching for a critical missing adult. Joshua Bowman, 25, went missing after he left his home on Monday (June 25) at 2:30 p.m.

According to the Herndon Police Department, Bowman is autistic and non-verbal. He was last seen wearing a black jacket and possibly carrying a back of CDs.

Anyone with information is urged to call the police department at 703-435-6846.

Photo via Herndon Police Department

Ten graduating South Lakes High School seniors received scholarships from the Reston Scholarship Fund of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia.

Awards, given for the second time, ranged between $1,000 to $4,000. The fund plans to award up to $16,000 to each of the students distributed over a maximum of six years as the students pursue their undergraduate careers.

A reception for students was held on June 16. Speakers included Kim Retzer, principal of South Lakes High School, Eileen Ellsworth, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, and Monica Gomez, a NOVA Pathways Counselor.

Recipients of the award are below:

• Diseye Fiobotei
• Sohale Hessavi
• Abdi Hobor
• Emily Huaroco
• Carla Jovel
• Alexis Lemus
• Abita Mahdi
• Hamdi Shariff
• Hebron Wakjira
• Luis Zevallos Garate

This year’s scholarships were funded by The Sallie Mae Fund and Quadrant, Inc. and other local individuals and companies.

Photo via Elizabeth Blankespoor

Cloud nine — “The cerebral and absorbing artworks of Mike Cloud, on view at the Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) through July 7, have a myriad of entry points. It all depends on what viewers bring to bear and how deep they are willing to go.” [Fairfax County Times]

Zip trip — On Friday, FOX 5 DC staff broadcast their live morning show from Reston Town Center. Reston was described as an asset to the Northern Virginia community known for its forward-thinking community and contemporary design. [FOX 5 DC]

Open house at the Lake House — This Thursday, the Lake House will hold an open house. Light refreshments will be sponsored by Pure Perfection Catering. [Reston Association]

Photo by Emily Cox

For the second year, homemade cardboard boats will compete in the popular regatta at Lake Anne. All proceeds from the event on August 11 will go toward the Reston Historic Trust & Museum.

Participating teams of all ages will construct and decorate a life-size cardboard boat, which will compete in timed heats. Team members will row to a designated buoy and back to the docks.

Last year, 20 teams and more than 65 individuals participated in the event. The event is presented by the museum and the lead sponsor is Griffin-Owens Insurance. Other sponsors include Reston Association and Aperture.

Registration for the event is not open yet. During last year’s regatta, 30 preregistration slots were filled for this year’s event. A waiting list with 20 additional slots is available online. Registration will be opened to the public when the number of maximum competing teams is determined by organizers.

More information about the event is available online.

Image via Nova Labs/Facebook

A 20-year-old Reston man was arrested on Wednesday (June 20) in connection with a narcotics violation.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, Tavarius Lee, 20, of Reston was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

The incident occurred on the 12000 block of Glade Drive at around 6:35 p.m.

Bike team officers saw what an individual they described as “a known drug dealer.” Lee ran away as officers attempted to approach him. When he was caught by police, they uncovered nearly two ounces of marijuana and a “significant” amount of cash. Police did not disclose the amount.

Photo via FCPD

Comstock has begun construction on the next office building in Reston Station, located on the southwest corner of the plaza. The eight-story structure, which has not yet been named, is a Class A office building with 180,000 square feet of office space and 8,300 square feet of retail space on the plaza.

The building is designed by HKS Architects with steel and glass structures. The company’s portfolio includes the design of Urumqi International Airport in Xinjiang, China and the King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan.

Office space will be restricted to six floors, which sit atop an eight-story, above-grave concrete parking deck. It will also include a private patio with a sky garden and gym.

Construction prompted Comstock to close four of eight kiosks on the plaza. According to Maggie Parker, vice president of communications and community outreach for Comstock, the kiosks were intentionally designed to be temporary. Some vendors will relocate into vacant kiosks.

“They’ve given many budding entrepreneurs an opportunity to test their business models and have added a lot of vitality to our emerging development,” Comstock wrote in a statement.

Photo via Comstock

A series of citations about the design and maintenance of homes in the Birchfield Woods Cluster, a townhouse community built in the late 1980s, has some residents concerned.

Residents say the citations are inconsistent with past inspections and were implemented in a confusing manner, especially given some homes were cited for issues and others were not. One citation concerns changing a backdoor that has been on the property for 25 years.

The inspection of Birchfield properties and common areas was conducted by Reston Association on May 4. Residents were notified of the inspection on March 5 and given 90 days to address violations.

Shellon Copeland, a cluster resident, said the financial burden of correcting citations on the single parent’s home on Poplar Grove Drive is concerning and that requests for deadline extensions have not been met.

“It’s not just the financial part,” Copeland said, “It’s the added time and stress [from[ getting estimates from reputable roofers, etc.”

Joanna Simon, a Reston resident since 1971, said she was concerned RA’s Design Review Board “overstepped the bounds.”

“The process is confusing, take[s] time, [and] requires photo and other technology skills unavailable to some of Reston’s residents,” said Simon, who is also on the cluster’s board and was speaking as a resident only. She was cited for having a dark brown finish on her deck and installing a new light fixture.

The cluster board was also cited for mailboxes that are not approved and old signage at the entrance of the cluster. Residents said most homes in the community were given at least one citation.

At the request of residents, a meeting at Armstrong Elementary School with the cluster board was held on June 18. Residents have requested extensions to correct citations, which must be corrected by August 24.

Mike Leone, RA’s director of communications and community engagement, said RA’s advisors are working with homeowners to get violations fixed.

“Homeowners will not get escalated to RA’s Covenants Committee if they are showing progress in fixing violations,” Leone wrote in a statement.

The walkthrough request was made by Birchfield Cluster Board President Marcelo Borda. Inspections are intended to ensure properties are kept in good order and repair in order to ensure the appearance is consistent with RA’s design guidelines and in conformity with nearby properties.

Residents said they were irked the cluster board was not involved in the decision to conduct inspections.

Borda said concerns will be discussed with an RA representative. A response about why the inspections were requested and how the board is working with the community to address concerns was not immediately provided.

Inspections occur “no more than once every five years, or as time and resources permit,” Leone wrote.

Photos by Shellon Copeland

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will contribute up to $40 million to help close a funding a gap in the widening of Route 7.

The $278 million project, which will widen Route 7 between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive from four to six lanes, will cost roughly 95 million more than what engineers’ originally estimated.

The board unanimously voted to approve additional funds on Tuesday (June 19). The Virginia Department of Transportation is expected to also contribute up to $40 million.

Tom Biesiadny, director of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, said cost overruns were linked primarily to how the contract was bid. The state is currently negotiating between two offerors who offered bids above the estimated price. The contract is a design-to-build, which is costlier than design-to-bid projects and would allow the project to begin two years earlier than originally anticipated,  Biesiadny said.

Officials hope to reduce the expected costs of the project by negotiating with the two offerors. Final bid offers must be in by early July.

Most funding to meet the gap will be taken from dollars allocated for Tysons projects. A plan to widen Frying Pan Road will also be deferred, Biesiadny said.

Biesiadny said bicycle and pedestrian improvements are also planned along the seven-mile stretch, which he said connects Reston and Tysons.

“It provides benefits to both of those areas by allowing traffic to move more quickly through those areas, reduc[ing] congestion, but also provid[ing[ bicycle and pedestrian improvements and bus stop improvements,” he said.

File photo via FCDOT

A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Fairfax County until 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour are possible. Damaging winds may cause trees and large branches to fall. Localized power outages are also possible.

Residents are encouraged to remain indoors and avoid areas where trees may be downed due to damaging winds.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Linton Hall VA, South Riding VA, Chantilly VA until 3:00 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/ljINfVXExi

— NWS Severe Tstorm (@NWSSevereTstorm) June 19, 2018

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted today (Tuesday) to contribute $1.2 million for the redevelopment of downtown Herndon — an effort being led by Comstock and the Town of Herndon.

The funding commitment is the largest dollar contribution for economic development to date. Funds are drawn from a funding category designed for one-time, seed money for projects that provide direct economic benefits for Fairfax County. Roughly a quarter of $5 million in available funding has been committed to downtown Herndon.

County officials hope to recoup their investment within the first two years after the project is complete. Estimates suggest the redevelopment will generate $800,000 annually in new property and sales taxes for the county, according to an independent analysis commissioned by the town.

The 4.67-acre property, which is owned by the town, is currently tax-exempt. The new town center would pay real estate taxes and generate additional sales tax from retail elements.

The project includes an 18,000-square-foot arts center, which will serve as the centerpiece of the downtown area. Overall, downtown Herndon will include around 281 apartments, 17,600 square feet of ground floor retail and a 761-space parking garage.

Fairfax County will release its funds only when the Town of Herndon contributes $1.2 million of its own funding. The town plans to pitch in $3.6 million for the public-private partnership.

In prepared statements, local elected officials reacted to the funding commitment:

“I am pleased that funding from the County’s Economic Development Support Fund will help make the Herndon Arts Center a reality,” said Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust, who chairs the Fairfax County Economic Advisory Commission. “Activities around the arts create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity in Fairfax County. The Herndon Arts Center will also contribute to the success of a redevelopment project that will significantly increase the tax base of the town and the county. Projects like the Herndon Arts Center also contribute to the county’s economic success by creating a community that will attract a 21st century workforce.”

“Allocation of this grant funding to the town is a tangible, impactful demonstration of Fairfax County’s commitment to economic development in Herndon,” said Mayor Lisa Merkel. “Redevelopment of Herndon’s downtown creates a new and exciting destination at the county’s western edge, and we greatly appreciate the spirit of partnership symbolized by this grant.”

Photo via Comstock

State officials have modified a proposal to re-stripe South Lakes Drive between Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive as a two-lane road with buffered bike lanes.

Based on community feedback and updated traffic analysis, the Virginia Department of Transportation will maintain four travel lanes between Reston Parkway and Colts Neck Road; between Soapstone Drive and Ridge Heights Road; and Twin Branches Road and Sunrise Valley Drive.

Striping modifications on South Lakes Drive were reduced to between Colts Neck Road and Soapstone Drive, as well as between Ridge Heights and Twin Branches Road.

The on-street bike route will only be connected between the Colts Neck Road bike lanes with the bike lanes on Twin Branches Road. A signed detour will be placed via the Soapstone Drive bike lanes and the new Ridge Heights bike lanes.

“The compromise solution will create a safer east-west bike route and address many of the road safety concerns. It is not expected to negatively affect traffic,” state officials wrote in a statement.

County and state officials held a meeting on March 19 to discuss the proposal, along with other paving and re-striping changes in the Hunter Mill District.

Traffic lights on Colts Neck Road, Soapstone Drive and Twin Branches Road are expected to “create breaks in traffic which will aid left turns,” according to Robin Geiger, head of communications for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.

The project will be implemented in late June and early July. A more precise starting date was not available.

File photo

Day camps at Reston Association — Slots are available for RA’s day camps, which are offered in three sessions. The camp is geared toward children between the ages of 7 and 11. [Reston Association]

Tonight: Fun around town with community fitness — Celebrate the beginning of summer with a free community fitness activity tonight at Stonegate Community Center from 5:30-6:30 p.m. [Reston Community Center]

Summerbration with King Teddy — Enjoy a concert at the Reston Station Plaza featuring swing music by King Teddy tonight from 7-9 p.m. Swing dangers will offer free instruction. [Reston Community Center]

Happening nearby: sex education policy — “Parents are protesting a proposed new sex education policy in Fairfax County. Those opposed to it say the new curriculum would promote transgender issues and encourage the use of contraceptives instead of abstinence.” [FOX 5 DC]

Photo by Ruth Sievers

An armed man robbed a purse from a woman as she and her five-year-old son walked home along a wooded path near the 11600 block of Stoneview Square yesterday at 3:20 p.m.

The incident forced Terraset Elementary School and South Lakes High School to go under “secure the building” status — a condition in which individuals are not allowed to enter or exit the building.

Police said the man was armed with a handgun and jumped out of the bushes. He took the woman’s purse, pushed both victims to the ground and ran into the woods.

The woman and her son were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Police believe the suspect is a 30- to 35-year-old black man with a mustache. He was last seen wearing a white sweater with “USA” on the front, black pants and white shoes.