Are you the owner of an electric car? There are a growing number of places to charge your car in Reston.
Both Reston Town Center and Plaza America recently added electric vehicle charging stations to their parking facilities.
At Reston Town Center, there are four new charging stations on the P1 level of the Promenade Garage at Explorer and Democracy Streets. The stations are on the right-hand side of the Explorer Street entrance of the garage.
Users must have a SemaConnect account to use the stations. Visit the company’s website, www.Semacharge.com or download SemaConnect’s app to your phone to set up an account.
The first four hours of charging is free. It is then $5 an hour every hour.
The other new stations are at Whole Foods at Plaza America, where there are two charging stations in the parking lot.
There are several other charging stations around Reston. Visit Plugshare.com to see locations, cost and availability.
Save The Golf Course Webinar — Rescue Reston will hold a webinar Tuesday night to explain its next steps in appealing the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals’ decision on Reston National Golf Course. [Rescue Reston]
Is A Gap Year Right For Your Student? — One South Lakes High School senior explains what she has planned after graduation. [Fairfax Times]
Coming (Back) Soon — The Home Speciality Store, which moved from Reston’s Spectrum to Leesburg several years ago, will move back to Reston. [Leesburg Today]
Herndon’s Brave Pitcher — Herndon High School baseball team manager Noah Starinieri has never missed a game or practice. Last week, Starinieri, who has cerebral palsy, was rewarded for his loyalty as the coach made him the starting pitcher against Oakton. [NBC4 Washington]
Update, 7 p.m. Sunday — Fairfax County Police say one man was killed and another injured in a home invasion robbery on Stoneview Square in Shadowood Condos on Sunday afternoon.
Police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said police are no longer pursuing two male suspects who they originally thought fled the scene.
“Some people came forward that may have been involved,” said Caldwell. “Police are not actively driving around looking for suspects. But anyone who has information, we would like to talk to you.”
Caldwell said police believe the incident was not random and “at least one of the persons in the home knew the people at the door.”
Initial reports indicated that five men entered an apartment and engaged in some sort of disagreement, police said. There were at least two men at home in the apartment.
Police have recovered the weapons, said Caldwell. She said multiple shots were fired. The injured person was grazed by a bullet and is being treated for non life-threatening injuries, she added.
“We are still trying to determine who shot whom and what the circumstances were,” she said.
Original story, Sunday 5:30 p.m. — Fairfax County Police are searching for two suspects in a Sunday afternoon home invasion in Reston that ended with a fatal shooting.
The incident occurred in the 11600 block of Stoneview Square about 3 p.m., police said.
Police spokesman Lucy Caldwell said the incident did not appear random and the suspect and victims knew one another. The homeowner was not harmed, police said.
Police said one of the suspects was killed and one captured. Two suspects remained at large as of 5 p.m.
The suspects at large are described as two black males between 19-25 years old, police said. One was wearing a red/white/blue hat. The other had a medium afro.
The fatality will be Reston’s first homicide since 2013.
Police have not identified the deceased or the captured suspect.
Reston Now will have more details as they occur.
New Mediterranean spot Neyla is now open for dinner at Reston Town Center.
The former Paolo’s Ristorante at 11898 Market St. underwent a huge-but-quick interior makeover the last month and has reopened with a new name and a new menu.
The Italian specialities of Paolo’s longtime kitchen are gone. In its place are skewers and Middle Eastern-inspired salads.
The 160-seat restaurant will also have expanded outdoor seating. The kitchen is under the direction of chef Eric von Gehren.
Looking for a new home? There is plenty to see around in Reston at open houses this weekend. For more real estate information, visit Reston Now’s Real Estate Section.
10924 Harpers Square Court
3 BR, 2 FB, 2 HB TH
$445,000
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
11927 Silentwood Lane
3 BR. 3.5 BA TH
$368,500
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
11308 Bright Pond Lane
5 BR, 4.5 BA SFH
$899,500
Open Sunday 2 to 4 p.m.
2269 Cedar Cove Court
3 BR, 3.5 BA TH
$698,888
Open Sunday 1 to 3 p.m.
11753 Dry River Court
3 BR, 2 FB, 2 HB TH
$424,000
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
10896 Hunter Gate Way
5 BR, 4.5 BA SFH
$1,198,900
Open Sunday 1 to 3 p.m.
12000 Market Street
3 BR, 3 BA Condo
$610,000
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
2367 Paddock Lane
4 BR, 3 FB, 2 HB SFH
$699,000
Open Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
11800 Sunset Hills Road
1 BR, 1 BA Condo
$344,900
Open Sunday 1 to 3 p.m.
There will be Shakespeare in the park this weekend as a troupe of actors will stage their own version of Hamlet.
The show is being put on by the Any Stage Theatre Company at Lake Anne Park, 11301 North Shore Drive. Showtimes are 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free.
“We want to bring a different kind of theater to the DC/Virginia?Maryland area,” show director John-Nicholas Walsh said in a release. “We’ve got a lot of exciting, mildly experimental ideas, but we want to start with Shakespeare.
“Why? Because it’s brilliant, it’s universal, you can do anything you want with it, and stage it anywhere (also, it’s in the public domain, which is no small thing for a start-up theater group).”
This is Any Stage’s first ever production, Walsh said. The abridged performance — set in modern times rather than long-ago Denmark — will run about 90 minutes.
A man was arrested earlier his week after police said he exposed himself to a patron at Reston Regional Library.
Police said the victim was walking through the library about 4:20 p.m. when the suspect exposed himself.
Police located the suspect and arrested him. Patrice N. Nana, 24, no fixed address, was charged with Indecent Exposure.
In other crime news reported by FCPD’s Reston District Station this week:
BURGLARY, 12500 block of Laurel Glade Court, May 9. A resident reported someone entered the residence and took property.
BURGLARY, 11200 block of Leesburg Pike, May 10. An employee reported someone entered the business and took property.
ROBBERY, 2400 block of Angeline Drive, Herndon, May 4, 1:00 p.m. A pizza delivery driver was approached by two men claiming to be the customers of the delivery. The suspects took the pizza and cash from the victim by force and fled on foot. The driver did not require medical attention.
The first suspect was described as black, 17 to 18 years old, heavyset, and wearing a gray shirt. The second suspect was described as black, 17 to 18 years old, skinny and wearing black t-shirt and khaki colored shorts.
LARCENIES
- 1800 block of Wiehle Avenue, property stolen from business.
- 700 block of Bennett Street, property stolen from school.
- 10500 block of Fox Crest Court, property from business.
- 1800 block of Discovery Street, property from business.
- 1700 block of Clover Meadow Drive, wallet from business.
- 2300 block of Hunters Woods Plaza, merchandise from business.
- 1800 block of Wiehle Avenue, bicycle from business.
Reston is getting its own historic marker.
The Reston Historic Trust applied nearly two years ago to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for one of the road signs that mark an important site, says RHT Chair Shelley Mastran.
Finally, it’s arrived and will be installed later this month at the entry to Lake Anne Plaza, Reston’s first village center in Robert E. Simon’s “New Town.”
Lake Anne Plaza is one of 140 historic sites in Fairfax County.
Here is what the sign says:
In 1961, Robert E. Simon Jr. began developing 6,750 acres of Sunset Hills Farm as a community for all races, ages and incomes. Simon engaged the architecture firm of Whittlesey & Conklin, who designed a “New Town.” Construction of Lake Anne Village, its lake, central plaza, stores and townhouses, began in 1963.
With innovative zoning, Reston became one of the first master-planned communities in the United States, with residential clusters, mixed-use development, landscape conservation, ample recreational space, walking and biking trails, and public art. Reston received the Certified Planners’ National Landmark Award in 2002.
Reston’s Master Plan moved another step closer to new guidelines for future development as the Fairfax County Planning Commission has voted to recommend changes to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
The vote came at the planning commission’s regular meeting on Wednesday. It held the public hearing portion of the changes — commonly called Reston Master Plan Phase 2 — in April.
Planning staff has been working on the Reston Master Plan Phase 2 since June 2014. Phase 2 changes deal with development in and near Reston’s village centers, as well as in neighborhoods, should they be redeveloped. Phase 1, approved by the Supervisors in early 2014, guides development in the areas close to Reston’s transit centers.
At the public hearing, the planning commission heard from citizens on concerns about a planned traffic interchange, changes at Tall Oaks Village Center and Reston’s future in general. It also heard from developers, who said guidelines in the plan text did not allow developers enough leeway.
Planning commission’s Hunter Mill representative Frank de le Fe said Wednesday that he supports the general draft, but made a few changes in recent weeks in response to public comments.
Among them:
Removal of the rule that Reston’s village centers would have to undergo a comprehensive plan amendment to promote redevelopment. This will help The Jefferson Apartment Group (JAG), which purchased the mostly-vacant Tall Oaks in December. JAG has preliminary plans for residential and small retail development on the site at Wiehle Avenue and North Shore Drive.
Addition of language that Tall Oaks may include a significant residential component and that any redevelopment will emphasize quality design.
Planned redevelopment at St. John’s Wood apartments will be considered.
De le Fe also suggested that a request for a special buffer at the long-lost cemetery at the Fairfax Hunt Club be treated as any other cemetery. De le Fe said adding specific language to the comprehensive plan, as citizens had suggested, “seemed like overkill.”
At the public hearing, many residents of the Polo Fields subdivision at Sunrise Valley Drive and the Fairfax County Parkway, expressed concern with a multi-lane interchange planned there.
“This suggested interchange will not significantly improve traffic issues and will cost as least as much as Fair Lakes interchange, which was $65 million,” resident John Eidson, said at the hearing. “If this interchange goes in, some of us may lose our homes. Where are our rights? and what gives you the right [to build this] without giving us a say in the matter?”
De le Fe said the Fairfax County Department of Transportation will re-examine and re-evaluate the interchange.
Fairfax County officials say the the current comprehensive plan, last updated in 1989, requires revision because Reston no longer has a master developer to update the plan for Reston; the plan for Reston has outdated elements; and with population expected to grow with the arrival of Metro, Reston is evolving as a community.
The Board of Supervisors will discuss the comprehensive plan changes on June 2.
Herndon’s Big Plans — The town of Herndon has pieced together a five-acre parcel and will be inviting developer bids. The mayor says “there is no threat of Herndon morphing into another Reston.” [WTOP]
Mom: Hit And Run in Reston — A 5-year-old boy was hospitalized after a car hit him at West Glade Apartments, his mom said. She wants driver to come forward. [FOX 5]
A Lyme Test Here? — A new Lyme disease test that’s said to achieve greater accuracy in results is in the clinical phase at Internal Medicine of Northern Virginia in Reston. The Lyme was developed by George Mason University’s Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM) and Ceres Nanosciences. [Fairfax Times]
Return To The 1980s — The Reston Historic Trust will host a lecture on May 28 titled “The Mobil Years,” which will look at Reston’s growth in the 1980s. [Reston Historic Trust]
Photo: Goslings on Lake Audubon/Credit: Sam Simon
Hundreds of cancer survivors, their family members and people in Reston who want to help a good cause will camp out all night Saturday at South Lakes High School’s football field at the Reston Relay For Life.
Relay For Life events are organized all over the country by the American Cancer Society. Participants of all ages mainly fundraise in teams — and those teams have to have a member walking around the outdoor track at all times.
As of Wednesday, 55 teams (703 participants) had raised more than $135,000. Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.
The deadline to enter is Friday. If you are going to just see the scene, admission is free. Here is what else you need to know:
Cancer survivors and caregivers are invited to a special luncheon (and special lap around the track at the event’s start) beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The event formally begins at 1 p.m. and runs until 7 a.m. Sunday.
There will be musical entertainment and activities such as yoga and Zumba classes and a youth rally. See the exact lineup on the event website.
At 9 p.m., there will be a luminara ceremony, where the track will be lighted by special candles to remember those who have lost their fight with cancer.
Relay For Life Reston takes place rain or shine.
Photo: Reston Relay For Life 2014/Courtesy American Cancer Society
Reston’s Concerts on the Town will start its 25th season at Reston Town Center later this month.
The concerts will take place most Saturdays from May 30 to Sept. 5, 7:30 to 1o p.m., rain or shine. This year, there will be a series break from June 20 to July 4 for other Reston events.
The concerts are free to the public thanks to support from the Reston Town Center Association and Boston Properties, the owner of Reston Town Center. This year’s line-up features a diverse array of music including blues, swing, jazz, bluegrass, zydeco, worldbeat, Latin fusion, reggae, Motown and more.
Bring a lawn chair, a picnic and your family and friends. Arriving early to get seat near the pavilion is recommended. Some of the 2015 highlights include:
- Della Mae, an all-woman bluegrass band from Nashville, on July 11
- Local jazz favorite Chuck Redd with trumpet virtuoso Byron Stripling (Satchmo on national tour), on July 18.
- Matuto, a New York-based band playing Afro-Brazilian rhythms, on Aug. 8
- Two-time GRAMMY winning zydeco band Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience from New Orleans, on Aug. 22
Here is the schedule:
May 30
Big Joe & the Dynaflows
New Orleans-style swing, jump blues
June 6:
Hard Day’s Night
Beatles tribute
June 13
Radio King Orchestra
Swing, big band jazz
July 11
Della Mae
Bluegrass, folk-rock – from Nashville
July 18
Chuck Redd & Friends
featuring trumpeter / vocalist Byron Stripling
July 25
Entrain
Horn-fueled pop, blues, calypso & more
August 1
Incendio
Spanish/flamenco guitar, Latin fusion from Los Angeles
August 8
Matuto
Brazilian, roots-rock, funk – from NYC
August 15
Jambulay
w/ Positive Vibrations Youth Steel Orchestra
Reggae, calypso, soca & more
August 22
Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience
Louisiana zydeco, high-energy blues (2-time GRAMMY winners)
August 29
Navy Band Commodores
U.S. Navy big band jazz
September 5
David Akers & the Soul Shakers
Motown, rhythm & blues
A group of Reston residents has started an online petition to demand that Tall Oaks Village Center remain a village center — and not a residential development.
The petition, posted by “Concerned Residents of Tall Oaks” is aimed at Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and Reston Association CEO Cate Fulkerson.
“Tall Oaks community needs and deserves a Village Center with retail that we can walk to and green space where the community can gather,” the petition says. “A balance of residential and retail in a plaza-like setting would be a good compromise.”
Tall Oaks has been losing retail tenants at a fast clip the last several years. It is currently at 16 percent capacity, land use attorney Mark Looney said in a presentation to residents in April. In 2007, it was 92 percent occupied.
The village center was sold to McLean’s Jefferson Apartment Group in December. The company is in the early stages of envisioning what to do with the 40-year-center. 
Preliminary plans include 154 new homes in a combination of mid-rise condos and townhouses, as well as 8,500 square feet of retail.
The plans were presented to Tall Oaks-area residents at two meetings in April. They were not well received. Many residents said a retail center would be successful if it had the right management and that more residents will choke traffic on already slow Wiehle Avenue.
“Tall Oaks community needs and deserves a Village Center with retail that we can walk to and green space where the community can gather,” the petition says. “A balance of residential and retail in a plaza-like setting would be a good compromise.”
Changing the county zoning from commercial to residential may be more flexible under changes to the Reston Master Plan.
Many of those who signed the petition list their reasons why they want Tall Oaks to remain retail.
“Please represent the people of Reston instead of developers,” said one commenter.
Wrote another: “I grew up down the street from Tall Oaks and loved it when it had a Giant and a 7-Eleven. Being able to walk with my mom or ride my bike to the store to get something was awesome. My parents still live there and I pass Tall Oaks every day, and I’m sad because I remember what it used to be. Would love it if they could bring something similar back. Plus, when Robert E Simon designed Reston it was for a planned community where everyone is supposed to be within half a mile of a village center.”
Photos: Top, current empty spot at Tall Oaks; Bottom, Jefferson Apartment Group rendering of residential development.
John Alciati, the former President and CEO of the Greater Reston Arts Center, died Tuesday after battling cancer. He was 65.
A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Lawrence John Alciati Jr. was a longtime Reston resident who also had a home in Wellfleet, Mass.
Alciati led GRACE from 2006 to 2012, but remained on GRACE’s Board of Directors. He also was active in the Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR).
He and his wife Marianne were regulars at Reston’s charity, social and arts events. They also enjoyed extensive travel, and just last summer camped their way through Alaska and Western Canada.
At his home on Cape Cod, Alciati worked as a docent at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary of the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
Alciati was a a graduate of Georgetown University and formerly was an executive at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C.
A memorial service will be held on May 30 at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas a Becket Catholic Church, 1421 Wiehle Ave. in Reston.
Friends may offer condolences on the online guest book at Adams Green Funeral Home’s website.
Photo: John Alciati/Facebook
Are you ready to attend a party at the Comstock Center on the banks of Lake Newport?
That could be the name of the former Reston Visitors Center, commonly referred to as the Tetra building, according to terms of the deal to add BLVD Apartments to RA.
Reston Association members recently approved by referendum the purchase of the Lake Newport-area building from Tetra Partners commercial real estate for $2.65 million.
RA announced earlier that it would be getting a $650,000 contribution from Comstock Partners as part of the deal to add the 540-unit BLVD Apartments to the association.
As part of the terms of that deal, Comstock will have naming rights to the Tetra building for 10 years, RA says.
Some of the terms of the deal, which are open for a discussion at the first of two public hearings on May 28 at 6 p.m. at RA headquarters, 12001 Sunrise Valley Dr.:
RA will be paid $300,000 (as required by Fairfax County proffer for recreation), as well as an additional $350,000, which will be used in the refurbishment of the Tetra property. Comstock will get certain building naming rights for a period of 10 years, RA said.
The offer of RA recreational packages for purchase by tenants of the apartment units at a fee annually established by the RA Board of Directors.
Comstock will market the RA recreational packages to its tenants.
At such time the apartment units are converted to condominiums, the payment of a certain percentage of the RA annual assessment rate.
In fulfillment of additional county proffer requirements, RA will be responsible for the administration and staffing of the design review process in coordination with Comstock and, under the direction an Urban Redevelopment Review Panel, responsible for administering design guidelines for the area. Reston Association will be paid an annual fee for such services by Comstock.
The RA Board of Directors voted in March to start the process to add BLVD, which will have one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury units at Reston Station, adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. BLVD is expected to begin leasing later this year.
Under RA Bylaws, properties can be added to the association with written consent of fee simple owner (in this case, Comstock Properties) and a two-thirds vote of the board.
The Board of Directors passed a motion several years ago to make adding new construction in Reston a priority for the association. Properties within Reston Town Center are not in RA territory.
New buildings such as The Harrison, which recently opened on Reston Parkway, and BLVD, as well as planned new and replacement construction at the Crescent Apartments site, are slated to be RA members.
The second hearing will be held June 25.
Photo: BLVD Apartments/file photo
