Reston’s Tall Oaks Village Center has a new owner.
The 64,000-square-foot shopping center near Lake Anne was sold by Boston-based CRP-2 Holdings Tall Oaks LLC to Tall Oaks Development Company on Dec. 17, Fairfax County records show.
The sales price was $14.3 million. The shopping center last sold for $10.8 in 2006. The prior sale was for $8.4 million in 2002, tax records show.
Tall Oaks Development Company is based in McLean, and records show it shares an address with the Jefferson Apartment Group, a local company that has developed more than 18,000 rental units with a value of more than $3 billion in 10 east coast states, including Virginia.
Locally, the Jefferson Apartment Group has developed, among others, the Residences at the Fairfax County Government Center, Tellus in Arlington, The Asher in Alexandria and the Jefferson at 14W, a seven-story, mixed-use luxury development in Northwest DC.
Jefferson representatives did not immediately return phone calls.
Tall Oaks is zoned industrial/commercial, so turning the 7.6-acre parcel into residential would involve rezoning.
However, flagging businesses at Tall Oaks over the last decade has made its future as a retail destination in doubt.
The anchor space, which housed a Giant Foods and later two international grocery stores, has been empty for four years. The stand-alone former Burger King space has been vacant for nearly a decade. Other recent departures include El Manantial restaurant, Curves, 7-Eleven and Total Rehab Chiropractic.
At recent meetings on Phase 2 of Reston’s Master Plan, which will plan for the future of Reston’s village centers and neighborhoods, many citizens and local leaders suggested that it may be time to repurpose the Tall Oaks space as something other than a major retail center.
It was suggested by many, including Reston Association, that Tall Oaks could survive as a convenience center with limited retail and the remaining space could be used for a variety of other purposes.
New Deputy For Fire Department — Fairfax County Fire Chief Richie Bowers has selected Battalion Chief Reginald Johnson for promotion to deputy fire chief, effective Jan. 10. Chief Johnson will be assigned as Deputy Chief, Support Services, Business Services Bureau. Since June 2013, he has served as the Communications Chief, Support Services.He has been with FCFD since 1993.
Tonight: Plum and Howell Town Hall — Del. Ken Plum and Sen. Janet Howell will hold their annual pre-legislative town hall with constituents at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods at 7:30 p.m. [Reston Now]
Huge Delays on Silver, Orange, Blue Lines — Was your Silver Line morning commute endless on Wednesday? Here is why. [ARLnow.com]
Vote — Several Reston businesses are among Virginia Living’s Best of Virginia Reader’s Poll. [Survey Monkey]
(Updated, Thursday, 7 a.m.).
Fairfax County Schools will be closed due to extremely low temperatures on Thursday.
The school had previously announced Wednesday night it would be on a two-hour delay.
Original story:
Fairfax County Public Schools will begin two hours late on Thursday due to extremely cold temperatures in the forecast.
Lows Thursday morning in Reston will be 7 degrees, but with the wind chill it will feel like -6, the National Weather Service said.
The school system also had a two-hour delay on Wednesday in order to clear snow from Tuesday’s snowstorm.
From FCPS:
All Fairfax County public schools and school offices will open two hours late on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Central offices will open at 10 a.m.
Morning preschool (special education) classes are canceled.
Afternoon preschool classes start on their regular schedule.
Full-day preschool (special education) and Family and Early Childhood Education Program/Head Start classes start two hours later than the regular schedule.
Morning field trips are canceled.
SACC centers will open at 7:00 a.m.
Morning transportation for high school academy classes is canceled. Transportation for afternoon academy classes will be provided.
Adult and community education classes will start on time.
Jan. 21 could be a red letter date for Reston’s future.
That’s the message Rescue Reston — the citizen group aimed at protecting Reston’s open space — is trying to impart as the owners of Reston National Golf Course finally get their Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals hearing.
The hearing is at 9 a.m. at Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Pkwy. Rescue Reston is encouraging all residents to attend the hearing to show their support at protecting Reston’s open space. The group will also hold a rally Saturday at 2 p.m. at Langston Hughes Middle School.
The issue: RN Golf, the subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance that owns the 166-acre public course, says the course is planned residential. A 2012 ruling by the county said it is zoned open, recreational space, and to change the status would involve a comprehensive plan amendment.
RN Golf disagrees and is appealing. The hearing was originally scheduled to take place tw years ago, but was deferred several times before it was put on hold indefinitely in the summer of 2013. In November, the case reappeared on the docket.
Rescue Reston founder John Pinkman said RN Golf tried to slip its case back in over the holidays, when no one would be lo0king. Read More
Fairfax County Police Department’s Reston District Station reports several thefts from vehicles among its larcenies this week. Remember to lock your car doors.
LARCENIES
2000 block of Royal Fern Court, phone from vehicle.
11700 block of Decade Court, electronic equipment from vehicle.
1200 block of Difficult Run Court, tools from residence.
2200 block of Hunters Run Drive, wallets from vehicle.
2300 block of Hunters Woods Plaza, beverage from business.
2200 block of Hunters Run Drive, wallets from vehicle.
STOLEN VEHICLES
2200 block of Wheelwright Court, 2006 Hyundai Elantra.
Missing The Mark — Examining why forecasters got Tuesday’s snow forecast wrong. [Washington Post]
Silver Line To The Hill — New Congresswoman Barbara Comstock touted the benefits of Metro’s Silver Line, which she took to work during Tuesday’s snowstorm. [C-SPAN]
Shovels Ready? — Reston Association has a cheat sheet on who is responsible for plowing/shoveling what and where around here. [Reston Association]
Truland’s Troubles Continue — Reston-based Truland Group, the electrical contractor that filed for bankruptcy over the summer, will likely have to payout three times as much as forecasted to cover claims. [Washington Business Journal]
Photo: First snow of 2015 at Lake Anne/Credit: Ken Knueven via Facebook
Fairfax County Public Schools, which received loud criticism for holding school as scheduled as snow fell on Tuesday, says classes will begin two hours late on Wednesday.
From FCPS:
All Fairfax County public schools and school offices will open two hours late on Wednesday, January 7.. Central offices will open at 10 a.m.
Morning preschool (special education) classes are canceled.
Afternoon preschool classes start on their regular schedule.
Full-day preschool (special education) and Family and Early Childhood Education Program/Head Start classes start two hours later than the regular schedule.
Morning field trips are canceled.
SACC centers will open at 7:00 a.m.
Morning transportation for high school academy classes is canceled. Transportation for afternoon academy classes will be provided.
Adult and community education classes will start on time.
FCPS told staffers they would be granted an extra day of leave time for working on Tuesday. If they did not make it to work, they would also be granted an additional day of administrative leave time for the day (and not have to use sick or personal time).
Can the recent racially charged incidents in Ferguson and Staten Island happen here?
Heritage Fellowship Church is inviting the entire community to a town hall on race relations this weekend to discuss what the future holds for the Reston area.
The town hall is Saturday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. at Heritage Fellowship Church, 2501 Fox Mill Rd.
The town hall, to be held in the church sanctuary, will focus on the power of faith-directed action to address injustice locally and nationwide.
Moderator of the discussion will be Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary, who will be joined by Del Walters, news anchor with Al Jazeera America and a panel of top Fairfax and Loudoun county government and law enforcement officials, community and civil rights activists, and youth representatives.
Invited panelists include Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins; Shirley Ginwright, president, Fairfax County NAACP; Rep. Gerry Connolly; FCPD Chief Edwin Roessler; and Raymond Morrough, Fairfax County Commonwealth attorney.
(Updated 2:20 p.m. with new statement from Fairfax County Public Schools)
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza issued a statement Tuesday afternoon regarding the decision to not delay or close schools despite Tuesday morning’s snowfall.
Meanwhile, all Tuesday evening and after-school activities are canceled, FCPS says.
Wrote Garza:
It is clear that our decision to keep schools open today was the wrong call given the intensity of this weather system. We are very sorry for that. We have heard from many of our families and we are listening. We thank you for your patience and working with us through this very difficult circumstance. Student safety is always our first priority in determining whether to open or close schools.
We will dismiss schools at their normal times this afternoon. Although weather and road conditions are improving, we do anticipate that some of our buses will experience additional delays transporting students home. As we indicated to you earlier, if you wish to pick up your child early, please feel free to make those arrangements with your school. SACC centers will be open today until 6:15 p.m., which is their regular closing time. SACC administrators request parents make every effort to pick up children earlier, if possible.
We appreciate the many teachers and school staff members that worked diligently to get our schools ready. We have also heard that many parents volunteered to help the schools welcome our students.
Our focus now is to get our students and staff home safely this afternoon. Students who were unable to get to school today will be given excused absences.
Please know we will be going over our procedures and processes to make every improvement possible to avoid the situation we encountered this morning. We are closely monitoring the weather conditions and will make a decision with regard to schools opening tomorrow and will let families know, through our normal communication processes, as soon as possible.
Original story:
After a morning in which several inches of snow fell and schools remained on schedule, Fairfax County offered an explanation for keeping its schools open.
Fairfax County Schools opened without delay on Tuesday, even as buses were stuck, cars spun out and many county roads were unplowed. #CLOSEFCPS was trending on Twitter.
FCPS posted this statement on its website at 10:20 a.m.:
We apologize for the difficulties the weather caused this morning.
Please know that significant area government entities were coordinating at a very early hour.
The decision was made with the best information we had very early this morning. Needless to say, the conditions were far worse than anticipated.
Weather conditions are expected to improve around midday. At this time, we are planning to dismiss schools at their normal dismissal time, however, we are continuing to closely monitor the situation and will keep parents apprised.
We are aware that people are asking us to cancel school. Students are safest at school when parents have not had a chance to make alternate plans for their child’s return home from school. However, should you wish to pick up your child early, we will accommodate you. Again we apologize for the difficulties experienced this morning and we thank you for your patience.
Photo: Sunrise Valley ES students try and get to school Tuesday/Credit: Christy Winters Scott
Unleashed by Petco will close its doors at Hunters Woods Village Center on Jan. 24, store management said.
The speciality pet supply store opened in late 2012 in the renovated stand-alone building that used to house Hollywood Video.
Management said the store did not perform up to the company’s expectations at the Hunters Woods location. Watch for specials and sales as Jan. 24 gets closer.
The Unleashed store has lots of nearby competition, including Weber Pet Supermarket at Fox Mill, Pet Valu at South Lakes Village Center and a large PetSmart at The Spectrum. Also, PetMAC opened earlier this month at Lake Anne Plaza.
Unleashed’s closing is one of several recent vacancies at the shopping center, which is owned by Edens. Dairy Queen and Solar Planet tanning salon at Hunters Woods closed this fall, and several other storefronts have remained vacant for more than a year.
(Updated 10:04 a.m. with road closures).
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for our area until 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The Winter Weather Advisory is no longer in effect.
The forecast now calls for 4 to 6 inches of snow, with the heaviest snow falling through 11 a.m. Temperatures will remain in the low 20s.
The NWS says snow accumulating on all surfaces well below freezing and visibility below half mile will continue to make for very hazardous travel conditions.
Weather forecasters had predicted a dusting to 2 inches of snow for Northern Virginia early Tuesday. However, the suburbs south of Washington, D.C., got more snow than predicted. About 3-4 inches had fallen in Reston as of 9:40 a.m. Tuesday.
Drivers reported massive delays and some road closures Tuesday morning. Fairfax County Public Schools did not delay or close, which concerned many parents and students. #CLOSEFCPS was trending on Twitter Tuesday morning.
Several roads in the Reston area were closed as of 10 a.m., including Wiehle Avenue at Fairway Drive, Hunter Mill Road at Sunrise Valley Drive and South Lakes Drive at Colts Neck Road. See the entire list of Fairfax County Road closures on Fairfax County’s blog.
#CLOSEFCPS is trending locally and worldwide on Twitter.
Despite the forecast of snow, Fairfax County Public Schools did not close or have a delay on Tuesday morning. Snow fell all through rush hour — and was continuing to fall at 9 a.m. — as many frustrated parents and students complained about the decision.
Cars were spun out and stuck leading South Lakes Drive at Reston Parkway to be briefly closed. Motorists around Reston reported major delays.
Nearby, Montgomery County (Md.) Public Schools, a similarly sized system, was delayed and then closed. Loudoun County Public Schools were open.
Assistant Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools Jeffrey Platenberg told WTOP that the school system was surprised by the amount of snow that fell Tuesday morning.
Administrators were expecting a dusting, but were surprised when the snow came down heavy and traffic became a major issue, Platenberg said.
He says things were already in motion and changing the plan late in the game would have been a bigger inconvenience for parents who had already left the house.
“We apologize for any inconvenience, but the timing of this was the worst possible situation we could have imagined,” Platenberg said.
The school district sent out an alert that some buses may be delayed. The county also sent an alert warning of multiple accidents, significant delays and advising “please use extreme caution while driving and expect a lengthy delay in your commute.”
FCPS Opens Enrollment For Language Immersion — Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) online registration for the county-wide lottery for two-way and world language immersion programs is now open. Current prekindergarten students may apply for the kindergarten immersion program and current kindergarten students may apply for the first grade immersion programs for the 2015-16 school year. There are programs in Korean, Spanish, French, German and Japanese. [FCPS]
Small Change Sale Starts Tuesday — Small Change Consignment Boutique’s 33rd Annual Half-Price Winter Sale on clothes, shoes, books, and baby gear starts today at 10 a.m. Sale continues until winter clothes are crowded out by spring/summer items. Small Change is located at 1629 Washington Plaza at Lake Anne.
Get RA Board Info Wednesday — Reston Association will hold an election information session for members interested in running for a Board of Directors seat in 2015. The session is Wednesday, 7 p.m., at RA, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive. Four seats are open this year: two At-Large Seats, the South Lakes Director and the North Point Director.
Details in FCPD Geer Investigation — Fairfax County has finally released the name of officer who shot unarmed man John Geer in 2013. [Fairfax County]
(Updated 8:27 a.m. with comment from FCPS official)
Restonians woke up to about an inch of snow, as predicted, on Tuesday morning. The snow continued to fall through rush hour.
Early commuters were greeted with many untreated roads and hazardous driving conditions.
Fairfax County Schools opened on time, which led to criticism on social media from some parents. Nearby, school systems in Montgomery County, Md., and Alexandria both had two-hour delays.
Assistant Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools Jeffrey Platenberg told WTOP that the school system was surprised by the amount of snow that fell Tuesday morning.
Administrators were expecting a dusting, but were surprised when the snow came down heavy and traffic became a major issue, Platenberg said.
He says things were already in motion and changing the plan late in the game would have been a bigger inconvenience for parents who had already left the house.
“We apologize for any inconvenience, but the timing of this was the worst possible situation we could have imagined,” Platenberg said.
The school district sent out an alert that some buses may be delayed. The county also sent an alert warning of multiple accidents, significant delays and advising “please use extreme caution while driving and expect a lengthy delay in your commute.”
Do you think there should have been a delay for FCPS? Tell us in the comments.
When is it time to take down and dispose of the Christmas tree? About now, says the National Fire Protection Association.
“Christmas trees are flammable objects. The longer they’re in your home, the more they dry out, making them a significant fire hazard,” said Lorraine Carli, the NFPA’s vice president of Outreach and Advocacy.
The NFPA says that nearly 40 percent of home fires that begin with Christmas trees occur in January. Although these fires aren’t common, when they do occur, they’re more likely to be serious. On average, one of every 40 reported home structure Christmas tree fires resulted in a death, as compared to an average of one death per 142 total reported home structure fires.
If you receive Fairfax County curbside pickup of trash and recycling, you can recycle your live Christmas tree (less than 8 feet) on your normal collection date. The cost is included as part of your regular, paid collection service.
If you are in a private Reston cluster, check with your cluster board or trash service provider to find out specifics for your neighborhood.
For larger trees, contact your collector for recycling instructions.
Christmas trees may also be recycled during the first two weeks in January at the I-66 Transfer Station. There is a small processing fee of $1 per tree. Please remove tree stands, ornaments, tinsel, lights and tree toppers before recycling.
