Registration is open for the 13th annual 5K Fund Run to Benefit Nature House and The Friends of Reston. The race is Saturday, April 2 at 8 a.m.
The race starts and ends at the Walker Nature Education Center (11450 Glade Dr.) and takes place mostly on Reston Association paved paths.
Walkers and children are welcome; pets or strollers are not permitted.
The event is hosted by Friends of Reston and benefits Nature House and other Friends of Reston programs.
Adult Fee: $30 regular
Children’s Fee: $20 regular.
Register online or in person starting at 7 a.m. on race day.
Fairfax County Police say two more residents have spotted black bears in this part of the county in recent days.
Last Sunday, there was a report of a black bear and a cub in Vienna.
Since then, two small black bears were seen crossing Oakton Road Wednesday morning. That location is near Waples Mill Meadow, Difficult Run Stream Valley Park and Tattersall Park.
Additionally, a black bear and cub (or possible yearling) were spotted by a resident in the 2700 block of Bowling Green Drive in Vienna on Thursday morning. The bears were reported to have taken down a birdfeeder and plastic cabinet on the resident’s patio. The bears also took a bag of birdseed from the cabinet before heading into the wooded easement along Interstate 66.
Money For You? — Fairfax County has a long list of residents with unclaimed money from the county. Are you on it? [Fairfax County]
Remembering Reston’s Levine — Students at University of Miami held a candlelight vigil Wednesday for Adam Levine, a junior from Reston who unexpectedly died last week. [Miami Hurricane]
Florida Grocery Chain Eyeing Northern Virginia — Publix is looking to expand into Northern Virginia. No word yet whether Reston is on the list. [Washington Business Journal]
Fairfax Woman Owes The Toll Road $81,000 — A Fairfax County woman is facing $81,000 in fines related to unpaid tolls on the Dulles Toll Road. Sara Hagarty will be in court May 31, after a Fairfax County circuit judge ruled penalties related to unpaid tolls on the Dulles Toll Road do not represent an unconstitutional burden. The fines stem from toll violations of $236. [Fox 5]
Easter Sunday is March 27. If you have not made plans yet, here are some things happening in and near Reston on the holiday.
Services at Reston Churches. Some places to worship:
United Christian Parish – Easter services at 8:30 and 11 a.m.
St. John Neumann Catholic Community – Mass at 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (Spanish)
St. Anne’s Episcopal Church – Easter services at 7:45 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 11:15 a.m. Following the 9:00 a.m. service there will be an Easter Egg Hunt for children between the ages of 2 and 10.
St. Thomas a Becket Catholic Church – Mass at 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. Annual Easter Egg hunt at 2 p.m. All children 12 and under are welcome. Bring a basket to cart home all the goodies.
Easter Brunch and Dinner
There are still several available reservations on Easter, according to Open Table. Among them:
- Tavern 64 at Hyatt Regency Reston
- Big Bowl
- Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro
- The Melting Pot
- PassionFish
- Mon Ami Gabi
- Morton’s
- McCormick & Schmick’s
- Il Fornario
Photo: St. John Neumann Catholic Community/Courtesy: St. John Neumann
The Wiener’s Circle, a quirky and popular lunch spot in Herndon, has closed.
Wednesday was the last day for the eatery at 348 Victory Dr. It was also the last day for Jenni’s Authentic Tacos and Papusas, a nearby restaurant operated by the same owners, Greg and Diane Hill.
The owners left a message on the restaurant’s voice mail that they are sorry to say The Wiener’s Circle and Jenni’s are closed for good. They did not say why. The Hills also own Great Falls Gourmet, a catering company.
The Wiener’s Circle billed itself as a “hot dog joint” on its Facebook page. It was only open a couple of hours a day, but had a loyal following among office workers nearby.
“So sorry to see this,” one patron wrote on The Winer’s Circle’s Facebook page. “Greg and Diane have always been great hosts. Really enjoyed the sausage making classes, always a blast and a great time for all. You guys will be greatly missed.”
Photo: The Wiener’s Circle/Credit: Yelp
Reston Association’s Board of Directors will discuss at its monthly meeting tonight a motion to donate $65,000 in 2016 to the Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR).
The motion, presented by At-Large member Ken Knueven, seeks to allocate the $65,000 from the Operating Cash Reserves.
RA currently donates to IPAR, but a $65,000 donation is nearly six times the current amount of $10,000 in annual giving from RA.
The donation fulfills “the Association’s obligation to uphold its design and planning foundation principle, “Commitment to the Arts” as an Essential Element of Reston,” the motion said.
From RA documents:
Currently there are nine (9) residential and/or mixed use development projects that are being planned on Reston Association (RA) covenanted properties and at least nine (9) additional projects in the Corridor.
Each of these 18 development projects has a proffer obligation to work with the Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) to install public art on the properties.
Since “Commitment to the Arts” is one of the Association’s Essential Element design and planning foundation principles, and as RA works to enhance its own amenities and consider the multitude of new development and/or redevelopment projects in the community, greater attention and resources must be allocated by the Association to Reston’s public art initiative.
Time is of the essence as IPAR will be setting its 2017 Budget in April 2016 and the Association’s current level of support ($10,000) in implementing the Reston Art Master Plan will not enable the Association to work with developers to select and commission artists to install public art on RA common areas and covenanted properties.
Additional annual funding is needed to provide the Association with adequate design management control and oversight of these public art projects.
The Association will be working with IPAR before the end of 2016 to commission public art for the Pony Barn Recreation site and the new Lake House property.
In 2017, it is anticipated that public art will also need to be planned for other RA facilities including but not limited to the Central Services Facility, Hook Road Recreation Area, and the Autumnwood Recreation Area.
As such, it has been recommended by IPAR’s President and Executive Director that the Association increase its support by $65,000 in 2016 and 2017 to assist with artist selection and commissioning.
BUDGET IMPACT It is recommended that that $65,000 be allocated from the Association’s Operating Reserve for this effort so as not to impact the Board-approved 2016 Operating Expense Budget.
Photo: IPAR statue at Reston Town Center/file photo
The owners of two office buildings at the corner of Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive are seeking rezoning to become a mixed-use development.
Brookfield Properties, which owns One and Two Reston Crescent at 12000 and 12018 Sunrise Valley Drive, has filed a proposal to change the zoning from industrial to Planned Residential Community.
In place of the two office buildings, Brookfield plans 2,260 residential units, 1.18 million square feet of office space, a minimum of 64,000 square feet of retail space, and possibly a 160-bedroom hotel, according to Fairfax County records.
The application is currently under review by Fairfax County staff for quality control before official acceptance.
The site of the planned development is between one-quarter to one-half mile from the future Reston Town Center Metro station, slated to open in 2020. Development in that zone, considered in the Reston Town Center Transit Station Area and designated Transit Station Mixed Use, seeks to retain a 50/50 mix of residential and nonresidential uses at a relatively low-denisty 2.0 to 3.0 Floor Area Ratio.
The current six-story buildings were constructed in 2007.
The location is about one-half mile from JBG Companies’ Reston Heights, where the second phase of development is under construction. Vy will include 498 residential units; 145,000 square feet of above-grade retail, 100,00 square feet of below-grade retail; and 428,225 square feet of office space.
It is also less than a half-mile from Reston National Golf Course, which has undergone its own rezoning battle that seems to be over for now.
There are major delays on the Silver Line this morning after a teenage girl apparently jumped in front of a Metro train at DC’s Eastern Market station.
Orange, Blue and Silver line trains are single-tracking between Eastern Market and Federal Center SW due what Metro is calling “a medical emergency” at the station.
As of 8:45 a.m., Silver Line trains operating are operating between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston only and not entering the District. Metro advises using Orange/Blue Lines from other stations.
Eastern Mkt: A teenage female intentionally jumped onto track in front of train. Fortunately, train able to stop. No visible injury. #wmata
— Metro Transit Police (@MetroTransitPD) March 24, 2016
Witnessed young girl jump in front of @wmata train at Eastern Market station. Train hit her but very slowly. Police on scene. — Amanda Waldron (@AmandaWaldron1) March 24, 2016
Metro train/Reston Now file photo
Fox Mill ES Students In Cherry Blossom Festival — Fox Mill Students will take place in the Washington, D.C., Cherry Blossom Festival this weekend. Fox Mill chorus students will sing both the American and Japanese national anthems at the grand opening ceremony for the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday, March 26, at 5 p.m. at the Warner Theater.
Reston An Inspiration — With the screening of Another Way of Living: The Story of Reston, VA in DC this weekend, one writer looks at why people still look to Reston for inspiration. [Citylab.com]
Richmond Wrapup — Fairfax County has a good summary of the 2016 Virginia General Assembly session and bills of particular importance to Northern Virginia. [Fairfax County]
Photo: “A Bird in Hand” by Patrick Dougherty recreated with Peeps is on display at Chesapeake Chocolates.
When Reston Town Center announced last week it would go to a paid parking system in August, many residents and merchants were shocked.
They should not have been.
There has been talk of instilling a paid system for at least five years — which was nearly 10 years out from a Metro station serving the town center. The Silver Line’s Reston Town Center station is expected to open in 2020.
But Reston Town Center officials say that the 7,000 spaces spread over seven garages are already seeing increased commuter parking as people leave their cars there all day, then jump on a bus to the Wiehle-Reston East station.
That’s why RTC says parking will be $2 an hour starting Aug. 1. Payments can be automatically made via an app, which will also help you locate your car and available parking spots. It is expected that merchants will validate to offset some of the costs. Employees will be able to purchase monthly passes.
Ray Ritchey, Executive Vice President of Boston Properties, which owns the town center, laid out the financial boost of paid parking in a 2011 shareholders call:
“We’ve still got 8,000 parking spaces out there that we have no value on. This is just free parking. So when Metro comes, guess what? We have to put in parking controls, so the commuters don’t come and take the parking spaces and use Metro. So if we just charge $4 a day per space, either in terms of the what that consumer pays directly to us or what we factor in on the renewal of these leases, because we now are going to pay parking. And on the 8,000 spaces, that’s $8 million a year.
And at a fixed cap rate, that’s $130 million of additional value just with paid parking. So you put the value we created in terms of the land and the value created just with the parking, that’s $300 million of value before we put a shovel in the ground and create value the way we normally do it, which is going vertical with office buildings. [It’s] $300 million of value for the Metro stop coming to Reston Town Center.
Another Boston Properties executive said in 2012 that paid parking would happen eventually.
“If you think about it logically, it really is an urban environment in a suburban setting, Peter Johnston, Boston Properties senior vice president and D.C. regional manager, said in 2012.
A Cappella singing groups from high school to professional return to South Lakes High School in Reston next weekend for the 13th annual SingStrong festival.
Among the pros: 10-time Grammy Winners, Take 6, innovators of the jazz gospel style; Diana Preisler, star of TV’s Pitch Slapped on Lifetime; Vivid Voices, the award winning contemporary choir from Germany, and winners at both the German Choral Competition and the Aarhus Vocal Festival in Denmark; Julia Easterlin, the indie live-looper featured at Lollapalooza; MAXX Factor, International Barbershop Champion Quartet featured on NBC’s The Sing-Off; and Kaila Mullady, Current World Champion Beatboxer.
The event, which runs from April 1 to 3, consists of five concerts, an auction, and over a dozen classes and coachings. Event profits support the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as local music programs. Fans can attend single concerts, or purchase discount weekend passes which offer savings of up to 50 percent.
Visit the SingStrong website to:
See the concert schedule
See the list of classes on such topics as recording techniques, stage presence, forming and directing an a cappella group, beatboxing, copyright law, and musical arranging.
Get tickets, which range from $15 to $35. Discounted passes are available for Seniors, Students and groups of 10 or more.
Reston Association wants to know how you feel about Reston’s Dog Park at Baron Cameron Park.
The RA Board of Directors will be discussing the dog park — as well as listening to comments from members during its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, March 24. The dog park discussion will begin at 7:30 p.m. RA has no particular motion for action to be taken concerning the park.
At issue: the ongoing saga of nearby homeowners who say their quality of life is being interrupted by the constant barking and yapping from the off-leash area that borders Wiehle Avenue.
The RA board recently received a petition from residents of more than 40 homes in Longwood Grove, located across Wiehle from the park.
While RA can listen to members and discuss the matter with the Fairfax County Park Authority, it likely does not hold any authority as the off-leash dog area sits in Baron Cameron Park, which is owned by the park authority. Park Authority representatives have also been invited to speak at the meeting. Read More
A new book about Reston founder Robert E. Simon Jr. will be released next month, just as Reston is celebrating Founders Day.
Simon died in September at age 101. Founders Day has been expanded to Founders Week (April 3-10) this year in order to accommodate the many tributes to Simon.
The author of the book, titled In His Own Words: Stories from the Extraordinary Life of Reston’s Founder, is Reston native Kristina Alcorn.
The book is a compilation of Bob’s life stories that “draw an intimate and entertaining portrait of the man many knew only from a distance,” Alcorn said. Read More
Trail Tour — Take a walk around Reston National Golf Course as part of Modern Reston’s Trail Tour series. [Modern Reston]
Megasportsplex Coming to Fairfax — It is on the other side of the county, but check out this 435,000-square-foot sports complex planned for Springfield. [Fairfax County]
County Code Inspector Charged — A Manassas man who worked as a Fairfax County Code Inspector was arrested for taking cash while on the job. [Fairfax Times]
VDOT Holiday Travel Tips — Going on an Easter getaway this weekend? The Virginia Department of Transportation has some traffic advisories for you. [VDOT]
Fairfax County has finalized the locations of the bikeshare stations that will be coming to Reston this fall.
There will be 15 stations in Reston and 14 sites in Tysons to comprise Fairfax County’s first Capital Bikeshare network.
In January, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a $1.7 million plan to bring the bikeshare network to Fairfax.
Last October, the supervisors OKed the county’s application for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s FY 2017 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Grant Application. The grant will give the bike program $400,000 as seed money for bike share program. The money will go to pay for needed equipment such as bicycles and station hardware.
Sharon Bulova, chair of the Board of Supervisors said at the time county’s investment will help get cars off the road, boost local economy and contribute to a healthier community.
“With the transformation of Reston and Tysons into more urban centers, Fairfax County is investing in infrastructure needed to make it easy to get around.” Bulova said.
“More people are living and working in these areas than ever before,” said Bulova. ” ‘Downtown’ areas by definition are not designed to accommodate high volumes of car traffic and parking. Creating the right atmosphere that encourages walking and biking is important for these areas to continue to be attractive and highly sought after by residents and businesses alike.”
Here is where the Reston Stations will be located:
- Wiehle-Reston East Metro Plaza (two locations)
- Old Reston Avenue / W&OD
- North Shore Drive and Temporary Road
- Sunset Hills Road
- Reston Town Center Transit Station
- Reston Executive Center
- Market Street and Town Center Parkway
- Reston Town Center Ice Rink
- Reston Town Center Town Square
- Reston Hospital
- Reston Regional Library
- New Dominion Parkway
- Spectrum Center
- Lake Anne Elementary
- Lake Anne Village Center
To see the Tysons stations, see this post from Fairfax County.
