All Adults Eligible for Booster Shot — Any adult who received a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at least six months earlier is eligible to receive a booster dose. The recommendations come after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded the eligibility criteria for both vaccines. [Fairfax County Government]
Reston Board Adopts New Budget — Reston Association’s Board of Directors has approved a $19.8 million budget for 2022. The assessment was set at $740. [RA]
Local Ways to Give This Holiday Season — Local residents can embrace the spirit of giving this holiday season by donating toys, clothes, gift cards, and more. Options in the county include toys for tots by the fire and rescue department and the Reston Winter Coat Closet. [Fairfax County Government]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Before we head into a weekend, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories on the site in recent days.
- Police search for man who reportedly fired a gun at Sully’s Pour House
- Seven new businesses — including a distillery — are coming to Reston Town Center next year
- Condo construction underway by Herndon Metro Station, office planned
- TikTok famous Crumbl Cookies are coming to Reston
- Reston holiday parade returns to Reston Town Center
If you have ideas on stories we should cover, email us at [email protected] or submit an anonymous tip. Photos from around the Reston and Herndon area are also welcome, with credit always given to the photographer.
Feel free to discuss these topics, your socially distanced weekend plans, or anything else that’s happening locally in the comments below.
Photo via Herndon Police Department
If there is an opportunity to help others, “just do it,” according to advice from Reston third-grader Benjamin Kamp.
The idea of helping others is an established value in the Kamp household as they have regularly donated and fundraised over the past six years to support their community and specifically Cornerstones. In previous years, Benjamin and his family have also created snack packs for kids at Embry Rucker Community Shelter and also donated winter coats and hats to the shelter.
“Benjamin’s always been a helper,” Liz Kamp, the eight-year-old’s mother, said. “Last year he made handmade holiday cards that he went door-to-door on our street raising money for Cornerstones and then sent the money in. He’s a kid that’s always looking to help people and make other people happy.”
Following in those philanthropic efforts, Benjamin decided he wanted to make more of an impact this year.
After going through a couple of ideas, he chose a t-shirt fundraiser and designed them with the slogan of “Be Kind.” printed on them. He is selling kids and adult shirts for $25 each with all proceeds from the fundraiser are going to Cornerstones to support the Embry Rucker Shelter, which provides emergency housing for homeless people.
“Some people can be mean to those people who don’t have much money, so just be kind,” Benjamin said.
Over just a few weeks, Benjamin has sold over 200 shirts, raising about $4,500. Benjamin initially began with 50 kids shirts to sell, but the popularity of the shirts and cause quickly exceeded the family’s initial expectations and beyond Benjamin’s initial goal of raising $1,000.
The shirts have become a popular sight for friends of the family and Benjamin’s teachers as they relay photos to them of people wearing the shirts around the community. It’s also become something Benjamin has enjoyed seeing.
“It’s so exciting to see a lot of my friends and people sending these pictures,” Benjamin said. “I’ve seen people like the things I make.”
The first order of shirts sold out within a day while adults were asking for shirts as well and has placed additional orders to continue to fill the demand. Benjamin sold an additional 24 shirts this past weekend at Lake Anne Plaza during the Farmer’s and Craft Markets, raising $600.
The family will be taking orders for adult shirts via email at [email protected] through Sunday night for another order.
On Saturday, Nov. 20, Benjamin will also be outside Liz’s shop New Trail Cycling & Strength at 1641B Washington Plaza North from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to sell kids shirts and taking orders for adult shirts. There will also be a collection at the shop for welcome home baskets that will be donated to Cornerstones as a part of the businesses’s annual give back to the community and Cornerstones.
“I don’t want anyone to not like their life,” Benjamin said. “I want them to have a great life, not have a bad life. I don’t want them to hate their life, I want them to love it just the way it is.”
Shirts may be paid for via Venmo to Liz or by emailing a screenshot or forwarding a donation made on Cornerstone’s website with “Benjamin’s Shirts” in the comment box.
With Thanksgiving this Thursday (Nov. 25), families are preparing to travel and gather, but COVID-19 concerns continue to persist for another holiday season, following the Delta variant and changes in vaccinations.
The vaccine is now commonplace and even available to children as young as 5. But individual preferences on social distancing and getting the vaccine are continuing to affect the holiday season.
Over 228 million people have received at least one dose. That includes millions of kids who weren’t able to get the vaccine prior to Nov. 2 — when around 28 million children became eligible.
It comes following the spread of the coronavirus across countries throughout the world.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has further noted that booster shots, currently only eligible for certain at-risk groups for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines (but all adults for the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine), can help boost immune response, based on small clinical trials.
Meanwhile, travel is poised to make one of its biggest rebounds, notably with flights coming close to 2019 levels, AAA has projected.
The results of Virginia’s 2021 general election could have significant ramifications for local efforts to seek alternatives to jail and other criminal justice reforms, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano says.
Descano, a Democrat, addressed expectations that his agenda will clash with that of Republican Attorney General-elect Jason Miyares in an online event on Tuesday (Nov. 16) hosted by the McLean chapter of the American Association of University Women, which seeks to promote equity and education for women and girls.
A day after defeating incumbent Mark Herring, who was seeking a third consecutive term as Virginia’s top legal officer, Miyares told reporters on Nov. 3 that he plans to introduce a bill that would let the state intervene in local cases.
“This legislation was inspired by a child rape case in Fairfax County, where a defendant was charged with repeatedly raping and molesting a 5-year-old child and was eligible for a life sentence,” Miyares said in a statement to FFXnow, pointing to a case involving Oscar R. Zaldivar, 53, who received a 17-year sentence through a plea deal.
Despite objections from the families involved, Descano’s office defended the sentence in statements to media after the September hearing as longer than what 75% of defendants in Virginia face for the same offenses.
Prosecutors typically get discretion to determine when to pursue a case based on whether the available evidence is sufficient and other factors. Descano said Miyares’s proposal would turn the legal system on its head.
“He wants the police to be able to sideline a prosecutor who’s inconvenient for them at anytime,” Descano said, adding that Fairfax County is fortunate to have a professionalized police force.
Miyares countered that he would get guidance from Commonwealth’s Attorneys to advocate for a bill that would “invite” the attorney general to prosecute child rape or violent crime cases “when the local prosecutor refuses to prosecute.”
The clash between Descano and Miyares presages the uphill battle that Fairfax County’s mostly Democratic elected officials will likely face over the next few years in trying to work with the n0w-Republican-led state government.
The county started a veterans court in 2015 to provide support systems for service members faced with charges. It then launched a Diversion First initiative in 2016 that offers rehabilitation over incarceration for certain nonviolent offenses. Since then, the county has also created specialized court dockets focused on the needs of people with drug addiction and mental health issues.
According to Census data compiled by the nonprofit The Marshall Project, Fairfax County’s jail population has declined significantly over the past two decades, from 3,749 people in 2000 to 1,207 people in 2010 and 667 people in 2020.
Elected in 2019 amid a progressive surge in Northern Virginia, Descano has implemented many of his pledged reforms, including eliminating cash bail, not holding suspects on nonviolent charges when they aren’t deemed a danger to the community, and enabling prosecutors to take “community values” into account instead of deferring to judges.
He said on Tuesday that the changes are intended to improve fairness in prosecutions.
The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney also has a data director who is working with researchers from American University and other partners to create a public dashboard with information on how it handles different cases.
Descano says the data will allow for analysis of prosecutors’ decisions, which will help avoid problems, such as unfair treatment based on gender or race.
When asked about the data effort by Aroona Borpujari, a statistician who watched the event, Descano replied that his office will release the data when they have enough of a sample size.
“It’s our pledge that we’re going to be transparent,” he said, describing the office as previously being in the Stone Age.
Reston Lease Gets Best Transaction Award — Boston Properties received the best transaction lease award for executing a lease with Volkswagen Group of America, which is headquartered in Reston. The award was given by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. [NAIOP Northern Virginia]
Santa Comes to Town — Reston Association has set up a Santa-for-hire event. Residents can book Santa for a 30 or 60 minutes this holiday season. Bookings can be made through Dec. 31. [RA]
Fairfax County Police Department Collects Toys — The department is collecting toys for Santa’s Ride, which delivers toys to children in area hospitals and local charities. New and unwrapped toys, books, or games can be dropped off at any district station now through 9 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 13. [FCPD]
Photo by Marjorie Copson
Reston Town Center is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its annual holiday parade.
The half-mile, one-hour parade along Market Street is set to take place on Nov. 26 at 11 a.m. Santa and Mrs. Clause will lead the parade in a carriage. They’re expected to return to light the tree at Fountain Square at 6 p.m. that day.
Horse-drawn carriage rides will continue from 6-10 p.m, the proceeds of which will benefit local charities.
While most of the parade returns to pre-pandemic norms, RTC will not distribute parade bell “out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our parade visitors, participants and volunteers,” according to a statement.
“We hope to continue this popular tradition in the coming years when social distancing is not an issue,” the statement read.
Parking is free that Friday.
Once again, the parade has been nominated for USA Today’s annual national ranking of holiday parades. Voting for the ongoing ranging is open online.
So far, Reston’s parade is fifth on the leaderboard. The tradition began in 1991 and features antique cars, musicians, dancers, floats and other special guests.
Photo via Reston Town Center
The glass skyscrapers towering next to the Dulles Toll Road and over Sunset Hills Road have begun welcoming their largest tenant, according to Boston Properties President Doug Linde.
Formerly called Reston Gateway, the development has offices for Fannie Mae and Volkswagen Group of America next to the Reston Town Center Station. On Oct. 19, approximately 285,000 square feet of the project was placed in-service, according to property owner and developer Boston Properties.
Fannie Mae takes up most of the office space, 703,000 square feet, at the renamed Reston Next office complex, and the federally created corporation is consolidating its operations from three Reston locations to save $250 million.
Fannie Mae and Volkswagen fill up the vast majority of space with 15- and 20-year leases, respectively, but Linde told investors on an Oct. 27 earnings call that they’re still looking to lease 160,000 square feet. According to Boston Properties, the development called for approximately 1.1 million square-feet available for offices.
The comments came as the company remarked on the benefits of office space as compared to remote work, even though businesses are reevaluating their office needs amid a pandemic-fueled shift in telecommuting.
Reston Next is 85% leased, and despite the significant vacancy in northern Virginia, parts of Reston are under 10% vacant and continue to “dramatically outperform,” according to the company.
Boston Properties refused to comment on the new buildings. Fannie Mae was unable to respond to questions before this article published.
Construction of the project began in 2018.
If you’ve ever lost precious minutes circling a parking lot for an available spot or questioned the amount of space devoted to parking in a new development, the time to voice those concerns has come.
Fairfax County kicked off a month-long series of town halls last week for the public to weigh in on its first comprehensive parking in decades, inviting stakeholders from business interests and nonprofits to tenants and religious groups to provide feedback.
Any recommended changes are expected to go to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for votes in late 2022.
“We have lots and lots of privately owned parking, and sometimes it seems we have more than enough parking, and sometimes, we don’t have enough,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said during an online town hall meeting on Nov. 10.
Dubbed Parking Reimagined, the county’s initiative focuses on off-street parking. It began last month and could run for 12-18 months. County rules regulate current parking as well as what future developments must build, though exceptions can be made.
The county is partnering with a consultant team, Clarion-Nelson\Nygaard, to study the matter, but a principal with Nelson\Nygaard, Iain Banks, noted that they’re looking at data from 2019 and earlier due to the pandemic’s effects on remote work, the use of transit, and other factors.
“Transportation is changing rapidly, not only as a result of COVID and the subsequent recovery from COVID but also into a future where perhaps traffic peak periods are going to change throughout the day,” Banks said. “It’s not going to be that typical morning and evening rush hour perhaps; it’s going to be more spread out throughout the day as flexible schedules perhaps become the norm.”
Residents expressed the need for parking and observed that parking costs money in the form of taxes, a parking permit, or a parking meter, though Fairfax County currently doesn’t operate any meters for off-street parking.
Michael Davis, parking program manager with the county’s Land Development Services department, said at the town hall last week that the initiative could help people think of parking as a resource.
He said they’re looking at “right sizing” parking, where the supply is appropriate for the demand. He noted that times of high and low demand can change by the hour and season, and there can even be times when cars are unnecessary, such as for nearby commutes.
Davis also raised the idea of shared parking. Instead of requiring a minimum number of parking spots, such as for a site with apartments, offices, and retail, a smaller parking area can be built that provides enough parking for all based on hourly demand.
County officials emphasized their interest in hearing from people at the town hall, which also turned into a brainstorming session of sorts.
Alcorn wondered if there was a way to track the progress of parking availability at developments. Davis noted that technology is already at Reston Town Center and Tysons Corner Center, which have electronic signs in their garages that show how many parking spots are available in real time.
But the changes in behaviors driven by the pandemic are leading officials to cautiously approach how to gather current data.
Information about upcoming meetings and other updates can be found on the county’s website for the project.
Seven new businesses are coming to Reston Town Center, including a distillery and fitness center.
Owner and developer Boston Properties shared details about the changes on an Oct. 27 earnings call. Company president Doug Linde said a theater operator completed a 50,000-square-foot lease during the third quarter.
The company refused to provide further details, except for listing limited information on three businesses. In a statement to Reston Now, a public relations representative identified those new businesses as the following:
Open Road Distillery, a new distillery concept from Metropolitan Hospitality Group that will include a tasting room with tours, a dining room, indoor/outdoor bar & live music.
Hammer & Nails, a grooming shop for guys providing haircuts, shaves, and hand & foot care, and
Compass Real Estate, a real estate company known for pairing top agents with innovative technology making the searching and selling process seamless.
All seven businesses are slated to open in 2022, according to Boston Properties’ spokesperson.
Linde said the company is close to executing agreements with three more restaurants, and the fitness operator signed a lease in October for a 20,000-square-foot space.
The company declined to disclose any further information, including the addresses of the new restaurants.
Photo via Payton Chung/Flickr
Shadowood Courts Reopen Today — The tennis courts at Shadowood Recreation Area will reopen today. They were closed on Wednesday due to crack repairs. [Reston Association]
Safe Streets Discussion Underway — The county’s ActiveFairfax Transportation Plan team is seeking feedback on ways to address systemic traffic safety issues. A virtual meeting is planned for today at 6:30 p.m. [Fairfax County Government]
App Promotes County Breweries — Visit Fairfax, the official tourism organization for the county, has launched a new app that aims to promote the county’s craft breweries and wineries. Users can access to discounts, deals and prizes when they check in. [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority]
Photo by Marjorie Copson
Luxury two-bedroom condominiums starting in the low $400,000s are going up adjacent to an upscale apartment complex, The Ian, near the yet-to-open Herndon Metrorail Station.
The first of four buildings being constructed by NVR, the parent company of NVHomes and Ryan Homes, is slated to open up for sales at the end of this year with anticipated move-ins as early as April, the company tells Reston Now.
The development, dubbed The Flats at Woodland Park Station, includes two bedroom and two-bedroom-den condos, each with two bathrooms per unit. It’s located by a roundabout along Woodland Grove Place.
“Our two-bedroom and two-bedroom-den condos are arriving this Winter, with pricing from the mid $400s to the mid $500s – and these residences include more fine features than you ever imagined possible, plus the convenience of a building elevator serving all levels,” the company says on a promotional page for the development.
To build the four residential buildings with 96 units, the company got the county’s OK in 2019 to amend an approved plan from 2017, which would have involved creating a nearly 211,000-square-foot multi-family building for 148 units. The county’s Planning Commission’s Hunter Mill District representative, John Carter, noted at the time that the change allowed for more open space.
An NVHomes representative said the company expects all four buildings in The Flats at Woodland Park Station to be completed by the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, a 2017 county-approved development plan presented by NVR and New York City-headquartered real estate firm Tishman Speyer called for creating high rises for offices near those residential buildings.
The companies identified a parcel called Block E, abutting the Dulles Toll Road and Monroe Street, for two office buildings with the option for ground-floor retail.
Noting the proximity to the Herndon Metrorail Station, county staff noted a development plan called for office buildings to be 16-stories and 14-stories tall, each with five levels of above-ground parking.
Crews leveled the previously forested area to make way for the developments, and the vacant parcel could be developed with high rises, even as the pandemic has led many companies to rethink the need for the commercial office space that they used to require.
Townhome prices along the Silver Line extension saw prices increase this year, though the real estate industry has noticed pullbacks from a buyer frenzy.
A fee for new property purchases in Reston could increase from $311 to $353.
Reston Association’s Board of Directors is slated to vote on the matter this Thursday (Nov. 18) at a regular meeting. It involves the so-called “Transfer Fee,” a one-time cost paid by a person buying a property.
The fee can be credited to a property owner’s annual assessment fee if certain conditions are met, where the homebuyer is a Reston Association resident buying a new property and selling their current one.
RA projects the change would generate an additional $45,000 in revenue next year.
It comes as the association prepares to pass its upcoming budget, which has proposed an increase in its annual assessment from $718 to $735. The board could approve that change, too, during the Nov. 18 meeting.
The fee was created in 2006, and RA staff recommended the change as the association sought to reduce the proposed assessment fee increase for the upcoming year.
Fairfax County Schools Face Lawsuit in Connection with Sexual Assault Cases — A discrimination lawsuit against Fairfax County Public Schools is reportedly moving forward. A federal appeals court granted the appeal in connection with a sexual assault that reportedly happened at Carson Middle School in Herndon. [Inside NOVA]
Outreach Underway for Incorrect Dosing — The Fairfax County Health Department and the Virginia Department of Health have contacted families of children who mistakenly received the adult dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The incorrect doses were administered by KC Pharmacy in Lorton. [Fairfax County Government]
A Look at Halley Rise — Northern Virginia Magazine takes a look at Halley Rise, a $1.4 billion project next to the Reston Town Center Metro Station. Leasing has begun at the residential part of the development — The Edmund — and the target audience seems to be single 30-somethings. [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Photo by Marjorie Copson
Attorney David Whiting worked from home for a few weeks during the COVID-19 shutdown in the spring of 2020, but with a house full of children and seven-day workweeks, he found himself back in his rented single-person office.
Whiting and over 100 members, from tech companies to remote workers, are part of Office Evolution at The Atrium at Worldgate (205 Van Buren St.), a four-story office building in Herndon.
“It’s turnkey,” said Whiting, who has had his law firm, Oak Hill Law Group, there for about two and a half years. “It’s just so damn convenient.”
Office Evolution – Herndon opened in March 2019 and expanded in April by taking over an empty space, extending its footprint to around 12,000 square feet.
“We added 35 offices,” said Martin Gruszka, the location’s owner, noting the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce has taken space in the new office suite.
Kim DeWitt, the location’s business center manager, noted that people are wanting to avoid entire workweeks in a typical office, so the coworking environment helps remote workers have both community and independence. It’s open 24/7.
Customers can have month-to-month memberships with customized leases that allow for shared meeting rooms and other amenities. Others simply just want a mailing address with no physical office space, said Gruszka. He’s seen contractors looking for a way to have a physical location to maintain their relationship with the government.
Gruszka says that its members have been especially interested in looking for focus, quiet and the routine of an office environment.
On the employer side, businesses are looking at underutilized commercial spaces amid teleworking boons.
“We’re seeing a lot more from companies that are paring down their office space,” Gruszka said. “They have a lease: Nobody’s using it anymore,” but companies may want to move a department to a smaller location.
But not all co-working models have been a success. In January, MakeOffices — another co-working space — announced plans to shutter its doors at Reston Town Center and other local locations.
Whiting, who rents a private office there for his law firm, says the formal, stodgy office is changing as businesses look for smaller spaces, and Office Evolution allows him to scale up or scale down depending on his needs.
Even though the world is seeking to recover from COVID-19, many businesses are still struggling. Of over 3,400 businesses surveyed from Oct. 30 to Nov. 9 by networking service Alignable, only 27% of businesses are currently reporting that they are at or above pre-coronavirus revenue levels, which is 8 percentage points worse than the 35% level of progress it reported in July.
Now, as companies advertise jobs, some are offering additional stipends for remote work expenses. Gruszka and DeWitt suggested that workers may want to address what telecommuting reimbursements they get, whether or not they’re in a coworking space.
