The Fairfax County Police Department is grappling with high levels of understaffing and attrition, a problem that law enforcement officials warn could intensify in the coming months.
During a public safety committee with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Oct. 26), officials said understaffing and retention are impacting the entire public safety sector, including the Fire and Rescue Department, 9/11 call centers, and the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office.
“The FCPD is experiencing an unparalleled level of staffing shortages within its workforce,” FCPD Capt. Rachel Levy said, adding that the issue could become “an insurmountable task” for the agency to overcome if left unaddressed.
FCPD has 144 vacancies in its 1,484 authorized sworn force — a vacancy rate of nearly 10%. Currently, some officers work voluntary overtime. Others are pulled from special positions like neighborhood patrols and community outreach to fill gaps in shifts.
That’s despite undertaking what Levy described as an “unprecedented effort” for recruitment. This year, the police department hosted 109 recruitment events and initiatives, up from 54 in 2018.
Board members acknowledged that the county needs to increase the applicant pool, attract a higher number of qualified candidates, streamline the hiring process, and increase retention.
The missing piece — compensation — remains unaddressed. Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, who chairs the public safety committee, called lack of competitive pay the “elephant in the room.”
Deputy Chief of Police Bob Blakley said the police department needs to be able to compete aggressively with other police departments to attract every candidate considering a career in law enforcement.
He says FCPD needs to double the number of officers it hires every year and slow attrition by encouraging officers near the 25-year retirement mark to stay for a few more years.
Blakley pointed to a recent 15% pay increase instituted through a collective bargaining agreement by the Prince George’s County Police Department in Maryland as a good example of competitive pay.
“We will never be able to compete with organizations that are going to just leave us in the dust. And [if] we’re going to be the best, we need to be the best,” he said.
Lusk said the board will work with its budget and personnel committees to determine next steps, including whether compensation increases are warranted.
FCPD did not immediately share its pay scale.
The issue of understaffing was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to board chairman Jeff McKay.
“Already, people are thinking if they want to work the same way they did,” he said, adding that he supports collective hiring and pay increases for public safety personnel.
The police officer shortage in the United States predates recent calls to “defund” the police, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In fact, staffing has declined for the past eight years, with 86% of departments across the country reporting a shortage last year.
While the pandemic and anti-police sentiment have intensified issues, the shortage stems from staffing boosts granted by the federal government between 1996 and 2002. Hundreds of those positions are now eligible for full retirement, though some were eliminated through attrition during the economic downturn between 2008 and 2012.
This year, 27 Fairfax County police officers are expected to retire. Next year, an additional 48 will become eligible. The number continues to climb each year with not enough new recruits to fill in shoes.
Applications for the county’s police academy are down from 4,121 in 2015 to 1,450 as of last year.
Unlike previous years, Blakley said some officers who have been in the force for years are leaving for other careers like information technology.
Lusk suggested the county could bolster public safety recruitment efforts by improving the online hiring process.
The county sheriff’s office is facing similar issues, prompting it to eliminate some work-release programs to free up staff for other services. Further reductions may be needed in the future, officials say.
“We just can’t keep up with departures,” said Major Tamara Gold, sheriff’s office assistant chief. The office loses some of its staff to the police department, which offers between 2.5% and 7.5% more pay.
The Department of Public Safety Communications has started aggressively recruiting at the high school level. The department’s priority is ensuring its 911 call center is fully staffed, Assistant Director Lorraine Fells-Danzer said.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity said legislation that he called “anti-law enforcement” — like the Police Civilian Review Panel — is deterring people from becoming police officers.
“What I haven’t heard today is our plan…moving forward,” he said.
The nonprofit Virginia Recreation and Park Society recently recognized Reston’s multimillion-dollar pool renovation of the Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center along with community leader Bill Bouie.
The statewide group applauded the $5.5 million Reston pool project as the best new renovation of bricks and mortar projects in the state in 2020, and it presented Bouie with a Distinguished Volunteer Service award.
The organization handed out awards Tuesday in Harrisonburg during its annual conference.
Bouie, a telecommunications executive, coach, athlete and youth sports advocate, is the vice chair of the nine-member Reston Community Center board and has helped in key roles for the organization. He’s been with the RCC Board of Governors since 2003.
“No one has embodied Reston values more than Bill Bouie,” Leila Gordon, RCC executive director, said in a news release. “He gives and engenders respect; he believes in the power of each individual to contribute to the common good if they are given the tools to realize their potential. Bill makes us all better by showing us the example of someone who is a true servant leader and who loves building community.”
He was instrumental in advising RCC on a National Recreation and Park Association accreditation in 2020 and an enthusiastic participant in RCC’s “Equity Matters” film discussions created in response to the police murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 and renewed community focus on racial justice, the organization noted in a news release.
Bouie also serves as chair of the Fairfax County Park Authority Board, and he has served in leadership roles for the YMCA Fairfax County Reston, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Leadership Fairfax, Public Art Reston, and Reston Herndon Little League, among others.
Regarding the pool renovation, RCC board chair Beverly Cosham noted how patrons love the new pools, and she says the organization shares pride with its colleagues at Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services who oversaw the project.
The RCC noted the pool project “replaced a 40-year-old pool and its aging infrastructure with two new, state-of-the-art pools: a 25-yard lap pool and a warm water exercise pool.” It opened in January 2020 after a year of construction.
RCC also noted the project included improvements for water- and electricity-savings, updated locker rooms, a new roof, recycling of materials and custom mosaic public art. And it was completed under budget, allowing more than $800,000 in unused contingencies to be returned to RCC’s reserves.
Fairfax County Public Schools and the Fairfax County Public Library are recipients of federal funding to help provide internet access and necessary devices for students, school staff and library patrons.
Announced on Tuesday (Oct. 26) by Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, the funding comes from the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Connectivity Fund Program to help close the “homework gap” for students who lack internet access.
The county’s library system will receive $41,330 and the school district will receive $17.9 million from the $7.17 billion program, which gives nearly $50 million to Virginia overall. The program was created by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which was authorized by Congress earlier this year.
“We’re proud to see these federal dollars go toward keeping Virginia’s communities connected,” Warner and Kaine said in their joint statement. “This investment will help close the digital divide, while improving access to job opportunities and educational resources for Virginians as we continue to recover from the impacts of COVID-19.”
The funding is intended to help public schools and libraries support remote learning by reimbursing them with up to $400 for each laptop or tablet and $250 for Wi-Fi hotspots, a spokesperson for Kaine told FFXnow.
Other eligible equipment covered by this funding include modems, routers, and devices that combine routers and modems.
Schools and libraries may purchase more expensive devices or Wi-Fi hotspots with their program funds, but they will only be reimbursed for the aforementioned amounts.
Recipients can also use the funding to provide commercially available broadband service with a fixed or mobile connection off-campus for students, school staff, or library patrons. The administrating company for the program, Universal Service Administrative Company, will review costs and applications for other eligible equipment and services.
Funding has been issued in three waves since late September, with the latest round getting distributed this week. However, the schools and libraries ultimately control the timeline for carrying out purchase agreements with internet providers and vendors.
An FCPS spokesperson deferred comment to state officials because the program is in its early stages. Fairfax County Public Library did not return a request for comment by press time.
While broadband access is less of an issue in Fairfax County than in other parts of the state and country, 4% of households still have no internet, county staff reported in June. Access is uneven across the county, ranging from 1.4% of households lacking internet in Springfield District to 8.9% of households in Mason District.
Even with FCPS back to five days of in-person learning, internet access remains critical for students, particularly with some having to stay out of class due to COVID-19 contact tracing and quarantining procedures.
Since Sept. 1, FCPS has quarantined 3,942 students because they were identified as close contacts of someone who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the school system’s quarantine data dashboard. That does not include students who have had to pause in-person learning for contact-tracing purposes.
Photo via Annie Spratt/Unsplash
A possible fake campaign sign spotted in Herndon saying “Keep Parents Out Of Classrooms” and “Vote McAuliffe” was not sanctioned or distributed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s campaign or the Democratic Party of Virginia.
The controversy arose this past weekend when Matt Lang, Republican challenger for the delegate seat in the 36th District, tweeted about the sign that uses a phrase that Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin has latched onto during the gubernatorial campaign.
https://twitter.com/LangForVA/status/1452362317660934144
It appears the aim with the sign is reverse psychology, promoting that Democrats and McAuliffe want to “keep parents out of classrooms” while asking voters to “Keep Virginia Blue.”
The sign also does not include a federally-required disclaimer identifying who or what organization paid for them.
Reston Now has independently confirmed that, as of Monday night, the sign at Frying Pan Road and Burrough Farm Drive was still there.
However, both Democratic Party of Virginia and McAuliffe’s campaign have denied their involvement with the sign or others that have apparently been spotted in Northern Virginia.
“These signs are not ours. They were not sanctioned or distributed by Terry for Virginia or the Democratic Party of Virginia,” Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Virginia, wrote in a statement to Reston Now.
“This is not a sign distributed by us,” a spokesperson for the McAuliffe campaign told PolitiFact. “It’s not our sign.”
Lang told Reston Now that he also has spotted the same sign near Fox Mill Road and heard of other signs near McLean.
“I have no idea who put them up,” he said. “But they echo what [McAuliffe] has been saying at the debates and during the campaign.
At this point, it remains unclear who put the signs up as they’ve garnered some national attention.
Reston Now has reached out to the Youngkin campaign, but has yet to hear back as of publication. Reston Now has also reached out to the Virginia Department of Elections about if they could provide more information on the legality of such signs, but that information has yet to be provided.
With less than a week before the election for Virginia’s next governor, McAuliffe holds a very narrow lead in the polls over Youngkin.
David Taube contributed to this story
Finding Safe Streets — The county’s ActiveFairfax Transportation Plan is working on a safe streets proposal. Tow community meetings are planned next month to address systemic issues with transportation. [Fairfax County Government]
Virginia Gets High Marks for Vaccines — The state ranks 10th among all states for the percentage of its population that’s fully vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 82 percent of people age 18 and above have received at least one dose. [Northam]
A Message of Healing by Local Artist — Julia Malakoff’s soli exhibition — Good Jujue — is in its final week at Reston Art Gallery and Studios. The artwork includes references to challenges caused by the pandemic. [Reston Patch]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Following the collapse of a 40-year-old high-rise in Surfside, Fla., officials in Fairfax County and across the country are looking to prevent a similar tragedy.
“Anything we can do to prevent such a [tragedy] from happening again, we want to do,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said yesterday (Tuesday) during a Land Use Policy Committee meeting.
County staff have identified 202 high-rises in the area that are at least 25 years or older, including 100 that are 25-30 years old, 41 that are 30-35 years old, and 46 that are 40 years old or more.
At nearly 50%, the biggest concentration of high-rises in Fairfax County is in Providence District, Fairfax County Department of Land Development Services Director Bill Hicks told the board. Those buildings were defined as being at least 75 feet or higher.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously directed staff on July 13 to assess the availability of resources for inspections and other options for improving the safety of aging buildings after the June 24 partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside.
For the Surfside condominium, a 2018 engineering report had warned of major structural damage. The 12-story building’s collapse killed 98 people.
In his joint board matter with Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith from the July 13 meeting, McKay noted that Virginia lacks a recertification program for older buildings.
While buildings must undergo numerous inspections, reviews, and more to get an initial certificate of occupancy, they are only inspected again if there is a change in occupancy or alterations that require inspection, the City of Alexandria said in July when urging Virginia to update its regulations.
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson raised the issue in the wake of the Surfside collapse, stating that the city has “most of the residential high-rise buildings” in the Commonwealth. The River Towers Condominium in Alexandria evacuated amid structural damage in 2016.
Like other local governments, Fairfax County has a complaint-driven code compliance system intended to address potentially unsafe building conditions.
“My concern is in a lot of these buildings, not only would people not necessarily know who to complain to, but if they did complain, they’d probably complain to the management or the rental office or the condo association, maybe not necessarily to the county,” McKay said.
The county’s website explains how people can contact staff by phone, email, and complaint forms to address issues.
But the board stressed that it wants county workers to provide proactive outreach, such as by having the county’s fire marshal office communicate with a property manager or homeowners’ association leaders.
“We can at least convey broader safety issues that maybe they hadn’t thought about, and it’s a good way of reminding them,” Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said.
McKay suggested newer buildings might have different outreach approaches than older buildings, adding that the county’s review was not to raise alarm, but to help share county resources with residents.
Hicks told the board that the Department of Code Compliance will begin tracking cases that might be associated with an aging building.
“They track all of their work now, but they would categorize them so they would look for these sorts of requests,” Hicks said, noting that the county could also add more staff to assist with inspections.
The county chose the 25-year threshold for buildings to review to provide a level of comparison, Hicks said after the meeting. The age range was not meant to represent a program for building recertification or anything related to structural durability.
According to Hicks, Miami-Dade’s building recertification program, which covers Surfside, focuses on buildings that have reached 40 years, and other than one in nearby Broward County, it was the only such program that county staff could find across the country that’s currently active.
A program in Los Angeles is “forthcoming,” according to the presentation to the board.
The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology is investigating the collapse of Champlain Towers South. According to spokesperson Jennifer Huergo, a final report could take years to complete.
A Brookfield Properties executive has detailed the company’s plans to advance a state-of-the-art office building in Reston for the Halley Rise development.
The company says it is using distinguished architectural firms for each building block as part of the retail-residential-office complex.
A 115,000-square-foot timber office building is slated to move forward at the start of next year, Brookfield senior vice president of development Rich Fernicola said Monday.
Halley Rise, part of which has been under construction, is located along Sunrise Valley Drive and the Reston Parkway by the forthcoming Reston Town Center Metro station.
Once completed, it’s slated to have 1.9 million square feet of office space (about five and a half times the size of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool), 240,000 square feet of retail (just over four football fields), over five acres of public open space, new public streets and more.
The complex also features a seven-story luxury apartment building called The Edmund (2025 Fulton Ave.), which has units available for move-in on Nov. 6. Sixty-three units have already been taken out of the 353 available, according to figures provided by the apartment’s website.
Reston Association could rename a field to honor a grounds maintenance supervisor, Richie Zeisler, who worked for the organization for over 45 years.
“Among all his duties, building, maintaining, and preparing the RA baseball fields for each season was his passion,” Michael McNamara, director of maintenance and environmental resources for RA, said in a memo signed by workers.
The board of directors is slated to approve the renaming at its Thursday meeting as part of its consent calendar, where items are rolled into a group for expected approval.
Zeisler died in July and spent decades in his final role with the association. He was a “lifelong NY Yankee fan and a true follower of the game,” known for wearing the team’s hat and keeping copies of every single Yankee game box score when he wasn’t scoring the game himself, the memo noted.
“With a rake in his hand and a determination to make each field look like Yankee stadium, Richie would make sure each RA baseball field was in peak condition when the season started,” association staff wrote.
Brown’s Chapel field #1 would be renamed as Richie Zeisler Field.
Photo via Google Maps
November is on the horizon, and in Virginia, that means it’s almost time for another Election Day.
This year, voters will determine the Commonwealth’s future for the next four years, casting ballots for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates.
In Fairfax County, the ballot also includes a $360 million question about school bonds that, if approved, will fund more than a dozen renovation projects.
Election Day polls aren’t set to open until 6 a.m. Tuesday (Nov. 2), but early voting has been underway since Sept. 17. Though the deadline for mail ballot requests passed on Oct. 22, Fairfax County’s 16 early voting sites will remain open through 5 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 30).
With anyone now allowed to vote absentee without needing an excuse, the county office of elections has reported a strong turnout for in-person early voting so far, including on the first Sunday that it has ever offered early voting. The county has also received 2.5 times more mail ballots than in the last gubernatorial election in 2017.
We’ve hit a #earlyvoting milestone for the Virginia governor's race with over 100,000 votes cast! To be precise, just over 103,000 have voted in person or by mail so far in Fairfax County.
Go #voteearly: https://t.co/I6EiKuRsKM#VAGov #VApol #VApolitics #VAelection #VAnews pic.twitter.com/EhzNazLWr8
— Fairfax County Votes (@fairfaxvotes) October 26, 2021
With polls suggesting a tight race between Terry McAuliffe (D) and Glenn Youngkin (R) for the governor’s seat, have you been motivated to cast your ballot already, or are you waiting for Election Day, which will be a state holiday for a second consecutive year?
Boosters Available in Fairfax County — Fairfax County’s health department and other providers have begun offering boosters for eligible adult groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting boosters for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. [Reston Patch]
Reston Farmers Market Going Strong — So far, the Reston Farmers Market has had a successful year. The popular market is scheduled to run through Dec. 4. This year, a general sense of normalcy has returned to the market. [Reston Patch]
Last Week for Pumpkin Carving Contest — It’s the last week to submit an entry for Reston Association’s Great Pumpkin Carving contest. Registration is required. [RA]
Glade Clay Tennis Courts Closed — The courts are closed due to standing water. Our Reston tennis team will revaluate the courts today at 5 p.m. [RA]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
Cornerstones‘ annual drive to provide gifts for children during the holiday season is coming up.
The annual Gifts for Kids Drive will return with a similar look to last year’s drive by asking donors to purchase gift cards from to be given to families. Cornerstones is requesting gift cards in $25, $50 or $75 increments from locations such as Target, Walmart, T.J. Maxx, Kohls, Amazon or similar stores. No toys will be accepted for donation.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, the drive will run concurrently with Thanksgiving Food Drive in order to reduce the number of interactions among volunteers, donors, staff and donation recipients, and to offer families ample time to purchase gifts for their children with the gift cards that will be distributed to them.
“The Gifts for Kids is one of Cornerstones’ most highly anticipated community drives,” Nate King, Coordinator of In-kind Donations and Drives, said in a press release.
“We have more than 800 wish lists from children to fulfill this year. Every donation is critical to helping us meet this ambitious goal. Our Gifts for Kids drive is a rewarding and meaningful opportunity for donors and volunteers to help ensure our youngest neighbors celebrate a meaningful and memorable holiday with their families.”
The public is encouraged to register as a Gifts For Kids donor through Nov. 12 online. Gift cards should be delivered to Cornerstones on Nov. 15 through the 17, and between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, located at 11900 Lawyers Road in Reston.
Additionally, donors may coordinate with Cornerstones’ team in order to provide gift cards in an amount that would cover a specific request from a child’s wish list.
Donations for the Thanksgiving Food Drive will also be accepted Nov. 15 through Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, as well as from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 19. Cornerstones has a recommended list of food or gift cards to be donated for this drive on its site.
Cornerstones has also partnered with Giant at North Point for anyone interested in purchasing a set $50 box of food and gift card that will be prepared by Giant for delivery to Cornerstones. For anyone interested, you may visit the customer service desk at the store to make the purchase. This option will be available through Nov. 12.
For any additional information or inquires about Cornerstones’ drives, you may contact King at 571-323-9569, or visit cornerstonesva.org.
Crews are building a luxury residential project with ground-floor commercial space along Dulles Station Boulevard near the Innovation Center Metro station.
The Makers Rise project (2311 Dulles Station Boulevard) under construction is on the east side of the street, one of two such buildings envisioned there. The current project calls for 356 units — ranging from studios to two-bedrooms plus dens — with coworking spaces and amenities such as courtyards as well as a swimming pool with a terrace, fitness center, club room and pet spa, according to Arlington-based CBG Building Co.
“It’s going to be a beautiful building, and we really look forward to delivering it and being a significant new place of the Dulles Station community and the Innovation Center Metro at large,” said Ryan Whittier, of real estate company Crimson Partners.
Crimson Partners says on its website that the project’s 393,000-plus-square-feet will include 5,600 square feet of restaurant and retail. The commercial footage translates to the size of just over two tennis courts. Whittier said nothing has been inked yet but they’ve been in exciting talks with a coffee shop operator that they hope to bring there.
Construction began in April, and crews could deliver the project in August 2023, according to Whittier.
Developers received county approval in 2018 to switch a project from office buildings to residential buildings in a plan to also develop the west side of the street, but construction equipment has been parked there on the east side. Whittier said a final development plan and permits for the west side of the project, another mixed-use building, will go before the county for approval.
The project is one of several going up near the yet-to-open Innovation Center Metro station.
Woodfield Development is also having residential buildings built in its nearby Liberty Park neighborhood, which includes the Passport apartment project as well as townhomes and condominiums.
CBG didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment yesterday.
The Makers Rise project is slated for completion in July 2023.
Hot chicken fans have another option to satisfy cravings for a Nashville-style sandwich in Herndon.
Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken plans to open up a 1,350-square-foot location in Worldgate Centre next to Qdoba Mexican Grill, a Mexican restaurant located at 13031 Worldgate Drive.
A company representative tells Reston Now that the Herndon location is expected to open in late November. A target grand opening date of November 24 has been set, but the representative cautioned that the date was an estimate.
The business already has locations in Ashland and Fairfax. The Herndon location would be the second in Northern Virginia.
Hangry Joe’s is rapidly expanding in Virginia. More locations are planned in Alexandria, Richmond, and Centreville. A Maryland location is planned in Annapolis.
The menu includes hot chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers, fries, chicken and waffles, tenders, fried okra and rice.
Derek Cha, the founder of Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt, partnered with Mike Kim to launch the business.
The location would rival Wooboi Chicken, which opened a brick-and-mortar spot in 2019 at 139 Spring Street.
Photo via Hangry Joe’s Chicken/Facebook
While a road leading to the entrance of Innovation Center Station is still closed, construction crews are feverishly raising buildings near the yet-to-open Metro station.
Bethesda-based Donohoe Construction Co. crews are well along in building the core of a Brightview Senior Living facility, part of an approximately 1.65 million square-foot development site envisioned for three other residential buildings, two office buildings and a hotel called Innovation Center South.
Rocks Engineering Co. has calculated that six of the seven buildings would also have retail, creating 871,000 square feet of residential space, 501,000 square feet of commercial space and 84,000 square feet of retail space.
Michael Rocks, managing director with the company, said the next development is expected to be an office project within the next six to nine months. Groundbreaking ground could happen in the next 12 to 18 months and be connected with a residential building at the site.
“We’ve had tons of interest from retailers over the years,” he said, citing the development’s proximity to the Metro.
The campus sits next to a $52 million parking garage that Fairfax County completed in early 2020.
Fairfax County approved rezoning for Innovation Center South in 2014 for the mixed-use development, where buildings would be built by the parking garage and near the Dulles Toll Road. In 2019, the county allowed approved building space to be taken from one block, dubbed B2, just north of the parking garage, to be reallocated for Brightview’s project.
Mindy Dillon, executive assistant to Brightview’s vice president of project management and project development team, said its facility is slated to be complete in February 2023.
“These will be all new residents to Brightview,” she said, adding that there may be some exceptions.
According to Donohoe, the seven-story senior living project at 13700 Magna Way will be nearly 230,000 square feet. An application in 2018 noted that approximately 115 units would be for independent living and 81 more for assisted living, of which approximately 26 units will be for memory-impaired residents.
According to the application regarding the aging adult living facility:
The 26-unit Wellspring Program will function as a separate and secured ‘neighborhood’ within the building for those seniors confronting various forms of dementia or memory impairment, including Alzheimer’s disease. The goal of the Wellspring Program is to enrich the quality of life for residents with memory impaired diseases by creating a customized plan of support and personalized care services tailored to their needs that maintains as much independence as possible in a compassionate and caring environment. This neighborhood will occupy a secured portion of an upper level of the proposed building.
Overall, the senior living community will provide social, recreational and wellness programs, meals for residents, and independent living residents will have full kitchens in their units, although they’ll get breakfast and dinner prepared for them, according to the application.
Brightview also noted that its communal amenities include a living room, library, computer center, group dining room and café, activities room, beauty/barber salon, multipurpose room, movie theater, outdoor courtyards and exercise and physical therapy room.
Rocks said preleasing will start for those units in January.
The senior living project is rising next to the pending Innovation Center Metro Station on the Silver Line, which will be one stop away from the Dulles International Airport.
High Marks for Reston Drug Take-back — Officers collected more than 1,400 pounds of unused and expired medications on Saturday as part of the 21st annual national prescription drug take-back day. Reston Hospital Center collected 249 pounds, only behind the West Springfield district station, which collected 253 pounds. [FCPD]
Last Week for Early Voting — The last day for early voting is Friday. The county has 16 voting locations and every early voting site is open on weekdays from noon to 7 p.m., except the Fairfax County Government Center, where the hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. [Fairfax County Government]
Shadowood Pool Survey Results Coming — Reston Association’s Board of Directors and its parks and recreation advisory committee will hold a joint meeting tomorrow to discuss the results of a community survey on the future of Shadowood pool. The meeting begins online via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. [RA]
Photo via vantagehill/Flickr
