The Reston Association Design Review Board has given a tentative thumbs up to Tall Oaks Assisted Living’s plans to expand its parking lot on North Shore Drive.

The board voted 4-1 with one abstention on Tuesday (April 20) to give conceptual approval to the assisted living facility’s proposal to add 29 new parking spaces to the 44-space lot, even as members lamented the anticipated loss of landscaping and the trees that give Tall Oaks its name.

Board architect Michael Wood voted against Tall Oaks’ request for conceptual approval, saying that he understands the facility’s need for additional parking but wishes it could be achieved without such a significant environmental impact.

“That’s some really nice trees and landscaping that go along the edge of the facility right now, so it’s a little bit of a shame,” Wood said. “…If it wasn’t so close to neighbors, it maybe wouldn’t be an issue, [or] if it wasn’t impacting the trail…But it is doing all that stuff.”

Built in 1988, Tall Oaks Assisted Living currently hosts 152 beds with 48 staff members on site at a given time, but it still only has 44 parking spaces.

In recent years, the facility utilized surplus parking at the adjacent Tall Oaks Village Center, but that is no longer an option, thanks to ongoing construction on a long-gestating redevelopment of the shopping center.

Land use attorney Sara Mariska says that Tall Oaks Assisted Living reached an agreement for a parking license with developer Stanley Martin, which agreed to provide 12 spaces on the redeveloped village center lot. However, Tall Oaks would not have 24-hour access, and that would ultimately not be enough spots to accommodate the facility’s needs.

Those 12 spaces have also not yet been constructed, noted John Albert, the development and project management director for Coordinated Services Management, which operates Tall Oaks Assisted Living.

In comparison, the assisted living facility’s proposal would bring its parking lot up to 68 total spaces, with 10 of the 29 new spots envisioned as tandem spaces.

“We’re struggling as a business right now post-pandemic. Our occupancy level is the lowest it’s ever been, and we’re worried about the viability of an ongoing business,” Albert said. “This is something we really didn’t want to do, but we did a parking study, and we really do need every space that’s on this plan right now.”

Tall Oaks Assisted Living representatives said that they are “very sensitive” to the concerns raised by the community and have worked with the adjacent residential neighborhoods to mitigate the impact of their proposal as much as possible.

In addition to reconfiguring the parking lot design to preserve some trees in a section of the property line most in need of buffering, the assisted living center’s request for additional parking is more modest than the 99 spaces that Fairfax County’s zoning ordinance requires for a facility of its size.

“We are requesting a pretty sizable reduction because we do not want to pave over this parking lot,” Mariska said. “We want to constrain our impact as much as we can, and we are requesting only the spaces that we would need for the facility to remain viable.”

Even with those adjustments, however, Tall Oaks still anticipates removing 66 trees and 95 shrubs, and it is only proposing to plant 17 new trees.

Michael Byrne, secretary of the Villa de Espana Cluster Association, expressed sympathy for the assisted living center’s situation, but said it will be difficult for his neighborhood to lose another stand of trees go after they already had a canopy removed by the Tall Oaks Village Center redevelopment.

“Our concerns are obviously losing our tall oaks, what is essentially the beauty of our natural environment, and also what it brings to the drainage problem,” he said. “The trees absorbing water, we don’t have a lot of drainage problems in that section of our quadrant.”

The design review board’s vote this week gave approval to the conceptual plan presented by Tall Oaks Assisted Living, but the applicant will need to return to get approval of its final design, including details about bicycle racks, a proposed retaining wall, and other elements that are still being refined.

The request for additional parking is slated to go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission for a public hearing and vote at 7:30 p.m. on May 19.

Images via Google Maps, Reston Association

Reston Town Center Updates Information on COVID-19 Safety — The town center now has 15-minute parking spots for curbside pickup. Additional seating is also available in the pavilion and Town Square Park. RTC has also increased the frequency of cleaning in all public spaces. [Reston Town Center]

Metro Ridership Increases as Agency Begins Restoring Service — “Daily ridership during Metro’s first week of nearly normal service in five months was up by several thousand, according to preliminary agency statistics. Ridership remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels, but the consistent daily increases show that more Washington-area residents are venturing out and resuming normal activities.” [The Washington Post]

Resources for Assisted Living Concerns — The Northern Virginia Longterm Care Ombudsman Program helps longterm care residents and their families resolve quality of care and quality of life issues at no charge. [Fairfax County Government]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

At the Dulles Health and Rehab Center in Herndon, the COVID-19 situation appears to have taken a turn for the better.

As of earlier this week, the nursing center announced that it is now free of COVID-19. At the center, 66 residents and 20 staff members recovered from the virus.

Recent data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shed new light on the impact of COVID-19 on long-term care facilities.

Overall, nursing homes in Northern Virginia have had 903 cases of COVID-19, according to the newly released data, which provides the first comprehensive look at individual nursing homes. Several facilities have 10 deaths each.

Long-term care facilities have been hit hard by the spread of the novel coronavirus. In late April, 11 patients died from coronavirus-related complications.

The first positive case was reported on March 28.

The 166-bed facility celebrated on Tuesday, June 16, by surprising residents with banana splits and ice cream sundaes.

Photo via Dulles Health and Rehab Center

Great Falls residents will be able to get their questions about a proposed assisted living facility answered at a community meeting tomorrow (Feb. 12).

The 62-unit assisted living facility would open in 2020 at 1131 Walker Road and be run by IntegraCare, according to the Great Falls Citizen Association (GFCA). The site is above the Leesburg Pike and close to Colvin Run Mill.

IntegraCare is seeking a special exception to the county’s zoning laws. For the exception to be granted, the plan must satisfy several zoning requirements, such as showing that the application aligns with the Comprehensive Plan. Public hearings are also required before the county’s Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.

Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust is holding the meeting in coordination with citizens association to give locals in the area the opportunity to ask questions and express their opinions on the proposal. County staff from the Fairfax County Department of Zoning Evaluation will be on hand to answer questions.

“Before deciding whether to approve deny the application, the Board of Supervisors will consider whether the proposed use is compatible with existing or proposed developments in the area,” according to Foust’s newsletter to his constituents, adding that the board “may impose conditions and restrictions to address any negative impacts.”

The community meeting, which will include a presentation by the applicant on revisions to their proposal, will start at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria at the Great Falls Elementary School (701 Walker Road).

County staff reviewed the application and suggested approval of the special exception in the staff report released last week. The Planning Commission will consider the proposal at its Feb. 20 meeting.

Image via Google Maps, rendering via Great Falls Citizen Association

Before its meeting tonight, Reston’s Design Review Board will have another one-hour work session with the developers of the proposed Kensington Senior Living at 11501 Sunrise Valley Drive.

Following a work session with the DRB in May, Kensington has made the following changes to its plan to reduce the project’s size:

• Eliminated an entire floor of the building, resulting in a 2-story building
• Reduced the overall mass of the project by about 30 percent, from 91,000 square feet to 65,000 square feet, resulting in an approximate FAR of 0.83
• Narrowed the width of the building toward the south of the site, resulting in an additional setback to the nearest townhomes of 20 feet
• Reduced the unit count by 23 percent from 91 to 70, and the bed count by 26 percent from 130 to 96

Previous designs for the proposal featured as many as five stories.

The facility would be at the site of the current Good Beginnings School. The property has not yet been sold, with the deal contingent upon the plan’s approval.

At the May work session, residents of the Wethersfield Cluster expressed their concerns about lowered property values, privacy and architectural compatibility. Kensington says it “has considered and is working through different architectural styles, and it “plans to present more detailed building elevations” during tonight’s session.

The documents that have been provided prior to tonight’s session are available here.

The discussion is scheduled for 6 p.m. at RA headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive). The DRB’s regular meeting will begin at 7.

Image via Moseley Architects

In a work session Tuesday (video), Reston’s Design Review Board and Kensington Senior Development made progress on the latter’s plan to put a 91-unit assisted-living facility at 11501 Sunrise Valley Drive.

A re-worked sketch for the proposed facility presented to the DRB at the session pushes the building farther away from nearby townhouses on Approach Lane, part of the Wethersfield Cluster. Where previous proposals had the building within 50 feet of the nearest residence, the new configuration leaves about 80 feet.

The proposal also caps the building at three above-ground stories over one level of underground parking. The center portion of the building would have only two above-ground stories, with a rooftop garden accessible from both sides.

Previous designs for the proposal featured as many as five stories.

“This seems to me to be progress,” said Richard Newlon, DRB vice chair, who was very critical of previous plans. “I think this is going in a direction that is going to be just better.”

The facility would be at the site of the current Good Beginnings School. The property has not yet been sold, with the deal contingent upon the plan’s approval.

Several residents of the Wethersfield Cluster spoke during the session, expressing their concerns about lowered property values, privacy and architectural compatibility.

“The sentiment of the community is that the mass and height of this building is inappropriate at this location so close to a residential community,” said Stephen Cerny, president of the Cluster Association.

DRB members remained skeptical of how the facility would be viewed from Approach Lane and from the adjacent Sunrise Valley Convenience Center. They implored the developer to bring more detailed exhibits to future meetings to address those issues.

While DRB was happy with the effort to move the building farther away from the nearby townhouses, retaining more tree buffer in the process, they asked the developer to explore whether inching even closer to the Sunrise Valley Drive side of the property would be possible.

Screencap via Reston Association/YouTube

Dirt was overturned Thursday morning at 2222 Colts Neck Road, which will soon become the home of the Hunters Woods at Trails Edge Senior Living Community.

The former site of the United Christian Parish church will be transformed between now and January 2019, project leadership says. When complete, the IntegraCare facility will have 210 senior-living units — including 90 independent living units, 81 for assisted living, 24 for memory care and 15 for special needs.

“This facility is going to offer a very broad continuum of services for the seniors in our community,” said David A. Ross, partner and president of developer Atlantic Realty Companies. “We are proud to bring this leading-edge amenity to the community, the first of its kind in Reston.”

The property is located roughly across Colts Neck Road from the entrance to Hunters Woods Village Center. As part of its partnership with the community, the developer has agreed to contribute $81,300 to improve pedestrian trails and pathway lighting within a half-mile of the facility; as well as $60,000 to target improvement of the facade of the Colts Neck pedestrian underpass, in coordination with Public Art Reston and Reston Association.

In addition, $20,000 is being provided for capital improvements to the Nature House.

Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins said these contributions show an understanding of community needs.

“We, 50-plus years old here in Reston, know that for those of us who want to stay here, you have to provide a place for us,” she said. “This is a really great facility in that it meets those needs and it really serves the community.”

Ellen Graves, president of the Reston Association Board of Directors, said the addition of the senior-living community to Reston is a promotion of founder Bob Simon’s vision of providing for people throughout their entire lives.

“[The project supports this] by providing the fullest range of housing, styles and prices,” she said. “Hunters Woods at Trails Edge will provide a choice for those growing older in our community and who want to remain here.”

Among the independent-living units, 20 percent will be designated as affordable housing units, while 4 percent of the assisted-living beds will be for those eligible for the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services Auxiliary Grant Program. There is planned to be 48 full-time staff positions on site, with other medical service professionals providing on-site services as well.

Thursday’s ceremony represented the latest milestone in a 10-year journey to make the facility a reality. The 4.3-acre site was first approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for 210 independent-living units in 2007, but the plan was later amended to the current design. The new plan was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in May 2016.

Pennsylvania-based IntegraCare has several other communities in the Mid-Atlantic region, but this will be its first in Virginia.

“This is really a once-in-a-career opportunity, to be involved in a project that has the nature of this project,” said Rick Irwin, the company’s CEO. “[We are grateful to have] the opportunity to be right near the Reston Community Center and the Southgate Community Center, where our residents can get our support and care but [also] maximize their independence… and have such great access to stay within the fabric of this Reston community.”

Kensington Senior Development LLC hopes to put an assisted-living facility on Sunrise Valley Drive, and the public is invited to give its input.

Fairfax County’s Health Care Advisory Board will hold a public meeting on the proposal Monday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the county Government Center (12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax). At the meeting, a special-exemption application from Kensington to put the facility at 11501 Sunrise Valley Drive will be reviewed.

The sale of the property to Kensington by its current owners, the Good Beginnings School, is contingent upon the approval of the plan by the county.

The application is scheduled for a Sept. 27 hearing before the county Planning Commission. The Health Care Advisory Board, meanwhile, is tasked with reviewing the application from a health care perspective rather than land use, using criteria such as community and medical need, access to care, cost, quality, and continuity of care.

HCAB will make recommendations regarding the proposal to the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission.

The current plan for Kensington’s proposed 91,000-square-foot Reston facility includes 91 units and 125 to 135 beds. The 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-story facility would feature underground parking. A representative from Cooley LLP presented the plan to Reston’s Design Review Board on Feb. 21.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the April 3 meeting of HCAB and provide comments. Anyone who wishes to speak should call 703-246-8664 by Friday. Written comments can also be considered, if they are received prior to the meeting. They can be sent by email to [email protected] or by mail to HCAB Staff Coordinator, Health Department, 10777 Main St., Suite 203, Fairfax, VA 22030.

Image via Cooley LLP/RA YouTube

Several years in the making, work will soon begin on construction of a 230,000-square foot senior living facility at a former site of the United Christian Parish church.

Ground is scheduled to be broken on the IntegraCare facility at 2222 Colts Neck Road on March 30. The project, expected to be completed by 2020, will include 91 independent-living units along with 79 assisted-living units, 24 memory-care units and 16 units for high-acuity patients.

The 4.3-acre site was first approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for 210 independent-living units in 2007, but the plan was later amended to the current design. The new plan was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in May.

The building is to be constructed in two wings, one along Colts Neck Road and the other along Reston Parkway. The former church building still stands on the wooded site, the entrance to which is roughly across from the entrance to Hunters Woods Village Center. A permit application to demolish the building was filed March 9 with Fairfax County.

This will be Wexford, Pennsylvania-based IntegraCare‘s first facility in Virginia.

Illustration via Fairfax County; Map via Google

The agenda for the Feb. 21 meeting of Reston Association’s Design Review Board includes discussion of the redevelopment of a Sunrise Valley Drive property into an assisted-living facility.

Applications by Kensington Senior Development LLC to establish the facility next to the Sunrise Valley Convenience Center were accepted for Fairfax County staff review in November. The site (11501 Sunrise Valley Drive) is currently the home of the Good Beginnings Preschool, a private preschool, day care and kindergarten.

Kensington Senior Development filed a Planned Residential Community (PRC) plan concurrent with a Special Exception for an assisted-living facility on the 1.8-acre property, which is about 675 feet east of the intersection with Soapstone Drive.

A Fairfax County Planning Commission public hearing on the project is scheduled for July 19.

Kensington Senior Development operates a facility in Falls Church, and also has locations in Maryland, New Jersey, New York and California.

Map via Fairfax County

A Reston-based senior living company has filed plans to build a new facility at 11501 Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston.

Kensington Senior Development, LLC’s application was received by the Fairfax County Planning Department last week.

According to the application, Kensington Senior Development has filed a Planned Residential Community (PRC) plan concurrent with a Special Exception for an assisted living facility at that address, which is about 675 feet east of the intersection with Soapstone Drive.

Currently located at 11501 Sunrise Valley is Good Beginnings School, a private preschool, day care and kindergarten. The building has not been sold. The redevelopment plans do not include the Sunrise Valley Convenience Center stores next door.

Kensington currently operates assisted living communities in  Kensington, MD; Sierra Madre, CA; Redwood City, CA; Montclair, NJ; Falls Church, VA; and White Plains, NY.