Attention, chicken lovers: Super Chicken, a Peruvian restaurant, is now open at Reston Heights.
The business celebrated its first day of business on President’s Day. It is located at VY, a residential building at 11830 Sunrise Valley Drive that is part of JBG Smith’s Reston Heights development.
Other planned groundfloor retail includes My Home Thai and California-based burger chain BurgerIM.
In late January, Reston Kabob reopened at Reston Heights.
Photo courtesy Super Chicken
The sun rises again this week for a locally owned restaurant that specializes in kabobs and gyros.
After nearly five years, Reston Kabob is reopening today (Monday) at 11830 Sunrise Valley Drive.
The restaurant was forced to close its location in Reston International Center’s convenience center due to JBG Smith’s planned Reston Heights project, which includes 385 residential units.
Masoud Shoja, the owner, told Reston Now that the soft launch is planned today.
Reston Kabob will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Photos via Masoud Shoja
Retailers at VY at Reston Heights are working toward opening their doors this year on the ground-level of the 385-unit apartment community.
JBG Smith, the developer, unveiled a lineup of retailers last year. Recently, Willpower Functional Fitness backed out of the project. A JBG Smith spokesperson did not indicate why this was the case.
The mixed-use project is located at 11830 Sunrise Valley Drive.
While opening dates are estimates only, most of the retailers are expected to open toward the end of the year. Retailers include My Home Thai, Allure Nails, Super Chicken, Reston Barber, Reston Kabob and California-based chain BurgerIM.
My Home Thai — a carry-out restaurant — could be the first to open sometime in the third quarter of this year.
Other retailers are expected to open in the last quarter of the year.
JBG Smith did not provide specific opening dates or timeframes.
File photo
With little fanfare and discussion yesterday (Tuesday), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved Tishman Speyer’s proposal to redevelop a Reston office park into seven mixed-use buildings next to the future Reston Town Center Metro Station.
The project, known as Reston Crossing, would replace two office buildings with 2 million square feet of development at the intersection the Dulles Toll Road and Reston Crossing. Plans were first pitched in January last year.
Details of Reston Crossing are below:
- Building 1: Up to 390,000 square feet of office and up to 15,000 square feet of retail
- Building 2: Up to 130,000 square feet with between 89 or 144 residential units
- Building 3: Up to 290,000 square feet in a residential-only building with between 144 to 322 units
- Building 4: Up to 510,000 square feet with office and retail use. The building could have up to 22 stories — the tallest of all the buildings
- Building 5: Up to 245,000 square feet with up to 261 residential units and some retail
- Building 6: Up to 230,000 square feet with up to 244 residential units and some retail
- Building 7: Up to 205,000 square feet with up to 222 units and 5,000 square feet of retail
The plan includes 890,000 square feet of office space, more than 1 million square feet of residential and up to 50,000 square feet of retail. More than 1,000 residential units are planned on the 14-acre site. Open light wells called “oculi” will allow pedestrians in open spaces to look down onto the parking level of the site.
The board also approved tweaks to Halley Rise, which will be anchored by Wegmans. One Reston Co. LLC and Two Reston Co. LLC sought to redistribute previously approved square footage to break up what the team called a “crowded block” on the project.
A plan to scale back the amount of office space at Reston Heights (11830 Sunrise Valley Drive) was also approved. The change reduced the amount of previously approved office space by 215,000 square feet.
Rendering via handout/Fairfax County Government
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will consider three major mixed-use developments in Reston next week.
If approved, the vote, which is scheduled for Tuesday, June 25, would bring hundreds of additional residential units, as well as office space and retail to Reston’s Transit Station Areas.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission gave all three proposals a green light in previous weeks.
On the southwest corner of the intersection of Dulles Airport Access and Toll Road and Reston Parkway, Reston Crossing developers seek to build up to 1,194 residential units, 890,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retail in a seven-building development project. Overall, the project would have up to 2 million square of development.
Developers for two other projects are requesting modifications to previously approved plans. Halley Rise, a 31-acre site previously approved by the county, could see some changes in the eight development blocks proposed on the 4.2 million-square-foot development. The project is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Sunrise Valley Drive and Reston Parkway. Currently, grading is underway for the first phase of the development.
The developer seeks to shuffle the makeup of hotel, residential and retail uses throughout the eight blocks of proposed development. Overall, the intensity of development will not change.
Similarly, the team behind Reston Heights (11830 Sunrise Valley Drive) is seeking to reduce the amount of office space that was previously approved by the county.
Renderings via handout/Fairfax County Government
After several deferrals, the Fairfax County Planning Commission finally approved plans to scale back JBG Smith’s Reston Heights development.
The developer is seeking to remove 215,000 square feet of office space and 3,600 square feet of retail from the mixed-use project, which is located at 11830 Sunrise Valley Drive.
But plans were delayed after commissioners expressed concerns about limited stormwater management on the site. The owners of 7-Eleven, which owns the Exxon gas station adjacent to the site, also raised concerns about sharing an access road between the two sites.
At a meeting on Wednesday, June 12, Hunter Mill District Commissioner John Carter said JBG Smith resolved all outstanding issues.
The road between the 7-Eleven parcel and JBG Smith’s property will remain open to vehicles and pedestrians.
The commission also added a condition to augment the proposal’s stormwater manager in order to make up for the loss of trees along Sunrise Valley Drive.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will vote on the project on June 25.
Photos via Fairfax County Government
The Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously approved Prince Towne LLC’s plans to replace four single-family homes near West Ox Road with nine single-family homes Wednesday night.
The plan for the 4.9-acre site, which is on the north side of West Ox Road and east of Fairfax County Parkway, heads to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for a vote in the coming weeks.
Hunter Mill District Planning Commissioner John Carter said several “magical” improvements helped address critical stormwater management and drainage issues on the site.
Carter said the county worked with the applicant to reduce setbacks on the western property line, preserve more trees, and install an underground stormwater management system.
The community has struggled with poor drainage systems in the past, with most water pooling to the center of the community.
The commission also worked with the applicant to tweak elements like the relocation of a driveway by 18 feet and the deletion of a retaining wall.
“What we’ve done in the last six weeks is to work on the layout,” Carter said.
The applicant also plans to install a new street — Prince Towne Court — that will intersect with West Ox Road.
A final vote by the Board of Supervisors has not been scheduled yet.
During the Wednesday meeting, the commission once again deferred a decision on a plan to remove 215,000 square feet of office space from Reston Heights (11830 Sunrise Valley Drive). A dispute about easement access with neighboring property owners, among other issues, stalled the vote.
Carter said the commission needed more time to resolve several issues. A vote is scheduled for May 22.
Photo via handout/Fairfax County Government
Missing Reston Man Found — Steven Stoller, 59, went missing on Monday when he left Bethesda, Maryland. He was located safe and unharmed on Tuesday, according to police. [Montgomery County Police Department]
Comscore Expands into West and Southern Africa — The Reston-based company is expanding its box office measurement services to nine African countries, including Nigeria and South Africa. Company executives say the move can capture the effectiveness of the African film market — one of the “most remarkable cultural developments in recent decades.” [Comscore]
Planning Commission Vote on Prince Towne and Reston Heights Development Proposal Tonight — The panel is expected to vote on scaling back already approved plans for Reston Heights, a mixed-use development already in progress on Sunrise Valley Drive. A vote is also expected on plans for single-family homes on the north side of West Ox Road. [Fairfax County Planning Commission]
Flickr pool photo by vantagehill
A little over a year ago, VY at Reston Heights unveiled a handful of retailers coming to the apartment community. Now, some of those retailers are getting ready for their openings.
At a recent site visit, this Reston Now reporter spotted construction crews working on ground-level retail spots below the 385-unit apartment community (11830 Sunrise Valley Drive).
VY’s website says that its previously announced retailers —Willpower Functional Fitness, Allure Nails, Signature Thai, Super Chicken and Reston Kabob — are “coming soon.”
When Reston Now reached out to JBG Smith earlier this week to find out when the five retailers are set to open, a spokeswoman for the developer said that she wasn’t able to provide updates.
Building permits for 11830 Sunrise Valley Drive, though, provided some insight.
Two carry-out restaurants — My Home Thai and Reston Kabob — have permits for plumbing work. Another restaurant, Chicken Rico, has a building permit for a new tenant layout.
Meanwhile, Men’s Spa and Barber has a permit for an interior alteration for a tenant layout.
Once open, the restaurants and shops will be a quick drive from the Wiehle-Reston East and future Reston Town Center Metro stations.
Last photo via VY websiteÂ
Roughly half of a dozen retailers won’t be affected by JBG Smith Properties’ newest proposed changes to the Reston Heights development.
The developer filed a request with the Fairfax County seeking to scale back planned office and retail space at the mixed-use development near the future Reston Town Center Metro station, Washington Business Journal reported.
The story says that the request includes the removal of existing entitlements for 215,000 square feet of office space, along with 3,600 square feet of retail space the company does not plan to construct at the 385-unit VY apartment community (11830 Sunrise Valley Drive).
JBG Smith told the Washington Business Journal via a spokesman that the request to eliminate the office space is a “change in strategy away from office toward residential in that location.”
Meanwhile, that change keeps the planned retailers intact.
The retail space reduction won’t affect any of the previously announced retailers coming to Reston Heights, a spokesperson for JBG Smith told Reston Now.
The developer announced several retailers for VY around this time last year. Willpower Functional Fitness, Allure Nails, Signature Thai, Super Chicken and Reston Kabob are all “coming soon” to VY, according to the apartment’s website.
The more than 3,000 square feet of retail planned to be removed would be in the base of the building, the spokesperson said.
The Reston Association declined to comment for this story because neither the RA nor its Design Review Board has received any information from JBG Smith about their reconfiguration plans. “Any reconfiguration of the project by JBG Smith will have to come back to Reston Association’s DRB,” Mike Leone, RA’s spokesman, told Reston Now.
JBG Smith would need approval from the county’s Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors to remove the office, Washington Business Journal reported, noting that this isn’t the first time the developer has sought changes to the site’s plans.
Images via VY and JBG Smith
VY, a 385-unit apartment community by JBG Smith, is officially open. Six tenants are expected to take up ground floor retail slots by the summer.
Tenants include Super Chicken, Allure Nails, Signature Thai, and Reston Kabob. WillPower Functional Fitness, a 35,000 square foot gym, was the first retail tenant confirmed in 2016.
The building on 11830 Sunrise Valley Drive is part of JBG’s Reston Heights project, which includes Westin Reston Heights, the Sheraton Reston, the Mercer Condos and office buildings along Sunrise Valley Drive.
VY, which stands for “very,” contains a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments with two-story lofts.Monthly rents range between $1,800 and $3,320. Amenities include an two open-air lounges, a pool, fitness center, courtyard with fire pits, a lawn, on-site dog park, a pet spa and a bike maintenance center.
Greg Trimmer, the company’s executive vice president, said VY will be a “new community landmark.”
“The property sets the bar for luxury living in Reston with a high level of amenities, retail, and access to the outdoors and activities for the consumer who values both a quiet evening in a comfortable home overlooking nature, and entertainment or activity right outside of their front door,” he said.
Photos via JBG Smith
Demolition crews have clear-cut the remaining trees and removed parking lots light poles at what used to be the Reston International Center convenience center.
It’s taken about nine months of work to get ready to construct Phase 2 of Reston Heights — to be called VY at Reston Heights — but it looks as though crews are finally ready to dig and build.
But one structure remains: the stand-alone Popeyes chicken restaurant.
Several Reston Now readers have asked why: Is this a shining beacon of culinary excellence? That’s subjective. A historical building? Not unless “bland 1970s strip mall” is worth preserving.
It’s a matter of business. When JBG began purchasing and assembling the parcels for redevelopment, the owners of the fast food spot at 11850 Sunrise Valley Dr. simply held out.
A bank, two small strip mall centers and the stand-alone Chili’s building all were purchased as the redevelopment was approved by Fairfax County in 2008.
Meanwhile, the 15-story Reston International Center, once the signature high rise of Reston, is also under different ownership and will stay.
VY will be an extension of Reston Heights, where the Sheraton Reston and Westin Reston Heights are located, along with offices and the Mercer Condos. Read More
Updated Thursday with information on what “VY” means.
JBG Companies’ Reston Heights Phase II has a new name: VY at Reston Heights, according to signage at the construction site.
A JBG spokeswoman said this about the name:
“VY is an abbreviation of very, and creates a unique word that allows us to inject further meaning into it when the marketing campaign is launched. Once the name VY is inserted within the context of the brand, it will evoke the vitality and velocity of this new addition to Reston Heights.”
The former site of the Reston International Center’s convenience stores, a bank and a Chili’s Bar and Grill were razed in recent weeks to make way for the mixed-use development.
The Westin Reston Heights, Mercer Condominiums and office buildings make up the first phase of Reston Heights, which was completed several years ago.
The second phase, approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2013, will have a six-story residential building, a 15-story residential building, a five-story building that incorporates a parking garage with residences and retail space; and a 10-story building that mixes office space, parking and retail space.
The plan includes 145,000 square feet of above-grade retail, 100,00 square feet of below-grade retail, 428,225 square feet of office and 498 residential units.
The only major tenant signed thus far is 24 Hour Fitness, a JBG spokeswoman said.
However, a rendering at the construction site gives a sneak peek into the cafes, shops and outdoor seating that will eventually be at the development.
This week, Reston Now will highlight some of the most read-stories of 2015. At No. 4 is the closing of Reston Kabob.
Reston restaurants come and go pretty often.
But no business closing of 2015 had quite the readership and reaction like the one for Reston Kabob, which was located at the International Center shops for more than a dozen years.
Read the original story on Reston Now.
The family owned spot at 1844 Sunrise Valley Dr. had to close in late July due to the upcoming redevelopment of the shopping center.
The building was finally torn down this month, and the stretch along Sunrise Valley will be redeveloped by JBG Companies into a new mixed-use property. The owners of Reston Kabob say they may be interested in returning to Reston Heights, as the new development will be called, when it opens in a few years.
Meanwhile, the operate Grill Kabob at 905 Herndon Pkwy in Herndon.
Demolition finally began on Tuesday the Reston International Center’s retail buildings.
The businesses there closed over the last 18 months to make way for JBG’s large, mixed-use extension of Reston Heights.
Wells Fargo Bank shut down in the summer of 2014, followed by Chili’s in December 2014. By August, the strip that housed Reston Kebob, a 7-Eleven and a dry cleaners closed too.
After months of pre-construction work and asbestos removal, the wrecking ball made quick work of the Reston Kabob strip, demolishing it in one day. Chili’s is still a work in progress.
The stand-alone Popeyes will remain throughout the redevelopment.
JBG’s Reston Heights Phase 2 will include a six-story residential building; a 15-story residential building; a five-story building that incorporates a parking garage with residences and retail space; and a 10-story building that mixes office space, parking and retail space.
One major tenant, 24-Hour Fitness, has been signed for Phase 2.
