Now that Metro has come to Reston, the biggest challenge is getting pedestrians, cyclists and drivers easily connected with public transportation.

That was the theme of a legislative forum sponsored by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce at Reston Station on Wednesday.

Officials at the state, county and Reston level gave their thoughts on moving Reston forward as it becomes a transit-oriented community.

However, issues, even temporary ones such as a crash, affect the region overall, said Marty Nohe, chairman of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.

“There is no such thing as a Reston or Fairfax transportation problem,” he said. “At 5:15 p.m., a small fender bender in Prince William County can cause delays in Arlington. … Congestion relief is a top priority.”

Nohe said the NVTA has gotten nearly a half-billion dollars in new projects approved for Northern Virginia in the last three years.

At the county level, some of the most critical future projects include new crossings for the Dulles Toll Road; widening the Fairfax County Parkway; and implementing bus service to link this part of the county with the Springfield area, said Tom Biesiadny, director of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.

Biesiadny also said the following are of high importance: bicycle and pedestrian improvements, walkways and sidewalks on such roads as Fox Mill, Glade, North Shore, Soapstone, Sunrise Valley and Sunset Hills; and a bike/pedestrian overpass at the W&OD Trail at Wiehle and Sunset Hills.

He said the latter is currently moving forward with a design plan. Meanwhile, there will be an update on the Soapstone crossing of the Dulles Toll Road at a community meeting Monday evening at South Lakes High School.

“The Reston Comprehensive Plan, approved in 2014, includes significant enhancements in transportation,” he said. “That includes four toll road crossing areas and mixed-use development [around the Metro stations] and a grid of streets around the stations.”

Reston Association CEO Cate Fulkerson says RA is placing a high priority on “what we need to do to address connectivity” for pedestrians and cyclists using RA paths and roads.

Comstock Partners spokeswoman Maggie Parker said developers need to work together with government and RA to reach those goals.

“We need to pay attention to development, enhance the urban grid and not put impediments into that process,” she said.

Fulkerson agrees teamwork is necessary as transportation develops.

“An impediment would be not having all the people at the table when talking elements that need to go in.”

What does the future hold for transit and traffic as Reston continues to grow?

That’s the subject of a legislative forum hosted by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

State and local transportation officials will share updates on transportation improvements in Reston. Some of the topics addressed include:

• State priorities, flow of money to localities and 6-year plan
• Challenges facing the regional authority and impact on Fairfax/Reston projects
• Fairfax County’s six-year plan and collaboration with the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance to prioritize regional projects

Panelists include Nancy Hiteshue Smith, Policy Director, Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance; Jim Dyke, Attorney, McGuireWoods LLP and Member of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation Board; and Marty Nohe, Chairman, Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.

There will also be representatives from the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, Dulles Area Transportation Association, Comstock Partners and Reston Association.

The forum is 8 to 10 a.m. at Reston Station. Visit the chamber’s website for more information and registration.

Photo: Traffic on Wiehle Avenue / Credit Reston 2020

Comstock, which announced on Thursday that Founding Farmers will open at Reston Station in 2016, is also planning a pop-up retail project called Urban Pop on the Reston Station Plaza.

Urban Pop will host retail and food vendors in some of the areas of the plaza that are currently fenced off, said Comstock spokeswoman Maggie Parker. The construction fencing will come down to expand the plaza enough for outdoor retail space.

The market concept is similar, but smaller in scale, to The Stock Market @ Reston Station that Comstock discussed last year, said Parker. That plan was shelved a few months ago.

Parker said Urban Pop will bring a curated mix of shops and artisans to “that would be of benefit to commuters,” said Parker.

No vendors have been signed yet, but Comstock plans to have the project open in Spring 2016. Founding Farmers will likely open in late 2016, Farmers Restaurant Group said Thursday.

Meanwhile, look for Smartmarkets, which operates the Wednesday farmers market on the plaza, to return in 2016. The market, which had space at two locations off Sunrise Valley at Reston Parkway the last five years, moved to Reston Station last spring. Parker said Comstock and the farmers were both pleased with the plaza location in 2015.

The vendors will be on the plaza Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. through November, said Parker.

Reston will be getting a local outpost of Founding Farmers, the local chainlet of farm-to-table restaurants.

Comstock Partners confirms that the Farmers Restaurant Group has signed a lease to take over almost all of the current retail space at Reston Station.

The 10,000-square-foot restaurant is in the design stage, says Comstock spokeswoman Maggie Parker.

“We are delighted to have them out here,” said Parker. “Founding Farmers is a terrific, successful restaurant. It’s a great fit for Reston. “

The retail space was completed prior to the opening of Silver Line in summer 2014. It has not had a permanent tenant, but has been used for special events in the months since. Comstock late last year announced a new concept — The Stock Market @ Reston Station — that would bring retail and food booths to the space. The deal fell apart in July, however.

The restaurant space will eventually be the first level of a future hotel at Reston Station. Reston Station is Comstock’s mixed-use project that sits atop the 3,300-space underground parking garage adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Silver Line Metro station.

Founding Farmers, which has locations in the District, Rockville and Tysons Corner, said to expect “something different in Reston, including a rooftop dining scene.”

“Reston is a wonderful, growing community and we’re excited to be joining the neighborhood, ” Dan Simons of Farmers Restaurant Group said in a statement. “As we expand, we’re passionately committed to evolving with each new location. Between the location of Reston Station and the chance to work with Comstock, this was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.”

Founding Farmers is expected to open in Reston in late 2016, after the company opens Farmers & Distillers, a 12,000-square-foot restaurant with in-house distillery , planned for 600 Massachusetts Ave. NW in the District, Parker said.

Founding Farmers other locations include breakfast, lunch and dinner service; meats from an in-house butchery; local craft beers; Virginia oysters; and a selection of locally distilled liquors.

Comstock is also slated to start work on Reston Station’s first office building soon, said Parker. The 16-story, 365,000-square-foot building, designed by architect Helmut Jahn, will have, among other amenities, a rooftop helipad, and plaza-level retail.

The BLVD at Reston Station, the 528-unit luxury residential building by Comstock, will open a pre-leasing center soon in a small portion of the retail space on the plaza, said Parker. The building expects to have its first residents early in 2016.

Photo: Founding Farmers Rockville location/Credit: Greg Powers for Founding Farmers

Reston Station is taking summer into fall with its ‘Watch Under Our Stars’ movie series Saturdays through Nov. 1.

Favorite 1980s movies will be shown on the plaza at 11389 Reston Station Boulevard, Reston, Virginia.

This weekend’s movie: Sixteen Candles.

Here’s the rest of the schedule:

Oct. 17 – Beetle Juice (PG)
Oct. 24 – Hocus Pocus (PG)
Nov. 1 – Ghost Busters (PG)

Admission is free. Movie time is at sunset, but viewers will start gathering at 7 p.m. for food, music, picnicking, and fun for all ages.

The plaza area is lined with concrete pavers, so Comstock, the series’ sponsor, is encouraging attendees to bring low chairs or cushions.

Comstock Partners has formed a new partnership with Tokyo-based Daito Trust Construction Co., Ltd., which has purchased an equity interest in Comstock’s BLVD luxury apartment tower.

BLVD is the first of of eight buildings planned by Comstock at Reston Station, adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. BLVD is scheduled to begin leasing later this month and will have its first occupants in early 2016, said Comstock spokeswoman Maggie Parker.

Daito is says the $35.5 million investment in BLVD builds on its success in the multi-family rental market in Japan and the partnership with Comstock continues the Japanese company’s overseas strategy of strategic investments in strong markets with accomplished U.S. based firms.

Said Comstock’s Managing Director, Christopher Clemente: “We are proud of our association with a firm of Daito’s stature and we are excited about the potential of our partnership with Daito. As one of Japan’s most accomplished multi-family rental housing operators, Daito’s significant sector knowledge and financial strength compliments Comstock’s operational skills and financial capabilities.”

BLVD will have 448 residential units, including 88 workforce housing units, and an eventual 8,500 square feet of ground floor retail. Amenities include a roof top pool and terrace, a fully equipped fitness center, yoga room, business center, secure garage parking, and numerous outdoor amenities including cooking stations and a movie screening area.

The apartments will be part of Reston Association as part of a new fee structure for properties in Reston’s former industrial zone.

A new interactive public art display was put in place on the plaza at Reston Station on Tuesday.

The Courage Wall has gone up on the construction fencing near the BLVD Apartments on the plaza to capture thoughts of Metro passengers as they head to the Wiehle-Reston East station. It urges people to chalk-in the ending to the sentence “I wish I had the courage to….”

The piece, sponsored in Reston by Comstock Partners, is similar to the “Before I Die” project, which had a brief stay at Lake Anne Plaza last year.

“Reston Station is delighted to host the Courage Wall,” said Comstock spokeswoman Maggie Parker. “This is the start of the community conversation about who we are and what makes us tick.”

Parker said the wall will remain up until Sept. 26, when it will be replaced with the Reston Station portion of the “We Make Reston” photo project.

The Courage Wall is 80 feet long and features seven languages, including English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic and Hindi.

The Courage Wall project started in May in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria. People of all ages participate in the wall to share their thoughts such as  “Forgive my mother…Start a coffee shop…Run for office…Skydive…Be the man she thinks I am…Love my body…Adopt a child…”

In July,  the Courage Wall moved to Ballston, where it stayed for two months.

Alexandria’s Nancy Belmont, owner of the branding agency, Belmont, Inc., started the wall in order to spark a conversation on courage. She says it is her hope is that the Courage Wall helps people make declarations that will lead to live bigger, bolder, more authentic lives.

There will be a special event at Reston Station hosted by Belmont on Thursday, Sept. 24. at 7 p.m. Belmont will interview three people who displayed courage to make changes in their lives as part of a “Conversations in Courage” discussion.

Photo: Courage Wall/Credit: Nancy Belmont

In the midst of the booths that are selling ripe, red tomatoes, fresh peaches and homemade baked goods at Reston Station is Patrick Roche, the Smartmarkets’ fungi guy.

Roche operates Semper Fi Fungi at Reston’s Smartmarket at Reston Station Wednesday afternoons. He can also usually be found at the Oakton Smartmarket on Saturday and Chantilly on Thursday as well.

Roche, a former Marine, has been identifying and foraging Fairfax and Loudoun County land from mushrooms since he was a kid. Now he has turned that into a foodie business, selling a variety of mushrooms this time of year.

This week, he had Giant Polypore mushrooms for sale. Those are fungi as big as your head — growing in 2.5-pound clumps. Roche sells them for $6 for one-half pound.

“I wouldn’t suggest someone buy the entire two pounds,” says Roche. “They probably wouldn’t eat it in time [before it went bad].”

Roche, who also carries chanterelle, morel and other mushrooms, depending on what is available, will also tell you how to prepare your find.

He says the Giant Polypores are tasty after they are sautéed down and put in a soup.

Patrick Roche of Semper Fi Fungi with a Giant Polypore

The plan to have an urban-style food and retail market at Reston Station has been put on hold, at least for now.

Comstock, which is developing the mixed-use neighborhood at the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station, says it has parted ways with entertainment lawyer and restauranteur Michael Holstein.

When The Stock Market project for the 11,000-square-foot retail center at Reston Station was announced last December, Comstock and Holstein said they planned to have 10-25 vendors selling a variety of food, drink and other goods in the space by summer 2015.

“I still think it is a great spot,” Comstock spokeswoman Maggie Parker said on Tuesday. “The best service to our residents is to have local marketplace.”

Both Holstein and Comstock said the parting was friendly and mutual.

Parker said the market concept could still happen in the future under different leadership. She also said there have been several restaurants that have looked at taking over the entire space.

Eventually, the space above the retail center will be built out as a hotel.

The 448-unit BLVD Apartments at Reston Station will begin leasing this fall, with the first residents moving in in February, said Parker.

Parker also said the project’s first office building will begin construction this fall. The 16-story building will have 350,000 square feet of space.

The former Reston Mini-Storage site, as well as the small commercial strip in the 11400 block of Sunset Hills Road have been razed in order to make room for the construction of apartments.

The tear-down has been happening the last two weeks and crews are working their way through the giant pile of bricks, steel and other debris.

The tenants had been moved out last year in order to make way for the construction. The five-acre parcel goes from Sunset Hills to Reston Station Boulevard, just across from Comstock’s BLVD Apartments at Reston Station, as well as the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station.

Reston developer Chuck Veatch, owner of the property, is working on the project with The Bozzuto Group.

The parcel was rezoned from Industrial to Planned Mixed Use Residential in 2010. A 421-unit building with 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail has been approved. See the county staff report for more details on the project.

Reston Association and Comstock are hosting a happy hour outdoor party for a good cause on Thursday.

The Backyard at Reston Station will be held on the outdoor plaza from 4 to 7 p.m.

There will be live music by Gina DeSimone & The Moaners, plus food trucks, including EatCarolinaQ, Feelin’ Crabby Food Truck , South Meets East and Sweetz Cheesecake.

All beer and wine sales benefit Friends of Reston. Friends of Reston is the non-profit that assists Reston Association with camp scholarships, bike racks, recycling bins, community gardens, nature education and tree plantings throughout the community.

Reston Station is the complex adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station at Wiehle Aveue and Sunset Hills Road. There is free parking in the surface lot across the street or at paid garage parking for under $5.

Photo: Reston Station Plaza/Courtesy Comstock

Smart Market, the Wednesday farmers market that had been operating at Sunrise Valley and Reston Parkway the last several years, will change locations this season.

Smart Market operator Jean Janssen says the afternoon market will open at Reston Station’s Plaza on May 6.

Reston Station, located adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station, is soon to be a foodie destination. The Stock Market @ Reston Station, with about a dozen food stalls and other retailers, is slated to open soon, and developer Comstock is hoping the area turns into a shopping, food truck and dining destination.

“We are very excited to have a farmers market,” says Comstock spokeswoman Maggie Parker. “We think it is a great opportunity for Metro commuters, and I know I will be stocking my office fridge with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.”

Janssen said on the market’s Facebook page that the Reston Corner office complex’s recent sale made it difficult to secure market space for this season.

Janssen also said she is working with Comstock on ways to make parking available on the outdoor parking deck, adjacent to where the market will be located.

Meanwhile, the Saturday Reston Farmers Market and craft market will open for the season at Lake Anne Plaza on May 2.

Reston Association has begun the process of adding the 450-unit BLVD apartments to the association.

RA’s Board of Directors voted at its regular meeting on March 26 to undertake the necessary steps to add the 450-unit luxury high rise currently under construction above the Reston Station parking garage adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro.

BLVD, which will have one-, two- and three-bedroom units, is expected to begin leasing later this year.

Under RA Bylaws, properties can be added to the association with written consent of fee simple owner (in this case, Comstock Properties) and a two-thirds vote of BOD, said RA CEO Cate Fulkerson.

“Before submitted to deed, the board must give notice to members and conduct public hearings,” she said.

The Board of Directors passed a motion several years ago to make adding new construction in Restona priority for the association. Properties within Reston Town Center are not in RA territory. New buildings such as The Harrison, which recently opened on Reston Parkway, and BLVD, as well as planned new and replacement construction at the Crescent Apartments site, are slated to be RA members.

The RA board will vote on the BLVD process on April 15. There will be public hearings on May 28 and June 25, with a final vote by the board in June.

The Stock Market @ Reston Station is looking towards its future as a retail and restaurant destination by searching for some of the staff to make it happen.

Developer Comstock announced in December that the 11,000-square-foot space adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro stop will become an “urban, hip marketplace and retail space” with between 10-25 vendors.

The Stock Market is a being developed by Michael Holstein. Holstein is an area entertainment lawyer and businessman who founded (and recently sold) Rockville’s Quench restaurant.

Holstein says he is looking for two spots to fill to get going. A Business Development/Sales & Marketing Manager and a Marketing Manager. Click through to see the hiring criteria for both positions. Read More