Thousands of soccer fans lined Market Street and Fountain Square Sunday for a World Cup viewing party hosted by D.C. United.
We were there — and so were many of you — to watch as the U.S. Men’s National team tied with Portugal from Manaus, Brazil. The U.S. was leading 2-1 in the 95th minute and a victory would have vaulted them into the Round of 16. But Portugal’s goal in the final seconds of stoppage time means everything is on the line in Thursday’s noon match against Germany.
Alas, no plans for a giant Reston gathering like this one.
Reston will be a great place to show your team spirit on Sunday when the U.S. Men’s National Soccer team plays Portugal in Manaus, Brazil, in the 2014 World Cup.
Major League Soccer’s D.C. United is hosting “Celebrate Soccer,” a World Cup party at Reston Town Center. The fun begins at noon and admission is free.
The party will take place in the pavilion and on Market Street, where fans of all ages will have a chance to meet and mingle with D.C. United players.
Two giant screens will air games from Brazil all day. The schedule: Belgium vs. Russia (noon), followed by South Korea vs. Algeria (3 p.m.) and USA vs. Portugal (6 p.m.).
There will also be food and drinks available for purchase, as well as prizes and activities for kids.
D.C. United’s major sponsor, Leidos, is located at Reston Town Center.
Photo: U.S. Soccer fans/Credit: Braveheartsports via Flickr
Reston Association on Thursday voted unanimously to amend the Use and Maintenance Standards Resolution 15 regarding air-conditioning service in Lake Anne neighborhoods that use RELAC.
The amendment allows for Lake Anne residents to apply for a medical exemption to the covenant that requires their property to use the lake water-cooled system. Click here to read the resolution.
About 300 homes are bound by deed to use the RELAC system. Residents of some of the homes that use RELAC users say the system, which was touted as quiet and state-of-the-art in the 1960s, is inefficient and produces mold. Many have added supplementary air conditioning systems to their homes, but the medical exemption for that home expires if the home is sold.
RA has allowed for medical exemptions in the past and had been discussing modifications to that policy since last year.
The board added new language about what constitutes a disability. One of the main changes includes adding a form that must be signed by a physician in order to get a temporary exemption. RA did soften the language on the form at the request of residents.
Meanwhile, the Fairfax County Planning Commission was scheduled to hold a public hearing Wednesday night on the transformation of Reston Town Center’s surface parking lot to a mixed-use development.
That hearing was deferred until June 25.
Developer Boston Properties’ plans for the surface lot at Reston Town Center include two high-rise residential buildings as well as a park with a yoga area, public art and picnic areas. The 6.35-acre site, called Block 4, is currently a 251-space surface parking lot, the only remaining surface lot at Reston Town Center. The lot is currently zoned for up for 250,000 square feet of office space.
According to the county planning staff report, which recommends approval of the project, the 250,000 square feet of office density represents the last remaining non-residential density available under the proffered maximum 3.465 million square feet of non-residential development approved within Reston’s urban core.
Boston Properties is seeking to move the office development to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located, with additional office space above.
The plan calls for turning the three-story retail/office building, part of One Fountain Square, into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday night on the transformation of Reston Town Center’s surface parking lot to a mixed-use development.
Developer Boston Properties’ plans for the surface lot at Reston Town Center include two high-rise residential buildings as well as a park with a yoga area, public art and picnic areas. The 6.35-acre site, called Block 4, is currently a 251-space surface parking lot, the only remaining surface lot at Reston Town Center. The lot is currently zoned for up for 250,000 square feet of office space.
According to the county planning staff report, which recommends approval of the project, the 250,000 square feet of office density represents the last remaining non-residential density available under the proffered maximum 3.465 million square feet of non-residential development approved within Reston’s urban core.
The meeting is at the Fairfax County Government Center, 8:15 p.m. To sign up to speak, visit the Planning Commission website.
Boston Properties is seeking to move the office development to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located, with additional office space above.
The plan calls for turning the three-story retail/office building, part of One Fountain Square, into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.
Block 4 and 5 development will flow into other approved high-density development nearby.
The Spectrum, a low-rise strip mall located just across New Dominion Parkway, has been approved for redevelopment into 774,879 square feet of non-residential use and 1,422 multifamily residential units in seven new residential buildings. The new area will feature a hotel, and Harris Teeter is the only retailer expected to remain under the current plan.
Additionally, part of the Spectrum will wrap around the planned 23-story office tower at Bowman Towne Drive and Reston Parkway. That building, which will contain retail and 18 stories of offices, was approved by the supervisors in 2012.
On Thursday, the Reston Association Board of Directors will hold a special meeting to discuss who can get an exemption from RELAC, the lake water-fueled air conditioning system that about 300 homes near Lake Anne are required to use.
Homes that have a RELAC system are bound by deed to use it unless owners can show a reason for a medical exemption. The RA board has been discussing changes to the RELAC policy since last year. It was slated to be revisited by February.
Online tickets are now available for the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of Reston, which returns to Reston Town Center Friday and Saturday.
Festival hours are Friday from 3 to 11 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. The carnival rides will also be open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Admission is free, but patrons will need tickets to purchase food and beverages and ride the rides. Discount advance purchase food/drink tickets are $24 for $20. Advance purchase ride tickets are $24 for $20. You can also purchase an all-you-can ride wristband for $20. Visit the ticket section of the Taste of Reston website to buy.
Tickets will also be available for purchase at the Taste of Reston.
Taste of Reston is the largest outdoor food festival in the area and was voted 2012, 2013, and 2014 “Northern Virginia’s Best Food Festival” by Virginia Living magazine.
More than 20 restaurants will offer tastes of their menus in the booths along Market Street. Among the booths: Clyde’s, Big Bowl, The Counter, Il Fornaio, M & S Grill and more. Visit Taste of Reston online for a complete list. Hooked Seafood & Sushi, whose crab cake sliders won first place in the 2013 Taste, will also be returning to the festival.
The Taste of Reston will also offer wine and beer for patrons 21 and over. Among the brews on tap: Fat Tire, Blue Moon and Sierra Nevada.
Other highlights of the Taste of Reston:
- A Wine n’ Dine section, where some of the area’s top chefs will demonstrate their favorite food and wine recipes. Wine n’ Dine participants include Vinifera Wine Bar & Bistro, Paradise Springs Winery, Paolo’s Ristorante and The Melting Pot. On Saturday from noon to 11 p.m., the Wine ‘n Dine section will feature a Market Place, where vendors will sell cooking-related products.
- Live entertainment on four stages, including the Main Stage in the Pavilion and a a family fun stage at Market and Presidents Streets. See the full entertainment schedule on the Taste of Reston website.
- A Family Fun Zone! sponsored by the YMCA Fairfax County Reston and the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. The Family Fun Zone! will feature fun activities, interactive games, demonstrations, arts and crafts for all ages. On Saturday from noon to 6:30 p.m. there will be food, fit and fun demonstrations.
Photo: Taste of Reston/Credit: Reston Town Center
The Reston Town Center pavilion will be full of people stretching, moving and doing sun salutations as the sixth annual Love Your Body Yoga Festival takes place Sunday.
Love Your Body — founded by Reston resident and Beloved Yoga co-owner Maryam Ovissi — is a chance to try yoga and take part in a wide variety of health and wellness activities for the whole family.
“This is truly an event for everyone — young and old, yogis, and those who have never tried yoga before,” says Ovissi. “At Love Your Body Yoga Festival, everyone can learn about the many ways to take care of their bodies from the inside out — physically, mentally, and emotionally — to feel stronger and healthier.”
The free event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Donations for participation on specific classes will benefit Cornerstones.
Love Your Body Yoga Festival also launches the official start of Virginia Yoga Week 2014.
Love Your Body Yoga Festival Schedule and Highlights
(To see full class descriptions and list of performers, visit the Love Your Body Day Yoga Festival website)
Main Stage: Presentations begin with Beloved Yoga’s opening class and live music at 10 a.m.; followed by a variety of classes for all levels of yoga from various local studios. Classes are 20 to 25 minutes in length. Day will end with a Closing Circle Celebration from 2:40 until 3 p.m.
Bhakti Tent: Live music through the day, and indulgence in the art of devotion through mantra and sound.
Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda Tent: 10- to 15-minute talks about various topics and how to utilize the tools of yoga to find wellbeing and balance. Ayurvedic services will be available, and practitioners will answer questions.
Kids Tent: Scheduled activities for all ages include storytelling, hula hooping, dance, and laughter yoga, as well as yoga especially for kids.
Photo: Love Your Body Yoga Festival 2013/Courtesy Love Your Body Yoga Festival
Major League Soccer’s D.C. United will host “Celebrate Soccer,” a World Cup party at Reston Town Center on June 22.
The free party will take place in the pavilion and on Market Street, where fans of all ages will have a chance to meet and mingle with D.C. United players.
The fun begins Sunday, June 22 at noon, with the live broadcast of USA vs. Portugal from Brazil at 6 p.m. The party will go until 9 p.m.
There will be two giant screen TVs, as well as food, drinks, giveaways and activities for kids.
D.C. United’s major sponsor, Leidos, is located at Reston Town Center.
World of Beer opened its doors at 1888 Explorer St. at Reston Town Center on Monday.
This is the second Virginia location for the Florida-based franchise, which also has a store in Arlington.
The 4,500-square-foot space in the ground floor of The Avant apartments features a rotating selection of hundreds of beers from around the world. There are also other spirits, a food menu and flat screen TVs broadcasting sports.
The Reston World of Beer also features patio seating and live music Thursday-Saturday.
Developer Boston Properties’ plans for the surface lot at Reston Town Center include two high-rise residential buildings as well as a park with a yoga area, public art and picnic areas.
The plans will be presented to the Fairfax County Planning Commission in a public hearing on June 11, marking another step forward in the transformation of Reston’s urban core.
The 6.35-acre site, called Block 4, is currently a 251-space surface parking lot, the only remaining surface lot at Reston Town Center. The lot is currently zoned for up for 250,000 square feet of office space.
According to the county planning staff report, the 250,000 square feet of office density represents the last remaining non-residential density available under the proffered maximum 3.465 million square feet of non-residential development approved within Reston’s urban core.
Boston Properties is seeking to move the office development to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located, with additional office space above.
The plan calls for turning the three-story retail/office building, part of One Freedom Square, into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.
The residences will feature one tower standing 19 stories tall and the other 21 stories tall. There will also be a nine-level parking structure (with three levels below ground).
There will be up to 25,100 square feet of ground level retail space and an additional 20,000 square feet of retail that would be partially located underground.
At the base of the 21-story tower will be two-level townhouse units, stacked three high. Each ground-level unit will have a terrace along New Dominion Parkway. Five levels of residences will also wrap around the parking structure. The complex will have its own pool.
Along President’s Street, the developers plan open space with outdoor dining areas and a pedestrian connection from the buildings to a proposed park along Reston Parkway. The park will feature a yoga deck, lawn and public art space.
As one of the proffered conditions for construction, the developers will have to meet Fairfax County requirements for tree preservation. They will also have to build road improvements such as left turn lanes from Reston Parkway, New Dominion Parkway and Fountain Drive. Sixteen percent of the housing units will be set aside as workforce housing.
Block 4 and 5 development will flow into other approved high-density development nearby.
The Spectrum, a low-rise strip mall located just across New Dominion Parkway, has been approved for redevelopment into 774,879 square feet of non-residential use and 1,422 multifamily residential units in seven new residential buildings. The new area will feature a hotel, and Harris Teeter is the only retailer expected to remain under the current plan.
Additionally, part of the Spectrum will wrap around the planned 23-story office tower at Bowman Towne Drive and Reston Parkway. That building, which will contain retail and 18 stories of offices, was approved by the supervisors in 2012.
All 2.1 million square feet of office space at Reston Town Center is leased, with more being planned to accommodate prospective tenants. And with Metro’s Silver Line slated to open this summer, business around here is going to transform, Rep. Gerry Connolly said.
That was the takeaway from the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce’s annual Virtual Realty Tour at the Hyatt Regency Reston on Wednesday. The event brings together local developers and commercial real estate representatives for a look at what’s happening in the Dulles corridor.
“You look at Clarendon-Ballston,” Connolly (D-Va. 11th) said of the transit-oriented Arlington business hub. “That is three-miles long. The Dulles corridor is 23 miles long. When we are finished it is going to be a hub of employment.”
Gerald Gordon, President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said Reston has 20 million square feet of office space, and another 8.5 million square feet can still be built under the blueprint of the Reston Master Plan.
But that has an impact on the rest of the county, where there is 18 million square feet of vacant space, said Gordon. Businesses want to be on the Silver Line, which will have five stops from Tysons to Reston when Phase 1 opens.
“All laws of supply-and-demand have been suspended for the next few years,” said Gordon. “Businesses want to be on the Metro line. Tysons/Reston are healthy and drive the economy of the rest of the county.”
Pete Otteni, Vice President of Development for Boston Properties, which owns most of the space at town center, gave an update on what’s happening there:
- 100 percent of the retail space at Reston Town Center is leased.
- The Avant, Boston Properties new luxury residential building that opened last fall, is 40 percent leased.
- World of Beer, located in The Avant’s ground floor, will open Monday. Other Avant ground-level retail spaces on the way are CVS, which will open in mid-June, and Barcelona and Bar Taco, which will open in late summer.
- The plan for redevelopment of the Reston Town Center’s surface lot will go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission June 11. The plan calls for 250,000 square feet of office space, 500 new luxury residences and 25,000 square feet of retail. Included in the plan is removing the two-story space where FedEx/Kinkos now stands and building a 17-story office tower.
- Boston Properties also has plans for Reston Gateway. That development will be on the 22 acres between the future Reston Parkway Metro Station (slated to open as part of Phase 2 in 2018) and Reston Town Center. Gateway will feature 3-4 million square feet of mixed use space, said Otteni.
- Future development is also expected to happen at Town Center North, the adjacent area around the Fairfax County Police Reston District Station.
Photo: The Avant and office buildings at Reston Town Center
Summer is nearly here. Time to grab your your beach chairs and head for the Reston Town Center pavilion, where free concerts on the town will take place Saturdays this summer.
Shows begin at 7:30 p.m., rain or shine.
Here is the lineup:
- June 7 — Hard Day’s Night (Beatles Tribute)
- June 14 — Taste of Reston musical performances
- June 21 — Big Joe and the Dynaflows (New Orleans-style swing, jump blues)
- June 28 — Jambulay with the Panmasters Steel Orchestra (Soul, funk, horn-fueled pop)
- July 5 — Chuck Redd and Friends (Jazz night featuring Sharón Clark, Nicki Parrott & Adrian Cunningham) Concert format with no dance floor.
- July 12 — Jackass Flats (Bluegrass, country)
- July 19 — Deanna Bogart Band with Bruce Ewan (Boogie-woogie, jump blues)
- July 26 — Incendio (Spanish guitar, flamenco, Latin fusion)
- August 2 — Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowbots (Louisiana zydeco, high-energy blues)
- August 9 — Baaba Seth (funk, world fusion)
- August 16 — The Real Geniuses (hits from the 50s to today)
- August 23 — Airmen of Note (U.S. Air Force Band, big band jazz) Concert format with no dance floor
- August 30 — David Akers & The American Soul Shakers (Motown, rhythm & blues)
Reston artist Cindy Grisdela hoped that her weekend at the Northern Virginia Fine Art Festival would result in sales of her brightly colored art quilts.
Instead, she wrapped up the weekend by filing a police report.
Some time between the show’s 8 p.m. closing on Saturday and the morning opening on Sunday, six works were stolen from Grisdela’s booth on Market Street at the Reston Town Center festival. The pieces ranged in value from $125 to $1,675, she said.
“I just would like the work back,” said Grisdela. “It means a lot to me.”
It also means a lot to her bottom line. Artists are in the midst of festival season. Grisdela said she has commitments for other festivals and will have to go with much less inventory.
“I am a fiber artist,” she said. “My process takes a long time. I just can’t make more work [in time].”
Grisdela describes the works on her blog:
When I last saw them as I closed up my tent last Saturday night, all of the pieces were mounted on artist’s canvas painted black. Geranium, below left, is 16″ w x 12″ h. Song of the Heart, below right, is 20″ h x 20″ w. City Streets, at the bottom of the page, is two panels from a triptych and each panel is 20″ h x 20″ w. They are all signed on the back of the canvas and my name, Cindy Grisdela, is free motion stitched onto the front of each piece.
The two other pieces were smaller. Peacock Drive is 12″ x 12″ in pastel colors. It has an improvisational stripe including two small house shapes running horizontally, an upper blue border and a lower green one. Tropicana is 8″ x 8″ with an orange-red central block and blue borders.
Grisdela has notified festival organizers and the Fairfax County Police.
Festival organizers strongly recommend that artists take their works home with them at night, says Greater Reston Arts Center (GRACE) Executive Director Holly McCullough. The booths zip up but they do not lock. GRACE pays for FCPD officers to do security overnight by the pavilion and to rove among the 200 booths around the town center.
McCullough said GRACE does not have liability for theft as it would be impossible for the nonprofit to obtain an insurance policy large enough to cover the value of all the works. Artists are encouraged to carry festival insurance, she said.
“This is an extremely distressing incident,” said McCullough. “Theft is not something that is common at the festival.”
Grisdela, who has been on the festival circuit for three years, said most artists do not remove everything from the booths.
“It is just not feasible to take them out and bring them back,” she said. “You risk damaging the work every day. The only people I know who do that are jewelers with small, portable works.”
There has been theft at the festival before. Ten years ago, someone walked off with a life-sized statue of a woman in the middle of the afternoon. The piece was valued at $38,000. It was found two months later in a Herndon man’s home.
Also on Saturday, someone walked away from an artist’s booth with a handmade bowl, said McCullough.
If you have any info on the stolen quilts, contact Grisdela at [email protected]
Photo: “Song of the Heart,” by Cindy Grisdela; “Geranium,” by Cindy Grisdela
Thousands of art patrons — or at least art spectators — flocked to Reston Town Center over the weekend to take in the 23rd Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival.
The festival, which had the good fortune to have perfect weather this year, brings together more than 200 artists from across the country for a juried show.
Visitors also enjoyed street performers, live music and a kids tent that incorporated science and engineering with art.
Families visiting the 23rd annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival this weekend will have a place to cool their heels and create at the Family Art Park.
Reston Town Square Park (at Market and Explorer Streets in Reston Town Center) will be transformed into a Family Art Park that will include a Children’s Art Tent, a Public Art project, face painting, and a family “Chill-Out” tent, among other activities.
The theme in the Children’s Art Tent is “Art and Science STEAMing Along Together. The theme combines art with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Children of all ages can explore the intersection of art and science, and learn how the two can work together to create exciting art, organizers say.
Among the art activities: Magnetic Painting, Wacky Mobile, Fun Architecture and Spinny Tops.
Also in the park, a Public Art project sponsored by the Initiative for Public Art-Reston (IPAR) and the Reston Town Center Association. Visitors of all ages are welcome to participate.
The Family Art Park is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and is free to the public.
Festival entry is a suggested $5 donation on Saturday and Sunday, which will entitle patrons to a program, featuring over $50 in discount coupons to Reston Town Center restaurants. Children 18 and under are free.
Pre-sale Festival entry can be purchased online at a 20 percent discount.
For complete Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival details, visit the festival website.
Photo: Kids create at Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival/Credit: GRACE file
Classic Reston is a biweekly feature sponsored by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce that highlights businesses, places and people with deep roots in Reston.
For Reston’s first 25 years or so, the space now occupied by Reston Town Center was mostly woods and fields.
The location was always planned to be a downtown for Reston, but it took many years to figure out just what exactly that meant.
Reston was originally envisioned by founder Bob Simon as a series of villages with walkable amenities. But after Lake Anne and Hunters Woods were built in the 1960s, the project lost money. It was sold to Gulf Oil and Simon was fired. The vision was then amended, and the remaining “villages” took on a more typical suburban look.
Based on that history, if the planners of Reston Town Center wanted to be different they had better get it right.
By the late 1970s, Mobil Oil Corporation owned the remaining undeveloped land. It formed Reston Land Corporation to continue as the master developer of Reston.
Reston Land Corporation hired Himmel/Miller-Klutznick-Davis-Gray as its development partner for Phase I of Reston Town Center. The two groups then hired RTKL, a Baltimore-based architecture firm, and landscape architects Sasaki in 1984.
The first designs for town center looked more like a typical suburban mall. The mid-1980s, were, after all, still the golden age of malls. Read More
