Mostafavi is now 47, the same age as his dad when he opened Box Office Video in Langley Shopping Center — only 2 miles from the site of the new South Block.
“Me having that same experience at the same time in my life and opening in the same place where he opened it, it’s just kinda…” he said, trailing off and clearly emotional about the thought. “My dad lives in Vienna now and owns a Persian restaurant there. That’s kind of his retirement.”
When noted that owning a restaurant doesn’t sound like much of a retirement, Mostafavi laughed, “He works more than I do.”
Beyond the personal connection, he believes McLean is a perfect place for a South Block. He says the community is “underserved” in terms of food choices and is always “so supportive” of local businesses.
“Even though it isn’t [techincally] a small town, it still has that small-town, community vibe in that people want to support small businesses,” he said.
South Block is moving into Chesterbrook Shopping Center, which was first built more than 50 years ago. It’s now undergoing an $8.5 million facelift. Mostafavi said the renovation is “much needed for the community” and one of the big reasons why they choose to move in.
Just like Box Office Video, South Block is a family affair with his brother serving as vice president of the company. For Mostafavi, that was the only way to go, considering how much he learned from his parents about what it takes to run a small, local business.
“It’s from [them] that I learned work ethic, being resourceful, persistent, and not giving up,” he said. “That’s all huge in being a successful business.”
Steve Steiner, a 73-year-old cyclist who lives in Reston’s Hunters Woods neighborhood, nearly lost his life when he was cycling from Leesburg nearly four years ago.
Steiner was hit by an SUV that was turning right through a red signal onto Fairfax County Parkway at the exit for the Dulles Toll Road. Despite trying to veer to the right, he was struck by the car, suffering a concussion, several broken ribs and other serious internal injuries, he said.
“An incident like this buries deep into your psyche and your brain,” Steiner said.
The crash resulted in $100,000 in medical expenses and months of recovery — an ordeal that he hopes no one else has to face.
Steiner spoke yesterday morning (Tuesday) at the launch of a countywide campaign called “Take a Moment” that aims to eliminate traffic-related deaths and injuries. Fairfax County officials hope that the communications campaign will encourage residents, drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to take a moment to pause before making decisions on roadways and paths.
The county also plans to commit $100 million over the next six years for pedestrian safety efforts in the county — a figure that includes $25 million in carryover funds.
“It’s so important that we mention this is a team effort and not just an effort of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors,” said Jeff McKay, the board chair.
The press conference took place at a busy intersection in Reston where a pedestrian and cyclist bridge is currently under construction at Wiehle Avenue.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn noted that tackling traffic issues is particularly important given the expected opening of phase two of Metro’s Silver Line this fall.
He said the pedestrian bridge currently under construction remedies issues with a particularly “challenging” area of Wiehle Avenue. Work is expected to wrap up by the beginning of 2024.
To date, 13 pedestrian have been killed in crashes and accidents on county roadways — despite crashes overall being reduced by more than 400, according to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis. The number of pedestrian fatalities is three more than this time last year.
“It deserves our constant attention,” he said.
This biweekly column is sponsored by The Mather in Tysons, Virginia, a forward-thinking Life Plan Community for those 62 and better.
When you’re having a good day, or even a good moment, do you savor it?
If so, you are actively boosting your overall happiness and even your health. Savoring is defined as the ability to notice positive experiences and engage in thoughts and behaviors that enhance your enjoyment of the experience.
“We don’t always take the time to notice good things that are happening in our lives. Savoring is a way to make the most of positive experiences,” says Jennifer Smith, PhD, director of research at Mather Institute, an award-winning resource for research and information about wellness, aging and trends in senior living. The Institute is the research arm of Mather, the organization that is bringing The Mather, a forward-thinking Life Plan Community for those 62 and better, to Tysons, Virginia.
Dr. Smith has conducted several studies on savoring, and one involved surveying 267 older adults to measure their savoring, life satisfaction and self-reported health. “We found that the relationship between self-reported health and satisfaction with life was different for people with high and low savoring abilities,” she says.
“When savoring ability was low, people reported lower life satisfaction when their health was poor. However, those with a high ability to savor reported significantly greater satisfaction with life — even when they were in poor health. This suggests that the ability to savor positive experiences can help people respond more resiliently to health challenges.”
The good news is that you can practice savoring and strengthen your ability to pay attention to positive experiences, appreciate enjoyable or meaningful experiences and build positive feelings. Savoring does not necessarily have to occur during an event — it can occur when you anticipate an upcoming positive event or imagine a future happiness. Savoring can also take place when you reminisce about a past positive event, or when you recall how you felt during a happy experience.
Dr. Smith’s research showed that older adults who practiced simple five-minute savoring exercises twice a day for six or seven days reported higher resilience, greater happiness and lower depression compared to those who didn’t fully complete the exercise. There were three steps to the savoring exercise:
1. Think about a positive experience
2. Pay attention to positive feelings that arise
3. Take a moment to appreciate the experience
Find Your Happy Place
Residents of Life Plan Communities may not have to work as hard at savoring exercises: research shows that they have higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction than other people. The findings, based on surveys of 4,100+ residents in 122 Life Plan Communities around the US, are from the Age Well Study conducted by Mather Institute.
Released in 2021, the Age Well Study findings include:
- Those who are satisfied with their daily life and leisure activities report greater overall happiness.
- The personality traits of extroversion and agreeableness are both linked to greater happiness and life satisfaction.
- People are happier and more satisfied when they have a greater sense of community belonging.
- Approximately 92% of respondents were highly satisfied with the place where they live.
The Mather, projected to open in Tysons, VA, in 2024 for those 62 and better, is a forward-thinking Life Plan Community that defies expectations of what senior living is supposed to be.
The preceding sponsored post was also published on FFXnow.com
Early voting for the next general election has just gotten underway, but Fairfax County’s elections staff is already planning for next year and beyond.
The county’s Office of Elections has requested $5 million to launch a multi-year rollout of new, updated voting machines as part of a $190 million spending package carried over from fiscal year 2022, which ended on June 30.
Expected to start in 2023, the process will replace more than 1,200 machines owned by the county, according to Fairfax County Office of Elections spokesperson Brian Worthy. The existing machines are now eight years old.
“While the machines are secure, function well and meet current standards, the Office of Elections will replace them to keep up with technology changes, as well as meet new federal security guidelines that will become the standard in the near future,” Worthy said.
The voting machine replacement plan is one of several initiatives covered by the FY 2022 carryover review, which uses surplus funds to address previously approved or new, one-time budget items.
Buoyed by higher-than-anticipated revenue from staff vacancies and close spending management, per an Aug. 1 memo from County Executive Bryan Hill, the package includes a net total of 30 new positions, 27 of them for the upcoming South County Animal Shelter.
The animal shelter positions are needed to ensure the facility is staffed for an expected opening in May, Chief Financial Officer Christian Jackson told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ budget policy committee on Sept. 20.
The proposal raised some eyebrows, since it will require ongoing funding.
“We have traditionally been very, very disciplined about using carryover for recurring expenses,” Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross said. “30 is a lot [of positions].”
Jackson reassured the committee that the carryover will allocate $1.9 million to fill the positions for part of a year, but full-time funding of $2.9 million will be included in the county’s next proposed budget, which is typically presented in February each year.
Other notable items in the carryover review include:
- $10.3 million for environmental initiatives, including electric vehicles and charging stations as well as LED streetlight replacements
- $3.5 million for an expanded child care center at the Original Mount Vernon High School
- $2.58 million for employee pay and benefits
- $2.5 million to establish a Tysons anchor organization
- $5 million for Fairfax County Park Authority capital projects
- About $13.2 million for facility improvements, including the demolition of two Historic Courthouse wings and a long-term design for the Hybla Valley Community Center
The Board of Supervisors has also proposed using remaining unallocated money to help bring permanent restrooms to local high school stadiums, improve sidewalks to Huntley Meadows Park, enhance trails in Gum Springs, and hire a data scientist for the board auditor’s office.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity requested that the county address police staffing shortages with a $2.5 million reserve for one-time hiring bonuses. He also proposed letting employees defer retirement for two more years and enabling the police chief to hire retired officers.
Jackson said employees can only use the deferred retirement option for up to three years, but the current average is less than two years. She also said retired police officers can already be hired for a limited amount of time, since otherwise, they’d have to un-retire.
The board will vote on the carryover review after a public hearing on Oct. 11.
Four people lost their home and a pet dog early this morning (Wednesday) after a fire at their house in McLean.
Fairfax County and Arlington firefighters were dispatched at 1:45 a.m. to the 6900 block of Birch Street, near the West Falls Church Metro station area, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department tweeted at 7:06 a.m.
While responders got the fire under control within 10 minutes, the blaze caused $156,000 in property damages, according to the department. A photo shows extensive damage to what appears to be a backyard deck with patio chairs.
“No injuries reported. One dog perished,” the FCFRD said.
The department said four occupants of the single-family house have been displaced.
1:45 AM today, #FCFRD and @ArlingtonVaFD dispatched to a house fire in 6900 block of Birch Street. Fire showing on arrival. No injuries reported. One dog perished. Damages: $156,000. Fire was brought under control in under 10 minutes. Four occupants displaced. More later. pic.twitter.com/6vv2gzLt7R
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) September 28, 2022
Board Chair Calls on Youngkin to Withdraw Trans Student Policies — “I am so proud of the FCPS students who today stood together in support of their transgender classmates who are under threat by the proposed Model Policies. I joined the ~20,000 others providing comments to the Youngkin Administration stating my strong opposition to these Policies” [Jeff McKay/Twitter]
Teachers’ Union Also Opposes Proposed Policies — “Our union firmly opposes the VDOE 2022 Model Policies which will create an unsafe school environment for trans and nonbinary students if implemented. We urge our members to submit public comments against these proposed policies here” [Fairfax County Federation of Teachers/Twitter]
Herndon Father and Son Charged with Rape — “On Sept. 11, police charged 45-year-old Alexander Alvarado Sanchez of Herndon with rape, sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, and indecent liberties with a child. Police also charged Sanchez’s son, 21-year-old David Isai Alvarado Requeno of Leesburg, with rape, sodomy, and indecent liberties, according to police.” [Patch]
Stratford University Students Protest Impending Closures — “Over 100 Stratford University students packed the school’s Alexandria campus Monday afternoon, looking for answers about their future after the for-profit college announced Friday that it would be closing all three of its local campuses by the end of the week…Falls Church-based Stratford has campuses in Woodbridge and Baltimore in addition to Alexandria.” [Inside NoVA]
County Gets 41 More Housing Vouchers — “U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge, visited Fairfax County to announce the most expansive allocation of flexible rental assistance in 20 years with the award of more than 19,000 new Housing Choice Vouchers to almost 2,000 public housing authorities across the country.” [Housing and Community Development]
Task Force Recommends Preserving Manufactured Homes — “On September 19, the Fairfax County Manufactured Housing Task Force delivered its recommendations to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for the preservation of the county’s approximately 1,750 manufactured homes as well as tools and strategies to address the unique needs and challenges facing the community owners and families who live there. [HCD]
Fairfax Fall Festival Returns Next Month — “The 46th Annual Fall Festival returns to the heart of Fairfax City Oct. 8. The festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a special performance by the high-energy Celtic band, Scythian, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Old Town Square. Admission is free!” [City of Fairfax]
Reston Comp Plan Info Session Tomorrow — “Reston Association is hosting a drop-in information session from 6:30-9:30 p.m., on Thursday, for residents to stop by and learn more about the Reston Comprehensive Plan Review. Members of the RA Board and other representatives will be available to share information an answer questions about the plan.” [Patch]
It’s Wednesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 67 and low of 50. Sunrise at 7:03 am and sunset at 6:57 pm. [Weather.gov]
Across Fairfax County and Virginia, thousands of students walked out today (Tuesday) in protest of proposed state policies that would limit schools’ ability to support transgender and other gender-nonconforming students.
Students from more than 90 schools, including nearly 30 in Fairfax County, took a stand against policies introduced earlier this month by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin regulating everything from which bathroom a student can use to the definition of “the phrase ‘transgender student.’”
The walkout protests were organized by the Pride Liberation Project, a student-led organization that advocates for the LQBTQ+ community in schools. The group aims to persuade the governor to revoke the draft policies, which are now open for public comment through Oct. 26.
Tens of thousands of students walked out of Virginia's schools today to say Queer students belong in our school systems.
Our demand is simple: revoke the draft guidelines.
It's time we let everyone, including students, have a voice in our education – not just a vocal minority. pic.twitter.com/ZRNPmsdqvb
— Pride Liberation Project (@PrideLiberation) September 27, 2022
Since the policies were announced more than a week ago, local school districts, board members, and elected officials have questioned and overwhelmingly come out against policies that would severely curtail the rights of and support that school districts can give transgender students.
Fairfax County Public Schools said last week that it was “reviewing” the proposed policies and reiterated a commitment to supporting LGBTQ students.
Today, though, it was students’ turn to make their voices heard.
At West Potomac High School in Belle Haven, an estimated 1,000 students walked out at 10 a.m. in protest. They filed into bleachers on the football field, while speakers shared their experiences and why they personally would be affected by the new policies.
“As a trans [person], I have been discriminated against for my gender identity and was told it was wrong. That I was wrong,” said a West Potomac High School senior. “These policies are just a new case of this happening.”
“I can’t be a student if I don’t know what name my teacher is going to call me,” said another student.
Mara Surovell, one of the lead organizers for the West Potomac High School walkout, hopes it will encourage Youngkin to not implement the policies or, at the very least, allow school districts the authority to continue to implement their own guidance.
“Most of my friends are transgender and my sister is also transgender. So it affects all people I love. And I don’t want any of my friends to feel like school is an unsafe place,” Surovell told FFXnow. “I don’t want to see…their mental health plummet because of these policies, and I really just want them to feel safe and loved, and I don’t think that’ll happen if these policies get approved.”
Students involved in walkouts at South Lakes High School in Reston and Marshall High School in Idylwood shared similar thoughts.
Rishi Chandra, a South Lakes junior, said that he has personally seen how well trans and nonbinary students can do in school when they feel safe, but if the new policies get approved, they will “harm queer students.”
“I definitely see a lot of queer students, especially trans students, flunking school, getting bad grades,” Chandra said. “I also think the self-harm and suicide rates will go up, along with depression and mental health crises.”
It’s well documented that transgender youth struggle more often with their mental health. A survey from May found that nearly half of LGBTQ+ youth have considered attempting suicide in the past year.
Rayan Afif, who organized the Marshall walkout, said, if adopted, the guidelines would “ruin the relatively safe environment” they have at school. While most of their teachers use their name and some use their pronouns, that isn’t the case at home.
“Once the revisions are in place, everything will change. I will be forced to use a name and pronouns that do not align with me,” they said. “Additionally, if my parents are contacted due to any suspicion that I am queer, it could cause more tension in my family environment.”
The new proposed restrictions go against established policies in Fairfax County, as well as neighboring jurisdictions Arlington and Alexandria. In fact, it appeared at West Potomac High School that administrators and staff were not only supportive of the walkout, but helped with its organization.
Several students reported feeling safe and supported by their school teachers and staff as well as FCPS as a whole, but they fear that this won’t continue if Fairfax County is forced to adopt these policies.
“Our school system is pretty accepting of transpeople and [FCPS policy] guarantees we can use our names and pronouns. I’m so thankful for that,” said a West Potomac student. “Growing up and going to school is not supposed to be easy and it’s definitely not easy when you are in the wrong body. That’s why it’s so frightening that our government — the people who claim they want to protect us — are willing to take away the safeguards that protect the vulnerable.”
Others expressed their gratitude to FCPS and their schools for “teaching me that my preference when it comes to my pronouns is completely valid,” as another West Potomac High student said.
At the same time, Rayan says FCPS could come out more forcefully in opposing Youngkin’s proposal.
“I’d like to see FCPS more distinctly support queer and trans students, and to make as much noise as we’re making — whether that’s through amplifying our voices or otherwise,” Rayan said. “I’d like to see them talk to trans and queer students who this will effect most.”
A number of local officials showed up at the schools in support of the students, including state senators Scott Surovell and Adam Ebbin.
Incredible show of opposition to Gov Youngkin’s cruel anti-trans student proposal at 80-90 student walkouts across the state! Especially proud of thousands of West Potomac HS students for their outspoken activism!@PrideLiberation @TheWPWire #AllStudentsMatter @EqualityVA pic.twitter.com/HAgZGd8Yr4
— Adam Ebbin (@AdamEbbin) September 27, 2022
Ebbin told FFXnow that it was “inspiring” to see students protest.
“It’s inspiring that these kids are standing up for themselves and for their peers against some really cruel and hateful proposed policies,” Ebbin said.”It gives me faith in the next generation that things can get better in this country.”
He believes that these policies explicitly violate the Virginia Human Rights Act, and there’s a clear basis for a lawsuit.
“I think the governor’s legal counsel or the attorney general or whoever advised him that he might get away with this needs to go back to law school,” he said.
Whatever does happen, it’s clear that a number of Fairfax County students who fear what these new policies could mean not just for them, but for the future.
“For transgender underclassmen, middle schoolers and, even preschoolers, they would have to go through being misgendered for years,” the West Potomac High senior said. “I want all trans students to be able to openly share who they really are, their real name, real pronouns, and real gender.”
Angela Woolsey contributed to this report.
A family-owned chain of Tex-Mex restaurants will soon add Merrifield to its roster of locations across the D.C. area.
Guapo’s plans to take over the former Chevys Fresh Mex restaurant at 3052 Gate House Plaza, as the Washington Business Journal reported on Friday (Sept. 23).
“We are looking to open early 2023,” Guapo’s owner Ángela Musalem told FFXnow by email, adding that more information will be available as the opening gets closer.
Chevys didn’t return FFXnow’s request for more details about the closure of its Merrifield location by press time.
The restaurant will be located between Uno Pizzeria and Fairfax County’s first unionized Starbucks in Gatehouse Plaza, which also has a Wendy’s, Panda Express, Sweetwater Tavern and Sunoco gas station.
Fairfax County granted an interior alteration permit to Guapo’s on Sept. 9 allowing renovations to the building’s patio, vestibule, bar area, and dining room.
According to its website, Guapo’s was started by the Ricon family, who moved to Virginia in the late 1970s. The chain is currently run by the original owners’ children after they all attended and graduated from Fairfax County Public Schools.
The business has six Guapo’s locations, including one in Fair Lakes, as well as three Charcoal Chicken & Taquerias, one of them on Elden Street in Herndon.
The Washington Post ranked Guapo’s as the fourth-best Tex-Mex restaurant in the D.C. region in 2017, highlighting its freshly made flour tortillas.
There were undeniably hiccups along the way, but Fairfax County’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic earned an overall positive assessment from community surveys conducted this summer.
A general community survey issued in June received 2,148 responses, representing just a fraction of the county’s over 1.1 million residents.
However, 90% of respondents reported experiencing little or no difficulty accessing county services during the pandemic, and 89% said the same specifically for services related to COVID-19, Fairfax County Emergency Management Coordinator Seamus Mooney told the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 13.
On average, 71% of 147 surveyed businesses said they would’ve had to stop operations or been otherwise negatively affected without access to county services. 91% of community organizations said they were satisfied with their collaborations with the county, per Mooney’s presentation.
“This was an international health emergency, the likes of which none of us had ever seen before,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said. “So, we were pivoting day in and day out, every minute to try to respond to our community, and this survey proves that our response was effective and that our agencies really stood up and did their job.”
The survey findings were shared as part of a COVID-19 After Action Report that the county is compiling to assess its response to the pandemic and how this experience could inform its response to future emergencies.
While the full report won’t be finalized until later this year, Mooney said the surveys and feedback from the supervisors’ offices and different county agencies suggest the government successfully adapted to the pandemic’s changing circumstances, from the park authority and library’s pivot to online programming to the “rapid rollout” of non-congregate options for sheltering people experiencing homelessness.
A Quarantine, Protection, Isolation/Decompression (QPID) emergency housing program provided temporary shelter in hotels for 2,188 people. Though the program ended in March, the board directed county staff to evaluate how it might inform the county’s approach to supportive housing going forward.
According to the presentation, the county also provided over $90 million in funding for rent assistance, food and other basic needs services. From May 2020 to July 2022, over 1.5 million meals were distributed at Fairfax County Public Schools and by trucks.
“Changes made during the pandemic have the potential to reset expectations for future operations and establish a new path forward that the county can utilize from here on out,” Mooney said.
One change here to stay is the option for community members to testify remotely at Board of Supervisors meetings, which was “a major success,” the presentation says.
When it comes to challenges, one date looms large in county officials’ memories: Jan. 18, 2021. That’s when the county launched its online COVID-19 vaccine registration system, which immediately ran into technical issues after demand overwhelmed the county’s call center a week earlier.
Mooney noted that some factors out of the county’s control, such as the limited vaccine supply and Virginia’s faster-than-expected expansion of eligibility, contributed to the registration system’s botched rollout.
Once introduced, the county’s system proved “more reliable” than the state’s, Mooney said, though there was some initial confusion. While frustrating, the amount of demand showed that Fairfax County was “a community who cared enough about each other and wanted to break down the door and be the first one to get vaccinated,” McKay said.
As of this morning (Tuesday), 85.6% of Fairfax Health District residents have gotten at least one Covid vaccine dose, including 93% of people 18 and older, and 78% are fully vaccinated, according to the county health department’s dashboard.
Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross said the pandemic exposed a gap in the county’s communications when it comes to people who don’t have access to or aren’t familiar with online technology, noting that information was often shared in ways “predicated on the fact that you would have a device and be able to respond.”
According to the community surveys, residents primarily got information about Covid through the county website, social media, and by phone, either by calling directly or through Fairfax Alerts notifications.
“I think we need to be able to have our communication on several levels,” Gross said. “For those who have no problem with the current technology, great. For those not used to technology, those of us who didn’t grow up with it, really, we need to have another approach, an understanding approach to be able to work with that particular segment of the community.”
Photo via Fairfax County Health Department/Twitter
A developer has officially filed plans with Fairfax County to bring housing, retail, and new office and academic facilities to Virginia Tech’s campus in Idylwood.
As a joint entity named Converge West Falls LLC, real estate investment firm Rushmark Properties and the construction company HITT Contracting have proposed replacing the existing Northern Virginia Center at 7054 Haycock Road with a 283,000-square-foot office building, up to 440 residential units, and a 2,000-square-foot retail pavilion.
Submitted last Thursday (Sept. 22), the application fleshes out an agreement made earlier this year between Converge and the City of Falls Church, which intends to sell the approximately 7.5-acre site to the developer.
The project will “serve as a logical connection” between the West Falls development on Falls Church’s former George Mason High School property and a planned redevelopment at the West Falls Church Metro station, Walsh Colucci land use attorney Andrew Painter wrote in a statement of justification on Converge’s behalf.
Rushmark is also involved in the Metro project, which will turn the Metro station’s existing parking lots into housing and office buildings with some retail.
Reviving a stalled plan between Virginia Tech and HITT, Converge’s Northern Virginia Center proposal features roughly 820,000 square feet of development across three buildings on two blocks west side of Falls Church Drive and north of Haycock Road:
- Building A: A 283,000-square-foot office and education facility that will house HITT’s corporate headquarters and a 40,000-square-foot laboratory space for Virginia Tech, dubbed the National Center for Smart Construction (NCSC)
- Building B: A residential building with up to 440 units and approximately 16,000 square feet of ground-floor retail uses. It will have a maximum height of 15 stories and 145 feet, providing parking in a 2.5-story underground garage.
- Building C: An approximately 2,000-square foot one-story retail kiosk/pavilion
If approved, the project would link the West Falls and Metro developments by extending the former’s central West Falls Station Blvd through the property. Building C would be in the center of the street’s 12,300-square-foot, publicly accessible median.
Straddling the boundary between the city and Fairfax County, the “Median Green” will also serve as a green space with landscaping, trees, movable tables and chairs for “informal gatherings,” open lawn areas, an outdoor stage or performance space, and public art.
Other proposed amenities include entry plazas for both the office and residential buildings and public gardens on Haycock Road and Falls Church Drive. The latter’s garden would feature a bio-retention rain garden.
The developer says it will also provide approximately 0.29 acres of publicly accessible open space on the Metro redevelopment site as well as private, “vegetative” roof decks for the office and residential buildings.
“Building A’s office roof will, for example, feature outdoor working and social spaces with lush planters and stormwater areas,” the application says. “The Building B’s residential roof deck will include a pool, recreation lawn, and seating terraces.”
As part of its transportation commitments, the applicant says it will upgrade the existing sidewalks on Haycock Road and Falls Church Drive, provide bicycle racks, and extend bicycle lanes planned for West Falls Station Blvd through the development. A total of 1,138 parking spaces will be provided.
“When constructed, this new neighborhood will function as one larger transit-oriented neighborhood,” Painter wrote. “The proposed NCSC facility will serve as a hub for research and testing of emerging construction methods, materials and technology that will inform Northern Virginia’s construction and real estate industries. Further, the proposal will attract individuals who think creatively, share ideas, and drive daytime demand locally-serving office and retail uses, as well as Metrorail ridership.”
