The Fairfax County Police Department will utilize automated technology to analyze body-worn camera footage in real time.
Seeking to improve its training and interactions with the public, the FCPD is the first jurisdiction in Virginia to sign on with Truleo, the Chicago-based technology company announced yesterday (Tuesday).
According to a press release, the technology uses artificial intelligence to process body camera footage, automatically detecting events like use of force, pursuits and frisks. The technology also screens for “professional and unprofessional” language by officers “so supervisors can then praise or review officers’ conduct.”
“We are proud to begin our work with the Fairfax County Police Department and Chief Kevin Davis,” Truleo co-founder and CEO Anthony Tassone said. “Through our work with various law enforcement agencies across the country, we’ve seen how implementing body-worn analytics helps to increase public trust and ensures that police officers meet not just law enforcement standards but also the expectations of the communities they serve.”
Launched in 2021, Truleo uses technology that Tassone and co-founder Tejas Shastry originally developed on Wall Street in 2013 “to analyze employee phone calls and text conversations,” according to the company’s website.
Since launching, the company has partnered with the FBI’s National Academy Associates program and numerous local police agencies, starting with the Alameda police in California in 2022. Other partners include the New York City Police Department and the Paterson Police Department in New Jersey, but police in Seattle discontinued their program in February 2023 after a police union leader was recorded laughing about the victim of a fatal police shooting.
Truleo’s platform generates transcripts of audio recordings captured by body cameras, using natural language processing to detect words or phrases that may signal a notable interaction. A searchable report is then sent to the officer’s supervisor.
Truleo asserts that its technology can reduce workloads for law enforcement agencies, which otherwise analyze less than 1% of body camera footage due to limited resources. However, some civil rights advocates and researchers have raised concerns about privacy and the potential for the technology to be misused.
Studies have found that AI-powered speech recognition tools are less accurate at interpreting Black voices and people speaking a language other than English, since they’re often trained on biased data.
In Fairfax County, police supervisors can’t actively review footage from body-worn cameras due to the department’s auditing process.
At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors safety and security committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday), Police Chief Kevin Davis said the combined power of the FCPD’s technological commitments will provide greater transparency on community sentiment and officer performance.
In response to Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik’s concerns about privacy, Davis emphasized that Truleo won’t activate unless the body-worn cameras are turned on.
“The Truleo is only on when the body worn camera is activated,” Davis said. “When the body camera is not on, Truleo will not be on.”
The FCPD already uses My90, a community engagement tool that uses a post-incident survey to complainants requesting police help. It also has an automated speed enforcement helicopter and drones, per Davis’s presentation.
The department is also expanding its use of automatic license plate readers, which were first tested in November 2022. Davis said the program has quickly become a model for the region, allowing the FCPD to promote regional collaboration and provide officers with more information.
In 2023, the department recovered 134 vehicles and arrested 222 individuals with the help of license plate reader alerts. The arrests have led to 480 felony charges and 244 charges classified as misdemeanors. The FCPD was also able to find 19 missing persons.
SevaTruck Foundation has been granted permanent use of the Lewinsville Center’s kitchen for its food distribution operations.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a special exception on March 5 that will let the nonprofit continue making and providing free meals out of the senior center in McLean, which also houses adult day care and child care programs.
With the approval, SevaTruck can continue utilizing the kitchen and a designated parking spot on Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It typically has two employees and up to two volunteers preparing meals that are then distributed both on-site and at other locations via a food truck and volunteers’ personal vehicles.
“This has been a great partnership, a great thing for the community, and this is a very easy one [to approve],” Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman said before the board’s vote. “This is good stuff.”
The special exception was requested by Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS), which operates the Lewinsville Center and offered SevaTruck use of the commercial-sized kitchen in 2021 so it could make meals for low-income residents and others in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county had suspended some zoning requirements to allow temporary uses, such as medical facilities, deemed necessary “to respond to the COVID-19 emergency and its impacts.” However, the local state of emergency for the pandemic ended on March 1, 2022, so operations established during that time now need official approval to continue long-term.
SevaTruck began operating in Fairfax County in 2017, serving over 380,000 meals to date. Getting access to the Lewinsville Center’s kitchen has enabled the nonprofit to “increase its capacity,” NCS North County Region 3 Assistant Division Director Karen De Mijango told the board.
Echoing the sentiments of a coworker who spoke at the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s public hearing on Jan. 24, Braddock Elementary School teacher Joyce Matthews testified that SevaTruck’s assistance has been critical to the school.
Before the pandemic, the nonprofit gave free meals to students who participated in after-school programs, and once COVID-19 shut down in-person classes in March 2020, it provided meals twice a week.
“We could not do the things that we do without SevaTruck,” Matthews said. “…We want to let you know how much of a difference they’ve made, and definitely with the kitchen, it has been much easier. They have become part of our Braddock community.”
Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw confirmed that SevaTruck has done “an amazing job” at Braddock Elementary School and other sites around the county, recalling his experience volunteering to help distribute food out of the back of the truck.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik called the collaboration between NCS and SevaTruck a “creative use” of a public facility, while Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay noted that the nonprofit’s community service was recognized with a “Best of Braddock” award in 2022.
“I remember that night well, and they’re doing amazing work that’s really benefitting the entire county, especially our Title I schools,” McKay said.
Fairfax County Public Library is giving away free solar eclipse viewing glasses in anticipation of next month’s event, but to snag a pair, you’ll have to move fast.
Each branch will have “a very limited allotment” of a few hundred glasses at most, FCPL Board of Trustees chair Brian Engler confirmed. Though some branches received shipments early, the glasses were expected to be ready for distribution at all locations today (Wednesday), according to FCPL Director Jessica Hudson.
“As they are available at the branch, they will be distributed on a first-come/first-served model,” Engler said.
A total solar eclipse is slated to cross over North America on April 8, traveling northeast from Mexico’s Pacific coast through Texas and the eastern side of the Midwest up to Maine and Newfoundland, Canada. The journey will last from 11:07 a.m. to around 5:16 p.m., according to NASA.
Though Fairfax County isn’t in that path of totality, a partial eclipse will be visible, similar to what the area experienced during the August 2017 eclipse. In that event’s peak, about 82% of the sun was blocked by the moon.
An annular or “ring of fire” eclipse also occurred last Oct. 14, but clouds and rain ultimately put a damper on the event in the D.C. area. Even if the weather had been clear, viewers would’ve seen the moon’s shadow covering only about 40% of the sun.
According to NASA, the 2024 eclipse will pass over more populated areas than the one in 2017 did, and the totality will last longer. In the D.C. area, more of the sun — about 87.4% — will be blocked, so the eclipse “will be noticeably darker,” Fairfax County Park Authority spokesperson Benjamin Boxer says.
Based on NASA’s projections, the eclipse will start around 2:04 p.m., peak at about 3:20 p.m. and end at 4:32 p.m.
“We may even see a slight temperature drop during the event,” Boxer said by email. “…Since, in Northern Virginia, we are not in totality it is not safe to view without special solar glasses or using a projection method.”
Volunteers with the Analemma Society will share tips on how and where to safely view the eclipse at the park authority’s upcoming preview on March 25 at Turner Farm Park’s Roll-Top Observatory (925 Springvale Road) in Great Falls.
Scheduled for 7:30-8:30 p.m., the event is already full after opening registration back on Jan. 30, but a waitlist is available for those hoping to potentially get a spot. The event has an $8 fee.
Celebrations on the day of the eclipse are planned at Turner Farm Park, Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly, Burke Lake Park and Historic Huntley Meadows. As of press time, seats remained available for all sessions.
The Ellanor C. Lawrence and Burke Lake celebrations are scheduled for 2-4 p.m. and will feature “related games, activities and demonstrations” before and after the eclipse, along with a limited availability of viewing glasses and sun spotting scopes.
The Historic Huntley and Turner Farm events will take place from 1:30-4:30 p.m. and focus on the science behind eclipses. Attendees will get a free pair of viewing glasses, according to the FCPA.
For those who aren’t able to obtain glasses or would prefer a less direct viewing method, the park authority has instructions for creating a pin-hole mirror or using a colander to see the crescents of light created by the partial eclipse. Cereal boxes were popular viewing tools during the 2017 event.
Next month’s solar eclipse will give scientists a rare opportunity to study the sun and its effects on nature and Earth’s atmosphere, according to the Washington Post. The continental U.S. isn’t projected to get another total solar eclipse until 2044.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid is urging national elected officials to step up their efforts to safeguard local schools from cybercrime threats.
During a Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce event in Tysons on Monday (March 11), Reid asked Sen. Mark Warner about Congress’s strategy to address privacy threats to FCPS students and staff and other communities nationwide that are susceptible to ransomware attacks.
“Every division in this country, right now, we’re all being asked to stand up cybersecurity departments,” she told Warner during a question and answer session. “Our department is actually larger than a number of our instructional departments.”
Warner visited the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s offices at the Silverline Center (7900 Westpark Drive) to discuss several issues, expressing confidence in the passage of a second federal spending bill later this month and emphasizing the necessity of Congress providing aid to Ukraine.
As chair of the Senate’s National Security and International Trade and Finance Committee, he also spoke passionately about the need for protection against cyber threats both domestically and abroad, with a particular focus on social media platforms like TikTok.
The U.S. House of representatives is expected to vote on a bipartisan bill this week requiring TikTok to either be divested from its Chinese owner ByteDance or face a nationwide ban. Although it’s not clear whether the Senate is on the same page, Warner said he supports putting up “guardrails.”
“I think TikTok is a national security issue,” he told a room full of attendees. “…People make the money off of TikTok as social influencers. I’m all for that. It just bothers me that this company is ultimately controlled by the Communist Party of China.”
The emphasis on cybersecurity led Reid and others to question the need for increased federal regulation of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, calling current regulations insufficient to protect schools which have had to stand up their own cyber security departments as a result.
“I want my focus to be on making sure all our third graders are learning to read, and our eighth graders are able to complete algebra 2,” Reid said. “…I’ve been asked this year for another 20 positions for cybersecurity, with a conversation about [how] we have to protect our 180,000 students’ data or 40,000 staff members, and I’m not a cybersecurity expert.”
In September 2020, FCPS was hit by a cyber attack from a hacker group called MAZE, which compromised personal records, including the social security numbers of several hundred employees. The group threatened to leak employee records and other sensitive documents unless the division paid a ransom.
FCPS told NBC4 that it had hired cybersecurity experts and the FBI was investigating the attack.
Last November, FCPS faced another significant data breach after it mistakenly disclosed tens of thousands of confidential student records to a parent. The school system wrapped up its investigation into the leak the following month.
When asked whether Congress has a strategy beyond relying on the FBI to ensure the safety of school divisions from such threats, Warner said he and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have already proposed legislation to mitigate cybersecurity threats in schools.
However, Warner pointed out that even if the bill were to pass, it would just a “band-aid.”
“I don’t have a great answer because even though we keep getting better, the bad guys keep getting better,” he said.
County to Update Zoning for Data Centers — “Several board members expressed concern that some zoning districts currently allow for the development of data centers by right…Committee Chair Karen Smith (D-Sully) suggested that the board begin the process of updating the zoning ordinance at its next meeting on March 19, which received unanimous support from the other board members.” [Patch]
Covid Survivors Revisit Inova Fairfax Hospital — “This week marks four years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and 7News Health and Wellness Reporter Victoria Sanchez caught up with two survivors after first sharing their stories in 2020. Titou Phommachanh and Rodrigo Valderrama greeted each other with a hug in front of Inova Fairfax Hospital. Before the two became the faces of COVID-19 in Northern Virginia four years ago, the men had never met.” [WJLA]
McLean Resident Details IVF Experience to Senator — Sen. Tim Kaine hosted a roundtable in Ballston on Friday (March 8) to hear from advocates, doctors and other stakeholders about the importance of in vitro fertilization as an option for prospective parents. Participants included McLean resident Jay Timmons, who used IVF and surrogacy to have children with his partner. [ARLnow]
Annandale Mourns Community Leaders — “Two people well-known in the community who helped make Annandale a better place passed away in recent days. Everett (Kip) Germain III, the president of the Annandale Boys & Girls Club, died suddenly on March 6 at the age of 67. Don DiSpirito, a longtime volunteer with the Annandale Christian Community for Action (ACCA), passed away on Feb. 26, at the age of 90.” [Annandale Today]
McLean Residents Meet New School Board Rep — “The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) welcomed new School Board member Robyn Lady (Dranesville District) to its March 6 board meeting and promptly peppered her with questions on school renovations, safety and enrollment.” Topics included the planned Dunn Loring elementary school. [Gazette Leader]
Warm Weather Accelerates Cherry Blossom Blooming — “Boosted by exceptionally mild weather, the cherry blossom buds continue to race toward peak bloom at near record speeds. On Tuesday afternoon, the National Park Service announced that the blossom buds reached Stage 4 out of 6, or ‘peduncle elongation’…This means we could be close to peak bloom by the weekend and hitting peak early next week.” [Washington Post]
New Vienna Restaurant Wins Over Post Critic — “Right this minute, though, the place I’m most smitten by unfolds in a former Greek diner in the Virginia suburbs. Named for the street it’s on in Vienna, the Maple Room is brought to you by real estate developer Christos Sarantis and his wife, Effie, who also own four casual SouvlakiBar establishments in the area.” [Washington Post]
Coffee Vendor Sets Up Off-Season Shop in Hybla Valley — “The McCutcheon/Mount Vernon Farmers Market won’t officially reopen until April 17, but vendor Brandon Berryhill of the Traveling Shepherd Coffee Company faithfully shows up every week in the offseason to provide customers with their favorite brews.” [On the MoVe]
It’s Wednesday — Expect a mostly sunny day with a high around 71 degrees and a west wind of 5 to 8 mph. The evening will be mostly clear, with temperatures dropping to a low of around 47 degrees, accompanied by a southwest wind of 3 to 5 mph. [Weather.gov]
The Town of Vienna will take a critical step this coming Arbor Day toward replenishing its tree canopy, thanks to the late councilmember Maud Robinson.
During its March 4 meeting, the current Vienna Town Council gave staff the go-ahead to spend $50,000 from the Robinson Trust on a planting project that will add 145 trees along local streets and the East Creek Trail.
Established by Robinson’s estate after her death in 2019, the over $8 million trust was mostly intended to support new sidewalks, but a portion was set aside for town beautification projects, specifically tree plantings.
“This is an important contribution to the restoration of our canopy, which probably all of us here desire,” Councilmember Chuck Anderson said before the vote. “…We have to thank Maud for leaving the money specifically for this purpose, so let’s spend it.”
The allocated funds will cover the planting of 70 trees along six streets and 75 trees along East Creek Trail, which is located at the intersection of Ayr Hill Avenue NE and East Street NE.
The streets — Brentwood Court NW, Blair Court NW, Witness Court NW, Counsellor Drive NW, Carters Glen SW and Moorefield Road SW — were chosen based on a town-wide tree inventory completed last year, according to Vienna Parks and Recreation Director Leslie Herman.
Conducted by the urban forestry consultant PlanIT Geo, the final inventory identified over 10,000 trees in Vienna, including around 4,200 that were in need of maintenance, stump grinding, pest or disease control, or removal. The report also pointed out more than 1,200 potential planting locations for street trees.
Herman told the town council that the new trees funded by this project will be a mix of native and non-native species, since native species don’t always thrive in the narrow strip of land between sidewalk and road that’s available for street trees.
“Street trees grow in a variety of harsh conditions,” she said. “There are a number of considerations that go into the selection of street trees in Vienna, to include poor soil, lack of moisture, road de-icing salts, pollution, urination by dogs, overhead utility avoidance, selection for a root system that’s compatible with nearby sidewalks, curb-and-gutter, lawn mowers and the opening and closing of doors.”
The plantings are expected to begin this spring and finish in November, depending on the weather.
Volunteers will be enlisted for the planting effort along East Creek Trail as part of the town’s Arbor Day festivities. An event is being organized for the morning of April 27, a day after the official Arbor Day Celebration at the same site on April 26.
Residents slated to get street trees in front of their homes will be notified in advance of the plantings, Herman said.
Bolstering the town’s tree canopy has become a priority of the Vienna Town Council since an assessment released in October 2022 found that it had lost approximately 163 acres — or 13% — of its tree cover since 2011.
A zoning code amendment that would establish new standards for preserving and adding trees has been in the works since May 2023, but a decision on whether to adopt it has been repeatedly deferred, partly due to a debate over how the ordinance should be organized and partly in anticipation of new state legislation.
A bill championed by state Sen. Saddam Salim would’ve allowed the town to set 10-year tree canopy requirements for developers, instead of the 20-year time frame currently expected. The legislation appeared on track for approval, passing the State Senate on a 28-12 vote, but it was defeated 52-48 in the House of Delegates on Feb. 28, falling short of the 67 “yes” votes needed to pass.
In the wake of the bill’s failure, the town council held a conference session on the proposed tree ordinance on March 4, but it remains unclear when the measure might get an official vote.
Image via Google Maps
A man who barricaded himself in his West Falls Church home on Sunday (March 10) is facing multiple criminal charges, including assault and abduction.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, a woman told officers that afternoon that she had been abducted and assaulted by a “known suspect” in the Mosby neighborhood.
The woman ran up to the intersection of Chestnut Avenue and Annandale Road around 2:23 p.m., reporting that her boyfriend had assaulted her, a dispatcher said on the police scanner on Open MHz. She had visible marks on her face.
“The victim sustained injuries considered non-life threatening and was treated at the hospital,” the FCPD said in a news release published yesterday (Monday).
The man, identified as 33-year-old Silvio Meza Jr., was wanted by the FCPD for allegedly failing to appear in court on drug possession charges, police said.
Meza was in his home in the 6700 block of Chestnut Avenue and refused to come out, according to police, who learned that he “may have been armed with a rifle.” Special Operations Division, Crisis Negotiations Team and Crisis Response Team officers responded to assist.
The barricade situation lasted over seven hours, concluding around 9:45 p.m. when Meza surrendered and was taken into custody.
In addition to being served the outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court, Meza has been charged with assault, strangulation, abduction, possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
UPDATE: Suspect in custody! The barricade has been resolved. Follow our blog for available updates https://t.co/QsTzdpgf0U
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) March 11, 2024
South Lakes HS Wins State Basketball Title — South Lakes High School’s varsity boys team handily defeated Patriot High School 65-39 on Saturday (March 9) to win the Class 6 state boys basketball championship. The Seahawks won with a “stellar supporting cast” led by junior guard Jordan Scott, who scored a game-high 23 points. [Washington Post, Inside NoVA]
Virginia’s Prison Population Drops — “Virginia’s prison population shrank 10.5% between 2021 and 2022, per the latest Justice Department data…That’s the greatest decline of any state during a period when the U.S. was seeing its prison population increase for the first time in nearly a decade.” [Axios Richmond]
Justice HS Searches for New Principal — “Fairfax County Public Schools has begun the process of finding a new principal for Justice High School, following the announcement that Tiffany Narcisse is leaving. FCPS Region 2 Assistant Superintendent Megan Vroman will host a virtual meeting for staff and community members on Tuesday, March 12, at 6 p.m., to discuss the hiring process and answer questions.” [Annandale Today]
Elected Representatives Highlight Legislative Wins — “Several members of the U.S. Congress and Virginia General Assembly who represent local districts recently highlighted their legislative successes,” including funding for a “Mason Neck Trail — Northern Segment” project in Lorton and a bill signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin that codifies the right of LGBTQ Virginians to marry. [On the MoVe]
Former Congressman Buys McLean Mansion — “A former Missouri congressman who made the successful leap to lobbyist life recently plunked down $2.95 million for a 10,000-square-foot McLean mansion. Alan Wheat, chairman of D.C.-based Wheat Shroyer Government Relations, acquired a seven-bedroom, 10-bath home on Alvermar Ridge Drive in late February.” [Washington Business Journal]
Area Restaurants Offer Special Meals for Ramadan — “Ramadan just began and several D.C. restaurants are serving special meals” through April 9, including Fava Pot in the Shops at West Falls Church. Ticketed dinners at Joon in Tysons and the Marriott in West Falls Church will, respectively, raise money to help Syrians in need and provide aid in Gaza. [Axios DC]
Reston Association Corrects Board Candidate Statements — “Reston Association Elections Committee Chair Ed Abbott today issued a statement regarding candidate profiles in the current 2024 Board of Directors Election.” A sentence in one profile “was inadvertently omitted in candidate information that was sent to RA voters in their ballot packets,” Abbott said. [RA]
Meet Dulles Airport Security Dogs — “Airport security dogs play a vital role in maintaining the safety and security of airports everywhere, including at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. They have a remarkable sense of smell, allowing them to sniff out even the faintest traces of explosives, narcotics or other prohibited substances.” [WTOP]
It’s Tuesday — Expect sunshine and a high around 68 degrees, accompanied by west winds ranging from 9 to 14 mph and gusts reaching 22 mph. Tuesday night will be partly cloudy with a low near 45 degrees, as west winds decrease to 3 to 6 mph. [Weather.gov]
(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Congress has passed another short-term budget package, averting a partial shutdown of the federal government just hours before a midnight deadline.
In addition to funding the Justice Department, Housing and Urban Development, and other key agencies, the slate of bills passed 75-22 by the Senate on Friday (March 8) includes $12.7 billion in “pork” — money designated for local projects requested by lawmakers for their constituents.
In a joint press release, Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner announced that Fairfax County and other Virginia localities will be among the beneficiaries of the more than 6,600 projects that got funding, per the Associated Press.
“I’m proud that we secured funding for 105 community projects across Virginia that will improve transportation, upgrade water infrastructure, support health care, and more,” Kaine said. “I urge Congress to take up the rest of the government funding bills as soon as possible.”
According to breakdowns provided by Warner’s and Rep. Gerry Connolly’s offices, the biggest allocation for Fairfax County is $4.1 million “to fund a new homeless and domestic violence shelter for families.”
The county’s existing domestic violence and family shelters have exceeded their useful lives, but instead of building new facilities, the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority is planning to convert an existing “extended stay” hotel that will be able to house about 50 families a day.
“Site acquisition activities are ongoing, with the goal of securing a location that is well-served by transit, and close to jobs and services,” FCRHA spokesperson Allyson Pearce said.
Connolly’s office says the site “will entail combining rooms, creating service and office space, and other changes to the existing hotel setup,” noting that converting an existing building instead of constructing a new one will enable the county “to deliver this essential, brand new facility years earlier than might otherwise be accomplished.”
The county has two shelters specifically for people fleeing domestic violence — Artemis House and Bethany House — and two shelters that accommodate people with children — the Katherine Hanley shelter outside Centreville and the Patrick Henry shelter in Seven Corners.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved plans in August 2022 to replace the Patrick Henry shelter with supportive housing after some delays related to land acquisition challenges.
The appropriations package also includes funding for several road and pedestrian projects:
- Spring Street widening from four to six lanes between Herndon Parkway and Fairfax County Parkway ($1 million)
- Fox Mill Road and Pinecrest Road intersection improvements in Herndon ($850,000)
- Silverbrook Road and Lorton Road intersection improvements ($850,000)
- Sidewalk on Ninian Avenue and along Bush Hill Drive to improve safety and accessibility for Bush Hill Elementary School students in Rose Hill ($850,000)
- Gunston Road shared-use path from Julia Taft Way to the Pohick Bay Golf Course entrance in Lorton ($500,000)
- Compton Road bicycle and pedestrian path from the Bull Run Special Events Center access road to the Cub Run Stream Valley Trail in Centreville ($500,000)
- Stone Road trail from the I-66 interchange to an existing trail along southbound Route 28 in Centreville ($500,000)
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation applied for federal grants last summer to fund the Bush Hill and Compton Road projects. Read More
Starbucks is preparing to update its shop in McLean’s Chesterbrook Shopping Center.
The coffee house at 6214 Old Dominion Drive will temporarily close for about a month during the interior renovation, which is slated to begin on next Monday, March 18. A sign posted to the door says that the last day of business before the closure will be this Saturday (March 16).
According to Federal Realty, which owns the shopping center, the renovation will include:
- Alterations to the current bar setup
- Updated partition arrangements
- Installation of new lighting
- Incorporation of modern furniture and fixtures
- Application of fresh finishes
- New, inspiring artwork
- Redesigned second story seating
“We are excited to bring this transformative Starbucks renovation to Chesterbrook Shopping Center, which aligns with Federal’s commitment to creating vibrant and modern spaces for the community,” Federal Realty Senior Vice President of Asset Management Deirdre Johnson said in a press release. “This project builds on our long-term vision and unwavering commitment to delivering an outstanding experience for all visitors.”
Federal Realty told FFXnow last fall that a renovation of the Starbucks in Chesterbrook would be coming in the first half of 2024.
At that time, Starbucks didn’t respond to a request for comment, and when contacted again last week, a spokesperson said the company had “no store renovation plans to share.”
“We remain focused on serving customers in the McLean community,” the Starbucks spokesperson said.
But the renovation plans have now been confirmed by Federal Realty, which says the store will be closed for “approximately four weeks.”
The sign on the door encourages patrons to “please visit us at other locations.” The only other standalone Starbucks in McLean is at 1438 Chain Bridge Road, though the chain can also be found inside Giant at 1454 Chain Bridge Road.
Anchored by Safeway, Chesterbrook anticipates adding several tenants this year, including the beauty services retailer SkinSpirit, which will open this summer, and a Small Door Veterinary clinic coming in the fall.
Construction is expected to finish this fall on a permanent space next to Le Village Marché for Call Your Mother. Until then, the popular D.C. bagel shop will continue to operate its mobile “Lil Deli” truck. Also on track to open later in 2024 is Sorn Thai, a new restaurant from the team behind Donsak in D.C., and the beauty retailer Bluemercury is projected to open in early 2025.
Hat tip to Greg Brandon
