The Dead Run stream restoration completed in-part last year is continuing with improvements planned for the stretch of waterway between Georgetown Pike and Churchill Road in McLean.
Last year’s project revitalized the dream in McLean Central Park, combatting erosion and re-greening portions of the stream to be better suited to local wildlife.
The Department of Public Works and Environmental Services Stormwater Planning Division has scheduled a virtual meeting to discuss the project on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 6:30 p.m.
The Fairfax County government website said the upcoming expansion of that restoration will tackle the part of the stream north of the earlier improvements and include re-greening along one of the main tributaries.
“The project is a continuation of the stream restoration that was completed through McLean Central Park,” the Stormwater Planning Division said on its website. “It will begin at Churchill Road and extend to Georgetown Pike. The tributary behind the Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church is included in this scope of work.”
Stormwater Planning Division said part of the project’s goals is added protection to nearby properties at risk from the negative effects of erosion.
“Property will be protected by providing a stable stream bed, banks and alignment, which will reduce the rate of stream bank erosion and channel migration; trees at risk of falling will be removed or protected where possible; native vegetation will be installed to hold soil in place and provide habitat,” the Stormwater Planning Division said. “Health and safety will be protected via improved water quality, protection of public utilities, such as sanitary sewer lines, within the floodplain and stabilization of stream banks.”
The project design is expected to be completed by July 2021.
Image via Fairfax County
Wegmans Manager Talks Hype for Tysons Location — “I’m most excited about our brand-new Tysons store opening with over 400 of my newest friends on Nov. 4 at 9 a.m. Nothing is more exhilarating than seeing new customers walk through the doors of ‘their Wegmans’ and feel at home.” [Patch]
New Roles for County Bus Drivers — Fairfax County Public Schools’ bus drivers are taking on new roles during a hiatus in in-person learning. Some were matched with temporary jobs based on their skill set. [NBC 4]
Coffee With a Cop Scheduled for Oct. 7 — While this year’s national Coffee With A Cop observance was called off recently due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Fairfax County Police Department is moving forward with their own events in hopes of connecting with the communities they serve. [Patch]
In this week’s crime report, Vienna police said officer’s responded to calls for a thermostat quarrel and for the town’s very own wet bandits.
On Sept. 27 around 3:30 p.m., officers responded to a call about flooding in a vacant home on the 500 block of Kibler Circle. According to the report:
An officer responded to the report of a large amount of water running from a vacant home that was
newly built. The doors to the home were secure. A hose was running to one of the windows and
a substantial amount of water was observed on the floor of the kitchen and foyer. The builder was
notified and believed this was a result of a criminal act.
Other incidents this week included a call for a domestic fight between roommates over a temperature gauge. According to the report:
A resident reported that her roommate assaulted her and broke the thermostat in the apartment.
The roommate advised that she removed the batteries from the thermostat, making the resident
angry and that the resident assaulted her. The roommate agreed to fix the thermostat. Both women
were advised of the warrant process should they wish to pursue charges.
Photo via Facebook
The Pulte Home Company is looking for special exception to transform a section of land near Odricks Corner, just north of Tysons, into a cluster of independent living homes.
“The Applicant has consolidated four (4) residentially zoned and developed parcels that may be transformed into a community that will be limited to persons 60 years of age and older,” a law firm representing Plute said. “As shown on the special exception plat submitted with this application, the Applicant proposes a total of 59 dwelling units consisting of 36 multi-family dwelling units in a single building; 14 single-family attached dwelling units; and 9 affordable dwelling units. The affordable dwelling units comprise 15% of the total number of units.”
The proposal includes both multi-family buildings and single-family attached dwelling units. The project is located just across Spring Hill Road from Sunrise of McLean.
“The proposed multi-family building will be four (4) stories of residential units served by elevators,” the report said. “The building will be constructed on top of a parking podium, which will include resident parking and trash collection… The multi-family building will be comprised of 32 two-bedroom units and 4 one-bedroom units. The one-bedroom units will be approximately 950 square feet and the two-bedroom unit will range in size from approximately 1,300 to 1,700 square feet. The single-family attached dwelling units are designed as villas with a first floor master bedroom that allows one floor living. Each unit will have approximately 2,600 square feet of living area and a two-car garage.
The project also includes affordable dwelling units that are stacked, multi-family units with designated parking and designed to allow residents to age in place.
The proposed development is scheduled to go to the Planning Commission on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
If you’ve been getting more in touch with your artistic side over quarantine and would like a little feedback, a free artist workshop in Falls Church is meeting virtually to offer feedback.
On Monday, Oct. 5, and the first Monday of every month after, Falls Church Arts is hosting a virtual “cafe” via Zoom to critique and discuss art at all levels of skill or experience.
“It is a free event, an artist cafe and critique group,” said Ruth Altheim, a member of the Falls Church Arts Board of Directors. “We email a picture of the artwork to the facilitator, Pamela Huffman, the day before and when we’re on zoom, Pamela shares the images from her computer screen so all participates can easily see and comment on the artworks.”
The cafe runs from noon to 2 p.m. and invites can be received by emailing [email protected].
“Show a piece of art you’d like feedback on — something new or old, something in progress or complete –and our community of artists will share their thoughts,” Falls Church Arts said in a press release. “The meeting is open to all so invite your artist friends. Feel free to participate even if you don’t have a piece to share this time.”
The Washington Nationals are headed to Tysons Corner Center for their third and final blood drive of the year.
The blood drive will be hosted by appointment or people can show up and donate the dya of the event.
“All blood donors will receive a free Washington Nationals/Inova Blood Donor Services t-shirt and reusable water bottle,” the event organizers said on Facebook. “Snacks and other treats will be provided by mall eateries.”
The program is scheduled to run from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. at the former Lord and Taylor. Photo ID and masks are required, though a mask will be provided if needed. The Inova website noted that one hour should generally be set aside for the appointment.
School Staff Say Only 48 Hours Given to Decide Whether to Stay or Quit — “According to the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers (FCFT), FCPS emailed some staff members two days ago asking them to decide on whether to accept an in-person position. The FCFT said the email from the school system gave staff members until Oct. 2 at 4:30 p.m. to make a decision.” [wusa9]
Mary Riley Styles Public Library Reopens Book Drop — “The moment you’ve been waiting for …. Our outside book drop is finally OPEN!” [Twitter]
Developer Association Launches $175 Virtual Bus Tour — “The 2020 NAIOP Northern Virginia Bus Tour is going virtual. The bus tour will be presented in three 45-minute online tours.” [NAIOP]
Fairfax County Discourages Traditional Trick or Treating — “To keep the number of new COVID-19 cases low, we must all do our part to stop the spread of the virus. This includes finding new and socially distant ways to celebrate the upcoming Halloween holiday.” [Fairfax County Emergency Information]
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
It’s been a long and bumpy road, but the 26-story mixed-use building replacing J.R.’s Stockyards Inn finally has its long-sought Board of Supervisors approval.
Attorney John McGranahan acknowledged the new development had been a challenge to push forward.
“This was a challenging case,” McGranahan said. “The big issue was consolidation.
The project had faced pushback after staff argued earlier iterations of the project didn’t meet goals for promoting the Tysons street grid or public park space, but ultimately the plan was altered and a street grid implemented to staff’s satisfaction.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting earlier this week, both the applicant and supervisors expressed optimism about what the new development could bring to the area.
“The idea is that this would be that building would be the first redeveloped site in sub-area 5 of Tysons and would spark other neighbors to come in with their own development proposals,” McGranahan said. “We saw this as the first piece of a puzzle.”
Supervisor Walter Alcorn, representing the Hunter Mill District, expressed similar hopes.
“This is a really interesting step in Tysons in terms of how, potentially, smaller properties can come forward and help achieve the broader goals,” Alcorn said. “I want to compliment both the applicant and staff, this looks pretty good.”
Palchik called it a keystone development that will act as a catalyst for future development in the area near the Tysons Corner Center.
“It is nice to see, while we’re losing a nostalgic landmark for a lot of us, it is nice to see the evolution in Tysons and some of the original owners who have seen a lot of the changes around them happen [are] able to participate in that,” Chair Jeff McKay said.
Image via KGD Architecture
Officially, there is no Oktoberfest in Vienna this year.
Unofficially, Caboose Tavern in Vienna (520 Mill Road NE) is preparing to launch a weekend of German food and Caboose beers starting tomorrow (Friday).
“Vienna Oktoberfest may be cancelled this year, but you can still enjoy some German inspired food and some Caboose beers all weekend long!” Caboose Tavern said in an event listing. “Join us October 2-4 at Caboose Tavern!”
The event is scheduled to run daily from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Among the beer selection is Oktoberfest Marzen, described as a malty German amber lager.
The celebration comes after a summer of hardship and fundraising for Caboose, which ran a food donation program to help local families.
Image via Caboose Tavern/Facebook
In the series of Q&A discussions, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) discussed plans to extend the 495 express lanes to the American Legion Bridge. Concerns from local residents about the project ranged from impact on the road to impact on surrounding communities.
While VDOT mostly maintained that the project will help travel times on I-495 and reduce impact on nearby neighborhood traffic, there were other areas where VDOT said the I-495 expansion may not live up to some hopes.
Implementation of dedicated transit, for instance, may not be in the cards without a public subsidy.
“Currently our number one goal is no public subsidies or funding to have this improvement on the Beltway,” said Susan Shaw, director of mega-projects for VDOT. “There’s not been any decision made about whether there would be additional revenue available for any type of transit, and there hasn’t been that kind of commitment, but we’re in discussions with Transurban. First and foremost goal is to complete the project without any public subsidy.”
In response to concerns about 118 acres of tree loss associated with the project, Shaw also said equal reforestation could be tricky.
“When we do reforestation, it needs to be within VDOT write of way,” Shaw said. “We’re often challenged to find space in right of way to do reforestation. Right now, we don’t have a specific budget. That will be something we work through as part of our work as we move into the final design.”
Shaw said the 118 acres projection would be maximum tree loss and VDOT is still working to minimize that.
The project is intended to add more capacity to I-495 to take some of the cut-through traffic off nearby McLean streets, though there are concerns without expansion of the American Legion Bridge and expansion on the Maryland side, the express lanes will only push the bottleneck further north.
Photo via Google Maps
