With the Nouvelle residential building open and The Monarch under construction, Cityline Partners LLC is hoping for Fairfax County’s permission to move forward with the next step of the Arbor Row project near Tysons Galleria.

The overarching plan is to transform the back end of Tysons Galleria along Westpark Drive into a suite of mixed-use buildings. Block E is the Nouvelle, and Block D is the under-construction Monarch hotel.

On April 24, Block C of the project will go to the Planning Commission to try and amend the change the two approved office buildings planned at the site into a two-tower senior living complex called The Mather.

The towers are proposed to be 18 and 27 stories tall with a podium connecting the towers on the lower levels. The site would contain 300 independent living units, 78 assisted living units, and 18,000 square feet of retail and restaurants on the lower floors.

“The quasi-public use of the Mather community will complement the mix of residential, office and retail uses within and surrounding Arbor Row,” the project developers said in the application. “In addition, this Mather community will bring an attractive senior living use to Tysons, addressing a need that currently is not being met.”

Following the Planning Commission hearing, the project is scheduled to go to the Board of Supervisors on May 7. If approved, tentative opening for The Mather is planned for 2022.

Vienna’s Windover Heights Historic District is a little secluded, but on Sunday, April 28, the neighborhood is throwing open its doors to the public for its annual A Walk on the Hill.

The small neighborhood is located just northwest of the Maple Avenue near Lawyers Road. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Windover Heights being designated as a historic district.

The festival is planned to include live music and photography exhibits, in addition to tours of the historic neighborhood. During the celebration, visitors are also invited to stroll through 50 participating yards and landscaped gardens.

Several homes in the neighborhood date back to the late 19th century, with the local history going back further with stories of Union soldiers using the area as a cavalry outpost during the Civil War.

According to town documents, notable historic spots on the tour include:

• 214 Lawyers — The original First Baptist Church was built here in 1887 by the black community on land deeded for $1 by Major O. E. Hine, Vienna’s first mayor. The material was from the Union Army barracks of the Civil War. This was the first church in Vienna and was also used as a school until the 1890s.
• The Barn at Windover — The barn was originally part of the Salsbury dairy farm on the hill. Handmade wooden pegs have continued being used in the building’s preservation and the original design is maintained.
• The West End Cemetery — The land was deeded in 1884 by Capt. Harmon Salsbury and his second wife, Susannah Freeman, to the small black community that had grown up around the Salsbury farm. Many of the tombstones date to the turn of the century and before. Thomas and Daniel West, prominent black citizens, are buried here. In 1987 Historic Vienna, Inc. rededicated the cemetery as a historic Vienna landmark.

The event is free and open to the public, with local residents providing punch and cookies during the celebration. Parking for the event is available at the Green Hedges School and at the Vienna Arts Society (243 Church Street NW).

Photo via Facebook

Fairfax County police are looking for witnesses to help clear up conflicting accounts of a reckless driving incident last week.

Police say the incident took place last Friday (April 5) on Beulah Road between Leesburg Pike and Old Courthouse Road. According to FCPD:

We received complaints of reckless driving around 5:45 p.m. involving three cars — a black Honda Civic, a blue Honda Civic and a silver Honda Accord. One car was forced off the road and caused several nearby drivers to have to avoid collisions.

The drivers were identified, but police said they provided conflicting accounts of the event.

The incident is believed to have started in Maryland but continued down into Fairfax County, police said. There were no injuries.

“We would like to speak with anyone who may have witnessed the aggressive driving behavior of these individuals at that time,” police said in the press release. “Anyone who may have information regarding this incident is asked to call Master Police Officer C. R. Quattrin at the McLean District Station at 703-556-7750.”

Tips can also be submitted anonymously online, by calling 1-866-411-TIPS or by texting “TIP187” plus the message to CRIMES (274637). Tipsters are eligible for cash rewards of $100 to $1000 if the information leads to an arrest.

This summer, you can find love touring around Fairfax County — a tour that will start next month in Tysons.

As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the “Virginia is for Lovers” slogan, Fairfax County received a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation to send series of letters spelling out “LOVE” around the county.

According to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority:

Fairfax County will receive its first permanent ‘LOVEwork’ sign, which will embark on a Summer of LOVE tour to county attractions. The LOVE tour will kick off on the Plaza at Tysons Corner Center from May 9 to May 19, coinciding with National Travel & Tourism Week.

The sign is also scheduled to be displayed at Caboose Commons in Merrifield from June 26 to July 1.

It will make an appearance in the Tysons area at Wolf Trap, where it will be displayed from July 12 to July 24, before eventually being sent to the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton as part of a permanent display.

Photo via Virginia Tourism Corporation

A woman allegedly walked into American Bird Company (7219 Lee Highway) in Falls Church and walked out with stolen baby birds — twice.

Police say on March 30 the theft of a young green Indian ring-neck — a type of parakeet — was reported at the store. The bird had an estimated value of over $700.

Then, two days later on April 1, an employee at the store said the woman they suspected had stolen the first bird was seen returning to the store. When a manager confronted her, the employee said she ran out of the store holding two birds.

The employee said the manager chased the woman down the street. An older bird was able to get free and was captured, but the employee said she managed to hold onto a young grey cockatoo. Police said the estimated value of the bird was $250.

A video showed the woman in the store, but police said it had no identifying information. The store employee said a bird had only been stolen from the store — which has been in business since 1989 — once before.

“It’s a terrible thing,” the employee said. “They’re young and she probably doesn’t know how to care for them.”

Photo of a baby cockatoo via Flickr/Rob and Stephanie Levy

(Updated April 12) Posh! — a high-end interior designer at 419 Maple Avenue E in Vienna — is having a closing sale.

Nearly all merchandise in the store is 20 percent off, though given the luxury implied in the store’s name, that still leaves most larger items in the store well over $1,000.

Prices in the store range from a $6,000 credenza near the front to $33 linen hand towels.

Employees at the store would not say when the store was planning to fully close, though the store remains very heavily stocked with merchandise.

After surviving its first winter, Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road) is celebrating spring with its first craft brewery festival: Springfest.

The festival is planned for Saturday, April 27, from 12-7 p.m. The event will feature live music throughout the day.

According to an email, at least ten breweries will be participating.

• Ono Brewing Company
• Vasen Brewing Company
• Rocket Frog Brewing Company
• Mad Fox Brewing Company
• Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company
• Settle Down Easy Brewing
• Forge Brew Works
• Lake Anne Brewhouse
• Caboose Brewing Company

Tickets are available day-of or can be ordered online.

Photo via Caboose Brewing Company

The Providence District is growing rapidly — in no small part because of Tysons — but a recurring theme at the debate between the Democrats running for the Board of Supervisors is that growth is leaving many in the area behind.

During a forum on April 1 at Jackson Middle School, the five candidates running to replace Supervisor Linda Smyth found themselves mainly in agreement on issues like affordable housing and Amazon coming to Arlington, though the solutions and concerns varied between candidates.

On affordable housing, School Board member Dalia Palchik said Fairfax County should be doing more to turn office vacancy into affordable housing.

“Other jurisdictions [are doing more] to repurpose offices into mixed-use housing,” Palchik said. “I want to make sure we are able to do it.”

Palchik also noted that Fairfax County’s affordable housing fund is only around $7 million while neighboring Arlington’s is around $25 million, though others like former Vienna Town Council Member Edythe Kelleher were more direct in saying the County may need a tax increase to pay for more affordable housing.

“It all starts with housing affordability,” said Kelleher. “People’s other burdens are related to that. I recommend another full penny [on the tax rate] for affordable housing.”

Erika Yalowitz, a candidate from the Tysons area, said the County might need to increase the tax rate by two or three pennies specifically to meet affordable housing needs. Yalowitz also said the County needed to do more to help make rezoning for potential residential properties easier.

Linh Hoang, a fairly new candidate to the race, said the County should do more to work with local churches and build on church properties.

Only Phil Niedzielski-Eichner, who currently represents the Providence District on the Planning Commission, urged some caution on how increasing the tax burden could inadvertently impact residents most in need of assistance.

“It’s resolvable through creativity and innovative investments,” said Niedzielski-Eichner. “I like the ideas I’ve heard from my colleagues… but when we talk about increasing cost of taxes on homeowners, we have to bear in mind that there are homeowners who no longer have income coming in and they see property values increasing. There needs to be an attention paid to having those individuals cap their taxes.”

Niedzielski-Eichner noted that the crisis of affordable housing in Tysons was driven partially by an increasingly high demand — and cost — of land in the area.

It’s a topic that came up again when the discussion focused on a Fairfax County Public Schools plan to potentially build a new elementary school on Blake Lane Park near Vienna. All of the candidates, including Palchik, expressed doubts about the prospect.

“I understand the needs of schools but do not support building a school on Blake Lane Park,” Yalowitz said. “When a park is gone, it’s gone for good. Building onto parks is not the best way to build sustainable growth.”

Kelleher said that the site was proffered 42 years ago to be used as a school one day, but that it has since been used by the public as a park and should only be used as a school as an absolute last resort.

Finally, all of the candidates expressed a cautious enthusiasm for Amazon’s announcement of a large new office campus in Arlington.

“I think it’s really exciting that Amazon is coming to our region,” Hoang said. “It’s going to spur economic development, but we need to work with jurisdiction to bring those good jobs here.”

Niedzielski-Eichner said Amazon’s arrival was part of an essential economic diversification for an area he sees as overly reliant on the federal government for the vitality of the economy. But Niedzielski-Eichner also argued that the company’s arrival also puts lapses in the area’s infrastructure planning in the spotlight.

“But when we talk about growth, have to do it smart,” Niedzielski-Eichner said. “We have too wide a gap between when projects are approved and the infrastructure is built to support that project. Need to narrow the gap between development and infrastructure.”

Palchik also tied the question of Amazon’s impact in with earlier discussions on affordable housing.

“It will impact our economy but it will create new challenges,” Palchik said, “especially on the eastern side of Providence and especially when it comes to affordable housing.”

The primary will be held on June 11. The final voter registration deadline is on May 20.

Photo via Twitter

(Updated 1 a.m.) Video from Freedom Hill Elementary in Vienna showed at least six cars driving past a school bus loading up with children.

As a reminder for those who might not have been paying attention during their driver’s ed class: if a school bus is loading or unloading passengers, whether or not the lights are active or the stop sign is extended, drivers are required to stop unless the bus is on the opposite side of a median or barrier.

Drivers are also required to remain stopped until all passengers have been loaded and the bus moves again. Failure to do so could result in a ticket.

1/5 It saddens me to share this- after watching cars consistently blow past stopped school buses picking up elementary students on Gallows Rd in Vienna, VA- I have been pushed into civic action. This clip is from this morning, but is representative. pic.twitter.com/5I0ZLBufB0

— Sam S. Lee (@OpenNotion) April 8, 2019

During VDOT’s initial proposal for I-66 corridor improvements, the Federal Highway Administration noted that concerns were expressed about pedestrian safety on Gallows Road.

The person who posted the original video said that the clip was representative of pick-up and drop-off at the school.

But the story has a happy ending, at least, with Fairfax police arriving the next morning to monitor traffic and enforce the laws.

I must give props where it is due. Mclean PD officers came out this morning to hold drivers accountable. Thank you @FairfaxCountyPD! This is what responsive local gov looks like. cc: @GerryConnolly @ChapPetersen @TownofViennaVA @FreedomHillES @TysonsReporter

— Sam S. Lee (@OpenNotion) April 9, 2019

Photo via Twitter

A teen-focused rehab center is planned to open across from McLean High School and some nearby residents are not pleased.

The Newport Academy, a therapy program for teens with mental health or addiction problems, recently purchased three residential homes (1620, 1622, and 1624 Davidson Road) in McLean with the intent of using them as a treatment facility.

An employee at the Newport Academy confirmed that a new center is planned for McLean, but that the facility is still going through state and medical licensing.

The employee said the new facility is several months away, at least, from opening. But the company does have at least 18 jobs listed as available for the site, from an executive director to tutors and chefs.

A discussion group was started on Facebook on April 4, with some neighbors expressing concerns on everything from increased street traffic to drops in home values. A few others pushed back against the concerns and said they hoped neighbors would avoid “Not In My Back Yard” syndrome.

In an email to local residents, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust wrote that group homes in residential neighborhoods are typically considered “by right” uses, meaning there’s no requirement of public notice and no zoning approvals needed from the county.

Foust also noted that the Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against individuals because of a handicap or disability and that the Code of Virginia requires local zoning ordinances to consider a “residential facility in which no more than eight individuals with mental illness, intellectual disability, or developmental disabilities reside, with one or more resident or nonresident staff persons, as a residential occupancy by a single family.”

While the group’s license application is still pending before the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Foust said approval would hinge on qualifications and quality of care, not local land use concerns.

Photo via Google Maps