Virginia Declares State of Emergency Ahead of Possible Snow — “The National Weather Service is calling for 2 to 3 inches of snow in the District of Columbia and the immediate suburbs in Northern Virginia, along with Fredericksburg. Western Fairfax and Prince William counties, along with Loudoun County, are in the zone where only 1 to 2 inches of snow is expected.” [Patch]
Regular Metrobus Service to Return — Metro will restore regular weekday bus service on Feb. 7, as COVID-19 case rates among employees start to decline. The transit system has been operating at only about 75% of its usual service since Jan. 10 due to a shortage of drivers, leading to reports of buses not showing up and students being stranded. [DCist]
Four Displaced by VITA Tysons Fire — An unattended candle started an apartment fire in the 7900 block of Tysons One Place at 4:02 p.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 26). The fire was extinguished by a sprinkler, but four residents were displaced, and there was $3,000 in property damages, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says. [FCFRD/Twitter]
Vienna Seeks New Planning Director — “Vienna Planning and Zoning Director Cindy Petkac has stepped down, town officials said at the Vienna Town Council’s Jan. 24 meeting. Petkac departed in December last year because she ‘wanted to pursue other professional opportunities,’ said Town Manager Mercury Payton.” [Sun Gazette]
Founders Row Restaurants Confirmed — The new casual, American concept Ellie Bird will be joined at the upcoming Falls Church development by Arlington-based seafood restaurant Chasin’ Tails, the fast-casual Roll Play Vietnamese Grill, and Vietnamese restaurant-bar Nue. Founders Row is under construction now but reportedly nearing completion. [Falls Church News-Press]
McLean Central Park Meeting Postponed — “The virtual public meeting originally scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022 to present the revised McLean Central Park Development Concept Plan has been rescheduled. A new meeting date is now confirmed for Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at 7 p.m.” [FCPA]
The retail, recreational facilities, and other amenities promised to MetroWest residents are finally on their way.
Developer Pulte Homes received the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ approval on Tuesday (Jan. 25) for its plan to construct five new residential buildings in the 56-acre community south of I-66 and the Vienna Metro station.
The 9-0 vote represented a milestone in the county’s efforts to fulfill a 15-year-old vision of MetroWest as a mixed-use development that would’ve predated the Mosaic District and the recent growth in Tysons, had it materialized when anticipated.
“We want to achieve the community’s objective to finish these last land bays,” DLA Piper attorney Antonio Calabrese said as Pulte’s representative at Tuesday’s public hearing.
Approved by the county in 2006, the original MetroWest plans sought to transform a neighborhood of single-family homes with 2,248 multi-family residences, 300,000 square feet of office space, and at least 100,000 square feet of retail and other commercial uses, including a day care center.
While some of the residences have come to fruition, including senior housing and an assisted living facility, the five buildings where Pulte concentrated its commercial space and a town center planned by developer CRC Companies stalled after the 2008 recession.
With the rezoning application approved this week, Pulte tweaked its plans to raise the day care center’s enrollment cap from 100 to 150 children and requested that the facility be included in the 35,000 square feet of ground-floor, commercial space it has agreed to provide.
The proposed mid- and high-rise buildings will also have 480 residential units, including 52 affordable dwelling units, and a publicly accessible community park with a swimming pool limited to MetroWest residents, among other recreational amenities.
In addition, Pulte will contribute $500,000 for safety improvements at the Royal Victoria and Vaden Drive intersection, according to Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, who represents MetroWest but was absent for the vote while on maternity leave.
In a statement to Tysons Reporter, Palchik’s office called the revisions “a refinement and improvement” over what was approved in 2006, noting that there were no changes to the density allowed at MetroWest.
“Supervisor Palchik greatly appreciates the cooperative effort by all stakeholders to improve the design of the courtyard, pool, paths and buildings,” the supervisor’s office said. “…[She] looks forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to see that the MetroWest neighborhood is completed.”
Calabrese told Tysons Reporter that the developer will now begin working on detailed site plans and engineering for the approved buildings, though there’s no clear timeline yet for a possible start to construction.
“Pulte is grateful to Supervisor Palchik for her fortitude and leadership,” he added.
As for CRC’s portion of the project, the developer said this past fall that it had received administrative approvals for the 9.8-acre town center and could potentially break ground in mid-2022, pending the county’s approval of a submitted site plan.
Discussions to resolve reported conflicts between Pulte and CRC are still underway.
“There have been fruitful, ongoing discussions between these major landowners,” Calabrese said. “Everyone associated with MetroWest recognizes the tremendous potential and value of these strategically located sites, as well as the inherent benefits of completing this attractive, successful community.”
Fairfax County is clearing the way for more residential development in land just east of Dulles International Airport.
A proposed airport noise policy would amend the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan to permit new housing in approximately 2,300 acres of the Sully District, primarily around Chantilly, that are exposed to higher levels of airplane noise than currently allowed.
The county will launch the public engagement portion of its effort with two virtual open houses — one at 7 p.m. today (Thursday) and another at 11 a.m. on Saturday (Jan. 29).
Initiated by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on July 28, 2020, the goal of the amendment is to “enhance the county’s economic development opportunities” and add housing in a part of the county still dominated by older office and industrial buildings, according to a white paper on the proposal.
While the airport noise policy focuses on the Dulles area, putting it in the comprehensive plan would establish general standards for developers to account for aircraft-related noise levels, county staff told the board at a land use committee meeting on July 21, 2020.
“We think it’s important that the board look at this as a countywide policy, get it in the comprehensive plan so that it’s there, it’s available, people understand it,” Department of Planning and Zoning Director Barbara Byron said.
The alternative would be to make noise mitigation a condition for getting individual projects approved through the county’s zoning process, an approach that would be more unpredictable and challenging, according to Byron.
“We can’t stop some of the revitalization and activity from occurring in that area, nor should we,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said. “We need economic development. We need housing. We know…how many units we are behind demand, which is a direct input into affordability.”
The comprehensive plan currently does not recommend residential development in areas with over 60 weighted decibels of day-night average sound levels (DNL), defined by the Federal Aviation Administration as a metric for a person’s cumulative exposure to sound over a 24-hour period.
The amendment proposes allowing residential uses in areas that experience 60 to 65 decibels. The only part of the county where that standard currently applies is around Dulles, based on airport noise contours developed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in 1993 and adopted by the county in 1997.
The county hasn’t adopted noise contours for the Davison Army Airfield on Fort Belvoir, and it’s not within MWAA’s 60 to 65-decibel contour for Washington National Airport.
As Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith noted to FFXnow, the county already has some residential development within the 60-65 DNL contour.
Despite some vocal community opposition, the Board of Supervisors approved two new neighborhoods in November 2020 after amending the comprehensive plan a year earlier to permit residential development in Westfields, known as Land Unit J of the Dulles Suburban Center.
The approvals came with some noise mitigation requirements related to construction materials and notifying potential homeowners of the airport’s proximity, according to Smith.
The proposed airport noise policy will align the rest of the Dulles area with Land Unit J and create uniformity between the county’s comprehensive plan and its zoning ordinance, which was updated just last year, Smith says.
It would also bring the county in line with other jurisdictions across the country with international airports, including Loudoun County, which permits residential uses in the Dulles 60-65 DNL contours.
“This isn’t anything new or different,” Smith said. “The FAA says that residential is not compatible when you get over 65, but they don’t have any restrictions below that.”
While the county hopes to encourage more residential and mixed-use development in the Dulles area, Smith doesn’t anticipate a huge influx of new housing if the amendment is approved.
“With the exception of Land Unit J of the Dulles Suburban Center, most of the residential uses currently anticipated by the Plan within the Board adopted DNL 60-65 noise contours have been developed and are generally stable with limited opportunities for further residential development,” the county’s white paper says.
Photo via John McArthur/Unsplash
A developer has received the go-ahead to build townhomes on a Pimmit Hills property currently occupied by a circular C-shaped office building from the 1970s.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the project Tuesday (Jan. 25) after Bethesda-based developer EYA addressed concerns from officials and community members about potential flooding issues in the area.
The project at 7700 Leesburg Pike calls for 104 townhomes that could be three stories high with fourth-story additions.
“By converting an old, dated office building into residential, we’re significantly reducing the number of vehicle trips into and out of the site,” Cooley LLP attorney Mark Looney said, describing those changes as part of several benefits of the project.
Looney, who represented the developer, said parts of the property are below the ground due to grading, and trees next to the buildings show the development won’t overwhelm the neighborhood.
Before the Fairfax County Planning Commission approved the project on Nov. 10, officials worked with the developer to establish more demanding standards for stormwater management and flooding. Heavy rain has led to water issues in basements and yards near the community.
Supervisors approved a Comprehensive Plan amendment on Oct. 19, 2021, allowing the development to proceed as long as it met certain conditions to mitigate downstream flooding and reduce runoff, including stormwater management controls above the county’s minimum standards.
EYA noted it will provide an underground detention system for stormwater as well as a water filtering system with two treatment facilities to address phosphorous levels, which can be harmful to people and animals.
The face behind Vienna’s newest Italian restaurant is a familiar one for D.C.-area foodies.
Currently taking shape at 144 Church Street NW, Roberto’s Italiano Ristorante comes from Nancy Sabbagh and her husband, chef Roberto Donna, who has earned both renown and infamy over his decades-long culinary career.
Sabbagh, who owns the restaurant and will run its business operations, says the concept for Roberto’s is something that she and her husband have been contemplating for a while based on their past travels in Italy.
“We knew we wanted to work together where I would be the front of the house and Roberto the creative culinary vision,” she said by email. “We both love the Italian hospitality and truly wanted to create a small place where our guests felt the love both in their service and food.”
Sabbagh told Tysons Reporter that all permits have been approved, and she tentatively hopes to be able to open in early February.
Fairfax County records show that a final occupancy permit for Roberto’s was processed and pre-issued on Jan. 20. Applications for alcohol licenses are pending, as of Dec. 13, according to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.
Drawn to Vienna for “the charm and feeling of community it exudes,” Sabbagh says she and Donna considered taking the space at 144 Church Street prior to the pandemic, but Covid’s arrival led them to pivot instead to providing weekly family meals and hosting virtual wine dinners.
Roberto’s took on new life late last year, when the Asian restaurant Red Galanga closed on Dec. 1 after five years at 144 Church Street, citing staffing shortages.
While Covid has presented obstacles to opening a new restaurant, Sabbagh says the Town of Vienna has been “so helpful” in providing assistance during the permitting process.
Though she didn’t provide details about specific dishes, she says Roberto’s will offer an aperitivo hour, tastings, wine dinners, private events, and catering as well as a la carte and to-go menus. Donna will also provide some tableside service.
“Roberto’s will provide diners with truly authentic Italian cuisine and a menu that will reflect the season and highlight local and truly excellent vendors,” Sabbagh said. “We are honored to be neighbors with such good restaurants like Bazin’s, Blend [111], Clarity, Bonaroti and Pazzo Pomodoro.”
A native of Italy’s Piedmont region, Donna launched his career in the U.S. with the popular Galileo, which opened in D.C. in 1984. He won a James Beard Award in 1996 and mentored many chefs who went on to open their own restaurants.
However, legal troubles started to overshadow his food in the late 2000s. He faced a slew of lawsuits over unpaid rent and wages and pled guilty to felony embezzlement in 2010 for pocketing meals taxes from the shuttered Bebo Trattoria in Crystal City.
Donna made a comeback, though, in 2013 with a well-received chef’s counter at Al Dente D.C., and Roberto’s sounds like a more low-key, personal affair.
According to Sabbagh, the restaurant’s art and decor will pay tribute to her and her husband’s experiences in Italy over their 20 years of marriage.
“We look forward to truly having fun working together,” she wrote. “That is what life is all about and providing our guests with great food, service, wine and hospitality!”
Idylwood Shooting Was a Suicide — Fairfax County police confirmed community reports that they responded to a shooting in the 7600 block of Virginia Lane near the W&OD Trail over the weekend. A spokesperson told Tysons Reporter that an individual died by suicide in a backyard, explaining that the department generally doesn’t publicly report suicides. [FCPD]
Funding for New 911 Model Approved — A budget review approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Jan. 25) included Covid relief funds for 26 positions to support the first phase of a permanent program where police work with behavioral health specialists when responding to 911 calls. The county began piloting the co-responder model last year. [Jeff McKay]
“City View” Tysons Site Sold to Developer — An affiliate of D.C. developer Four Points LLC bought the former Association for Manufacturing Technology building site at 7901 Westpark Drive for about $10 million in late December. AMT was poised to build a 10-story office tower on the lot east of Tysons Galleria, but the site’s future under Four Points, which generally works on primarily residential mixed-use projects, is unclear. [Washington Business Journal]
McLean Gift Shop to Close — The Artisans will close in February after 32 years of selling handmade clothing, home decor, and other items, starting in 1990 at Marketplace of McLean before moving to its current location in the Langley Shopping Center. The owners plan to retire and are selling everything for 20% off. [Patch]
County Retains AAA Bond Rating — “On Wednesday, Jan. 19, Fairfax County completed a successful bond sale, generating $300 million to fund various project areas, after once again affirming its AAA bond rating with all three major rating agencies.” [Fairfax County Government]
The stakes are high for the first students at the Arizona College of Nursing’s new school in Fairview Park.
They started classes on Jan. 3, as a snowstorm disrupted travel across Fairfax County and the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus strained hospitals locally and nationwide.
Yet, reports of an overwhelmed healthcare system have not deterred the 22 students in the school’s inaugural class from pursuing a career in nursing. In fact, some of them made that choice because of the pandemic, according to Yolanda Turner, dean of nursing for Arizona College of Nursing-Falls Church.
“We have seen students come in with an interest in nursing, especially those who feel the need to help that was compelled by the images that they saw on national television, what was occurring in the hospitals and emergency departments and ICUs across the country,” Turner said. “So, we do have a group of students who came in because they felt a calling to come in and help.”
The pandemic was already underway when Eduvision Inc., the company that operates Arizona College, submitted plans to Fairfax County for a new nursing school in August 2020.
However, Turner says the workforce shortage that led the college system to establish its first Virginia campus predates COVID-19.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the D.C. metropolitan area ranks 10th in the country in terms of the number of registered nurses employed, but the concentration of nurses in the area is well below the national average, as of May 2020.
With school enrollment trailing demand among the factors behind the shortage, the Arizona College of Nursing hopes to improve the area’s workforce pipeline by offering an accelerated program where students can obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in three years or less.
“Our nursing program employs a mixture of classroom learning and hands-on training in our state-of-the-art simulation labs and through clinical rotations,” Arizona College of Nursing President Nick Mansour said in a statement. “Nursing is all we will teach at this location so students can be confident that our accredited, career-focused, BSN program will prepare them for a fulfilling nursing career.”
Located near Inova Fairfax Hospital, which could eventually be connected via pedestrian bridge over I-495, the new school opened at 3130 Fairview Park Drive on Nov. 17.
Turner says the initial cohort mostly comes from Northern Virginia and surpassed the college’s goal of 18 students. The campus has a capacity of 400 students and is expected to expand in three to five years.
“That interest that’s been generated, we’re excited, because it’s more than we predicted…and our team is growing to accommodate that interest,” she said.
Classes are being conducted both in-person and virtually, with the liberal arts and social sciences online and all nursing, natural science, and math courses in the school building.
In addition to following mask and social distancing protocols, students will need to get vaccinated against COVID-19 once they start clinical work, in accordance with the federal mandate for healthcare workers.
The pandemic has also filtered into the curriculum, putting an increased focus on topics like public health, disaster preparedness, infectious control, ventilation management, and mental health for both patients and staff.
Emphasizing these subjects will help prepare students for a future in health care, Turner says, as the field reckons with issues exacerbated by the pandemic, which has led nearly 1 in 5 workers to quit.
Aware that students can experience burnout too, the Arizona College of Nursing provides counseling services as well as tutoring and learning resources. The small student body also enables strong personal connections between staff and pupils.
“The feedback that we got [on the first month] from our students is very positive, from the students, the staff, and the faculty,” Turner said. “The level of excitement and motivation remains very high.”
The Mobil gas station on Route 123 by Tysons Corner Center is getting a touch-up for the 21st century.
With a special exception application submitted to the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning on Jan. 10, Petroleum Marketing Group has proposed eliminating the station’s car wash and repair bays and replacing them with a convenience store.
While the store won’t be as extensive as a Wawa or Sheetz, it will offer coffee, doughnuts, and a variety of prepared food for customers looking to grab a snack while filling up their gas tank, development director Armand Keurian told Tysons Reporter.
“We just want a use that’s more conducive in today’s environment with a gas station, and as you can see, convenience stores and gas stations go together today,” Keurian said.
The conversion is part of a larger effort to upgrade the property at 1955 Chain Bridge Road that has been underway since PMG took control of the lease last year. So far, the company has rebranded the former Gulf gas station and installed a new canopy and fuel pumps.
Adjacent to a Sunoco, the Mobil station has eight fuel pumps and a 2,585 square-foot service building originally built in 1969. There are three vehicle service bays, a small snack shop, and a car wash that is no longer operational.
The convenience store will expand the snack shop to the entire one-story building, taking over the space currently occupied by the car wash and vehicle bays, which Keurian says “are really not being used to their full extent.”
According to PMG’s statement of justification to the county, the convenience store will employ eight workers total. It will have merchandise and display areas, a wall of refrigerated drinks, a restroom, and an employee workroom.
Space on the site’s southeast corner will be reserved for a possible future electric vehicle charging station.
PMG estimates that the redevelopment will increase travel to the site from 700 to 800 trips per day. While the majority of visitors are expected to be drivers, the company says it will make some safety improvements, including realigning and widening the existing sidewalk on Route 123 to 6 feet.
A side road parallel to Route 123 that connects the Mobil and Sunoco gas stations will also be closed off to “reduce vehicle conflicts,” the application says.
“The county’s asking for some pedestrian upgrades for their wants and needs,” Keurian said. “…They’re concerned about the walkability and safety. We’re all about safety too, so we’re amenable to their desires.”
In the statement of justification, PMG acknowledges that the gas station and convenience store will be an interim use until the site is fully redeveloped in accordance with the Tysons Comprehensive Plan, which currently designates it as retail mixed-use.
“This proposal is a unique opportunity to allow a long-standing business to adapt to changing market conditions in order to continue serving the surrounding community,” land-use attorney David Gill, who is representing PMG, wrote in the statement. “The proposal will provide a convenience store use that will serve the needs of motorists, while improving the traffic operations, safety, and ADA compliant pedestrian experience along this portion of Chain Bridge Road.”
(Updated at on 2/14/2022) The doughnuts on display at Bubble Mochi in Vienna are recognizably doughnuts.
They’re adorned with frosting and toppings like sprinkles or cookie crumbles, depending on the flavor, and they come in a familiar ring shape, even if it more closely resembles a pearl necklace than a wedding band.
However, a bite reveals lighter, chewier consistency that’s entirely different from the treats peddled by the Dunkin’ Donuts just two blocks west on Maple Avenue.
Located at 155B Maple Avenue West, Bubble Mochi sells bubble tea, yogurt smoothies, slushies, coffee, and macrons in addition to its signature doughnuts. It takes the place of Gem Tea, a cafe that had bubble milk tea and Asian street food.
It is currently in the midst of a soft opening, but a more official grand opening is expected to come in February, an employee told Tysons Reporter.
The bakery will also add new flavors in the coming weeks. Options available on a visit this past Saturday (Jan. 22) ranged from chocolate and raspberry to black sesame, soy bean, and cookies ‘n cream.
The current hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Bubble Mochi isn’t the area’s only purveyor of mochi doughnuts, which derive their unique flavor from the same glutinous rice flour that goes into the Japanese rice cake.
A chain called Mochinut boasts locations in the U.S., South Korean, and Thailand, including a shop in Annandale and one in Centreville that appears to have opened in October.
Correction: This article previously conflated Bubble Mochi with Donutchew, a different mochi doughnut franchise that is also planning to open a store in Vienna.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors moved forward yesterday (Tuesday) with plans to use public funds to help build an affordable housing project near the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons.
Part of the planned Dominion Square West development, the nine-story, 175-unit project comes from the nonprofit Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH).
Units will have one to three bedrooms and be reserved for those at or below 30%, 50% and 60% of the area median income. Those thresholds are currently $31,000, $51,600, and $61,920 for a two-person household for the D.C. area.
The project received the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s approval on Jan. 12.
With yesterday’s 9-0 vote, the Board of Supervisors agreed to buy two acres of land for the property with $10.97 million in American Rescue Plan Act money as well as $10 million from a Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority reserve fund.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said the project will provide “much-needed housing.”
“The 175-unit Dominion Square West building will be a significant and positive step forward in providing affordable housing for working families close to Metrorail,” he said, adding that he looks forward to the “life-changing impact” it will have on residents.
Located at 1592 Spring Hill Road, the property is currently a parking lot owned by Capital Automotive Real Estate Services, a real estate investment trust acquired by Brookfield Property Partners in 2014.
Fairfax County will pass the money for the land to APAH, but it will retain public ownership of the ground, which will be leased to the nonprofit for 85 years.
Housing authority spokesman Ben Boxer said in an email yesterday that financial terms of the leasing arrangement are still under negotiation.
“Negotiations on the terms are anticipated to be completed in the next month,” Boxer wrote.
In addition to the ARPA and housing authority reserve funds, the county’s $43 million contribution to the project includes $13.3 million in local tax money from a Housing Blueprint Fund, according to Boxer.
The housing blueprint funds and developer contributions from the county’s Tysons Housing Trust Fund will help pay for a $22 million subordinate loan to APAH to support the project’s construction.
The trust fund was established in 2010 by the Tysons Comprehensive Plan, which recommends that developers give $3 per square foot of non-residential development to fund affordable and workforce housing in the area.
The Dominion Square West project is the first one to use that money.
“Dominion Square is the kind of community we need more of — one that is completely integrated into the community in terms of design, function, and opportunity,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in a statement. “I strongly believe quality affordable housing must be available throughout Fairfax County and this action helps move us closer to that reality.”
