A man suspected of robbing a Capital One Bank in McLean has been arrested in Maryland as part of a joint investigation between Fairfax County and Montgomery County police, the Montgomery County Department of Police announced today.
Montgomery County police have charged a suspect identified as Rockville resident Noel Omar Lorenzo, 41, with committing three armed bank robberies in Maryland between Sept. 25 and Oct. 15.
The Fairfax County Police Department confirmed that Lorenzo is also a suspect in its investigation of an Oct. 27 robbery of the Capital One Bank at 6890 Elm St. in McLean.
Police said that a man had entered the bank, implied that he had a weapon, and demanded money. He then left with cash, though the department has not specified how much. No injuries were reported.
Suspect from 10/27 McLean Capital One bank robbery arrested in Maryland after joint investigation with @mcpnews. https://t.co/IwJAvrgtnd #FCPD
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) November 10, 2020
According to the Montgomery County Police Department, FCPD detectives contacted its major crimes investigators on Oct. 28, saying that they believed the two departments were looking for the same suspect.
MCPD officers arrested Lorenzo on Nov. 4 around 11:10 a.m. at his residence and issued a criminal warrant charging him with three counts of armed robbery and firearm-related offenses. He is currently being held without bond in Montgomery County.
A search of Lorenzo’s vehicle turned up evidence from the Montgomery County and McLean bank robberies, including a BB gun that police believe to be the weapon he used, according to the MCPD.
(Updated on 11/12/2020) Capital One expects to unveil a 1.2-acre sky park with food trucks, a bar and beer garden, games, a dog run and an amphitheater in time for summer 2021.
Nested on top of the newly open Wegmans grocery store, The Perch is part of the second building to be completed in the 24.25-acre Capital One complex. Two more parts of the project are slated to open in the fall of 2021: the Watermark Hotel and the Capital One Hall.
From The Perch, Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith said the public will “view Tysons from a completely different vantage point.”
For him, that perspective applies to the company’s mission to mix employees and Tysons residents.
“We are trying to separate from the notion that this is for only Capital One employees,” he said, citing The Star, a shopping and dining destination inside the Dallas Cowboys’ new training facility in Frisco, Texas, as inspiration.
The Watermark Hotel and two residential buildings will surround the Perch. The 300-room hotel will be managed by B.F. Saul Hospitality, whose flagship property is The Hay-Adams luxury hotel in Washington, D.C.
The Watermark will no longer be one of two hotels on campus, after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a request to change a planned hotel into an office building.
The Watermark Hotel is slated to open next fall, while construction on the residential towers could begin in 10 years, Griffith said.
Until the residential towers go up, semi-permanent installations will “activate the space,” including an old-school double-decker London tour bus and an Airstream converted into food trucks, Griffith said.
From the Sky Park, people can see the glassy Capital One headquarters, completed in 2018, as well as a 30-story office building with two floors of retail.
These developments fit with the trifecta of “live, work and play,” but Griffith said a fourth component, “culture,” is missing.
To fill that gap is Capital One Hall, with a 1,600-seat theater and 250-seat black box theater, as well as vaulted event spaces, large restrooms, plentiful concession areas and an expansive coat room, he said.
Capital One Hall General Manager Jamey Hines described both performance venues as “tight in feeling and room focus, but not uncomfortable.”
“People on the edges have just a good view and the audience won’t feel far away from the performer,” he said.
Having two options impacts the performer, too. “I’ve found that you have to create the room, so people achieve in the room, through seating,” Hines said.
Capital One, Fairfax County, and ARTSFAIRFAX are working together to ensure county agencies and Fairfax County Public Schools get access to 15% of the hall’s bookings at discounted rates. Already, the manager is looking to fill dates for 2022-2023.
Hines has mapped out some events and is gauging what people want to see.
The pandemic has given Capital One Hall more opportunities to be added to a multi-city tour, but he anticipates the Hall will be a bigger destination for one-time shows and productions. Hines encouraged those who are interested in dates to join the email list at capitalonehall.com.
Capital One Hall and The Perch will be open to weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, galas and functions for nonprofits, concerts and speaker series, Capital One Center marketing and community affairs manager Meghan Trossen said.
The coronavirus pandemic has sped up the building pace, now unencumbered by traffic, but the supply chain has been disrupted, impacting shipments of materials and equipment, Griffith says.
Through it all, he said Fairfax County has done “an incredible job” accommodating construction during the pandemic, implementing measures such as inspections via FaceTime to keep employees safe.
Photo courtesy Capital One
Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day, and the holiday means it’s time to take a look at which community sites will be open, and which will be closed.
City of Falls Church government offices will be closed, along with City Hall and the Mary Riles Styles Public Library.
The city will air a pre-recorded Veteran’s Day Ceremony on Falls Church Community Television Channels and Youtube starting at 11 a.m.
All Fairfax County government offices will be closed. Libraries and courts will be closed as well.
The Fairfax Connector will be operating on its Holiday Weekday Service, with several routes altered.
Fairfax County Public Schools will hold an all-virtual, two hour early release day for all students.
All parks in Fairfax County will be closed with the exception of Frying Pan Park, which will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
The county’s nine RECenters will be open, offering free service to all veterans, active-duty military personnel, and their families for the day. A military identification is needed to receive the complimentary access. Due to COVID-19, reservations will be required.
The McLean Community Center and the Vienna Community Center will both be closed for the day.
Photo by Aaron Burden/Unsplash
McLean Volunteer Fire Department and Inova Host Blood Drive — “Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis blood supplies within our community and the nation are challenged. Make your lifesaving appointment today!” [McLean VFD/Facebook]
Nonprofit BBB National Programs Opens New HQ in Tysons — “Located at 1676 International Drive, the location will allow for an operations expansion and allow BBB National Programs to grow its portfolio of self-regulation and dispute resolution programs, according to an organization statement.” [Virginia Business Journal]
What’s Under Construction in Tysons? — “Though the coronavirus pandemic has impacted Tysons, where office jobs still outnumber residents three to one, construction crews are still breaking ground and ribbons are still being cut on new buildings.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Falls Church Resident Wins First Annual Library Service Award — “In a misty ceremony on Oct. 23, the first annual Chet De Long Award for Outstanding Service was presented to Eric Albrecht. Library patrons will recognize Albrecht as he has worked at the circulation desk for more than 16 years.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Photo via McLean VFD/Facebook
Close to two years since a new vision for downtown McLean was first presented, Fairfax County staff and community representatives are still working on a plan for implementing that vision.
The draft McLean Community Business Center comprehensive plan gives developers more flexibility, while creating parameters designed to protect existing neighborhoods and foster a sense of community.
“We believe the draft plan finds a middle ground, providing for development while preserving what we like about our downtown,” McLean CBC Task Force Chair Kim Dorgan said. “There’s no doubt each of us would change an element here or there, but we think it gives us what the community wants.”
Led by Fairfax County Planning Director Leanna O’Donnell, county staff and the 20-person task force assembled by Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust informed the public about their latest work on the McLean CBC draft plan during a virtual open house held on Saturday (Nov. 7).
Last revised on Oct. 5, the draft McLean CBC comprehensive plan retains many elements that have been in place since consultant Streetsense released its vision plan in December 2018, including the establishment of three zones with development becoming more concentrated closer to the center.
Foust says that, in order to revitalize the CBC, the county has to give developers more incentives to invest in the district, a 230-acre area between Dolley Madison Boulevard, Chain Bridge Road, and Old Dominion Road. One way to do that is to allow more density in the district’s core.
The draft plan sets a maximum height of seven stories for buildings in the designated center zone except for select sites where developers can go up to 10 stories if they provide public open space. It also allows for more residential development than the current comprehensive plan for McLean and no longer prescribes specific uses for specific properties.
“The plan tries to create a positive framework for developers to come forward,” said Elizabeth Hagg, who serves as deputy director for the Fairfax County Office of Community Revitalization.
McLean is also one of six locations included in a new economic incentive program approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in September. The program offers developers a 10-year real estate tax abatement for redevelopment projects in the designated areas.
“This plan and possible tax abatement could work together and stimulate future investments,” Hagg said. “We’re very gung-ho about it, and we think the timing with this comprehensive plan going forward could be the spark that we need.”
At the same time, county staff and the task force, which has been meeting regularly since May 2018, have tweaked the draft plan in response to residents’ concerns about the impact that more development could have on traffic, parking, and the availability of open space.
While a Fairfax County Department of Transportation analysis predicts a slight uptick in traffic during peak hours in the future, the proposed land use changes in the draft plan would maintain or improve conditions for all travel modes, according to FCDOT transportation planner Zach Krohmal.
The draft plan also calls for a more connected network of pedestrian and bicycle routes separate from roads and for wider sidewalks, particularly along Old Dominion Road, to accommodate travelers as well as outdoor seating areas and other amenities for restaurants and retailers.
A section of the draft plan that says parking in the center zone will mostly be in structures or underground with on-street parking encouraged, but surface parking limited, has been crossed out.
Hagg says surface parking will be allowed for mixed-use developments, though it will generally be located to the side or in the back of buildings.
Task force members who commented during the open house expressed optimism that the new McLean CBC comprehensive plan will be a necessary improvement over the existing one, revitalizing the area while also giving it a stronger sense of place and addressing issues like pedestrian safety and flooding.
“I personally believe the concept behind the plan is very good,” McLean Planning Committee President Rich Salopek said, acknowledging that there is a lot of diversity of opinions within his group. “…I think it’s a sound strategy, and if the plan develops as we all hope, I think it’ll make a very livable, walkable downtown that we can all be proud of.”
Fairfax County staffers will host a virtual question-and-answer session on the draft plan on Nov. 16, and the McLean CBC study is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.
Photo via Supervisor John Foust/Twitter
The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.
We’ve searched the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!
Tuesday (Nov. 10)
- On Deck with Mercury — 5-7 p.m. at Vienna Community Center’s Southside Room (120 Cherry St. E) — This month’s community forum with Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton will focus on sidewalk projects, the Town says.
- Mayor @ Your Service — 7:30 p.m. at Vienna Town Hall (127 Center St. S) — Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert will talk about volunteerism during the COVID-19 pandemic in a presentation and conversation about Town programs and initiatives, Vienna history, or other topics of interest.
Wednesday (Nov. 11)
- Meadowlark’s Winter Walks of Lights — 5:30-10 p.m. at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court) — Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights is open nightly starting Wednesday (Nov. 11) through Sunday (Jan. 3), the website says. The price ranges from $9 to $15.
Thursday (Nov. 12)
- Cross Stitch Crafternoon (Online) — 3-3:30 p.m. — Join the Mary Riley Styles Public Library’s Facebook page to get started on a cross stitch project, the City of Falls Church website says. Craft kits are available for pick up at MRSPL (120 N. Virginia Ave.) through Thursday (Nov. 19). The craft video will remain on the MRSPL Facebook page in the Crafternoon playlist.
Saturday (Nov. 14)
- Yoga and Beer — 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Solace Outpost (444 West Broad St.) — Roll out your mat on the spacious patio of Solace Outpost, in the heart of Falls Church, for an hour-long mindful movement experience, the website said. The cost is $25, which includes the yoga class and one beer. Participants should bring their own mat and wear a mask.
- Sing Books with Emily (Online) — 11-11:45 a.m. — Join the Mary Riley Styles Public Library through its Facebook page for a morning of stories and songs with Ms. Emily, the website said.
- Snack and Paint — 1-3 p.m. at McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave.) — Snack and Paint is an instructor-led painting class for teens that have painted before or not at all, the website said. The cost is $35. Participants will paint a fall-themed picture. To register, use this link.
Photo via Meadowlark Botanical Gardens/Facebook
In what’s become a familiar storyline, the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb in Fairfax County as the week of Nov. 8 saw the highest weekly average of cases since June 7.
The county also reported that 11 people died from COVID-19 on Oct. 7, the highest number of deaths reported in a single day since May 27, when 24 deaths were reported. For most of August and September, the number of deaths remained under five per day. In October, 13 deaths were reported throughout the whole month.
The county also reported 209 cases on Nov. 8, the most in a single day since a whopping 399 cases were reported in early June.
But the number of hospitalized patients has not significantly increased — which suggests that individuals who contract the coronavirus do not need major or critical care.
The Fairfax Health District is averaging more than 100 new cases per day, more than any time since mid-June, according to the county. A surge is not yet apparent.
“Based on the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) pandemic metrics dashboard, our community transmission level, which had been low since July, has increased to moderate. We must remain vigilant to return to low community transmission,” the county wrote in a statement on Nov. 5.
Case investigators have found hotspots of exposure at work sites, celebratory events and gatherings, and within households.
The county offered the following tips to avoid community transmission:
If someone in your household is ill, immediately take precautions such as wearing masks when in common areas, avoiding shared utensils, and staying 6 feet apart.
Limit indoor social gatherings, and choose lower risk activities for holiday celebrations.
Avoid travel as much as possible, particularly to areas of the U.S. experiencing surges of cases. For necessary travel, follow CDC’s guidance to lower risk of COVID-19.
Photo via CDC on Unsplash, Virginia Department of Health
600,238 voters – or 78.8% – of Fairfax County’s 761,573 active registered voters participated in this year’s general election, more than two-thirds of them absentee in Virginia’s first election with no-excuse absentee voting.
Based on unofficial results from the Fairfax County Office of Elections, that likely sets a record for the most votes cast in an election in Fairfax County history, but the turnout rate falls short of the 2012 and 2016 general elections, which both had rates of 80.5% and 82.5%, respectively.
“This election year was unlike any other we have ever seen,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said. “Our turnout throughout the process was truly encouraging and spoke to our residents’ faith in the democratic process.”
Though precinct-level results reveal some differences, Fairfax County voters as a whole clearly favored Democrats in this year’s election, supporting Joe Biden over incumbent President Donald Trump and reelecting Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. Don Beyer (8th District), Rep. Jennifer Wexton (10th District), and Rep. Gerry Connolly (11th District) to Congress.
Of the county’s nine districts, Hunter Mill had the highest voter turnout for the 2020 general election.
More than 81% of Hunter Mill District’s 93,193 active registered voters cast a ballot in the Nov. 3 election, either in person on Election Day or absentee. The district is also the only one in the county with over 90,000 active registered voters as of Oct. 30.
Springfield District had the second highest turnout at 80.8%, followed by Dranesville in terms of the percentage of voters who participated in the election (80.1%) or by Sully in terms of the total number of votes cast (71,082 to the 70,186 ballots recorded by Dranesville).
Springfield saw 23,333 in-person Election Day voters, the most in the county, while Hunter Mill voters cast the most absentee ballots with 55,134, though absentee voting surpassed in-person Election Day voting in all districts.
The gap between absentee voting and in-person Election Day voting was particularly wide in Providence District, where 50,814 of the district’s 87,100 active registered voters cast in in-person or by-mail absentee ballot and only 17,117 people voted on Election Day.
While the election results will not be official until they are certified on Nov. 16, all ballots are now in after the deadline for absentee ballots to be returned came at noon on Nov. 6.
The City of Falls Church, which held a special election to fill a vacant city council seat, saw a record turnout with 8,879 votes, though the 83.3% turnout rate fell short of the record 87.4% of active voters who cast ballots in the 2012 general election.
After Election Day, the city counted an additional 68 absentee ballots from drop boxes, by mail, and as federal write-ins, and officials accepted 25 provisional ballots, according to Falls Church City director of elections and general registrar David Bjerke.
Debora Schantz-Hiscott won the city council special election with 54% of the vote.
“We have a lot of work ahead. But I am excited for this opportunity,” Schantz-Hiscott said in a guest post for the Falls Church News-Press. “As we face tremendous uncertainty in our nation, it will take a village to see us through this crisis. Here in Falls Church City, I am certain we will rise to this occasion together.”
Staff Photo by Jay Westcott
Driven by the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, 8,959 students left Fairfax County Public Schools this school year with elementary school students, particularly kindergarteners, representing the most withdrawals.
About 87% of the students who left are in elementary school, and of those, 2,208 students would be kindergarteners, according to a Membership Trends Report presented to FCPS School Board members last Wednesday (Nov. 4). This report is used to inform the school board’s capital improvements planning process.
Transfer rates to other public schools in Virginia and the U.S. are on par with previous years, but FCPS has seen new spikes in students who transferred to private schools in Fairfax County or who switched to homeschooling.
“Right now, this is an unprecedented time, and it is reflected in the data we have,” Jeffrey Platenberg, the FCPS assistant superintendent of facilities and transportation services, said. “We have a lot going on and we don’t know how to proceed forward until we get this pandemic under control. To do anything during this time might not be recommended by the wisest of folks, because the data reflects such a marked difference from last year.”
If the dip in enrollment is temporary, FCPS will see a bubble in kindergarten next year that will roll through Fairfax County for the next 12 years, according to Superintendent Scott Brabrand.
“You have to do some things differently in our facilities for the next decade,” he said.
School board members and FCPS staff are already bracing for kindergarten enrollment to surge both when FCPS welcomes them back to school on Nov. 16 and for the next academic year starting in the fall of 2021.
That influx is a source of concern for school principals, Springfield District School Board member Laura Cohen says.
“Short-term and long-term kindergarten problems, how are we going to solve this?” Cohen asked.
Brabrand said FCPS is “overstaffed in kindergarten” because it acquired staff in the spring, when attendance had not yet taken a hit, rather than in late summer, when the hiring pool is much smaller.
“I know people don’t want to hear the ‘t-word’ of trailers, but we’re going to have some space challenges at those schools,” he said.
The remaining membership decreases were more modest, with 217 middle school students, 392 high school students, 356 center and alternative program students, and 165 students in other programs.
Yearly, FCPS sees thousands of students leave for public schools in other states, but the number of students who instead chose to homeschool or attend a private religious or secular school in the county this year is out of the ordinary.
Nearly 1,900 left to be homeschooled this year, up from 264 last year. About 1,100 left for a private religious school in Fairfax County, and 713 for a non-religious private school, up from 296 and 237 last year, respectively.
“When you look at those who have chosen [private schools], there is a significant increase over the prior year,” Platenberg said. “That’s pretty informing why families chose to withdraw from FCPS.”
Of the five FCPS regions, the largest withdrawal rates come from Region One, which has schools in Herndon, Reston, Vienna, and the Langley area of McLean, and Region Three, which encompasses the area south of the city of Alexandria.
“I’m concerned when I look at some of these numbers at our high school level,” At-Large School Board Member Rachna Sizmore Heizer said.
She said schools with high rates of students who qualify for free- and reduced-price meals are seeing higher enrollment drops from last year to this year. She asked staff whether these changes are due to students not logging in and dropping out.
“We really are tracking that very carefully,” Deputy Superintendent Francis Ivey said.
This is not the first time schools with higher levels of families below federal poverty lines have been impacted by current events, Platenberg said.
“We’ve seen those trends with economic changes and changes in administrations, lags and shifts that occur,” he said.
Photo via FCPS
NoVa Leads State in COVID-19 New Cases — “There has been an uptick of cases in Northern Virginia for over a week and an increase in the southwest region during October.” [Patch]
The Boro Wins Regional Development Awards — “KETTLER, one of Greater Washington, D.C.’s leading real estate services companies, announces the acceptance of multiple awards for Rise and Bolden Apartments, and Verse Condominiums located at The Boro in Tysons, Virginia.” [InsideNova]
Tysons Corner Center Announces Contact-Free Santa — “Santa and his helpers will be back at Tysons Corner Center, but there will be some changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” [Yahoo]
Macerich Secures Loan for New Residential Tower in Tysons — “While reporting its financial results for the third quarter on Thursday, Macerich Co. (MAC), a self-administered real estate investment trust, said its joint venture has secured a commitment for a $95 million loan on Tysons Vita, the residential tower at Tysons Corner.” [Nasdaq]
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
