F.C. Council Vote on Whole Foods Project to Be Delayed — “The News-Press has learned at plans at present are to delay a vote by the Falls Church City Council at its business meeting this Monday on the proposed Broad at Washington mixed use development process because there is insufficient support on the Council at present to move it forward for evaluation by City boards and commissions.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Improper Disposal Of Smoking Materials Cause Merrifield Condo Fire –“Units arrived on the scene of a four-story, condominium building with fire showing from a third-floor deck.” [Twitter]
Computer Hackers Attack Fairfax County School System –“Hackers attacked the Fairfax County Public Schools computer system and placed ransomware on some of its systems, a school district spokesperson said Friday.” [Washington Post]
Silverstone Senior Living is slated to build senior housing in Tysons, becoming the first potential tenant at a proposed new development that will serve as an extension for The Boro.
The “continuing care home”, will have 200 available units for seniors and will include a fitness center, a barbershop and salon, a theater and multiple dining areas, according to documents from developer the Meridian Group. Senior housing in Tysons has been traditionally hard to come by, and much of the housing in the pipeline is not cheap.
The senior housing is a part of a 1.1 million square foot extension of The Boro, an upscale development in Tysons with apartments, offices, a movie theater and a Whole Foods. If approved, the extension will be a mixed-use development with residential housing, ground-floor retail space and a health club along with senior housing.
The site of the proposed development will be on the former grounds of the National Automobile Dealers Association Headquarters located on 8400 Westpark Drive after Meridian Group acquired the property in 2018 for $33.7 million, according to the Washington Business Journal.
Plans call for four buildings on the site with Silverstone’s senior housing to be inside a 180-foot-tall structure with 260,000 square feet of gross floor space. A representative for the Meridian Group declined to comment as no other details for what will go inside the planned development have been released.
The other planned projects include two other residential buildings with ground-level retail space that will be have a maximum height of 90-feet-tall. The fourth building is slated to become the health club if approved.
“The vision is to extend The Boro development across Westpark Drive and to continue the transformation of Tysons from a suburban office park to an urban center,” Elizabeth Baker, a senior land use planner for Walsh Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh told Tysons Reporter in May.
Rezoning for the proposed development is still in the review process and likely won’t go before a public hearing until 2021, Baker said.
Image via Google Maps
Jennifer McLaughlin, owner of the Caboose Brewing Company, is just starting to catch her breath and take a look back at the last few months of the local brewery not only trying to survive, but do some good for their communities.
It has not been an easy road for Caboose, which operates Caboose Tavern in Vienna (520 Mill Street NE) and Caboose Commons in Merrifield (2918 Eskridge Road).
“It’s been quite a whirlwind,” McLaughlin said. “Back in March, when this all went down, we had to let go of a lot of people. They don’t have a ton of resources. It was awful. We were letting go of people we weren’t sure would be able to pay rent and buy food and all those things. We lined them up with resources as best we could but that wasn’t really enough.”
As the pandemic worsened, McLaughlin said they began to hear stories about how hard fresh food was for people to come by. It was difficult for people to get to grocery stores and many food banks carried only canned goods, but McLaughlin said it occurred to them that they could access fresh food supply chains through their own vendors.
“So we started a grassroots effort with local schools and a couple of churches,” McLaughlin said. “At one point, we were doing hundreds of grocery donations a week.”
McLaughlin said Caboose was delivering milk, proteins, and produce to families in need. At its peak, the program was delivering hundreds of grocery boxes. In total, McLaughlin said Caboose has put together and delivered 915 grocery boxes.
The grocery boxes were delivered by volunteers and Caboose received donations, though never enough to fully cover the cost of buying the groceries.
“The numbers are way less than they used to be, ” McLaughlin said. “We’re now down to 10 families, which is down from 40 last week.”
Caboose also donated a total of 869 meals to Inova Hospital.
Caboose Tavern in Vienna was closed for a while when the pandemic started. Caboose Commons at the Mosaic district never closed, but it was also not very active during the worst of it. McLaughlin said the space gave management a chance to take a step back and assess the restaurant’s values and priorities.
While a new $112 million bond referendum is on the ballot for November, further planning for Salona Park in McLean will remain on hold.
The 2020 bond will include money for design planning of Salona Park, though the planning will remain paused pending approval of the Langley Fork Park master plan.
Planning for Langley Fork Park will be contingent on the completion of a land exchange that has been years in the making with the National Park Service that includes Langley Oaks Park.
“We need to figure out what’s going to be at Langley Oaks Park, and then we can really finish planning Salona based on what would go on in this other park,” said Judy Pederson, public information officer for the Fairfax County Park Authority. “Once the master plan is approved, then we will start to plan out Salona Park and that master planning process.”
As the process moves along and eventually reaches the planning phase for Salona Park, there will be more community discussion to find a middle ground with members of the public on the eventual development of the park.
Consideration during the planning process for Salona Park will weigh the previous planning efforts, community input, and take into account the current conditions at the site and whether the needs of the community have changed over the years.
“It’s really going to depend on what’s right for the community and what kind of consensus we can find,” Pederson said. “So that’s the great unknown.”
Salona Park was granted to the Fairfax County Park Authority under a conservation easement in 2005. Plans for Salona Park were previously discussed in 2012, but were not solidified due to a divergence in public opinion over whether the park should be preserved in a natural state or used as an athletic field.
Following community input and approval from the Board of Supervisors for the county, the master plan will also need to be approved by the county’s planning commission.
“There are just too many unknowns for us to really prognosticate on the timing,” Pederson said. “All I can say is that we’re ready to start. And we just will be working with the supervisor to figure out what the first next step will be.”
Photo via Google Maps
Autumn is approaching and the Vienna Community Center is hosting a native plant event this weekend.
From 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 12), people can gather at the Vienna Community Center (120 SE Cherry Street) to buy a variety of fall-friendly plants, learn how to make rain barrels, educate themselves about stormwater and participate in other activities, according to the event flyer.
Hill House Nursery will be on site with perennials, shrubs and trees, the flyer said.
“The plants we offer are chosen for their aesthetic qualities, their durability, their vigor, and their wildlife benefits,” according to the nursery’s website.
For people who want to pre-order greenery, pickup will be available as well at the event. Those interested can email Hill House Nursery.
To keep everyone safe, event organizers ask that attendees wear face-masks, refrain from touching merchandise before purchasing and practice social distancing.
Photo via Hill House Farm and Nursery/ Facebook
As kids return to the classroom, Tysons Reporter wants to know how parents and the community feel about this current school year.
The Fairfax County Public School Board debated the best practices for the start of the school year and ultimately decided to begin with a primarily virtual classroom — incorporating varied in-person learning opportunities for certain ages.
FCPS released a portal to help families work out technical issues that caused confusion in the spring.
Despite attempts to confront potential issues, Fairfax County officials previously expressed concern about the lack of childcare opportunities for parents who work full-time jobs while their kids are in school.
To fix this, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to allow county staff to work with FCPS on ways to improve resources and support systems for working families.
Do you feel that these measures are enough?
Please fill out the poll below and then expand on your opinion in the comments.
Additionally, if you’d like to share your experience with us personally or share a news tip, please send our editorial team an email.
Police are investigating a homicide that took place early this morning (Friday) at Diva Lounge (6763 Wilson Blvd), a nightclub tucked into a back corner of the Eden Center strip mall.
Police responded to a 911 call about a shooting at approximately 12:05 a.m. When police and medics arrived they found a male victim deceased from a gunshot wound.
“Witnesses to the incident report the suspect shot the victim then fled the scene on foot,” police said. “The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his 30s, with dark hair, who was wearing black shorts and a blue polo shirt. There is no camera or video footage of the suspect available at this time.”
Police said the incident remains an active criminal investigation, but that they do not believe there is a continuing threat to the community.
“If you witnessed or have any information regarding this incident, please call Detective Darian Chuquillangui at (703) 248-5165,” police said.
Photo via Google Maps
Two Candidate Forums Set for Special F.C. Council Election — “The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and the Falls Church League of Women Voters have each announced forums to hear from the three candidates running to fill the F.C. City Council seat vacated by the July passing of Daniel X. Sze.” [Falls Church News-Press]
FCPS Extends Breakfast and Lunch To Go–“Fairfax County Public Schools announced they will continue free breakfast and lunch to go starting Tuesday through December 31.” [Local DVM]
McLean Firm Wins $7.3M DARPA 5G Security Contract — “McLean-based computer and network security company Kryptowire LLC won a four-year, $7.3 million contract to help the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) conduct research and development services for 5G mobile network security, according to a Department of Defense statement released Tuesday.” [Virginia Business]
Kids of All Ages on What They Miss Most About Dining in Restaurants — “The flaming onion volcano wouldn’t make it through the car ride. Marcus, who is 8 and lives in Tysons Corner, misses dinner and a show at his favorite restaurant, Sakura.” [Washington City Paper]
Capital One May Find Its Way Into the McLean Metro Station’s Name — “Fairfax County is weighing a proposal to rename the McLean Metro station as “McLean-Capital One Hall,” which, if approved, would become the first station to include a company’s name in its title.” [Washington Business Journal]
Vienna local Sydney Lehrman quit her job a week before the coronavirus pandemic shut things down, and then couldn’t find work. So with free time on her hands, she turned to one of her favorite pastimes — cooking.
When Lehrman decided to compile the recipes she’d made over the course of the pandemic into a basic Google document, she hadn’t anticipated the overwhelming, positive community feedback she received. The collection of recipes turned into a 49-page document, the Quarantine Cookbook, with recipes for dishes such as jambalaya, salted caramel pretzel snickerdoodles and sausage tortellini soup.
“I love the desserts because I have such a sweet tooth,” said Lehrman.
Back in March, Lehrman was quarantining with her boyfriend’s family in Maine and was unable to find a new job because of the coronavirus. Lehrman and the family turned to cooking many nights, so she decided to commemorate their favorite recipes.
“I put all of them together in a way that I could keep them and remember, and have something positive to look back on,” said Lehrman.
In the middle of August, Lehrman posted in the Vienna VA Foodies Facebook group asking if anyone was interested in a copy of the cookbook, and if so, she would direct message it to them. After receiving more than 200 messages of interest, she shared the link to the cookbook to the entire Facebook group.
“I still got a ton of messages from people thanking me,” said Lehrman. “I’m really happy that other people like it. Life is too short not to enjoy good food.”
Lehrman is contemplating publishing a recipe book in the future as a gift. In the meantime, readers can view the Quarantine Cookbook via the public Google document.
Photo by Sydney Lehrman
A plan to demolish one of Tyson’s oldest restaurants and to replace it with a new high-rise, luxury apartment building is awaiting its next step of approval next week after hitting a recent snag.
The planned residential development, which if approved will replace the J.R. Stockyards Inn, located on 8130 Watson Street, will go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission for approval on Sept. 16.
The proposed development hit a snag in its approval process in July, with Fairfax County planning staff originally recommending the Planning Commission reject the application for the proposed apartment building because it proposal did not meet the county’s requirements for “a functioning grid of streets and provision of public parks.”
But after the developers made changes to the proposal, planning staff signed off on it and now it will go before the Planning Commission for approval. Those changes included adding funding for needed street modifications and a stronger commitment to upgrading the planned park space.
“When completed the luxury apartments on Watson Street will become an iconic image in the skyline in Tysons Corner,” KGD Architecture, the firm tasked with designing the development writes on its website. “Its striking architecture will feature a cylindrical glass tower anchored by high and low curvilinear residential towers arcing to the west and south.
Originally proposed in 2018, the proposed 26-story apartment building will be a mixed-use development with luxury apartments and an underground parking garage. Developers are billing their proposal as an attempt to help bring new life to the retail space in Tysons, with the proposed development being located next to Tysons Corner Center between Tysons and Greensboro Metro stations.
J.R. Stockyards Inn, a two-story, 42-year-old steakhouse, was one of the first restaurants to open outside of Tysons Corner Center. But since 2011, the restaurant has closed its daily service.
Photo via Fairfax County
