Update on 4/2/19 — Fairfax County Park Authority officials noted that the earlier development plans were out of date, and the current development area is much smaller than initially reported and only includes redeveloping one field into two lighted synthetic turf fields with additional parking.

After eight years of planning, Langley Fork Park is in the final stages of changing hands, clearing the way for two new fields.

Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service (NPS), said the NPS is working through the final stages of a land-swap with Fairfax County. The NPS currently owns Langley Fork Park, which is a developed recreational property, while Fairfax County owns Langley Oaks — a more heavily wooded, natural parkland west of the Claude Moore farm area.

If the deal goes through, Anzelmo-Sarles said the property could change hands within the year.

“We are trying to increase facilities there, and we agreed to a land exchange,” David Bowden, director of the Park Planning and Development Division, said. “We have another piece of undeveloped property at Langley Oak. Our goal is to exchange Langley Oaks for ownership of Langley Fork Park.”

The Park Authority has managed Langley Fork Park since 1981, adding athletic fields, a fitness trail and more to the site since then, but the park remained on loan from the NPS.

The Park Authority and NPS began discussing the swap in Fall 2011. The swap was first approved by the Park Authority in 2016.

Since 1980, the population of McLean has more than doubled. In planning documents for Langley Fork Park, the Park Authority cited the increasing population of McLean — particularly for the population under age 19 — as an indicator of the need to reevaluate the plan for the park.

The new development plans involve redeveloping one field on the site into two lighted synthetic turf fields with additional parking.

As a side-note for history buffs: archaeological surveys of the property showed the first known use of the site was as a prehistoric quartz quarry, and a hearth was found that dated back to 300 B.C. An environmental assessment from the National Park Service noted that synthetic turf will not be used to improve the existing fields in the north and western portions of the site for archeological reasons.

Langley Oaks Park, meanwhile, is 102 acres of undeveloped land contiguous to the NPS’ Turkey Run Park along the Potomac. The NPS said it has no plans for any changes to the property.

The NPS is also currently in the very early stages of developing a plan for the Claude Moore Farm property east of Langley Oaks, which could include new trails connecting the two properties.

Image via National Park Service

The short Metro tunnel in Tysons is now the only one in Virginia without cell coverage, but Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said that should be remedied by next summer.

Calls inside the tunnel connecting the Tysons Corner and Greensboro Metro stations on the Silver Line are dropped regardless of cellular provider — interrupting 25 minutes of otherwise continuous cell coverage from the Wiehle-Reston to Ballston Metro stations.

The lack of cell service is more than a convenience issue. Experts have called it a glaring safety problem for the system — particularly in the wake of a death in a smoke-clogged tunnel in 2015.

On and off for 10 years, WMATA has been working with cell carriers to wire tunnels to provide continuous service, though the plan has hit several stumbling blocks along the way. The press release said the plan is to have all of the tunnels completed by June 2020:

The $120 million capital project to install dual radio and cellular cables within Metro’s tunnels began in February 2016 and is scheduled to be completed by June 2020. The labor-intensive process involves installing special trays on the tunnel walls to support the heavy cables and requires the track be taken out of service for the work to be done.

WMATA said 67 miles of the 100 total miles of track are now cell-accessible, including all of the Orange and Blue lines.

An animal hospital and furniture store are coming to a building in Merrifield between the Dunn Loring Metro station and the Mosaic District.

A building permit says that 8300 Merrifield Avenue, Suite C is getting an interior alteration for the Dunn Loring Animal Hospital.

A sign on a door facing Merrifield Avenue says that the Mina Design Gallery will have a “grand re-opening coming soon” after trading in its Vienna location for the new Merrifield spot. A moving truck by the door said Mina’s former location at 8590 Leesburg Pike was “Closing our doors forever. Everything must go!!!”

The Merrifield furniture gallery is open by appointment open until May 5, according to Mina’s website.

Built in the 1970s, the building housed Columbia College, which offers English as a Second Language program, and Rice Bar Factory. The building recently had work done to remove asbestos, according to a different permit.

Church Street NE is closed until 3 p.m. today (May 1) between Glyndon and Park streets.

The temporary closure started at 9 a.m., according to a tweet from the Town of Vienna.

The road is closed “so that Dominion Energy can do emergency repairs to replace a faulty switch,” the tweet says.

Next week, a different portion of Church Street will be closed for four weeks. Starting Monday (May 6), the 300 block of Church Street will be closed from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on weekdays for installation of a new sidewalk, storm sewer, curb and gutter and driveway aprons.

Image via Google Maps

The Fairfax County Police Department Internal Affairs Bureau is reviewing an incident last week after members of the public complained officers “brutalized” and “threatened” two teenagers.

FCPD released a video yesterday (Tuesday) to dispute online claims that a teenage girl was “body slammed” during an arrest in Tysons Corner Center last Thursday (April 25.) Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. directed the Internal Affairs Bureau to review the incident, according to the press release, and said the Police Auditor will conduct an independent review.

The video shows a man pulling a woman into a store while holding her hands behind her back. After what appears to be a struggle, she then falls to the ground.

Police say during the incident a 19-year-old woman “threw down her water bottle and dumped her drink all over the store’s floor and walked away” after her 22-year-old friend was caught shoplifting and issued a summons.

Police say the 19-year-old “began screaming and acting disorderly” when police approached her, and that she attempted to break free from police after being brought back into the store.

“To gain control and prevent her from harming herself or others, she was taken to the ground by the arresting officer and finally handcuffed,” noted the police report last week.

People criticized the police’s response on Facebook, saying officers “brutalized” and “threatened” the teenagers and bullied bystanders.

Police issued the 19-year-old a summons for disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice, and mall management banned her from Tysons Corner Center for one year, according to the report.

A 27-year-old Fairfax man was also arrested for disorderly conduct after he “aggressively approached officers, cursing at them and attempting to interfere with their investigation,” the report says.

File photo

Vienna residents had mixed reactions to the proposed redevelopment of 380 Maple Avenue at last night’s public hearing.

While some people said the mixed-use, four-floor building, which would include ground floor retail and 39 multi-family residential condominium units, could revitalize the downtown area, others argued that traffic, safety and scale issues warrant the Vienna Town Council delaying or rejecting the proposal.

Dennis Rice, the owner of J.D.A. Custom Homes, told the Town Council that the proposed project has gone from being called “the gold standard for what the MAC should look like” last fall to receiving a mix of feedback that has elicited many changes.

“We’ve had seven more work sessions and public hearings,” Rice said. “It’s been a very long and arduous process. We made more than 75 changes.”

Some of those changes included removing the fifth floor and green wall in the back, adding more trees to provide extra screening for the nearby neighbors, reducing the number of residential units and changing the color scheme from brighter to softer colors. “We were referred to as the Lego building,” he said.

Testimony during the more than three-hour-long public hearing on the proposed rezoning ranged from residents who said the redevelopment will help Vienna’s ghost town appearance to arguments that the plan’s flaws outweigh the need to replace the site’s unattractive three-story office building that was built in 1970.

“I think this is a good change,” Tammy Moore, a resident, said. “It’s something different.” Moore said, adding that the units may attract both younger people and also older residents looking to downsize.

The proposal’s retail space received some support from residents who said the spots are an opportunity to attract local businesses instead of big box chains dotting Maple Avenue’s strip malls.

“To pass up a chance like this would seem to me to be a serious mistake by the town,” Nat White, a resident, told the council.

Some residents, like Anna Benson, took issue with the project’s scale.

“This project is a great idea, but it’s too big,” Benson said, adding that she asked a fifth grader to build the Town of Vienna as the developer envisions it with Legos.

“He said to me, ‘It’s going to be too big. We can’t fit everybody,'” she said. “My question to you is, ‘Are we smarter than a fifth grader?'”

Resident John Pott said the closeness of the development to people’s homes and nearly three dozen windows lead will invade current residents’ privacy. “It’s right in our face — a massive, balconied structure,” he said.

While a Transportation Impact Analysis found that the development will cause minimal traffic in the area and that the intersection does not need a traffic signal, several residents said the development will add to already bad traffic congestion in the area. Opponents also said that the placement of the loading dock access from Wade Hampton Drive could lead to safety issues for pedestrians and drivers.

“This is not only a public safety issue, it makes no logical sense,” Steve Potter, a resident, said, urging for relocation of the loading dock. “Loading docks do not belong on public streets or next to public sidewalks or access ways for handicap people. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

Residents in support of the project said minor tweaks could address the issues raised and shouldn’t stop the Town Council from approving the rezoning proposal.

“[The developers] are really trying and I think this is one of projects where we have to support the developers and the good-heartedness of it and their wanting to make the town a better town,” Friderike Butler, a resident, said. “380 looks really beautiful and I know there are still kinks that need to get worked out – security hazards, safety hazards are uncertainly of concern and need to be addressed, but they don’t sound like would they be reason enough to vote this project down.”

The Vienna Town Council decided to leave the public hearing open until May 13 and directed the staff and applicant to provide responses to questions brought up and also possible solutions to the council.

“I just think in the interest of open government and to try to be as fair as possible by leaving the public hearing open, it shows we’ve gone the extra half mile,” Councilmember Howard Springsteen said.

Photo via Town of Vienna Planning and Zoning

Local chocolatier Craving for Chocolate is planning a pop-up shop in Tysons Galleria to offer a less-healthy alternative to the adjacent Sweetgreen.

The pop-up is scheduled to run from Friday (May 3) through Sunday (May 5) on the first floor of the Galleria. According to the mall’s website:

Craving for Chocolate offers a wide variety of treats, such as sugared pistachios, marzipans, and Jordan almonds, and more exotic flavors such as rose water nougats and bitter orange zest marzipan.  All treats come beautifully wrapped and packaged.

This is the second pop-up in the Tysons Galleria for the chocolate retailer. Craving for Chocolate is also operating a pop-up store inside the nearby Ritz-Carlton Tysons (1700 Tysons Blvd) until May 31.

The store’s milk chocolate selections are $40 per pound or $38 for dark chocolate. Other delicacies, like pistachio nougat or apricot fruit confections, are also available for $32.

The store also offers gift boxes for $28 to $78 or arrangements for weddings, baby showers or corporate events.

The Tysons Galleria pop-up will be open:

• Friday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Sunday: noon-6 p.m.

Photo via Facebook

Moge Tee expects to open in about two months in Tysons Corner Center as part of the bubble tea shop’s massive expansion plans for this year.

The upcoming Tysons location is one of several new shops in Virginia, Lin Luo, who handles franchise development, told Tysons Reporter. Moge Tee held a grand opening for its new store at 6122 Arlington Blvd in Falls Church last Sunday (April 21). The bubble tea shop also recently opened in D.C.’s Glover Park neighborhood.

This year alone, Moge Tee aims to open 40-50 stores across the U.S., including Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles, according to a Moge Tee presentation sent to Tysons Reporter. So far, more than 20 stores have been leased or are under construction, the presentation said.

Moge Tee will occupy a 1,000 square-foot-space between the Pandora and Steinway stores on the first level near Nordstrom. The menu for its current New York City locations includes parfaits, coffee, cheese tea, milk tea, fruit tea and Uji matcha — a type of green tea.

The notorious Tysons Tire Bandits have struck once again, bringing the total number of thefts in the area since February up to nine.

A Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) recap from yesterday (April 29) said tires were stolen from a vehicle from The Fountains neighborhood at the 1500 block of Lincoln Way.

This isn’t the first time the small residential community just north of Tysons Galleria has been hit by tire thieves. On March 7, an FCPD report said another vehicle in the community had its tires stolen.

At the time, a Redditor claiming to be the victim of the larceny shared a warning to others about the incident on the Northern Virginia subreddit. According to the Reddit post:

Hey all, just a quick warning. I just had the wheels stolen off of my 2018 Charger on Sunday night from the parking garage in my apartment complex. I filed a police report and the officer with whom I spoke said that this is becoming a much more prevalent problem in the area, with thieves targeting vehicles even in open parking lots.

My car had wheel locks, but unfortunately they really don’t do anything except slow the thieves down by a few seconds, as most of the perpetrators in this area are professionals, and are in and out within minutes. Just a caution for everyone, perhaps consider installing tilt sensors or dash cameras in your vehicles to prevent something like this from happening to you. Definitely the first purchase I’ll make once my car is back up and running.

When we last reported on the spate of thefts on April 9, the total was seven. Since then, the April 11 FCPD recap also reported that tires were stolen from a vehicle on the 1500 block of Westbranch Drive.

This is the fourth time tire thieves have hit the 1500 block of Westbranch Drive. Police said the location is an offsite garage for a local dealership, which made it a target for the thieves.

While the investigation is ongoing, police said the thefts are likely related.

File photo

Emily’s Kitchen, a regional restaurant chain, has plans to open a new spot in Pimmit Hills.

The fast-casual restaurant is coming to 7600B Leesburg Pike, Suite 130, according to a building permit.

Founded in 2000, Emily’s Kitchen serves up sandwiches, deli meats, egg dishes, salads and soups.

Currently, the chain has two spots in Rockville, Md. and one in Herndon, Va.

Photo via Instagram