Marshall Football Game Moved — Marshall High School’s senior night and football game against Wakefield has been moved from Friday to tonight (Thursday) due to expected heavy rain on Friday. [Twitter, Twitter]
Tysons Ritz to Offer Free Election Day Cocktail — “A complimentary cocktail, called Where the Left and Right Meet (Jack Daniels, California mulled wine reduction, lemon juice, simple syrup), will be served to all guests wearing an ‘I Voted’ sticker.” [Eater]
What $3.5 Million Buys in McLean — “The amenities range from spa-like baths, a sauna, media room, bar area to an elevator and room for a pool and tennis court. The bedrooms themselves could be considered highlights too. Among the choosings are a master suite with a sitting room and balcony and a lower level suite with a separate entrance.” [Patch]
The Balls Hill Road and Old Dominion Drive intersection can be a headache for anyone driving through McLean, but plans are underway to make major changes to the troublesome conjunction.
A meeting is scheduled for Thursday (Nov. 15) to update the public on the Balls Hill Road and Old Dominion Drive Realignment Project.
Currently, the road faces substantial queuing during rush hours, caused in part by poor intersection design and insufficient sight-lines for drivers at the intersection. Between 2010-2015 there were 29 total crashes in the vicinity of the intersection.
Two new by-right developments approved in the area, Mehr Farms and Summerstone, are likely to add more traffic to the already congested streets.
The improvements are part of a broader series of traffic projects underway across McLean.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in at Cooper Middle School (977 Balls Hill Road).
According to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, there are several traffic alternatives being considered for the site:
- T-Intersection: This would solve queuing issues at the site while having a relatively small footprint. But this shift could also have an impact at the Balls Hill Road intersection with Dulany Hill Drive nearby.
- Roundabout: This would allow the intersection to maintain the historic look of the intersection and maintain the state standards of design at the lowest cost. But roundabouts have been shown to have a substantial learning curve for drivers. The intersection would also have to undergo significant topographical changes and it would impact three homes currently under construction at the Mehr Farms development.
- Dedicated Left Turn Lanes: This would be lower in cost than the T-Intersection and have a smaller footprint than the roundabout, but the turn onto Old Dominion Drive would be a quasi U-turn. The new turn lanes would also significantly impact the nearby Korean Presbyterian Church and the Mehr Farms development.
The design is expected to be finalized this fall, with design and right-of-way acquisition occurring between 2019 and 2023. Construction on the traffic alternative is scheduled to start in spring 2023 and continue until fall 2024.
Veronica Youngblood, accused of murdering two children in Tysons, is scheduled to go to trial this Friday (Nov. 2).
Youngblood was arrested in Loudoun County and charged with murder after police entered an apartment in the 1500 block of Lincoln Circle and found two children with gunshot wounds.
One, a five-year-old girl, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was taken to the hospital where she later died.
While authorities did not release the names of the victims, in accordance with Virginia law, it was widely reported that Youngblood was the mother of the children.
Because the case involved crimes against children, it will be prosecuted in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, according to an employee in the clerk’s office.
Youngblood will be represented by a public defender. Whether the case is open to the public will be at the discretion of the presiding judge.
Photo courtesy FCPD
Blend 111, a cafe and wine bar, will planning to open in Vienna this coming spring if it can get local government approval.
The restaurant is planned to go into 111 Church St NW, and according to a Facebook post the construction plans have been finalized and sent to Town of Vienna and Fairfax County for review.
The location is near the heart of Vienna, just one block away from the Town Green.
According to the restaurant website, Blend 111 will offer a collection of food and wines from Spain, France and Venezuela. The restaurant styles itself as a cafe by day, with juices and locally roasted coffee, and a wine bar by night.
The full food menus for the restaurant are still forthcoming, but in addition to the usual animal-based cafe options Blend 111 will offer vegetarian and vegan options.
Blend 111 is currently looking for an assistant general manager with a marketing focus. The position would involve helping to support operations in the restaurant as well as running social media.
Photo via Facebook
The Palladium — could it be called Tyson’s hottest club? — is a new salsa dancing-focused venue that opened this past Saturday (Oct. 27) to add a little variety to Tysons’ budding nightlife scene.
The nightclub boasts 5,000 square feet of dancing space and a second-floor VIP room. The space is also available for private events like weddings, business lunches, dinners or cocktail receptions.
Dining is also available, with menu options including Mexican and Peruvian cuisine.
The Palladium isn’t the first nightclub to occupy 1524 Spring Hill Rd. Iris Lounge occupied the site before it filed for bankruptcy in 2016.
The new club has a series of events lined up for November, including the four below.
- Nov. 2: The first of “The Social” Fridays, a dance party with a live DJ that’s cover free for those who register in advance
- Nov. 3: Sabado con Xavi Hernandez
- Nov. 13: Salsa Palante Tuesdays
- Nov. 16: The Reflex Takes Over Tysons! (80s Night!)
Photo via Facebook
Fairfax County Police arrested a 20-year-old Maryland man early Saturday morning on charges of trying to hit an officer.
The incident started when police were called to the 6800 block of Dillon Avenue in McLean just after midnight for a report of a loud party.
“When officers walked towards the backyard, a man, Michael Wade, 20, of Maryland, became belligerent and tried to hit our officer,” FCPD said in a crime report. “When officers searched him, alcohol was discovered. Wade was arrested and charged with attempted assault on a law enforcement officer and underage possession of alcohol.”
Photo courtesy FCPD
It wasn’t nearly as contentious as the preceding vote, but the Vienna Town Council voted on Monday (Oct. 29) to authorize a $1.6 million contract to design a new police station. The new station will likely be triple the size of the current one.
The contract was awarded to architecture firm Dewberry. The company previously designed the Fairfax Criminal Justice Academy and several government buildings across the county.
The current police station is a 9,800 square foot building at 215 Center Street South. It was built in 1994 and houses the administrative, operations and communications divisions of the department, while the criminal investigations section works out of an office inside the Vienna Town Hall.
A needs assessment in 2013 determined that the department would need a roughly 30,000 square foot building to house all of the police operations. The project will likely involve renovating the current building and constructing a new facility on the adjacent property at 144 Locust Street, which is owned by the town.
The total cost of the new police station’s construction is estimated to be $15.8 million. According to the Town of Vienna CIP review, the project is being financed through general obligation bonds. Construction is expected to begin in 2020.
According to the proposal, the new building will also have offices for other Town of Vienna departments as well as public spaces. Vienna Police Chief James Morris said it was important that the new building be a “community space” in addition to a police department.
“We do community policing all the time so that’s really important,” Mayor Laurie DiRocco agreed. “It’s nice to have people enter the police station for reasons other than negative reasons.”
Photo via Facebook
Halloween Safety Tips — The Fairfax County Police Department has a number of Halloween safety tips for parents, drivers, seniors and pet owners. If you’re planning on bringing the little ones trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, this post has additional tips and info. [FCPD]
Vienna Council Approves New Contracts — “Citing difficulties in arranging for Vienna’s general on-call maintenance and roadway contractor to handle small work orders, the Vienna Town Council on Oct. 29 voted 7-0 to spend up to $617,745 with U.S. Concrete and Paving Inc. to handle those tasks.” [InsideNova]
Falls Church Resident Hits the Jackpot — “When Michael Kraemer discovered he’d won the $4 million top prize in the Virginia Lottery’s Hot Millions Multiplier game, he didn’t immediately tell anyone. The Falls Church man simply drove off in his car and went to work as usual.” [Fairfax Times]
Developers seeking an alternative to the increasingly built-up Greensboro Metro station might be looking one stop north.
Dominion Square, an 18-acre site adjacent to the Spring Hill Metro station, is for sale, as first reported by the Washington Business Journal. The site, which encompasses portions of two existing redevelopment plans, has already been approved for 3.6 million square feet of mixed-use development, according to a press release (below).
Newmark Knight Frank, a real estate advisory firm, has been selected to help market the site.
The land is currently occupied by auto showrooms and sale lots, including Sheehy Infiniti of Tysons, Honda of Tysons Corner, Priority Mazda and Priority Nissan. The dealerships currently have leases that can be terminated to make way for the development when the project is ready to start construction.
More from the press release:
Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has announced it has been selected as the exclusive advisor for the sale of Dominion Square in Tysons, VA. The 18-acre site is located directly adjacent to the Spring Hill Metro Station, currently the first eastbound stop on the Silver Line.
The site is approved for 3.6 million square feet of mixed-use development, comprises three separate parcels and is unaffiliated with a specific developer. The property includes terminable leases for four existing car dealership sites, offering built-in income and flexibility allowing investors to react strategically to demand.
Dominion Square represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape one of the DC metro area’s premier submarkets. Located at the intersection of the I-495 Beltway and the Dulles Toll Road, Tysons is a major economic and employment hub,” explained Mark Anstine, executive managing director of land services at NKF. “With the ongoing construction of the Silver Line slated to connect Dulles Airport to downtown Washington, DC in 2020, the area boasts a perfect combination of mass transit, new urbanized residential and retail development, drawing significant interest from regional and national companies.”
With approval now in place for more than 2 million square feet of office, 1.1 million square feet of residential, 185,000 square feet of retail and a 205,000-square-foot hotel, Dominion Square is poised to become an urbanized and amenitized scene where employees can live and play where they work. Since Tysons is the 12th largest office market in the United States headquartering numerous companies–including many of the Fortune 500, it boasts one of the country’s most highly-educated and diverse workforces.
Map via Google Maps
It was a full house at last night’s Vienna Town Council meeting, and there was little mistaking the mood of the audience.
The main item on the agenda was the redevelopment of 430, 440 and 444 Maple Ave. W. into a four-story mixed-use development. While there was no public discussion on the topic at the meeting, the audience largely ignored pleas for silence from the Vienna Town Council as they cheered Councilmembers opposing the project and booed at those supporting it.
The outcry, though vocal, was insufficient to keep the development from being passed on a 5-2 vote.
“This is probably the most divisive project to hit the town in the last 20 years,” said Councilmember Howard Springsteen. “I know development is going to happen there, but this is not my idea of what Maple Avenue Commercial should be. Look at the turnout tonight and the signs around town. People are not happy, so I’m not going to vote in favor of this.”
Springsteen was joined in his criticism of the project by Councilmember Pasha Majdi.
“The question is simple,” said Majdi. “Do you support 150 unit apartment buildings on Maple Avenue? For me, the answer is no.”
But the majority of the Council saw the development as a necessary part of revitalizing Maple Avenue, which has faced a slew of commercial vacancies recently, despite local objections.
Councilmember Linda Colbert said the Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) process existed to give residents a voice, which they had throughout the process. But Colbert still said that she felt that it was a good project that would make substantial improvements to the area.
“When I looked at final renderings, I smiled,” said Colbert. “I imagined a place where people can gather, play, walk and eat outdoors… We need Maple Avenue to be a vital part of the community. When I drive down it now, there are places where it’s not so vibrant.”
Colbert referred back to the development of Church Street, which had been controversial in its time but had paved the way to substantial revitalization.
“It’s a lovely little place and it’s got a three-story building on it,” said Colbert. “So if you just go over one block to Maple Avenue, going up one story won’t be a bad thing.”
Even among those that supported the motion, there was still recognition that the decision was going to prove as controversial as the development.
“In my 15 years of serving in Vienna, this is one of the most difficult decisions that I’ve personally had to make,” said Councilmember Carey Sienicki.
