Some more stormy weather could wash over the D.C. area later today.
A Tornado Watch has been issued for the region, including Fairfax County, by the National Weather Service, which has also designated most of the area as at “Moderate Risk” of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening.
This is the first time in a decade that the agency has placed the D.C. area under that level of risk for hazardous weather, according to the Capital Weather Gang.
“Widespread damaging wind gusts are likely, with potential for locally destructive winds,” the NWS said. “Tornadoes and large hail are also possible. Have a way to receive warnings!”
The Tornado Watch will be in effect until 9 p.m.
Much of the area is now under a Moderate (Level 4 of 5) Risk for severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Widespread damaging wind gusts are likely, with potential for locally destructive winds. Tornadoes and large hail are also possible. Have a way to receive warnings! pic.twitter.com/6gINUGKGi7
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) August 7, 2023
The storms are expected to move eastward, reaching Fairfax County during the afternoon rush-hour, according to the county’s emergency information blog.
Wind gusts of up to 80 mph are possible in central and western Virginia, with most eastern areas facing possible gusts closer to 60-70 mph, the Virginia Department of Transportation said in a news release. The department also warned of localized flooding, large hail and “brief spin-up tornadoes.”
“The safety of the traveling public and our crews is VDOT’s top priority,” VDOT said. “As forecasts and conditions could change, travelers should pay close attention to local weather reports and announcements from officials and limit their travels based on conditions.”
@NWS_BaltWash has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for today, Monday, Aug. 7.
Numerous severe thunderstorms are expected to develop this afternoon and evening. The storms are expected to reach our county during the rush hour window.
Details: https://t.co/r7UEtrLvsD pic.twitter.com/Zc7jo7XO0v
— Fairfax County Government
(@fairfaxcounty) August 7, 2023
Tysons is going to need more housing.
Home to 17,000 people in 2010, the urban center saw its population grow to 29,620 people by 2021, according to a market study released Friday (Aug. 4) by the Tysons Community Alliance. Fairfax County staff reported earlier this year that there are now 30,124 residents.
Much of that influx came just in the past five years. Tysons added 13,000 households at a growth rate of 19% from 2018 to 2021 — tripling the 6% seen from 2015 to 2018, the market study found.
Its residential growth has easily exceeded that of Fairfax County as a whole (4% from 2018-2021) as well as the overall D.C. region (7% over that time period).
“Tysons is no longer just a place to shop and go to work,” said Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, who represents most of Tysons. “The addition of Metro and now the completion of the Silver Line, investment in parks and public amenities, as well as the construction of bike trails, is creating connections within Tysons, to the region and beyond. People recognize Tysons as the type of community that they want to call home.”
While the county’s population has started to stagnate, Tysons is projected to reach more than 42,000 residents by 2030, though that pace would still fall short of the county’s goal of 100,000 residents by 2050.
To accommodate that growth, the area will need to add 4,400 more housing units, including an additional 1,900 affordable units, by 2032, the report estimates.
Tysons has made progress on building up its housing stock, which totals 8,600 units with 1,200 coming online since 2020 — a 16% increase. Another 1,600 units are under construction, and 624 have been approved but are still in planning, including about 516 units in the all-affordable Dominion Square West project.
Of the roughly 2,500 existing affordable units, 1,800 are “naturally occurring” because their market rate is affordable to households earning up to 80% of the area median income (AMI), which is $152,000 for a household of four people in the D.C. area.
However, the vast majority of the 700 committed affordable housing units in Tysons is aimed at people making 60% or more of the AMI. Only 7% are available to people earning under $76,000 a year, and there are no units affordable to people making under $45,000.
The availability of units affordable for medium-income households making 61% to 120% AMI is an asset when it comes to “attracting and retaining a competitive workforce,” according to TCA CEO Katie Cristol.
“But the lack of existing market-rate or committed affordable homes accessible to our regional neighbors who make 60% of the [AMI] or less demonstrates the importance of the aggressive policy and financing efforts already underway to plan, fund and build homes that are affordable by design and commitment,” Cristol told FFXnow, noting that Dominion Square — which will target those in the 30-70% AMI range — is expected to break ground this year.
Notably, the nearly 13% residential vacancy rate in Tysons surpasses that of the county overall, the D.C. area and even Arlington, which are all under 7%. While “elevated,” the vacancy rate in Tysons stayed level with 2022 after dipping to 7.7% in 2021, even with the recent delivery of developments like Monarch and The Rylan.
“Steady vacancy in 2023 suggest that most new units are being leased,” the market study said. “This trend is indicative that there is substantial demand for new units in Tysons.”
Despite the affordability challenges, Tysons residents have a mix of incomes. About 38% of the population makes under $100,000, compared to 34% for the county, and roughly the same share of households earn $200,000 or more at 29% in Tysons and 30% in the county, according to the study.
As of 2021, the median income in Tysons was $126,000 — a 25% increase from 2015 that puts it on track to soon pass the county’s median income of $134,000.
Conducted by the consultants HR&A, Toole Design and Wells & Associates, the market study was commissioned by the TCA to support its ongoing development of a strategic plan that will guide the future of Tysons.
As part of that process, the TCA has launched surveys focused on issues like transportation, residential development, office space and retail. The booster organization is seeking input from residents, businesses and general community members “to assess” their Tysons experience, according to a press release.
The strategic plan is expected to be finished in November, a TCA spokesperson confirmed.
National and Dulles Airport Noise Complaints on the Rise — “Airplane noise complaints have rebounded at Reagan National and Dulles International airports after a pandemic-era lull, a rise that mirrors a resurgence in air travel. Residents in the Washington region filed more than 205,000 complaints…in 2022, according to an annual aircraft noise report this summer from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.” [Washington Post]
Vienna Little League Team Finishes Tournament Run — “Game over, and VA’s Big Red Machine (Vienna American) is headed home. The team fought a tough battle against TN in extreme GA heat today falling short of reaching the semifinals, 7-2, in the Southeastern Region Little League Tournament. Congrats BRM, on a thrilling season!” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
Carjacking Reported at Merrifield Dealership — “Police are still on the lookout for a suspect after a carjacking at a BMW dealership in Fairfax County on Saturday. Around 6:00 p.m., officers with the Fairfax County Police Department found the stolen car unoccupied after it was taken from a dealership located in the 8400 block of Lee Highway” [WUSA9]
FCPD Implements Policy on Foot Pursuits — A foot pursuit policy introduced after the fatal shooting of Timothy Johnson on Feb. 22 has been criticized as inadequate by Johnson’s mother and activists for focusing on “documentation of chases, rather than offering specific guidance about when and how they’re conducted.” An expansion based on an ongoing independent review could be announced in October. [Washington Post]
Tysons Office Building Could Be Redeveloped — “The low-rise, 1970s-era office at 7980 Quantum Drive…is up for sale, marketed as an opportunity for a buyer to rezone and redevelop it with new 237-unit multifamily building. The existing light industrial zoning would also allow for a variety of nonresidential uses, such as a catering or self-storage facility by-right” [Washington Business Journal]
Naval Warship Named After Reston Resident — “Marine 1st Lt. Harvey ‘Barney’ Barnum jumped to the ground when he came under fire during an ambush in Vietnam that killed his radio operator and commander…The Medal of Honor recipient, now 83, watched [July 29] as his wife smashed a bottle of sparkling wine against the bow to christen the future U.S. Navy destroyer that’ll bear the name Harvey C. Barnum Jr.” [WTNH]
McLean Restaurant Owner Warns of Scam — “The owner of popular fast-food chain Z-Burger says his company is out hundreds of dollars after falling prey to a scammer claiming to work for DoorDash. Z-Burger founder Peter Tabibian…said the McLean, Virginia, restaurant was bilked Wednesday evening.” [WTOP]
Fire Set on Vienna Basketball Courts — Vienna police are investigating a destruction of property incident that occurred at Glyndon Park (300 Glyndon Street NE) around 10 p.m. on July 28. “Officers and firefighters responded to Glyndon Park for a fire that was set on the basketball courts.” [Vienna Police]
It’s Monday — There is an 80% chance of showers and thunderstorms today, with possible rainfall amounts between a quarter and half an inch. Highs will be near 89°F. Tonight, expect showers and thunderstorms before 8pm, and a continued chance of precipitation between 8pm and 2am, with lows around 72°F. [Weather.gov]
(Updated at 11:05 a.m. on 8/7/2023) Traffic on the Capital Beltway will be periodically stopped overnight at Georgetown Pike in the latter half of next week.
Lasting up to 30 minutes at a time, the stoppages are required to enable crews to relocate utilities at the interchange as part of the 495 NEXT project, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
The stoppages will occur between midnight and 5 a.m. next Wednesday through Saturday (Aug. 9-12). In between each stoppage, one lane in each direction will temporarily reopen so traffic can be cleared.
(Correction: Due to a typo, this story initially said the stoppages would last until 5 p.m. instead of 5 a.m.)
“In the event of inclement weather, the stoppages and associated work will be postponed to the following night,” VDOT said. “Travelers should anticipate delays and consider taking an alternate route.”
Under construction since March 2022, the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension project is extending the Beltway’s toll lanes 2.5 miles north from the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons past the George Washington Memorial Parkway in McLean.
Earlier this year, McLean residents with the Northern Virginia Citizens Association sought to halt construction with a lawsuit challenging the project over its reported impacts on their health, neighborhoods and the environment.
A federal judge ruled on April 7 that work could continue during the litigation.
VDOT anticipates opening the extended express lanes in late 2025 and completing the full project in 2026.
“Drivers are urged to slow down and use caution when traveling through the 495 NEXT work zone,” VDOT said.
The Boro’s Whole Foods has a void where Purée Juice Bar once stood.
Purée officially closed its stall in the Tysons grocery store at 1635 Boro Place on March 31 after struggling to establish a consistent customer base with limited foot traffic, according to a Purée spokesperson.
“The Whole Foods location never really got any traction and never really bounced back after COVID,” the spokesperson told FFXnow. “With so many Amazon shoppers, the location was not sustainable. We were very sorry to make the hard decision to close 3/31 of this year.”
Purée moved into the grocery store on Dec. 18, 2020 as a partner in its Friends of Whole Foods program, which offers store space to independent businesses and retailers.
The company previously had a location at the Mosaic District in Merrifield but closed that shop in August 2021, citing a decline in foot traffic and a desire to focus on the Tysons location.
With its departure from The Boro, Purée no longer has a physical juice bar in Virginia, but it provides delivery service to Northern Virginia as far as Loudoun County.
“Guests can place an order on our website and we will make the juice to order and deliver early in the morning on the date they choose!” the spokesperson said by email.
The company’s flagship store in Bethesda, Maryland, remains open, along with locations at Sibley Memorial Hospital in D.C. and Rockville.
Inside The Boro’s Whole Foods, customers can still find Allegro Coffee, Genji Izakaya, High Point Pub and PLNT Burger.
Hat tip to Adam Rubinstein. Photo via Google Maps
No Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday After ‘Oversight’ — “In Virginia, every year since 2015, the General Assembly has given folks a break on sales tax for back-to-school supplies and clothing for three days beginning on the first Friday in August.” However, this year, lawmakers neglected to include the break in the state budget, which is still the subject of negotiations. [Washington Post]
Fentanyl Found in Recent Herndon Drug Arrests — “Four suspects arrested in two separate incidents are facing multiple drug charges, according to Town of Herndon Police. In one incident, the arrest followed a traffic stop and the other concerned two people seen sleeping on a picnic table.” [Patch]
New Huntington Metro Apartments Near Finish — “Aventon Huntington Station, a 366-unit apartment community under construction next to Huntington Metro station, is expected to open by year’s end, according to an official from the Aventon Companies.” Pre-leasing could begin in October with tenants starting to move in this December. [On the MoVe]
Fire Department Training Partly Closes McLean Park Parking Lot — “Due to a Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department training exercise, a portion of the parking lot at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve will be closed to the public from Friday, Aug. 4, through Sunday, Aug. 6.” [Fairfax County Park Authority/Twitter]
Annandale Water Main Replacement Planned — “Fairfax Water plans to replace the water main under Ravensworth Road in Annandale, beginning in mid-August. The project will roughly extend from St. Michael’s Lane to Brook Hills Drive. During construction, Fairfax Water will maintain traffic flow and ensure affected residents have access to their driveways.” [Annandale Today]
Security Company Extends Stay at Seven Corners Office — Kastle Systems will move into 62,000 square feet of space at 6400 and 6402 Arlington Blvd later this summer after recently renewing its lease. BoundTrain Real Estate, the Reston-based property owner, said “there have been a host of recent leasing deals there after a $12 million renovation was completed.” [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority]
Federal Workforce Shrinking in D.C. Region — Bureau of Labor Statistics data “shows federal employment in the region has sunk from about 380,000 jobs in 2021 to just under 370,000 jobs in March,” according to George Mason University’s Stephen S. Fuller Institute. The region may “shed another 8,000 federal jobs” as more employees work remotely or retire. [Washington Business Journal]
Oakton Celebration Coming This Month — “The Greater Oakton Community Association invites local residents to attend the third annual Oakton Day in the Park on Sunday, Aug. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Oakton Community Park, 2841 Hunter Mill Road. The event will feature hometown fun for all ages, organizers say.” [Gazette Leader]
It’s Friday — There is a 30% chance of showers and potential thunderstorms after 5pm today, with mostly cloudy skies and a high temperature of around 79°F. Tonight, a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms lingers before 11pm, with mostly cloudy conditions and a low temperature near 68°F. [Weather.gov]
At mosaicARTs, creative expression is the ultimate path to fulfillment. But the chance to win a gift card worth $1,000 isn’t a bad secondary perk.
That is what’ll be at stake for the 25 young artists showcased in the Merrifield gallery’s new exhibition, “Arts Make Children Powerful,” which opened yesterday (Wednesday) ahead of a formal reception from 4-6:30 p.m. this Saturday (Aug. 5).
In addition to talks by the artists and live music, the opening reception will feature a People’s Choice Awards contest where attendees can cast votes for their favorite piece. Winners will get gift cards that can be used for arts supplies or the gallery’s art programs, including workshops and happy creative hours.
“I feel the art has such a power itself,” gallery co-owner Van Nguyen said. “At the same time, all 25 artists…here, they will get a free gift card from mosaicARTs. I just want to encourage them.”
Mosaic ARTs Gallery is opening a new exhibition, Arts Make Children Powerful. You are invited to join the free opening reception on Saturday, August 5, 4-6pm at the gallery on 2931-B Eskridge Road!
Learn more about the gallery: https://t.co/MvPROyIMUh pic.twitter.com/BfLNZvSKal
— Dalia Palchik (@SupvPalchik) August 1, 2023
An artist who specializes in sculpture and works full-time as a graphic designer, Nguyen opened mosaicARTs with her sister Lynh — a painter — in late 2022, replacing Auntie Te’s consignment shop at 2931-B Eskridge Road near the Mosaic District.
Nguyen says they decided to start a gallery of their own after she finished a six-year residency at the Arlington Arts Center and noticed a lack of work and exhibition space for artists in Fairfax County — a deficit that has also come to the county’s attention.
Armed with firsthand knowledge of the challenges that artists face trying to make a living, Nguyen wants mosaicARTs to be a place where artists of all backgrounds and levels of experience can find support and a sense of community.
The scope of each show varies, bringing in local, national and even international artists. But Nguyen is particularly interested in assisting people who aren’t established, whether they’re young — like the 6 to 20-year-olds whose work is now being featured — or the older adults she met while working for the National Council on Aging.
“Arts Make Children Powerful” had no overarching theme, so participating students could pursue any idea and medium they wanted. The results range from paintings of flowers and animals to abstract mosaics, a ceramic pizza, and an Edward Hopper-esque, three-dimensional diorama of a diner at night.
“They have a power to create, to express themselves, to make decisions [on] what they’re going to do with their own piece,” Nguyen said. “…That’s just powerful, you know, and they say…this is me. This is my art. I feel so happy when they have a voice for themselves.”
While it primarily focuses on visual art, mosaicARTs supports other kinds of art as well, hosting musicians or poetry readings at every opening reception. Nguyen says they hope to allow video installations in the future, but the gallery would likely need more space.
She’s also working to expand the gallery’s outreach efforts, including potentially connecting with local senior centers.
Ultimately, she hopes mosaicARTs will help usher in a more robust and expansive artistic community in the Fairfax area. Her vision has already won the backing of Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, who recently visited the gallery and promoted its new exhibit on her social media platforms.
“You see the need for that,” Nguyen said. “People [are] hungry to participate, to be a part [of a community], and I’m like, if we can build this, if we want to have that beautiful environment surrounded with the art, we have to start at some point.”
In the future, Fairfax County property owners planning to redevelop rental properties may be able to replace affordable housing units on-site with units in nearby locations.
Under drafted administrative guidelines, the county would only provide the option if it’s not “financially feasible” for the property owner to maintain the affordable units on the existing site.
The off-site housing “must be within a one-mile radius of the original property location to the extent practicable,” according to the draft guidelines.
County staff would also evaluate whether the new units are in a comparable location, including whether tenants would have similar access to major roads and transit, county facilities such as schools, and commercial areas.
The county is now aiming for one-for-one replacement of affordable housing units when there is redevelopment, per a March amendment to the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan.
Specifically, the policy intends to preserve rental multifamily housing units that are either committed affordable — meaning rents are restricted to certain income levels — or market affordable — meaning they’re accessible for households that earn up to 60% of the area median income, even without rent or income restrictions.
The county’s Department of Housing and Community Development is developing draft administrative guidelines for the policy. The ability to move preserved affordable units off-site is outlined in the latest draft, presented to the Board of Supervisors housing committee Tuesday (Aug. 1).
Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw expressed reservations about the feasibility of the 1-mile radius.
“I find it hard to believe that there would be many property owners that would be able to make that work,” he said.
Meghan Van Dam, director of the HCD’s affordable housing development division, acknowledged that in certain circumstances, the 1-mile radius could be a challenge.
“In general, we looked at the 1-mile radius thinking about what might be walkable, what might be reasonable in terms of if you do have support networks in place in your community, how could you access those, where would they be located,” Van Dam said.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, who cast the only vote against the comprehensive plan amendment in March, remained skeptical of the policy.
“It increases housing costs, period,” he said.
A final version of the guidelines could be adopted as soon as September. The guidelines will be discussed for a potential vote at a board public hearing on Sept. 26.
County staff also plan to update the county’s Relocation Guidelines, which provide information about how developers of rental and mobile home properties can assist tenants displaced by development. Those guidelines were last updated in 2012.
Fairfax County will bolster its capabilities to respond to and resolve emergency calls related to mental health this fall.
The Fairfax County Police Department and the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board presented plans to roll out a fourth co-responder team and a telehealth pilot program at a Board of Supervisors safety and security committee meeting on Tuesday (Aug. 1).
Active since its pilot in March 2021 and made permanent in 2022, the co-responder program pairs a Crisis Intervention Team-trained law enforcement officer with a CSB crisis intervention specialist to respond to behavioral health calls. The duo rides together in the same patrol cruiser and either self-dispatch proactively to behavioral health calls or are dispatched by emergency services, FCPD Lieutenant Joanna Culkin explained during the meeting.
Co-responder teams aim to de-escalate situations involving an individual with a mental health crisis without use of force, incarceration or hospitalization to decrease instances of individuals being harmed by law enforcement.
Currently, three co-responder teams operate in the county, according to CSB Division Director of Emergency and Crisis Care Services Laura Maddock.
Two of the teams are active from noon to midnight seven days a week. The third team currently works from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. three days a week but will expand its coverage to match the other two teams on Aug. 15.
The fourth co-responder team that Maddock expects to join in late September or early October will follow a similar trajectory, starting with three-day coverage before transitioning to operating for a full week.
The continuing expansion of these mental health crisis services comes after the program showed measurable success in a June 30 data pull, Culkin says. She noted that the co-responder program has successfully increased timely on-scene assessment, with the presence of a clinician often de-escalating situations.
“Sometimes just having the clinician show up paired with our law enforcement counterpart puts people at ease and lets them know that, really, behavioral health is the main focus of our response,” Culkin said.
Culkin cited increased linkages to behavioral health services and higher levels of care, decreased rates of incarceration and arrest, and decreased visits to emergency services as benefits of the program. She said the program helps address “the [psychiatric] bed capacity issue across the state of Virginia” by resolving many cases in the field so fewer individuals need further care.
Of the 1,300 calls that got a co-responder response since the program began, 50% were resolved in the field, 30% were diverted from arrest or hospitalization, 26% resulted in higher level of care and 17% resulted in an Emergency Custody Order and/or Temporary Detention Order, Culkin said.
“That 17% is a really good number for us,” Culkin said. “When we’re looking at if a regular patrol officer had responded…without the ability to do those timely on scene assessments or come up with a safety or care plan, we’re looking at a significantly higher number of ECOs and TDOS.”
To further illustrate the co-responder program’s impact, Culkin recounted an instance where a clinician successfully worked with officers to “talk down” a “distraught subject” who was standing atop a ledge on a parking garage in Dunn Loring and “get him the help he needed.”
On another occasion, a co-responder team responded to a behavioral health call from a man “in emotional distress who indicated that nobody had ever celebrated his birthday.” After helping the man, the pair came back the next day with a birthday cake and enjoyed a belated celebration with him.
“These are good examples of both of the ways the co-responder program has had a positive impact with our community,” Culkin said.
The FCPD and CSB will additionally pilot a new telehealth program following the same fall timeline as the fourth co-responder team. Two police stations in Reston and McLean will receive iPads that officers can use to remotely contact a trained clinician at the Merrifield Crisis Response Center around the clock to fill gaps in coverage, since the co-responder teams don’t operate 24/7.
Maddock hinted that the county is working on implementing a follow-up team, which would consist of a peer and clinician going out to subjects of co-responder cases for check ins and referrals.
FCPD is also striving to increase the number of police officers who have undergone CIT training from 40% to 42% by the end of the year, Culkin said. The number has been slowly increasing over the last couple of years after less than a third of officers had received CIT training in 2021.
Registration has opened for the upcoming Food for Others 5K and Fun Run, which will return to Tysons for a 10th year next month.
The annual fundraiser will take place on the Plaza at Tysons Corner Center (1961 Chain Bridge Road) from 8-11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9. Proceeds will benefit Food for Others, a Merrifield-based nonprofit that collects and distributes food for people in need.
Interested runners can register online at $35 for the 5K or $30 for the fun run. There are also options to enter both races at a 15% discount or participate as a virtual runner through Sept. 16.
“With your $35 race registration, you provide 21 families with a gallon of milk, 7 students with weekend meal packs, or 1 family with 3.5 days worth of meals,” Tysons Corner Center said.
After exceeding its $90,000 fundraising goal last year, Food for Others anticipates getting about 550 participants this year and aims to raise $100,000. As of yesterday (Wednesday), the organization had reached $42,347, according to the event registration page.
In addition to the registration fees, the funds come from donations and sponsorships.
In addition to the races, the event will feature food and drinks from local vendors like Nothing Bundt Cakes, Compass Coffee, 29 Diner and Wawa. The nonprofit Forever Changed Animal Rescue will have dogs on site available for adoption.
Founded in 1995, Food for Others provides food for over 3,000 households and 3,700 students on average every week.
With the area seeing an increased need for food assistance since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the nonprofit expanded its warehouse at 2938 Prosperity Avenue with a new grocery market where clients can pick out their food. The market officially opened on Feb. 9.
Nearly 81,000 people in Fairfax County identify as food insecure, according to Food for Others. In addition to having its central warehouse, the nonprofit distributes food through neighborhood and mobile sites, community partners, and a program that gives meals to students for the weekend.
“We’ve received such passionate and heartfelt support from our community,” Food for Others Executive Director Annie Turner said. “Hosting our 10th Annual 5K is a testament to the incredible community, volunteers, and partners we have — driven by our shared passion for helping our neighbors…Together, we have made such a positive impact and we are looking forward to many more years ahead.
