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.

The large-scale redevelopment of three blocks of Maple Avenue, the subject of earlier debate and discussions, returns for consideration at tonight’s Vienna Town Council meeting.

A proposed four-story, mixed-use development would replace the Vienna Wolf Trap Hotel and Tequila Grande restaurant at 430, 440 and 444 Maple Ave. W. The subject has been the topic of conversation in development meetings throughout the summer.

In a response to questions raised at the earlier work session, project developer Vienna Development Associates LLC said the proposal was scaled down to 151 total residential units, a nine-unit decrease from the initial proposal.

The development has also been decreased by 12,000 square feet of floor area while open space on the site has increased from 20,000 to 24,000 square feet.

Critics of the development called for the building to feature more setbacks and to be reduced to three stories. But the developer said reducing the building to three stories would make the project economically unfeasible given the cost of underground parking, undergrounding utilities and proffers.

Included in the list of proffers offered by the developer are a variety of traffic improvements. The added congestion was one of the major concerns voiced by the public and the Town Council at earlier meetings.

• Extend the westbound left turn lane from Nutley Street to Maple Avenue by 120 feet.
• Adjust the existing crosswalk on the east side of the Maple Avenue and Nutley Street intersection, including the construction of a new accessible curb and the relocation of the pedestrian signal at the crosswalk.
• Apply signal timing and/or phasing modification at the Maple Avenue and Nutley Street intersection.
• Provide a dedicated left turn lane and dedicated right turn lane to exit new development onto Maple Avenue.

For at least a year, the developer will also have to provide a shuttle bus that runs from the property to the Vienna Metrorail station. The shuttle must be operational before the development reaches 90 percent capacity.

If the development is approved, the developer says rents at the new apartments will range from $1,500 to $3,000 per month.

Image via Vienna Development Associates LLC 

Vienna’s 72nd Annual Halloween Parade tonight (Wednesday) will haunt Maple Avenue starting at 7 p.m.

The parade starts at the corner of Maple Avenue and Branch Road SE. It will proceed west along the street past a reviewing stand before ending at Center Street S. The streets surrounding Maple Avenue will be closed with traffic redirected along Church Street.

Expect a crowd for the popular, family-friendly parade. Attendees, however, are asked not to place blankets or chairs on the sidewalks, benches, or bus shelters.

Children are invited to walk in the parade in their costumes with no registration required but they must be accompanied by an adult. Those wishing to walk in the parade should meet in the parking lot at United Bank (374 Maple Ave. E).

The parade is also a contest, with participants judged in the following categories:

• Youth bands
• Floats with and without music
• Youth performers
• Antique/classic vehicles

Winners of the costume contest will be recognized by the Vienna Town Council at a meeting in November.

Spectators are asked to keep off the street and monitor any children they might bring. Merchants along Maple Avenue are asked not to put items on the street today and to keep the sidewalks clear so pedestrians can easily walk along the parade route.

For those who have never attended the parade, local realtor Laura Schwartz had a few tips for how to get the most out of the experience.

More from Vienna’s town government on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/138098266212749/posts/2014486968573860

https://www.facebook.com/TownofViennaVA/posts/2013359752019915?__xts__[0]=68.ARDaI9EfUEqJj3C37nDt0PXWzWllaDBbQOq0FtIKYT_5_D269Q9VqhGdurr6LpQCLMjQ4fi5u3fRp_2Gz5s1Cbkwo-kISZSdSpPgXUuVuSYWuseJjN6N3C-ruo7RYZcJvafkWoDIIEz2LiJNPcfDq5RRjKChSNjXjt3X3RmpqK4qLy2ln3yGi2NvHsbsEe5jaQhepdmIYKffRqz92zpQcqGvfOk&__tn__=-R

One week after a fire gutted the abandoned Marco Polo restaurant on Maple Avenue, there’s still no answer for what caused the blaze.

At a Town Council meeting on Oct. 15, Vienna Chief of Police James Morris said the fire was reported around 2 p.m. on Sunday, and by 3:16 p.m. the flames under control. The building was vacant and there were no injuries in the fire, but the building itself is a complete loss.

Morris said throughout the week there have been complaints of kids hanging around gawking at the site. Even when the building was intact though, Morris said there was some unsavory activity at the site.

“The property itself has had broken windows and significant vandalism of buses in the back lot. There has been a lot of activity around that building.”

Battalion Chief Willie Bailey said it’s not uncommon for fire investigations to take over a week, with variables being size of the structure and the level of damage.

Before the fire, the building had been planned for demolition to make way for a new development approved on May 7 this year.

The site has been home to a number of buildings since 1900, but the recently-burned one had been located there since 1954. Local developer Doug D’Alexander applied to have the lot redeveloped in 2015, but a protest petition meant the Town Council would have to vote 6-1 in favor of development. In the end, the development fell one vote short.

D’Alexander returned in 2017 with a more scaled down version of the development called Vienna Market. The new development would consist of 8,200 square feet of retail space with 44 townhouse condominiums. The development was unanimously approved at the meeting.

Tysons Reporter was unable to reach D’Alexander, so the timeline for the development and the impact of the fire on redevelopment plans are currently, like the cause of the fire, still unknown.

If you didn’t know it was there, it would be easy to miss A.J.’s Sports Stop. The tiny shop is a slightly removed from Maple Avenue, and overshadowed by the larger abandoned Marco Polo Restaurant next door.

But for any lover of sports cards or tabletop games, inside is a treasure trove — and one that could disappear within a year.

Rick Lucian, one of the owners, said that the store has been tucked away off Maple Avenue since 1980. Lucian joined the store ten years ago, having grown up with a love of sports cards.

The store is an assortment of odds and ends related to all sorts of sports or geeky memorabilia. There’s Warhammer figures on a front shelf and comics nearby, plus board games.

“Magic: The Gathering is the biggest item that we sell,” said Lucian. “Magic has grown a lot over the years.”

But the real focus of the store is trading sports cards, baseball in particular.

Lucian says the store makes a special effort to be friendly to new card collectors. To those who are just starting out, Lucian says to just pick your favorite team and start collecting, like grabbing a packet of Nationals cards.

The arrival of eBay and overproduction of sports cards has hurt the collecting industry since its heyday prior to the turn of the century. Lucian says the store has adapted to keep up with the times, but the plans for changes along Maple Avenue could mean the end of A.J.’s, at least in its current location.

Lucian said developers are working on a plan to redevelop the Marco Polo site, and it seems inevitable that their store will get caught up in that.

“Most likely we’ll only be here for another year,” said Lucian. “They’re looking to demolish and build something new here. So we’re looking around for a new storefront and we would like to stay in Vienna, but the rents are high.”

In the meantime, Lucian says the store will continue to be Vienna’s one-stop shop for cards and tabletop games.

In an era of constant electronic stimulus, Lucian said there’s still something special about a kid opening up a pack of baseball cards.

Photo (2) via Google Maps

Halloween on the Green, a free family-friendly halloween celebration, is coming to Vienna this Saturday (Oct 13).

From 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., activities sponsored by Vienna Parks and Recreation will fill the Vienna Town Green (144 Maple Ave E). Activities include:

• Crafts and games
• Storytelling with Patrick Henry librarians
• Moon bounces
• A petting zoo
• A visit from the Vienna Singing Princesses
• An applesauce-making demo, courtesy of Historic Vienna, Inc.
• Pumpkin carving and painting.

The event is aimed at children ages two through ten. In the event of inclement weather, call 703-255-7842 for updates on the status of the celebration.

Photo via Facebook

Carpet House Design Center, a interior decoration and design store based in Fredericksburg, is opening a location in Vienna (352 Maple Ave W).

According to general manager Bob Poole, the new location will have three distinct areas inside: one catering to builders, one that’s open to the public for retail sales, and a commercial area for architects and designers.

Poole said the store is anticipating opening by the end of the year or early in 2019.

The site formerly housed Kitchen and Bath Floors USA. The exterior of the building will remain intact, but Poole said the interior will be demolished and completely remodeled.

“We’ve got architects, engineers… the [demolition] is about to happen,” said Poole. “We just got occupancy permits. We’re waiting on the building permit right now.”

Maple Avenue in Vienna may be home to a number of vacant storefronts, but some of those vacancies are in the process of being filled.

In addition to MoMo House (131-A Maple Avenue W.) and Shin Se Kai Ramen (234 Maple Avenue E.), another new eatery is on the way. Nothing Bundt Cakes, a national bakery chain, is coming to Vienna at 129 Maple Avenue W.

The bakery chain specializes in circular bundt cakes, offering ten flavors and forty unique designs, as well as merchandise like gifts and decor.

The interior of the location is currently undergoing renovations. The owners of the Vienna franchise were not available for comment, but a sign on the exterior of the store said Nothing Bundt Cakes will be opening this fall.

An employee at the nearby Dulles location said the Vienna store hopes to be open sometime early next year.

The application for a controversial redevelopment on Maple Avenue will be coming back to the Vienna Town Council later this week.

On paper, the rezoning application for 430, 440 and 444 Maple Ave. W. is a simple redevelopment issue, but over the last months the application has ignited questions about how Vienna adapts to a marketplace swiftly leaving it behind.

On Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m., project developer Vienna Development Associates LLC will return to the town hall for a work session to try to convince Vienna the project is right for Maple Avenue.

The site is currently occupied by the Vienna Wolf Trap Hotel, but the developer hopes to convince the Vienna Town Council to approve rezoning of the site to let them build a new four-story mixed use development. The project would have 160 multi-family residential units and 22,000 square feet of retail space.

The project attracted controversy in the community from the start, with 53 residents speaking mostly against the project at a July 9 public hearing on the project. The Vienna Town Council received 99 written comments by the time the comment period closed in August.

Many of these comments expressed concerns about the validity of traffic studies paid for by the developer. The traffic studies showed that the project would not have more of a traffic impact on Maple Avenue than any development not-requiring rezoning approval would have.

But public comments and emails to the council said citizens were still concerned the new development would add to the congestion at an already busy intersection and make traffic worse in close proximity to two nearby schools.

A third-party review initiated by Vienna Town Council staff verified the findings of the initial traffic studies, but Vienna Development Associates LLC deferred its application at the Aug. 20 Town Council meeting to take into account feedback from the council and from public comments.

Now, the developer has said the traffic concerns about the project have been addressed. Along with a series of project changes that the company says will reduce residential traffic by 25 percent, the developer has identified several transportation improvements that it hopes will make the project more palatable, including:

• Extending turn lanes on the nearby Nutley Street and Maple Avenue
• Widening the Maple Avenue exit to allow right and left turn lanes
• Pedestrian and bus stop improvements
• A shuttle running from the site to the Metro

But transportation concerns are only one part of the opposition to the project. For many who oppose the project, the development is too large and out of character for the small-town feel of Vienna.

“If we’re going to have a project there, this one is not ready for primetime,” said Councilmember Howard Springsteen at the August meeting. “I think the developer has done a horrible [public relations] job and has created a firestorm of concerns around town. This is probably one of the most divisive things that has come to this town in 20 years.”

In addition to traffic concerns, Springsteen said he and many Vienna residents were concerned that the building was too large and lacked substantial green space.

“People are upset about this around town,” said Springsteen. “Some are in favor, but the majority are opposed. This project needs to be reworked.”

But for others on the Vienna Town Council there are concerns that pushback on projects like the mixed-use development on Maple Avenue will lead to developers passing Vienna by. While residents are concerned about Vienna losing its unique small town character as more of its neighbors become rapidly urbanized, Maple Avenue is plagued with chronic vacancies.

Nearly every block on Maple Avenue has a vacancy of some kind. Traveling west on Maple Avenue, Vienna starts to look like a ghost town. Some whole blocks, like the former Marco Polo Restaurant at 245 Maple Ave., are completely abandoned and showing signs of overgrowth.

“Maple Avenue is a terrific location, but there are concerns with vacancies and commercial corridor perception,” said Councilmember Carey Sienicki. “Relying on the traditional model of neighborhoods separated from strip malls may no longer be justifiable to meet those needs. It’s important to see the benefits of mixed use options.”

Sienicki said that she believed that the additional height of the building won’t negatively impact the character of the town.

“There has been a citizen insurgency precipitated from what has happened in surrounding jurisdictions,” said Sienicki. “Town must react to those external concerns for Vienna. We are not looking to be like other jurisdictions. We are Vienna.”

Concept renderings via Vienna Development Associates LLC. Hotel photo via Vienna Wolf Trap Hotel.