This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Val Sotillo, Northern Virginia-based Realtor and Falls Church resident. Please submit your questions to her via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: My family and I are moving to Northern Virginia this fall. Can you tell me more about McLean?

Answer: McLean is located between Vienna and George Washington Parkway. It is an affluent community and it’s home to the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency as well as the residences of many diplomats, members of Congress and many top-ranking government officials.

Here’s what I like about the neighborhood:

Great Location

McLean is about 8 miles from D.C., and it borders Arlington, Falls Church and Tysons. It is located just minutes away from 495, GW Parkway and the Dulles Toll Road.

Although the most convenient way to commute in McLean is by car, there are many public transportation options available. You can travel within the city by Metro, or bus. There is a McLean Metro station with the silver line going to Reston, D.C. and all the way up to Largo, Maryland.

Things To Do

There are great dining options in McLean. A few of my favorite restaurants are: Amoos Persian Fusion (everything is delicious but their saffron ice cream is amazing!), J. Gilbert’s Steakhouse (great Sunday brunch) and Tachibana Japanese Restaurant.

If you’re looking for shopping and entertainment, Tysons is only a few minutes away and it offers many options. Being one of the top shopping centers in the country, it has everything you need from movie theaters, to shopping deals, trendy restaurants and free concerts.

You have the luxury of many outdoor adventures with the convenience of having them in your own backyard. You can spend a full day enjoying the beautiful scenery and falls in 800 acre Great Falls Park, which allows activities such as bicycling, boating, rock climbing, fishing and hiking. Or check Scott’s Run for a nice hike, picnic and waterfalls.

Active Community

The McLean Community Center provides a sense of community for residents by furnishing facilities for civic, cultural, educational, recreational and social activities. They will host the McLean Fourth of July Fireworks at Langley High School and they’ll have food trucks and a DJ.

The McLean Farmers Market is one of 10 farmers markets run by the Fairfax County Park Authority. All products are grown or produced by the vendors and come from within 125 miles and The Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association will be there each week, providing horticultural information to home gardeners in Fairfax County.

For more community events, see the calendar here.

Housing

Properties in McLean are mostly single-family homes, but there’s also different options for townhomes, and condos. Here you can find all active listings:

• Active Condos
• Active Townhomes
• Active Single Family Homes

In the past 6 months, 133 condos were sold for a median price of $365,000; 38 townhouses were sold for a median price of $799,000; and 272 single-family homes sold for the highest price being $6,390,744, and the lowest price being $615,000.

Wishing everyone a safe and wonderful 4th of July!

If you’d like more information, or would like a question answered in my weekly column, please reach out to [email protected]. I hope to hear from you soon.

Val Sotillo is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, 703-390-9460.

(Updated at 1 p.m.) Drivers can expect delays along Leesburg Pike (Route 7) from a multi-vehicle crash near Lewinsville Road.

The west left lane and center lane are closed, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Tysons Reporter noted that traffic is down to one lane westbound on Leesburg Pike as police arrest someone for a traffic stop unrelated to the crash.

Accident: WB on VA-7 at MM0 in Fairfax Co. 2 WB travel lanes closed.11:44AM

— 511 Northern VA (@511northernva) July 2, 2019

Map via Google Maps

Local bazaar Thieves Market Antiques is pulling out of McLean and moving back to Old Town Alexandria.

Today (Tuesday) is the last day the store in McLean (6811 Old Dominion Drive) is open. By 11 a.m., much of the store’s merchandise had already been moved outside into a truck.

Cap Cohen, the owner of Thieves Market, said new developments are planned for the small shopping center where the store had been located and so he decided it was time to move.

“It’s been wonderful in McLean,” Cohen said. “A lot of good people. It’s been great here.”

The move back to Alexandria is something of a homecoming for the store. The store has hopped around from place to place across Northern Virginia since it was founded in 1952 and for several years, the store was located in Alexandria.

No specific location has been chosen, Cohen said they are currently deciding between two, but he said they are looking to open in around eight to 12 weeks — after giving the employees a little vacation first.

(Updated at 1 p.m.) Independence Day is coming up on Thursday (July 4). Check this list in case you are planning to visit government facilities around Fairfax County later this week — they might be closed.

Photo by Warren Tobias on Unsplash

Fairfax County police are looking for the burglar or burglars who broke into three stores in downtown McLean over the weekend.

The McLean Hair Center (1438 Center Street), Figuroes Salon (1439 Center Street) and McLean Pizza (1434 Center Street) all were broken into overnight on Sunday (June 30) and had cash taken, according to police.

Elsewhere, police said someone broke into the Rosenthal Nissan Mazda of Tysons Corner dealership (8525 Leesburg Pike) and stole a 2017 Hyundai Accent and a 2016 Nissan Altima around midnight on Saturday (June 29).

Image via Google Maps

New rules could put community gardens on Tysons rooftops, but if you have a green thumb and can’t wait that long, there are two community gardens in the area where you can start planting.

One is in the back corner of Lewinsville Park (1659 Chain Bridge Road) in McLean and the other is at Nottoway Park (9537 Courthouse Road) in Vienna.

To rent a garden plot in Fairfax, you must be a resident of the county with a valid mailing address and email address. Residents can sign up for a waitlist for multiple parks, but only one plot is permitted per household.

The annual rental cost of most garden plots is $130, which includes access to a shared water supply.

Dick Black has been gardening at Lewinsville Park for around eight years after retiring.

“It’s a lot of work, but I consider it a workout,” said Black. “I’ll come out [and garden] instead of going for a run.”

Black grows tomatoes, arugula and other vegetables to give to neighbors or for his wife to take to work.

For those planning to get started, Black reiterated that growing a garden is a commitment. Locals should make sure it’s something they’re willing to put the sweat and time into. But if they decide that they are, Black said growing a garden is an extremely fulfilling experience.

“I still get joy after seven or eight years,” Black said. “[It’s about] going in with the right attitude.”

There is currently a waitlist for garden plots, though new regulations could soon open up more spaces throughout the county. The regulations adopted by the Board of Supervisors on June 25 allow community gardens in a wider variety of residential, commercial and industrial properties than previously allowed.

According to the Fairfax County website:

Previously, the county’s zoning rules limited community gardens to planned residential communities like Burke or Reston. These gardens now are allowed without restriction in open spaces as long as they are under two acres, and they aren’t the principal use on a property… Now, fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and plants can be grown from the rooftops of office high-rises in Tysons to opens spaces at houses of worship to the common areas of suburban homeowners associations.

Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.

On the last day of school, my family got invited to an awesome block party put on by 4 neighbors on a cul-de-sac in Vienna.

They had bounce houses, food trucks, music and everyone had an awesome time. The adults got to talk, be social and have beer while the kids got to run around and play for hours like I remember doing in my own childhood. The road was blocked off officially by white and orange barricades. It was a great afternoon.

With just a little paperwork you can throw a block party like that one and really get to know your neighbors, or hang out with your friends and help create memories for your family.

Temporary use permits/applications are required whenever you want to block part of a road. Here are some rules and helpful links to get you started:

Town of Vienna

• Requires an application with at least 21 days in advance of the event.
• Requires a signed petition by 100% of the affected neighbors.
• Event must conclude by 11 p.m.
• Download the full application here.

Vienna, Oakton and McLean (Fairfax County)

• Requires a “Temporary Special Permit.”
• Must be submitted at least 6 weeks in advance of the event date.
• A detailed list of where, what, who, when and how.
• Download the full application here.

Falls Church City

• Requires an application at least 10 business days in advance of the event date.
• Will only be granted a 4 hour window for the party.
• Requires a notice/invitation be sent to any resident on the block impacted at least 7 days in advance of the event.
• Download the full application here.

(Updated at 12:10 p.m.) A crash along Old Dominion Drive in downtown McLean seriously injured a pedestrian.

Fairfax County police responded shortly before 11 a.m. to the crash outside the Wells Fargo Bank at 6844 Old Dominion Drive.

“The pedestrian was taken to a hospital with serious injuries,” the police department tweeted. Shortly after noon, the police department tweeted that the pedestrian’s injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

No word yet on whether the driver was injured.

Police told Tysons Reporter that a driver struck a pedestrian in the parking lot and then drove into the side of the building.

A reporter for Tysons Reporter noted that the Wells Fargo is currently closed up by the police tape.

The crash remains under investigation. The pedestrian's injuries are believed to be not life threatening.https://t.co/M6railseqs

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) July 1, 2019

Catherine Moran and Vernon Miles worked on this story.

Map via Google Maps

While life continues on at other parts of Commons of McLean, a residential complex between Tysons East and Pimmit Hills, a collection of buildings at the southernmost point of the property are being reclaimed by nature as they await reconstruction.

The property was separated from the other residences at the Commons of McLean when it was purchased by Toll Brothers.

Mark Simms, the vice president of land development at Toll Brothers, said the property is planned to be converted into 211 townhomes and condominiums. The new properties are planned to be offered for sale starting spring 2020.

Currently, the area is a Chernobyl-like clearing of empty homes and litter dropped by people using the homes as a cut through. Weeds have started growing up to knee or waist height in front of some of the buildings and birds are nested in the cutaways for appliances in the sides of former homes.

Ashley Hopko contributed to this story

(Updated at 10 a.m. 07/01/2019) A fire broke out at in the attic of a McLean home earlier this morning.

Firefighters from the Arlington County Fire Department and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responded to the fire at a home in the 6500 block of W. Langley Lane shortly after 7 a.m., according to a Fairfax County Fire and Rescue tweet.

Firefighters had the fire out by around 9 a.m. “Crews [are] working on removing insulation from [the] attic area,” the Fairfax County fire department tweeted.

All of the occupants of the house evacuated, and no injuries have been reported.

More from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue:

On Thursday, June 27 at approximately 7:28 a.m., units from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and the Arlington County Fire Department responded to a report of a fire alarm activation in the 6500 block of West Langley Lane in the McLean area of Fairfax County.

Units arrived on scene of a two-story, single family house with smoke coming from the roof. The incident was immediately upgraded to a house fire. Crews quickly advanced a fire hose line to the second floor and extinguished a fire that had spread to the attic. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries.

No occupants were home at the time of the fire. A monitored smoke alarm system activated prompting the alarm company to call Fairfax County 9-1-1.

Fire Investigators determined that the fire was accidental in nature and started in the second-floor hallway bathroom. The fire was caused by an electrical malfunction within the electrical wiring supplying the bathroom canister lights.

No occupants were displaced because of the fire. Red Cross assistance was not needed. Damages as a result of the fire were approximately $37,500.

UPDATE house fire in 6500 block of W Langley Lane in McLean. Fire in attic is out. No extension. Crews working on removing insulation from attic area. Thanks @ArlingtonVaFD for assistance. #FCFRD #FairfaxCounty pic.twitter.com/nPxXYZvEB1

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) June 27, 2019

Map via Google Maps