When Valentine’s Day arrives this Sunday, it will also usher in the Town of Vienna’s first-ever restaurant week.
Coming on the heels of the annual Metropolitan Washington Winter Restaurant Week, the inaugural Vienna VA Restaurant Week will be smaller in scale than that regional initiative, with 10 restaurants and eateries offering special Restaurant Week deals from Feb. 14-21.
While only a handful of venues are officially participating, the Town of Vienna will use the campaign to boost all of its restaurants and generally encourage the community to support local businesses, especially small, independent establishments.
“We know that throughout the winter months, it’s extremely difficult for restaurants,” Vienna Economic Development Manager Natalie Monkou said. “…It just seemed like a good fit to utilize Valentine’s Day as the kick-off, which is a love holiday, and to remind people that love their town and love their business community to support them.”
Here are the businesses that are participating in the Vienna VA Restaurant Week:
- Bazins on Church (111 Church St. NW)
- Caboose Tavern (520 Mill St. NE)
- Cafe Renaissance (163 Glyndon St. SE)
- Clarity (442 Maple Ave. E)
- Crepes & Karak Cafe (280 Cedar Lane)
- Maple Ave Restaurant (147 Maple Ave. W)
- Union Pie at Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E)
- Vienna Inn (120 Maple Ave. E)
- Viet Aroma (165 Glyndon St. SE)
- Zenola (132 Branch Rd. SE)
Details on what each restaurant or eatery is offering can be found through the official Vienna VA Restaurant Week website, which also highlights other food and beverage venues in town and encourages patrons to share their meals on social media with the hashtag #loveviennava.
Restaurant Week is the Town of Vienna’s latest effort to support local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to backing the Caboose Brewing Company’s Bundle Up campaign, the town organized a “Shop and Stroll” series in the fall to draw visitors to local shopping centers, and the Vienna Business Association put together a holiday guide in December for businesses to share their promotions.
Monkou says businesses in the Town of Vienna also collectively received at least $2.7 million in COVID-19 relief funds through Fairfax County’s RISE grant program, which ultimately issued $52.6 million to more than 4,800 businesses and nonprofits in the county.
While Vienna is putting a spotlight on the food service industry with Restaurant Week, the economic development office will follow this initiative with a broader marketing campaign about supporting local businesses that includes other sectors, from retail to dry cleaners and nail salons, according to Monkou.
“Small businesses, they’re truly vital to your local economy, and they bring a lot of vibrancy to your neighborhood and your community,” Monkou said. “I can’t imagine the Town of Vienna without them, especially our independent, local retailers.”
Image via Explore Vienna VA/Twitter
Ribbon Cutting Held for New Scotts Run Trail — “Fairfax County leaders on Feb. 4 cut the ribbon for the new Scotts Run Trail, which with serpentine curves connects the Pimmit Hills neighborhood with the McLean Metro station on the eastern edge of Tysons.” [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]
Sunrise of McLean Residents Get COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic — Residents and employees of the assisted living community Sunrise of McLean “received their first doses at a clinic hosted by CVS on Jan. 28. Sunrise Senior Living is working to schedule a clinic for second doses within the next few weeks in coordination with CVS Health.” [Patch]
Vienna Inn Prepares 61st Anniversary Celebrations — “To mark the 61st anniversary, Vienna Inn is hoping to achieve a new goal with a 1960 meal challenge. The restaurant hopes to provide 1960 meals for front-line workers and first responders by the end of February.” [Patch]
School Board Criticized for Delaying Decision on New School Holidays — “Religious leaders in Northern Virginia are criticizing the Fairfax County Public School board after some members signaled they won’t back a task force’s recommendation to add…four additional days off to observe Jewish holidays Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Hindu festival Diwali and the Muslim celebration Eid al-Fitr.” [The Washington Post]
Fairfax County Seeks Community Input on Affordable Housing — A public comment period has opened on the one-year and five-year plans that guide Fairfax County’s housing and community development goals and how it spends the roughly $8.5 million in federal funds it receives annually to address community housing and human services needs. [Fairfax County Government]
After a year off, ViVa Vienna will look quite different in 2021 — if it gets held at all.
Planning for the Town of Vienna’s annual Memorial Day festival has commenced, but with the COVID-19 pandemic still an unavoidable threat to any public gathering, many details remain up in the air, from exactly when and where it will be held to how to control attendance at the typically bustling event.
The Rotary Club of Vienna, which sponsors the festival, told the Vienna Town Council on Monday (Feb. 8) that it would like to hold ViVa Vienna around Memorial Day as usual. This year’s Memorial Day weekend falls on May 29-31.
However, organizers say it will not be feasible to move forward with the event if Virginia is still limiting fairs and other entertainment businesses to 250 people at that time.
“We’re still working through a lot of this,” Rotary Club of Vienna ViVa Vienna Committee Chair AJ Oskuie said. “If we have the number [at] 250, it just won’t work from an economic standpoint.”
As an alternative, the rotary club has proposed pushing ViVa Vienna back to the weekend of Oct. 16. Oskuie says that is the earliest possible date if Memorial Day weekend does not pan out, because the festival’s usual ride vendor, Cole Amusement Company, is booked until then.
Town officials noted that, while it would leave more time for the pandemic to get under control and restrictions on crowds to potentially lift, an October date would present its own challenges, both from a health standpoint with the cooler weather and a logistical one.
Vienna already hosts a Halloween parade and Oktoberfest that month, and if the 2022 ViVa Vienna returns to the normal May date, it would mean having the same event twice in one fiscal year, something the town has never done before.
“Those are big events,” Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton said. “That’s the part that makes me wonder how it would affect staff. We can make that work, but that to me is a higher concern than the monetary piece.”
The Town of Vienna co-sponsors ViVa Vienna and provides staffing support for security, road closures, trash removal, and setting up the facilities. Vienna Finance Director Marion Serfass says the town spent about $43,000 to pay staff overtime for the last ViVa Vienna in 2019, though a two-day event would cost closer to $28,000.
Councilmember Nisha Patel noted that the festival has the advantage of being outdoors, which poses less of a risk for spreading COVID-19, but organizers will have to implement safety measures, like a mask requirement, regardless of when the event takes place.
Oskuie confirmed that enclosed amusements like a funhouse will not be included, and the festival might use food truck vendors instead of stalls so they can spread out, rather than stay confined to one location.
Vienna Parks and Recreation Director Leslie Herman recommended preventing crowds by moving the festivities to an area that can be fenced in with entrances and exits, and by requiring attendees to register for time slots.
An event plan has to be approved by the Fairfax County Health Department and Fire Marshal’s Office, along with the Vienna Parks and Recreation Department. Oskuie told the town council that the Rotary Club will deliver a status update on Mar. 1, with Apr. 5 as the deadline for making a final decision on how to handle the festival this year.
Despite the obstacles, Vienna officials expressed hope that ViVa Vienna will go on. In addition to drawing as many as 30,000 to 40,000 people every year, the festival typically generates about $175,000 in proceeds that the Rotary Club gives to local charities and community organizations.
“We just need to be cautiously optimistic. There are so many unknowns out there right now,” Councilmember Steve Potter said. “…Just take it one week at a time and see where we go, but we need it. The town needs the uplift. Everybody needs it right now, and I don’t think we should drop it.”
A new assisted living community is preparing to open its doors in the Vienna area.
Watermark Retirement Communities announced in a press release yesterday (Tuesday) that it will welcome tenants to The Providence Fairfax with a grand opening in March.
Located at 9490 Sprague Ave., The Providence is part of the MetroWest neighborhood just south of I-66 and the Vienna Metro station. It sits one-tenth of a mile down the road from The Atrium at MetroWest, a condominium complex for adults 55 and older run by Pulte Homes.
According to its website, The Providence features 100 assisted-living residences, along with 30 units for a memory care program designed to support residents with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and memory loss. There are also 24 units for residents in The Bridge program, which serves people who experience mild cognitive challenges.
“The Providence is perfect for anyone searching for the support and connection of a community accompanied by first-class amenities and unparalleled wellness and learning opportunities,” The Providence Executive Director Annamarie Mariani-Huehn said.
Seven stories tall with two floors of underground parking, the senior living complex is structured around a central courtyard. Amenities include a wellness center with a salon and spa, a fitness center, club rooms, a community room, and dining venues, such as a bistro and bar and a formal dining room with an open-hearth oven.
The residences take the form of private studio, one or two-bedroom apartments that are available for rent on a monthly basis. Prospective tenants can arrange tours for tours of the building by appointment.
The Providence is a collaboration with Silverstone Senior Living, which is also planning to bring senior housing to The Boro in Tysons. This is Watermark’s first community in Fairfax County, but the company has been working on a facility in Alexandria that its website says will open in early 2022.
The new senior living facility is the latest addition to the MetroWest development, which spans 56 acres from I-66 to Lee Highway and has been slowly emerging for more than a decade. Plans to bring more housing, retail, and office space to the community are still underway.
Photo courtesy Watermark Retirement Communities
Electrify America has its sights set on the Town of Vienna as it embarks on ambitious plans to expand its national network of electric vehicle charging stations.
Specifically, the Reston-based subsidiary of Volkswagen would like to install a station with three or four chargers in the parking lot next to the Sunoco gas station at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Center Street.
After meeting with town staff on Sept. 4, Electrify America representatives presented the proposal to the Vienna Town Council during its conference session last night (Monday).
“We think it’s a good location, because while people are charging, they can walk to different shops,” Electrify America Mid-Atlantic Project Manager Ian Hostetler told the council. “We just think it’s a great amenity that would benefit the town and its citizens, and we’re hopeful we can make this work.”
Electrify America currently operates more than 2,000 electric vehicle chargers at 556 different sites in the U.S., including one in the parking garage of the Tysons West shopping center off of Route 7.
The company announced in August that it is working with Tysons Corner Center to bring a station to the mall sometime early this year as part of its plans to add 800 sites by the end of 2021.
This is not the first time that Electrify America has pursued projects in the Town of Vienna, which got its first electric vehicle chargers last year when Wawa opened with a Tesla station.
According to Hostetler, the company had a deal to bring electric vehicle chargers to the Bank of America lot at 235 Maple Avenue, but the town determined that, as an automobile service station, the utility is not permitted by the site’s “special commercial” zoning. A separate plan for chargers at Maple Avenue Shopping Center stalled when negotiations with property owner Washington Realty reached an impasse.
The parking lot now being eyed by Electrify America is owned by the Town of Vienna, but the company would have to clear a few hurdles to turn its pitch into a reality. Read More
Vienna leaders got their first chance this week to weigh in on potential updates to the town’s commercial zoning rules.
The Vienna Planning Commission and Vienna Town Council held work sessions on Wednesday (Feb. 3) and Thursday (Feb. 4), respectively, to discuss proposed changes to the districts that dictate what businesses and other non-residential properties look like and where they can be located.
As part of the town’s massive Code Create Vienna zoning code overhaul, the consultant ZoneCo previously met with the planning commission and town council in December to talk about possible updates to standards for residential zones. A community survey on those proposals will remain open until Feb. 19.
However, ZoneCo believes non-residential zones are where Vienna has “the greatest opportunity for noticeable and impactful change,” according to a Jan. 26 memo to town leaders.
“Updated, modern, easy-to-use and administer zoning districts particularly calibrated to desired development patterns and character, along with a modern list of uses, will enhance the quality of development and life for Vienna’s residents and businesses,” ZoneCo lead principal Sean Suder said in the memo.
To help organize the town’s land use, ZoneCo proposes simplifying and consolidating some of Vienna’s existing non-residential zones into districts that are mostly based on their geographic location and can be more easily adjusted as the area evolves.
For instance, the existing pedestrian commercial zone would become the Church Street District, and the limited industrial zone would be renamed as the Mill District to reflect its alignment with Mill Street.
The most substantial change proposed by ZoneCo is a consolidation of the town’s special and general commercial zones into an Avenue Center District that would extend the “pedestrian-oriented context” of Church Street to Maple Avenue “to create a more pronounced and stronger Town center.”
Concentrated in the section of Maple between Vienna and Danor Plaza shopping centers, the district would consist of small-scale ground-floor retail, upper-floor commercial, multi-unit residential, and boutique hotels. Larger-scale retail would be allowed only with a conditional use permit.
“While Maple Avenue will remain a busy regional connection to and from Tysons, this portion of the Avenue provides the greatest opportunity for pedestrian orientation,” Suder said.
The Avenue Center District would be flanked by East and West Gateway Districts that would permit more large-scale retail and other commercial uses, such as daycare and assisted living facilities.
ZoneCo also suggests using a zone-oriented approach for places that have similar development patterns but are less geographically focused, such as the transitional areas between the town’s commercial corridor and single-family residential neighborhoods.
ZoneCo says it designed the districts and zones based on Vienna’s comprehensive plan, whose goals for non-residential development include maintaining a balance of land uses, encouraging a vibrant central business district, and creating a more walkable and bikeable town.
“A new set of consolidated, geographic and context specific commercially focused districts will allow for desired development patterns to be more particularly calibrated now and into the future,” the memo said.
Vienna kicked off its zoning code and subdivision ordinance update in September, but the effort has been in the works for a while, as the stalled Maple Avenue Commercial zone illustrated the challenges of pursuing new development using 50-year-old regulations.
The town anticipates adopting a newly updated zoning code in late 2021.
Images via Town of Vienna/ZoneCo
A proposal to build a wireless communications tower next to a fire station in Vienna is about get a vote of confidence from the McLean Citizens Association.
The unofficial town council of McLean will discuss a resolution supporting the project when its board of directors meets at 7:30 tonight (Wednesday).
“The Application is consistent with and furthers the goals and objectives of the [Fairfax County] Comprehensive Plan, and will provide improved communication services without undue impact on the surrounding community,” a draft of the proposed MCA resolution says.
The Reston-based cell tower developer Milestone Communications submitted plans to Fairfax County in October for a wireless tower on the Wolf Trap Fire Station site at the intersection of Leesburg Pike and Beulah Road.
According to Milestone’s plans, the tower will consist of a 114-foot-tall pole with antennas, topped by a two-foot lightning rod, and it will be surrounded by an eight-foot-tall chain link fence. The facility is expected to occupy 2,500 square feet within the 11.5-acre site, which is owned by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
Milestone says all existing structures and open space will be preserved, and the impact of the unmanned facility on neighboring properties will be minimal, noting that the structure will be screened by existing trees.
“There will be no noise or fumes emitted and only 1-2 maintenance vehicle visit sper month maximum,” the plan submitted to Fairfax County says.
The tower will be initially outfitted with Verizon wireless cables and antennas, though designs show that it will be able to accommodate at least four more wireless carriers in the future.
In order to pursue the project, Milestone has asked Fairfax County to grant a special exception and a proffer condition amendment to permit telecommunications facilities on the site, which is zoned for low-density residential use.
The project also has to be approved through the county’s 2232 review process, which determines whether proposals for public facilities are in accordance with the county’s comprehensive plan.
The MCA board of directors notes in its draft resolution that Milestone held a virtual town hall to present the project to the community and has agreed to provide additional buffering to further minimize the visual impact in response to community comments.
MCA says it supports the Milestone tower because it will “improve the cell phone capacity and coverage levels in the areas surrounding the property and would also work with existing neighboring Verizon sites to handoff signals for wireless transmission of voice and data.”
“This will improve customer service including Internet connectivity speed and voice connectivity, resolve customer complaints in the area, and help address increasing demand for quality wireless service so that the service does not further degrade,” the MCA resolution says.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the Milestone tower on May 12, and a hearing before the Board of Supervisors has been scheduled for June 8.
Images via Google Maps, Milestone Communications
MetroWest residents near the Vienna Metro station might soon finally start to see progress on stalled portions of the planned community, which led the way for mixed-use development in Fairfax County when it was originally approved more than a decade ago.
As the Washington Business Journal reported on Jan. 19, Pulte Homes — one of two developers involved, along with CRC Cos. — submitted an application to the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning on Dec. 23 seeking to update its proffers for the joint project.
The proposed modifications include the removal of a barrier to construction on additional residential buildings with retail, an increased enrollment cap for a planned daycare center, and the replacement of a proposed business center with community space.
“The modest adjustments will allow the Applicant to deliver critically needed housing at market and affordable rates, thoughtful open space and an activated community hub,” DLA Piper associate Kevin MacWhorter, one of the attorneys representing Pulte, said in a statement of justification to Fairfax County Zoning Evaluation Division Director Tracy Strunk.
As of last week, Pulte’s application was still going through the county’s review process, but it is expected to be accepted and assigned to a staff coordinator soon.
The History
The MetroWest development encompasses 56 acres south of the Vienna Metro station from I-66 to Lee Highway.
The original plans approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Mar. 27, 2006 called for up to 2,248 residential units, 300,000 square feet of office, and at least 100,000 square feet of floor area for retail, service, institutional, and governmental uses, according to DLA Piper.
Much of the southern portion of the site has now been built out with homes, including housing for seniors, and the Providence Community Center, a $12 million project that was funded by Pulte and Fairfax County and opened in 2014.
However, construction has yet to start on a four-building parcel from Pulte and the CRC portion of the site, which are collectively supposed to bring retail and hundreds of residential units to the development. Read More
The Town of Vienna has hired a longtime hotel industry worker as its new human resources director.
Michelle Crabtree is taking over as Vienna’s HR director from Maggie Kain, who served in the role for more than six years before retiring today (Monday).
Crabtree is coming to Vienna off of a 15-year tenure working in human resources for the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, where she also provided support to hotels in Virginia, D.C., and Maryland. Hyatt Regency Crystal City was named a Top Workplace by The Washington Post in 2019.
The Town of Vienna says in a press release that she enjoys working in human resources for the unpredictability and the opportunity it offers to meet and get to know different people.
“When you get to know employees and about their families and what they like, when you develop a relationship with them, then they feel more connected and work harder for the organization,” Crabtree said. “That’s why you’ll find me out of my office more than in it sometimes. I’ll be out getting to know people and learning about their lives.”
Prior to entering the hotel industry, Crabtree spent eight years working at Walmart, where she started as a college intern and worked her way up to becoming a store manager. She went to college at Purdue University, where she graduated in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in consumer sciences.
Vienna Town Manager Payton Mercury says the town received 72 applications for its HR director position after conducting a nationwide search.
“Michelle’s deep experience in human resources leadership and her high level of customer service experience caught our attention, but it’s Michelle’s professionalism and appreciation of the value of employees at every level that set her apart from other candidates,” Mercury said.
Photo courtesy Town of Vienna
The Town of Vienna and the Vienna Police Department officially broke ground on the new police station at 215 Center Street S. on Friday morning (Jan. 29).
During the ceremony, Police Chief Jim Morris, Mayor Linda Colbert, Town Manager Mercury Payton, and the project’s architect, Rod Williams, focused on the features of the station aimed at bringing the community together and into conversations with the police department.
“I never thought this was going to be such a Vienna effort. I honestly thought this was going to be a police department issue. It has been anything but,” Morris told the crowd gathered there in spite of the wind and chill. “We’re not just building a station, we’re building something the town needs and can use for a long, long time.”
The project includes places for the community to meet and hold ceremonies that the current police department space cannot accommodate, the police chief said.
Colbert, who reemphasized the connection between Vienna’s safety and its police department, recalled that the effort to build a new station dates back to when her mother was mayor. She lauded the support the project has received since then.
“I’m so proud that [our current council] has been so supportive of the police and the police station,” she said. “We need this police station for so many reasons: It will be more equitable to female officers, more environmentally friendly, and it will be safer and more secure and community-friendly.”
Payton said the station will “be a place all of our residents can come and enjoy,” while Williams — the architect — expressed hope that the building inspires the 41 sworn officers and 11 civilians who will be working there.
At approximately 30,000 square feet in size, the new facility will have space for a firing range, evidence storage, processing, and training, as well as more locker room for female officers. It also makes room for spaces designed to serve community needs, including a Town of Vienna emergency operations center, cable broadcasting, overflow for public meetings, and even a potential voting location.
In October, Vienna chose Hoar Construction as the contractor for the project after it pitched a total base bid of $13.2 million. The project is being funded with $14.9 million from bonds issued in March 2020.
Vienna stuck with the project despite objections from some community members amid nationwide protests and calls to defund the police.
The civil unrest and calls for reforms prompted more conversations among the department, the town, and the public, Morris told Tysons Reporter after the ceremony.
“We met with the mayor and some of these groups and asked them to tell us what they’re looking for,” he said. “We sat down…and talked with them, and I think some good came out of it.”
While the new building is under construction, the department is operating out of the former Faith Baptist Church next door. The Town of Vienna purchased the three-acre church property for $5.5 million in September to convert it into a public facility.
