Reston Citizen

A small Catholic girls school wants to relocate to a property in Reston. Oakcrest, a school of 200 students has outgrown it’s Chantilly location and recently purchased the property for $15 million. But the Reston Times reports on a possible issue to the schools move:

The school’s possible problem can be traced back to to the man from whom it bought the property – aspiring developer John Thoburn.

For about 20 years, Thoburn has tried various strategies to have the zoning laws for his property changed to allow more intensive residential and commercial uses, alienating neighbors and planning officials alike.

Generally here at Reston Citizen we are for development, but some locations just aren’t for it, and that includes the semi-rural area where the school would be built.

An attorney for Oakcrest believes the school will cause no problem, but who has such an antagonistic relationship with Fiarfax County might have issues. Complaints about traffic and safety concerns cause concern among neighbors, who view it as yet another scheme by Thoburn to increase density on his property.

The controversial libertarian was jailed for over 30 in days in 2001 over zoning violations including selling food on a property where that is prohibited.

The Reston International Center and other JBG properties are seen in this photo on Sunrise Valley Drive.

Approval of a conceptual plan (used by developers to test the waters) has been pushed back until the next board of supervisors meeting.

Supervisor Hudgins delayed approval until last minute details in the plan can be worked out. These include additions like pursuing LEED status for their buildings. LEED status indicates how green a building is and sets goals for how large a footprint of water, electricity, and pollution is generated by the building.

Reston Heights includes nearly 500 condo units, 400,000 square feet of office space, and 2800 above ground parking garage spaces.

The Reston Observer reports that citizens are concerned about additional traffic:

However, three of the four residents who spoke at the public hearing said they had concerns about traffic problems the development would create along Sunrise Valley Drive. Reston resident Marie Huhtala, who ran unsuccessfully for the Hunter Mill district seat on the board last year, said the Reston Heights project would generate thousands of new trips each day on the already-congested Sunrise Valley Drive.

But they did let JBG defend their project:

Ben Tompkins, who represented The JBG Companies at Monday’s board meeting, said the project would provide a “much-needed amenity basis for south Reston.” […]Responding to the public comments, Tompkins said JBG has completed a traffic study that showed Sunrise Valley Drive could accommodate the additional traffic, but he knows transportation improvements will be needed.

A Bloom store is seen in Accokeek, Maryland.

Fears of Tall Oaks becoming another life style center have Tall Oaks residents sending post cards to former Food Lion grocer, Bloom. Catherine Hudgins, who lives walking distance from the center has been working with Tall Oaks to find a tenant to replace Giant. Here’s what the Reston Times had to say:

While Hudgins works with the landowner and leasing agent to find both short- and long-term solutions, Bentana Woods cluster president Tara Coonin is opening up a more traditional line of communication to find a solution with a postcard campaign.

To date, Coonin said she has handed out nearly 1,500 postcards addressed to the Bloom Grocery Store Real Estate Department, urging the chain to open a location in Tall Oaks. Residents simply have to sign the card and stick a stamp on it.

Rumor has it that Bloom scheduled a meeting to see the space abandoned by Giant, but no one has confirmed this. Believing that Bloom was eying the space, Tara Coonin thought sending 1500 postcards would show just how much residents wanted a new local grocer.

After Giant left, over fifty percent of the Tall Oaks space was empty. This prompted some to believe Atlantic Realty Company, who owns the center, plans to develop it into condos. The Tall Oaks center is off of Wiehle Avenue and only a few minutes from the future metro stop.

The Reston Planning and Zoning Committee canceled their meeting on Lerner’s plan to improve the Spectrum Center with a town center like project. Fairfax County failed to finish a report in time for the meeting, and the folks over at P&Z felt it would be useless to go over the same information.

Lerner, one of the largest developers in the DC area, has proposed building 1350 residential units and 676,000 square feet of office space. The Spectrum Center is home to BestBuy, Barnes & Noble, and several standalone retail buildings. The proposal would also unite the center, which is currently split by Bowman Towne Drive. The Harris Teeter would be unaffected because it is not part of Lerner’s holdings.

The Planning and Zoning Committee felt it was at a stage to vote on the project, but because of a lack of information they have delayed a possible vote to a Janurary 7th meeting. The committee also has several board positions that will be opening, so if you want a say in what goes where, you should consider applying. Forms can be found at RA’s website, or at their Isaac Newton Square location.

The Giant grocery store will be shutting it’s doors in less than a week. The general manager Tams Bauer has confirmed the closure. A simple sign alerts customers the pharmacy will close on November 16th, and that records will be transfered to the South Lakes Safeway.The majority of space in the shopping center will soon be empty. The Giant also brought in many customers, and without many citizens fear the center will be mostly empty. The Reston Connection reports some are wondering if property manager, Atlantic Realty Company, is hoping to the turn the center into a mixed use complex containing condos, and street level retail:

Some residents raised concerns of a hidden agenda on the property owner’s — Boston based Colony Realty Partners — part. Vacant space does not serve anyone — owners, residents or merchants — but some of the space has been vacant for years. It does not make sense “unless the owner is deliberately shutting this down,” said Mike Corrigan. He added that with the planned arrival of Metro to Wiehle Avenue, the center, located off of Wiehle, is a prime piece of land for redevelopment.

Others believe a store like Bloom (formerly known as Food Lion) would take up the empty space. The property owner says they have contacted over 30 people about leasing the space, but have no firm commitments.

Fairfax County has embraced the cool counties initiative, which aims to reduce carbon output in America’s counties. Part of the announcement was that the county would increase walkability around transit stations to reduce car use and pollution.

Transit oriented design itself is one way of reducing carbon output, the leading cause of global warming. But the County has taken this one step further by requiring that buildings in the Reston/Herndon Suburban Center (a region used in the Counties zoning guide) be built according the certain green standards.

The amendment would make all buildings in suburban centers, the Tysons Corner urban center, and apartments taller than 4 stories conform. But not all are happy about these green standards as reported by the Fairfax Times:

Several developers testified about the costs of building green during a public hearing on the amendment.

Donald Gibson, senior design manager of JPI, said, “Landowners and builders will spend the money, but will not reap the energy savings from that.”

He said it is costing his development company an additional $2.3 million to attain the LEED Silver certification on an apartment development in the Hunter Mill District. Considering the grim housing market, company officials are not “optimistic they can recuperate the costs,” Gibson said.

The new requirements would mean buildings would have to meet EngeryStar ratings and be certified by the LEED program, which is considered a leader in green building standards.

The booming Dulles Corridor, two strips of land running next to the Dulles Toll Road is showing signs of slowing. The technology corridor was a hot spot in 90s and earls 2000s as DotCom companies exploded in the area. Then came 9/11, with the technology downturn. But then government security contracting exploded, filling vacant office space.

Then the Democrats took control of Congress, and start trying to balance the budget, which is a good thing, but for the area is temporarily bad. Here’s what the WaPo had to say:

With federal contracting slowing from its recent boom, and as the national and regional economies soften, the current wave of construction projects is likely to leave empty buildings. Few new office projects are expected to get started in the near future, as developers focus on finding tenants. The process is likely to take at least two years, given historical trends, according to developers and brokers.

“There is going to be a lot of competition for tenants out there, and I am not going to paint a pretty picture,” George F. McKenzie, chief executive of the Rockville-based Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, told analysts during a conference call last month. “Activity has not been as good as one would have expected over the last 12 months.”

Despite an overall negative tone the technology corridor is still vibrant. Buildings are still being constructed, and Reston Heights project has already leased 90% of it’s office space. The metro will also increase the amount of jobs, and bring in new condos and apartments.

Reston Heights, a 1 million square foot office/residential/retail complex is already drawing community resistance.

The JBG companies, a Chevy Chase based developer held a meeting with residents off the Hunters Green cluster association, to discuss the building. A few citizens have expressed concerns, as told by the Reston Observer:

Resident Jim Allred said he did not buy JBG’s statement that they could not commit to creating that walkway. “Unless it’s connected pedestrian-wise to the Metro, this project fails in my mind,” he said. Allred said without that connection to the Metro stop, people would drive to the nearby stations and further increase traffic.

“We are not going to be able to get out of our neighborhoods,” said Marie Huhtala, a Reston resident who is currently running for the Hunter Mill district seat on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Huhtala said the nearby roads have already receiving failing grades, and she does not know how that could be improved with this development.

Of course the project will be the equivalent of two city blocks from the proposed Reston Parkway rail station, and currently has bus stops with direct access to the West Falls Church metro station. The road had some recent lane additions, which has already improved the flow of peak rush hour traffic.

If this project is approved JBG would build a pedastrain bridge or tunnel for access to the other side of Reston Parkway, which has a popular walking/biking trail.

The Reston Planning and Zoning Committee voted 9-2 with one abstention to recommend the plan, which includes over $200,000 in improvements for Reston Parkway. The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the plan Wednesday.

Virginia Tech will be entering into paternership with several private companies to upgrade buildings in the Washington area. The Chesapeake Bay Journal reports the Reston International Center is one of the about one hundred area buildings to be retrofitted.

Under the partnership, Virginia Tech, secured $500 million in loans to be given to property owners. The improvements will reduce electricity bills by 20%-50% depending on the buildings condition. Money saved from electricity bills will be used to repay the loans.

Gary Baise was the first EPA Chief of Staff. He has worked on many cases concerning the environment. And now he (a Republican) is running for Fairfax County chairman in a heavily Democratic jurisdiction. Most of his views are anti-liberal, from his stance that the County needs an “Ironclad immigration lock-down,” to his views that “Education spending should be second or third priority.”

But the one issue he “agrees” with Democrats on is the environment. This may come as a shock, but in reality he’s toting the party line. The GOP views the EPA’s goal as “Restoring the balance between the environment and America.” By that they mean allowing oil drilling from the Everglades to Alaskan wildlife preserves, allowing companies to use dangerous pesticides, and a myriad of other offenses.
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