The Triumph of Art: Fancy Steel Structures May Move From Parking Lot in DC to Parking Lot in Reston

If we're really lucky and keep clapping, a fancy piece of "public art" that currently cuts through a parking lot in downtown Washington may someday cut through a parking lot "civic plaza" in Reston.

A steel art installation currently in downtown DC will have a new home in Reston.

Six structures titled Art Walk, which form a canopy over a pedestrian walkway at the old Convention Center site at New York Avenue, H Street, 11th and 9th Streets NW, have been in place since 2006.

The installation is being moved to make way for CityCenter DC, a one million square foot mixed-use development going in that spot. Groundbreaking for that project is April 4.

On April 5, there will be a groundbreaking for the parking garage and eventual 1.3 million square foot mixed-use development at Comstock's Reston Station project at the Reston-Wiehle Ave. Metro stop.

That's one place where the art installation could wind up when the project is completed by 2013, Comstock spokeswoman Maggie Parker told Washington Business Journal. There is also talk of installing the art along the W & OD Trail in Reston.

The W&OD Trail? Really? What would be more in keeping with being sideswiped by homicidal cyclists communing with nature than walking through six steel panels with LOLicons on them?

This "web log" rarely draws lines in the sand. But this had better not replace the rad '80s art planned for the Wiehle Avenue Metro station, or we'll... we'll... write more repetitive blog posts about it. So there.

On the YouTubes: We Watch The Reston Association Videos So You Don't Have To

It's that time again, so gather your co-workers and loved ones around a roaring fire the YouTube machine for yet another fancy video from the Reston Association. Sadly, Andy Sigle and his dulcet tones are still conspicuously absent due to the elections, meaning that Melissa Kneuven is back again as host. No offense to Ms. Kneuven, who does a perfectly good job hosting, but we miss Andy's soothing vocal stylings. Or maybe we just fear change.

Anyhoo! Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins kicks off an exciting new series about the big changes a-comin' down the 'ole Silver Line track. As newly elected chair of the Metro board of directors and "a smart growth advocate," Hudgins informs us that construction on Phase 1 of the awesome Silver Line is now 30 percent completed and reminds us that the Wiehle park and ride lot is closing on Sunday; the fancy new interim lot opens the same day. Hudgins also reminds us all to be active participants in the process, which is probably a good idea.

Then its on to Thursday's Newcomers Night, with Ha Brock standing in front of the RA's favorite mural of giant-headed leviathans. And, then, juxtaposed with some lovely spring-like images, we hear the following ominous sentence: "You may wish to make updates to your property, or you may have received a citation." Magic words that only mean one thing: fun times ahead!

"Have you ever wondered what the differences are between the DRB and Covenants Committee?" Well, no, honestly, but Julie Loy tell us just the same -- the DRB defines design guidelines, while the covenants committee oversees use and maintenance and conducts hearings to "decide if properties are in violation." Loy also reminds us that the committee can suspend RA members' use of common areas if violations aren't addressed, so no pool passes for you!

Reston Gets Billing on Three Silver Line Metro Stations; Herndon Likely To Be Annoyed By Choices

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has formally recommended the names for the upcoming Silver Line Metro stations. They'll likely please Restonians and annoy Herndonians.

The stations will be named:

Tysons-McLean
Tysons I & II
Tysons Central
Tysons-Spring Hill Rd
Reston-Wiehle Ave
Reston Town Center
Herndon-Reston West
Herndon-Dulles East

The Board of Supervisors pointed out that each proposed station name connotes a community: Tysons, Reston, Herndon, or McLean. Some include street names while others include the name of shopping malls and a town center.

This will likely rile the folks in our tolerant neighbor to the west, who didn't want to befoul their town's good name by having to share a station name with the other Reston. Though they did get top billing -- which ain't bad, considering they won't be providing any of the parking or bus facilities. And of course, no one paid any attention to our awesome suggestions, though the board did leave open the possibility that names could be changed after the stations are open. So there's still hope a Silver Line train could someday pull into Targetville North or Macaroni Grill Souith, the end.

Oops: Don't Drink the (Rain)Water

After trace amounts of radiation from the Japanese nuclear disaster were found in the air above Virginia, the state health department is warning people not to drink rainwater.

VDH is advising residents that the state’s drinking water supplies remain safe, but reminds Virginians out of an abundance of caution they should avoid using rainwater collected in cisterns as drinking water.

Looks like that decision by the DRB to allow bigger rain barrels may have been a bit premature.

Flashback Monday: Brother Against Brother, Imperial Blue Against Beechwood Gray

Not a "before" shot of a stream restoration project, this exciting daguerrotype photo is of honest-to-goodness Civil War-era earthworks right in the heart of Reston. That's right, behind what is now known as Buckthorn Lane brother took arms against brother to ensure the future of the Union, or maybe just the right of governments and homeowners associations everywhere to enforce rules about the correct placement of gas lamps in people's yards. We're fuzzy on the details.

Lay it on us, old-timey "news-paper:"

A few years ago, Reston resident Jim Lewis was wandering around his backyard, and he found himself wondering what the deep trenches were. His neighbor, Bob Eldridge found himself wondering the same thing, and the two of them began to research. They found out that their backyards were the site of Civil War trenches, rifle pits and artillery locations.

Soon the two began speaking at local churches and community centers, often bringing with them Civil War relics they found along Hunter Mill Road.

"Soon people started asking us to take them out to locations where things happened along the road," Lewis said. "Eventually we published a self-guided tour book so people could scout the locations themselves."

On April 2, in recognition of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, Eldridge and Lewis will give a tour of the area behind their houses and along a portion of the W and OD Trail. They will give history buffs a firsthand look at the earthworks on their property, as well as stories about the activities along the trail.

"The trail was used frequently, even after the tracks were torn up," Lewis said. "It was one of the main supply lines from the Fairfax Courthouse, which was a big supply depot during the war. We want to show the earthworks, tell the story behind why they were built the way they were."

Saturday's waking tour will begin at noon at the Reston Museum. For more details, call the museum at 703-709-7700.

Meeting on Indoor Tennis Facility to Be Held in Park Almost Replaced By Indoor Tennis Facility

The Department of Irony Reston Association is holding a public meeting tonight on a proposed indoor tennis facility in the very park that was almost replaced by a proposed indoor tennis facility.

A public meeting to discuss the building program for a proposed indoor tennis facility will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 28 at Brown’s Chapel on Baron Cameron Avenue, Reston. Mike Miller, architect for the project, will be there to answer questions.

Of course, the new $3.8 million project, slated for the current site of the outdoor courts at Lake Newport, isn't quite as big or impressive as the original project. It also lacks a juicery, much to our disappointment, but we may be alone in that. The last we heard, the RA Board had set a timetable to make a decision on whether to go forward on the project, with the goal of giving a thumbs up or down to a referendum by the end of July. Such a referendum would cost $75,000, because helpful postcards and whatnot reminding people to vote aren't free. But this is a sign that the project is moving forward -- which is encouraging for supporters of indoor tennis, as the current RA Board had originally said it wasn't planning a referendum in 2011 and had been less than encouraging to supporters of the project, given financial realities and whatnot.

Given the fact that no one is disputing that there's a sizable demand for indoor facilities, we're definitely in favor of a referendum, though we'd like an extra box for the question that defines our era -- banana vs. strawberry smoothies, the end.

'Reston Station' Groundbreaking Slated, Breathtaking Marketing Slogan Unveiled

The groundbreaking for the awesome Reston Station garage and, eventually, windswept canyon mixed-use development at the future Wiehle Avenue Metro station is slated for 10 a.m. on April 5. We're pretty sure we have a previous engagement at that time, but that won't stop us from enjoying the new graphic treatment and slogan for the project. "Metro + Metropolitan" appears to be the tagline, which makes sense, as nothing is more cosmopolitan and sophisticated than a giant 1 million square foot parking garage, which is likely to be the only thing standing when the first Metro train arrives at the WAMTA-approved shrine to rad '80s art.

Here's the official press release, in case you're interested:

Fairfax County and Comstock Partners will break ground on a 1M SF subterranean Metro garage and bus facility and 1.3 M SF mixed use transit oriented development on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at 10 a.m. The project is the ONLY integrated parking facility on the Phase 1 extension of Metro’s Silver Line, Rail to Dulles.

When we think "metropolitan," we think "integrated parking facility." That, and "Cheesecake Factory," but maybe that's just us.

Happy Birthday, Twitter Machine! Love, Your BFF Reston

So the Twitters, as the kids today don't call it, turned 5 earlier this week. Like most five-year-olds we know, it's funny, a little odd, and particularly prone to whining. Even in our beige community!

Wow. Did someone tell him that painting his trim Mist Green instead of Sea Green would be okay or something?

Awkward! If only the police were on Twitter....

... and it would seem that they are.

Yeah. Not too nerdy. Now we just need the IP for the Jackson's porch.

If any of our bosses had been like that, we might not be sitting in our underwear web logging right now.

Sounds like that stuff we keep hearing about redistricting is gonna happen.

You have no idea.

Ladies and gentlemen, the existential dilemma of the early 21st century. (Spoiler alert: "Neither" is the correct answer.)

Rumor has it that "expensive, inconvenient and dull" was just barely edged out by "live, work, play and get involved" as our official motto.

The love between a son and his mother always gets us a bit choked up.

Bet the signal's better in Kansas.

Who knows, maybe these two crazy kids found each other.

Aw, shucks. That means a lot coming from a drawring of a photo used one time in a Simpsons episode.

Stuff Gettin' Smashed: Vacant Part of Reston International Center Meets the Wrecking Ball

Did you notice that the vacant commercial wing behind the black-cube monolith known as the Reston International Center is being torn down? Probably not, since it's behind the Reston International Center and has been vacant for some time, and can't be seen from the road, which may explain why it was vacant in the first place. And before the wrecking crews went in, the building was used for "practice" by Fairfax County fire officials last Friday. Apparently there was a strong smell of smoke in the air during the drills, but maybe Chili's was just making some really well done steaks.

Confidential Restonian Operative "DB" shares this exciting internal memo about the demolition which began Tuesday:

Please be advised that demolition of the vacant retail building is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. The building will be torn down from the inside out in a process that should take approximately 14 days to complete.

The work will be performed from approximately 6:00 am to 3:00 pm. We ask that you continue to be mindful of the construction fencing currently surrounding the retail strip. During the demolition, the stairs located closest to Chili’s Restaurant will be accessible as well as a temporary ADA ramp that has been constructed on the left side of the retail strip closest to the Sheraton Hotel.

In addition to the retail building demolition, the dumpster enclosure at the back of the parking lot will also be removed. During this demolition project, a portion of the parking lot may be blocked off for the contractor’s equipment.

After the building and foundation have been removed, sod will be laid and an additional set of stairs will be constructed between the two ADA ramps.

So they paved paradise, and put up... sod? Doesn't seem very transity-oriented-developmenty to us. But it's all part of the awesome Reston Heights project, which county supervisors approved way back in ought-8. The plan, which also called for the razing of the bank building and Chili's, will create 498 new residential units, 230,000 square feet of office space, and 145,000 square feet of retail.

In December, JBG filed a revision to its plan, configuring the approved project around one new five-story office building, six "minor commercial buildings," whatever that means, and four four-story residential buildings atop "structured parking" -- something we've also seen planned for the other side of the Toll Road. But it sounds like the Popeye's is safe, though we're not quite sure if the Chili's is still slated to head off to the Big Buffet Line in the Sky.

All we know is that if Chili's and Popeye's might survive, there may still be hope for the Macaroni Grill. We won't set back the minute hand of the Macaroni Grill Doomsday Clock back just yet, but we'll keep our carb-clotted fingers crossed, the end.

Behold the Promise of Transit-Oriented Development: A Wal-Mart

So as part of the grand plan to remake Tysons Corner into a high-end urban nirvana worthy of the sobriquet "Fairfax County's downtown," we've learned that the first significant new project, being developed by the same people who are bringing us Reston Heights and Fairway Apartments closer to home, will feature as its signature anchor... a Wal-Mart. No, seriously:

Wal-Mart plans to open a store in Tysons Corner on the site of the former Moore Cadillac dealership as part of a mixed-use development that will probably be one of the first to accompany Metrorail’s arrival to the area.

The 79,000-square-foot store would join new offices, a gym, parking lots and other stores as part of a project by developer JBG Cos. on Leesburg Pike between Ashgrove Lane and Westwood Center Drive. JBG and Wal-Mart are in final negotiations on a lease agreement, company officials said. Construction is to begin this summer and would finish in 2013, when the Tysons West Metro station is scheduled to open on Spring Hill Road, a quarter-mile south.

All snark aside, this is actually good in some ways. It would be a smaller, more grocery-focused sort of Wal-Mart, and we had been wondering if there were plans for any kind of grocery store in an area where the residential population is slated to explode. And the project itself actually looks pretty nice, as these things go. See?

Of course, this speaks again to the importance of maintaining a realistic perspective about future development. Consider Fair Lakes -- when it was first put on the drawing boards a quarter-century ago, planners envisioned broad avenues of the highest-end stores -- Gucci, Cartiers, and the like. What they got was an endless field of big box dreck, including... a Wal-Mart.

At the same time, we're wondering what kind of people would put down some serious cash to live in a high-end condo overlooking a Wal-Mart. Probably those who put a premium on convenience:

Once More To The RA Board Election, Office Tenants Jumping Ship, and Not-So-Great Budget News: A Springtime Traipse Through Reston News

• If you haven't gotten enough hawtt Reston Association Board candidate action (or turned in your ballot), here's one more thing, with words, to look at before sending in your ballots.
  
  
• Rumor has it some giant office tenant in Reston is considering jumping ship and relocating to a fancy new office building in Ballston. What do they have we don't, except for a shopping mall across the street and an existing Metro station? Also, in a bit of news that may or may not be related, Accenture is scaling back its Reston office space from a whopping 200,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet. Ouch.
  
  
• Not exactly a shocker, but as Loudoun and Fairfax officials dither over whether to put the Dulles Airport Metro station somewhere, technically, near the airport, the completion date for the second phase of the Silver Line pushing into the particleboard wastelands of Loudoun County has been pushed back to 2017.
  
  
• Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins warned a bunch of her Hunter Mill constituents that a "new normal" has arrived, which we think means that we won't be getting our county-funded pink sparkly ponies anytime soon.
  
  
• Fairfax County's school board has kicked off a review of the system's disciplinary process, which is being followed by a group called Fairfax Zero Tolerance Reform led by Caroline Hemenway, a South Lakes High School parent. How'd the first hearings held by the school board go?

  "[The school board discussion] was better than I expected. There were some school board members that I didn't think were on our side who expressed concern," said Hemenway, one of the advocacy group's founders.

  The school system now has a fancy webpage focusing on the issue, so it's safe to say "problem solved," or something like that.
  
  
• The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is holding a public hearing March 29 on acquiring land rights to improve walkways along Reston Avenue from Southington Lane to Shaker Drive. We keep hearing this whole sidewalk concept has "legs," as the kids today don't say.
  
  
• A fancy new tea place (a teaery?) has replaced a jeansery at Reston's Fake Downtown gritty urban core. We'll take a $10 cup of tea over a $300 pair of jeans any day.
  
  
• Reston's "top cop," Deborah Burnett, has retired. The new precinct commander is Andre Tibbs, in case you're keeping score at home.
  
  
• Reston-based MERS continues to get the front-page attention we think it's safe to say they're not exactly hoping for.
  
  
• Always nice to see a fellow Reston web logger get some press.
  
  
• This web logger seems to think that Reston is exactly like Palo Alto, California -- minus Stanford and Facebook, of course. He writes:

  when I was in Reston, I was blown away by the absence of litter ... and the absence of dirt. The place is frighteningly clean (in a creepy, Monaco-esque way), and I wouldn't be shocked if you could do surgery on the street with no fear of infection. Palo Alto is no different. I feel like I should take my shoes off before crossing University Avenue.

  Yeah, but we wouldn't recommend doing that on the Jackson's patio.

Flashback Monday: South Lakes and Soccer

Set the earth-toned wayback machine to 1989, where we continue our ongoing exploration of a sales brochure that deftly plumbs the zeitgeist of Reston's many neighborhoods. This week, it's time to look at South Lakes:

Yes -- forgive us for spending all our time either sailing on or walking around the beautiful water, although the copywriter neglected to point out that it does provide an easy escape route after a late-night visit to the ABC store -- one of the "specialty shops" referenced in the brochure.

The brochure also shows this image of youthful Restonians getting amped up for battle on the killing soccer fields. Along with the decidedly non-DRB approved mustard shorts, we found chilling similarities between this image and a current-day video that presages Reston's dystopian future, or something like that, the end.

Shocking Graffiti Shocks A Reston That's Not Easily Shocked

Our BFFs at Patch posted this shocking twitpic, whatever that is, of some graffiti found in South Reston. We strongly recommend drawing your blinds and locking your doors until this "Connor" decides to put away his DRB-approved beige chalk and take up a slightly less menacing pastime, like "hacky sack," whatever that is, the end.

Behold! Loudoun County's Plans For Its Own Particleboard Fake Downtown

While walking around Reston's fake downtown gritty urban core, you may have noticed roving packs of wide-eyed people wandering aimlessly, looking up with a mixture of awe and bewilderment at the tall buildings that surround them. Yep, it's pretty easy to spot the folks from Loudoun's particleboard wastelands like Ashburn and "Brambleton," wherever THAT is, who consider a trip to Reston Town Center an authentic urban excursion, right down to the police officers on horses and just the soupcon of danger that comes from an unknown experience, like maybe getting a cupcake made of flax instead of bran at some edgy, marginal place of business like a cupcakery.

But we digress. Apparently soon, Loudoun's teeming multitudes won't have to cross the county line for an "authentic" urban experience. They're growing their own:

It what could be seen as the first implementation of the new plan for the Rt. 28 corridor, seven members of the Board of Supervisors lent their support to the Dulles World project, which is designed as a high-density, mixed-use development along Rt. 28 near the Dulles Toll Road and the Fairfax County border. The project, and its developer, received high praise from supervisors for the amenities it had agreed to and its willingness to work with the county staff over the past year and a half.

With Dulles World originally proposed as a mixed-use development that would include up to 1,495 multi-family units, slightly more than 3.9 million square feet of office, commercial and retail uses and up to 130,245 square feet of civic uses, the developer agreed to reduce the number of multi-family units to 1,265, while leaving 12 percent of them as units that would meet the county's needs-those units for residents living with incomes up to 70 percent of the Area Median Income.

First proposed in 2008, Dulles World has been held up in the review process because of litigation with the Center for Innovative Technology over road right of way and discussions surrounding plans to build a bridge over the Dulles Toll Road, which would provide another connection between Fairfax and Loudoun. The dispute over the location on the Dulles World property and the right of way battle with CIT, prompted the developer to propose a different construction plan based on by-right uses, a plan supervisors said would not provide for the best use of the property. With the help of Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large) and Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles) on the joint committee with Fairfax County and the Town of Herndon, the project was ultimately able to go back to a plan that would make best use of the property.

Sweet! We could always use some more midscale retail and dining options, especially for that fourth meal of the day between lunch at Unos and dinner at the Macaroni Grill. Let's just hope that the folks in Loudoun don't start getting big heads about their fancy new development:

"I hear people talk about Reston Town Center as a comparison a lot. This isn't Reston Town Center. It's better than Reston Town Center," Miller said. "This is the place that people are going to want to be like in the future."

OH NO HE DIDN'T! He'd better "stand down," or whatever the kids today don't actually say, with that "better than Reston Town Center" talk, lest he find a to-go box of greasy Vapianos leftovers in his bed or something. And now that Loudoun officials are making noises about threatening to withhold funds unless Metro builds a Dulles Airport station that's only vaguely near the airport, their fake downtown could wind up being adjacent to a giant parking lot formerly known as Rt. 28, the end.

St. Patricks Day in Reston: The Wearing of the DRB-Approved Earth Tones That Somewhat Approximate 'Green'

In this exciting "yfrog," whatever that is, Clyde's of Reston general manager Hans Olson shows what a limited color palette and an overzealous covenants review process can do to a festive holiday celebration.

Let's call the color of that kilt "russet green" -- and try not to think too much about the fact that the kilt is much more closely associated with Scotland than Ireland. Though, to be fair, Ireland does have the Scots beat on Reston doppelgangers, the end.

Indecision 2011: RA Candidates Discuss Metro, Development, and What The RA Wants To Be When It Grows Up

In case you haven't yet turned in your fancy ballot for the Reston Association Board elections, the Fairfax Times "news-paper" has a fancy article about many of the candidates running for the board, allowing us to read words instead of watching fancy YouTube videos to learn about the "issues." Let's dive in, shall we?

Ask the eight candidates running to represent Reston this spring what the top election issue this year, and they'll tell you one thing:

Giant-headed leviathans?

Metrorail.

Hey, at least we were close.

Those running for three open seats on the Reston Association Board of Directors are all focusing on Metrorail and what's needed to prepare for its coming in 2013 -- good leadership and new membership in the Reston Association, a governing body representing most homeowners and businesses in Reston. Specifically, candidates said Reston Association should reopen the dialogue with Reston Town Center officials about bringing that group under its membership umbrella.

There may not be a lot of receptiveness to that, but it's a good idea.

Appropriately, a lot of the debate involves what the RA needs to be when it grows up.

"Reston Association has to be always at the table when it involves Metro coming, and so far, it has been," said John George, one of four candidates running for an open at-large seat. "The major concern I have is that we have to be very vigilant and part of this process [of planning for rail's arrival]. ... I think there are some people who think Reston Association should act more like a homeowners association, but when it comes to Metro it needs to function like a government."

George and several other candidates said recruiting new members in the Dulles corridor will be key to the future of RA, which represents about 60,000 people. Ballots were recently mailed to all 21,000-plus homes and renters within RA. The deadline for voting is 5 p.m. April 1. "Recruitment of new members -- that's how Reston Association will ensure its programs remain valuable," George said.

Fellow candidate Jason Carlo, who also is running for the at-large seat, said development in the Dulles corridor must be integrated into Reston.

"Those residents could come in and not be members of the Reston Association, but could impact Reston," he said. "The board of directors really has the responsibility to attract those residents."

To do that, the RA may have to stop fixating over color palettes and whatnot, several candidates said.

He added that RA may need to be more flexible in its design rules if it is to attract new membership, many of which will likely be developers.

"If they say, we like RA but not the covenants, RA might have to look deep inside itself and decide what it wants to be," Carlo said.

That sound you just heard was the DRB banging its collective head against the wall.

The Hunters Woods/Dogwood candidates both focused on the impact of growth on existing neighborhoods.

Interconnectability and protecting existing development are also concerns for Cheryl Beamer, one of two candidates running for the Hunters Woods/Dogwood District seat.

"[Metrorail] really has the potential to impact the character of the RA neighborhoods over there," she said, adding that the planned parking structure near the Metro station should be better positioned "so it doesn't look like a big cement block" in the middle of the landscape.

"It's all about whether we are going to get this right," she said. "I've been on the board for four years and every year I've run I've included in my platform that there should be a department or staff dedicated to development.

Her opponent, Victor Van Rees, said "protecting the somewhat fragile infrastructure here and the identity of Reston" should be the top priority.

Meanwhile, we'll give kudos to the Times for actually paying attention to the vacant apartment owners seat on the board of directors.

Representing apartment owners in the Reston Association is candidate Amanda Andere, who is running unopposed.

She said she's worried about apartment renters being priced out of Reston by new development.

"Metro is a real opportunity for the Reston community," she said, adding "part of the issue is having affordable housing so people can really live, work and play here," which is RA's slogan.

"Reston has a really unique commitment to affordability in housing and it's important to continue that effort," she said. "It's about the economy and making sure people who work here can live here. If people can buy homes here, then people should want to rent here, too."

The deadline for returning ballots is April 1.

Will Parc Reston Become PARK Reston? Only the DRB Knows For Sure

This hott mess represents the latest design concept for the Parc Reston apartment/condo complex at Reston Parkway and Temporary Road. Much like Fairway Apartments, the property's owner has wanted to convert the low-rise apartments into some sort of mauvescrapers for some time, and on Monday, Athena Renaissance Reston presented to the DRB a new proposal to build two 14-story residential towers on the part of the property Athena owns (which is three of the existing garden apartment buildings containing 82 units that never got converted to condos because of, you know, the utter and total collapse of the housing market market conditions).

Sadly, the revised proposal shows how expectations of champagne wishes and caviar dreams continue to be downsized long into the New Normal:

What was originally two condo towers with underground parking in 2005 became in 2010 two smaller-scale buildings with a 72-foot-high glass elevator atrium connecting them. The current plan calls for two separate towers (no glass atrium) of what likely will be rental units built on top of three levels of parking garage.

So we're guessing the gilded fountain of gold-plated silver bullion is out as well. Bummer.

The county and DRB both approved the broad strokes of the 360-unit project some time ago, meaning that the DRB is now in its wheelhouse, addressing the look and character of the proposed design.

The DRB expressed concern about how to make the garages look less garage-like.

Sounds like a Zen riddle!

Some suggestions: public art and creative lighting design.

You mean that the lovely layer of trees partially obstructing the view of parked cars isn't Zen enough?

"With parking at the base, it can become this mass of buildings marching along Reston Parkway," said DRB member Neal Roseberry. "This is a primo site across from Town Center, so we've got to get it right."

As much as it pains us to write this, good on the DRB for focusing on a design issue that will have a big impact on the streetscape of our ever-expanding downtown.

Breaking News, From the Twitter Machine

Consider yourselves warned. Hopefully we were able to "re-tweet" this in time to save the people waiting in line for a fancy new iPad from getting pecked in the shin, the end.

Congressional Redistricting: So Long Moran and Wolf, Hello Connolly

This exciting "Twitpic," whatever that is, shows what could happen if a redistricting deal currently in the works winds up being approved by state lawmakers during a special session next month. If approved, James Moran will be replaced as Reston's Congressman by fellow Democrat Gerry Connolly. Connolly would also pick up most of Herndon from Republican Frank Wolf.

The deal currently being negotiated shows exactly what's wrong with redistricting -- it's rigged to protect incumbents at all costs. If the plan is approved, Connolly -- who actually had a close call in last fall's elections -- builds his Democratic support base by adding Reston, Herndon, Centerville and Woodbridge to his district, while Republican Frank Wolf, not exactly in any danger of losing an election anytime soon, picks up the more conservative parts of the region, including Clifton and Haymarket. Moran consolidates his support in the inside-the-Beltway regions, but at least his district would no longer resemble a stretched out piece of Silly Putty attempting to swallow Reston's isthmus of liberalism.

The Washington Post seems to think this is a good thing:

That shift will increase Northern Virginia’s clout on Capitol Hill as the region fights to secure federal funding for transportation and other projects at a time of budget austerity, and it will maintain a long-standing trend in Virginia politics, said Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University.

“I think we’ve seen over the past couple of decades a steady erosion of dominance by downstate legislators both in Richmond and on Capitol Hill,” Rozell said.

Increased clout on the Hill will be especially important for Northern Virginia, which relies on money from Uncle Sam for everything from the Dulles rail extension and highway improvements to the Pentagon and the federal contracting industry. Tens of thousands of government employees live in the region.

We'll miss Moran. Guess this means no more fun town halls anytime soon.

Sign 'O The Times: Tall Oaks Village Center

Courtesy of Secret Restonian Operative "Joel." Somewhere, Susie de los Santos is weeping silently.

Flashback Monday: How Tall Oaks Got Its Name, and Other Ur-Creation Mythology

Please to be enjoying this breathless marketing copy about "Tall Oaks Village," which establishes an ur-creation myth in which the Zeuss-like Dear Leader is supplanted by a feminine, chalice-archetype known as "Mother Nature." And also tall trees.

Maybe we're uneducated newcomers, but we were unaware that "Tall Oaks" is what people once called the entire area around the golf course, as opposed to the area right next to the stucco wasteland shopping center. Speaking of which, we like what they say about "stores, restaurants and services of all kinds." Only not so much these days.

Consume, Sheeple! Reston Town Center Attracts Long Lines For Whazzitcalled, iPads

Like swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, Reston's Fake Downtown Gritty Urban Core was home to the perennial crowds that flocked to the Apple Store on Friday to pick up a moderate upgrade to a year-old product a magical device called the "eye Pad too" or something like that. Call us old fashioned, but we still do all our web logging on the ZX-81 that got us through 7th grade, the end.

Bummer: Compare Foods at Tall Oaks To Close By Month's End

Home to sexist bread and a full-service jewelry counter, Compare Foods at the Tall Oaks Stucco Wasteland Shopping Center is closing its doors by the end of the month, just shy of its first birthday.

Compare Foods will be the second international-themed grocery store to fail in the same spot following the departure of longtime grocery store Giant from Tall Oaks in 2007 (remember Fresh World? It actually lasted longer than Compare Foods). It's a shame for a number of reasons, not the least of them the viability of the shopping center, which somehow managed to have both a Burger King and a 7-11 -- just about two of the most fail-proof franchises out there -- go out of business.

But mostly, we'll miss the advertising:

Sigh. So long, "Susie de Los Santos." We hardly knew you.

Some Politics Are Local: Yet Another Video of the Reston Association Board Candidates, Plus an Alternative for the Apathetic

We know. We also thought we were done posting fancy YouTubes videos of the Reston Association Board candidate forums, but we unearthed one more and simply couldn't help ourselves. At first, we thought it was the same forum as the last video we posted, only shot from a different angle (back and to the left?), but upon closer examination, it turns out this was the forum held on Feb. 26, not the one held on Feb. 28. So please to be enjoying another 1 hour, 10 minutes and 30 seconds of no-holds-barred democracy in action with the seven candidates vying for two RA Board seats. And also those creepy giant-headed people in the posters behind them.

If videos of hawtt candidate forum action aren't exactly your speed, please to be enjoying the following sweet jumps and whatnot, which appears to have been filmed in what generations of RA Camp veterans have come to know as the "Owl Woods." Rad!



For added enjoyment, please to be pushing the play buttons on both videos at once, which will conveniently add a thumping techno soundtrack to all the talk about assessments and development and whatnot. You're welcome.

On April 3, One Park and Ride Lot Closes, Another One Opens, And Maybe Some Construction Actually Begins

This helpful map details the complex route Reston wage slaves commuters will have to navigate starting April 3, when the Reston East Park and Ride closes and the shiny new Sunset Hills Park and Ride opens. Don't forget your sextant!

Already various attractive trailer-like buildings have been deposited like so much cordwood at the Reston East Park and Ride, meaning that construction on the awesome new parking garage is about to begin. Or at least construction on the temporary construction offices that will oversee construction on the awesome new parking garages is about to begin.

Fortunately "staff ambassadors" will be available at the West Falls Church Metro station and the park and ride lots over the next couple of weeks to help confused commuters figure all this out. But don't panic if you get overwhelmed by the complexities of this sea change -- just remember that old expression your grandparents used to have embroidered and hung up in their homes: When one park and ride lot closes, another one opens, the end.

Will The Reston of 2030 Be Denser Than Tysons and Ruled By An Army of Crystal Koons Clones? One Report Says.... Maybe

As we think about the awesome civic canyons and whatnot that will soon rise along the Toll Road, we can always comfort ourselves by saying, "at least we're not Tysons." Or can we?

Our BFFs at Reston 2020 have put together a fancypants analysis arguing, among other things, that Reston could become more dense than Tysons by 2030, with up to 90 million gross square feet, compared to up to 82.4 million GSF in "Fairfax County's Downtown." By 2030, as many as 60,000 people could live here and 162,000 wage slaves people could work here. Sadly, the study did not say how many people could play or get involved, violating the Prime Directive of the Reston Association.

This study will require some time to digest and analyze. Oh, wait -- we're done: IN YOUR FACE, Tysons! We welcome the endless traffic and army of Crystal Koons clone overlords!

To be fair, the Reston 2020 estimate is substantially higher than earlier analyses that places like George Mason have pulled together. It also assumes the maximum allowable densities in the current plans under development by the Reston Master Plan Task Force We're Tired Of Coming Up With Wacky Acronyms For (RMPTFWTOCUWWAF) will actually all be built. But it makes an important point: "Neither the task force nor the county have studied the public infrastructure needed to accommodate this increase in Reston," unlike Tysons, where infrastructure, plus the placement of a 90-foot bronze statue of Crystal Koons, were baked into planning efforts. That's a serious problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, please to be enjoying this look at what the Reston of 2030 might look like, assuming there's still enough open space for kids to play some kind of sports, the end.


Update: Reston 2020's Terry Maynard explains in the comments that the projections his analysis is based on actually extend beyond the 2030 timeframe - so instead of Crystal Koons clones, we might be talking about Crystal Koons cyborgs.

Once More Unto the Breach: Perhaps The Last Video of the Reston Association Board Candidates

When it comes to hawtt Reston Association Board election action, it's either feast or famine. Please to be enjoying yet another exciting You Tubes video from the RA's Feb. 28 candidates forum. All seven candidates participated in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 3 seconds of no-holds-barred democracy in front of a backdrop full of scary giant-headed people. Who will be the masters of this new race of semi-leviathans? Your ballot -- which uniformed federal agents are supposed to deliver to our homes this very day -- will help decide, so choose wisely, the end.

Homeowners Associations 101: A Brief But Informative Slideshow

ZOMG, Fairfax County has posted a highly informative slideshow called Homeowners Associations 101. Though those of us who live in Reston are probably ready for our Ph.D. dissertations.

On the YouTubes: Still More Video of the Reston Association Board Candidates

Still haven't heard enough from the candidates running for the Reston Association board of directors? Well, thanks to our BFFs at the Reston Citizens Association, please to be enjoying another 46 minutes and 41 seconds of democracy in action. Attending this fancy candidates forum were Victor Van Rees, Donovan D'Souza, Andy Sigle, and Sridhar Ganesan. We'd say something funny here, but it's early and we dozed off during the explanation of the debate format.

If you still haven't gotten enough hawt democratic action, yet another candidate forum, sponsored by the Alliance for Reston Clusters and Homeowners (ARCH), will be held at 7pm Monday at Forest Edge Elementary School.

Meanwhile, in the Anti-Reston: Metro Station Names Rile Town Council So Much They Momentarily Forget About The Other

So what's been doing in our tolerant neighbor to the west? Apparently it's starting to dawn on them that the Metro is coming, because they spent a good chunk of a recent meeting discussing what matters most: the names of the two Herndon Metro stations. And they're not happy with the thought of sullying their town's good name with the other Reston!

Mayor Steve DeBenedittis said the name the town has suggested in the past is simply Herndon Metro Station, then CIT-Herndon West, for the station that will be located near the Center for Innovative Technology building.

DeBenedittis said in his communications with Hunter Mill district Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, she said the names should be Reston West-Herndon for the station that will land just south of Herndon Parkway, and Herndon-Dulles East for the CIT-area station. He said Hudgins, who is the new chair of the Metro board of directors, felt those names best fit the criteria for naming stations.

Councilmember Connie Hutchinson said, “It’s ridiculous that the Herndon station would be named Reston.”

Of course, it would be less ridiculous if Herndon hasn't thus far punted on the whole idea of providing any infrastructure for the Herndon-Monroe Reston West-Herndon station.

Commissioner George Burke said he questions the need for a kiss-and-ride. He said it encourages traffic and usage. He said the nicer you build the kiss-and-ride the more traffic will come to the area to use it.

Hard to dispute that logic! So maybe they should build a really crappy kiss and ride, maybe with sticks with rusted nails jutting out of them and piles of broken glass and whatnot.

We've already offered our own humble suggestions for Metro station names in both Reston and Herndon, but we're guessing the town fathers won't be impressed. Perhaps they should consider calling the station "287(g) MOA" to set the "right tone," the end.

RA Elections 2011: We Watch The RA Videos So You Don't Have To

It was with a heavy heart that we clicked the play button on this, the first fancy Reston Association video of the post-Andy Sigle era, his dulcet tones conspicuously absent from the opening. Instead, we have "Melissa Kneuven filling in this week for Andy Sigle," who, it is not said, is running for one of the Reston Association Board seats. Then we get a bunch of exciting zooming visual effects of ballots flipping around and pages turning that made us a little dizzy, but maybe that was because we were still a bit emotionally fragile.

And then it's off to exciting sound bites from all seven candidates!

For the Hunters Wood/Dogwood seat, incumbent Cheryl Beamer said this: "With Metro coming, we don't want to be sitting on hold waiting for the help desk when it comes to solutions." Don't worry -- this won't be the last IT metaphor you'll hear.

Her challenger, Victor Van Rees, has a simple message: He'll vote against any measure that raises assessments, plus "negotiate with Home Depot" and other businesses for special resident discounts. "I'll hold the line on what it costs to live here," he said.

Then it's off to the five candidate free-for-all for the at-large seat. First up is the aforementioned Andy Sigle. He touts his experience doing these fancy YouTube videos, then talks about the challenges ahead.

Next up is Jason Carlo, who thanks us for watching the video, then tells us to check him out on Facebook. Sweet! We've been looking for some new BFFs there.

Sridhar Ganesan touts his experience working with boards and being a CFO, saying he's "driven by doing the right thing and getting it right."

John E. George promises to be "fiscally responsible without overreaching," plus cut red tape and support RA's recruitment of new members in the shiny concrete gulches to be built along the Toll Road.

Finally, Donovan D'Souza pledges fealty to the original seven goals for Reston, and ends where we began -- with another IT reference. "We have the vision. Like a computer, RA needs an update," he said. "I'm the new update."

So there you have it -- democracy in action in a mere 5 minutes and 12 seconds. We should seriously be happy we have so many people willing to run for a largely thankless job -- if we didn't, we might be in the same boat as this homeowners association, the end.

On the YouTubes: Not Quite Old Spice

Dear Leader blogging? Real estate attorneys in bathrobes holding roses and emulating an aftershave commercial? Rappin' Realtors(tm)? Facebook humor? We are soooo there. Thank you, Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, for making our own real estate games look stodgy by comparison.

A New Mauvescraper for Reston, Plus Another On Its Side

One of the last chunks of surface parking in Reston's fake downtown gritty urban core will soon be replaced by a 15-story mauvescraper.

Boston Properties, which owns the last undeveloped Reston Town Center parcel between St. Francis, Bluemont and Explorer Street and Town Square, will build a fancy "luxury rental" building with 359 units and 29,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. The complex will also have a six-story parking structure that's "integrated into the mixed-use building." If approved by the usual suspects, construction will begin at the end of the year or in early 2012. Boston Properties also owns the parcel of land just south of RTC currently being leased by the county for a temporary park-and-ride lot, which it presumably will develop once the fancy new garage is built at the Wiehle Metro Station.

So, um, yay. Meanwhile, we've learned a little more about the fate of the mauvescraper in version 2.0 of JBG's awesome Fairway Apartments redevelopment proposal, which the developer recently postponed bringing back before the Reston Planning & Zoning Committee. A Confidential Restonian Operative tells us a little about the proposal:

FWIW, the JBG proposal presented to the DRB basically tipped that large tower on its side creating a 500' building wall facing the golf course. It also:
--created two rows of 4-story townhouses along the road-side periphery to mask the massive building
--added lots of impermeable surface parking (aka: asphalt)
--cut down oodles (that's a technical term) of trees (& don't they always?)
--oh, yes, created a small playground park in the middle surrounded by asphalt & buildings.

One DRB member characterized it as similar, but worse than JBG's original proposal.

Would you call that a landscraper, or maybe just a big rancher? We haven't seen any of the fancy planning renderings of the new proposal that we love us so bad, but at great expense, we got an up and coming architect to create this drawring of what the new proposal just might look like:

You're welcome.