The Lesser of Two Weevils: RA Introduces Invasive Pests To Take Out Invasive Plants

So what's the RA been up to lately? Not much, just RELEASING A THOUSAND DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS INTO RESTON, is all. Give us some good blockquote, BFFs at the Walker Nature Center:

As part of Reston Association’s Integrated Pest Management program, 1,000 Mile-A-Minute Weevils (Rhinoncomimus latipes) were released to feed on the invasive Mile-A-Minute vine. Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. released 500 weevils in a restored stream reach by South Lakes High School, and the other 500 were released by RA staff along the gas pipeline easement near Trails Edge Lane. Mile-A-Minute Weed, (Persicaria perfoliata) is a vigorous vine that smothers and shades out native plants.The vine has a triangular shaped leaf, small thorns and blue to purple berries.

Even swarms of pests with freakish elongated snouts are a lesser evil than the dreaded Eight Invasive Plants. THE ENEMY OF OUR ENEMY IS OUR FRIEND.

Please to be enjoying this nightmare fuel picture of the swarms of weevils being released into the wild:

What could possibly go wrong?

Stuccobrutalpocalypse Now: In a Flash, A Half Century's Worth of Stucco and Poured Concrete Consigned To The Wrecking Ball

Yesterday marked the official beginning of the end of two longstanding, if also largely abandoned Reston institutions, if by "institution" you mean "structure built to confirm to 1960s-era design notions that are of marginal relevance in today's world of pressboard and Tyvek."

In one (well, two) fell swoops, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors consigned the brutalist Marcel Breuer-designed American Press Institute building on Sunrise Valley Road and the Tall Oaks Stucco Wasteland Village Center to the wrecking ball, approving awesome bollardy developments that will take each of their respective places.

The API building is arguably the greater loss, given an architectural pedigree that led to a last-ditch effort to save it, and even possibly reuse it as a future home for the Reston Regional Library. "Breuer’s American Press Institute building deserves a second life, not a demolition permit," Carol Ann Riordan, Cheryl Terio-Simon and Ralph P. Youngren wrote in a Washington Post op-ed the week before the county's decision.

Instead, county supervisors used circular logic: the historical building didn't have historical designation so it couldn't be considered on its historical merits. Give us some developer-friendly blockquote, BFFs at Reston Now:

The supervisors’ mission is to stick to judging an application on “meeting the criteria set forth in the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance for this area and supported by recommendation of approval by Department of Planning and Zoning,” [Supervisor Cathy Hudgins] said. [...]

“It’s a building no one wants to occupy,” said James Lee, president of Ronney Properties, which purchased the building three years ago. “I understand sentimental attachments to this building. It would have been nice if they put a historical encumbrance on it before it went to market, because we would not have bought it if we knew if was functionally obsolete and could not be leased.”

“We have determined adaptive use is [not possible] because of the way it was built,” he added. “As a result if the rezoning is denied, we are left with an asset that has no cash value. It has to be demolished.”

But never fear, fans of brutalist architecture and dying media!

The supervisors also passed a motion that efforts will be made to preserve an archive of the building and its history.

Pro tip, county officials: Click this link and hit CONTROL-P. There's your "archive."

Across the Toll Road, the news that the Tall Oaks Stucco Wasteland is now cleared to become a largely residential Matrix-like virtual world of CGI grannies staring blankly at walls was a bit less of a surprise. A series of small revisions made by developer Jefferson Apartment Group over time led to, if not the open space and wide-ranging retail one would expect from a village center, some pretty fancy names for the limited open space that will be on offer (we can't wait to hang out on the Linear Green, though it sounds like we might need a sextant to do so). As an added bonus, the repurposing of a couple of the existing outbuildings for retail space means that all both of the existing tenants can relocate to new space instead of waiting for all that stucco dust to clear once the center is torn down.

What's not clear is whether the developer agreed to pay for improvements requested by both the county and the Reston Association, which finally has a reason to invest in the perennially empty Tall Oaks pool directly across the street from the ex-Village Center:

RA has asked JAG for contributions for improvements to the Tall Oaks Pool, which is located across North Shore Drive from the new development. Fulkerson said the pool needs ADA (Americans With Disability Act) accessibility upgrades, improvements to the parking lot, the addition of bike racks, and improvements to the underpass that connects Tall Oaks to the pool area. “Thus far, the applicant has not agreed to assist with the improvements,” she said.

The developer has also declined to make the planning staff recommended contribution to Fairfax County Public Schools. The staff report says the new Tall Oaks should net about 57 new students (33 elementary, 8 middle and 16 high school). Staff recommends a contribution of $669,693 (57 students x $11,749).

JAG says it is declining to make the school contribution because 1) the school system was offered land to build a new school when Tall Oaks was first developed and eventually returned the land rights; and 2) the site was zoned as a shopping center in 1969 and a schools contribution was not required.

JAG has also declined the staff report’s recommendation of a $20,000 contribution to offset impact to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Station 25 on Wiehle Avenue.

We're not holding our breath. Together, these decisions definitely reinforce the pro-development bent of the county board, but we can't fault them for this one. While this is the first time a village center has become something less village-centery, it's an improvement over the decaying stucco monument to lost franchise stores that sits there today. Even Bob Simon, as staunch a supporter of village centers as anyone in Reston, said that we don't need all of them anymore.

At the same time, we can still mourn small losses to Reston's original heritage, as our plastic fantastic planned community becomes a little bit more like other rapidly growing areas around Metro stations. And maybe buy earplugs and dust masks -- tearing both of these suckers down is going to be a noisy, messy affair. After all, they don't build them like they used to, the end.

Simon Says: New Lake Thoreau Public Art Project Resembles Real-Life Pokemon Gym, Prompts Complex Interpretations

When we first saw this mysterious structure land atop the Lake Thoreau spillway, presumably from outer space, we first thought it was one of those, whazzitcalled, Pokemon gyms, and that we were going to get the power up and capture the wild Restonatta and win the game! But then we realized we'd left our phone in the car and this was, somehow, real life in our favorite earth-toned community. So whazzit?

Turns out whazzit is "Simon," the first public art project to grace our beautiful spillways -- concrete masterpieces of the form in their own right -- since the awesome Prog Rock Pyramid of Ought-Fourteen.

"Looks like a house with a bunch of squiggly lines coming out of it," you uncultured types might be thinking to yourselves. "Looks like a combination of the approved Redwood and Goldenrod exterior trim colors," you DRB types might be thinking to yourselves. Let us tell you, silly rabbits, why you're both wrong. Clue us into the Deeper Meaning, BFFs at IPAR:

Inspired by Robert E. Simon’s Seven Principles of Community, Simon shows that beauty, both structural and natural, is a necessity of a good life and should be fostered. The house structure represents how the hospitality of Reston draws people into the community, its warm colors creating an inviting atmosphere, and the curtain + window illustrating Reston’s welcoming nature. Reston is our home, and the house serves as a representation of such. The pieces radiating out from the house express an organic shape that changes the way the structure is viewed to communicate something that is less industrial and more attune to nature and the form it takes, like roots of a tree. The gradient emphasizes the diversity of the people within our community, who come from many different walks of life but still intend to be part of one single entity. The white accents draw the eye towards the structure and represent the bright impression of the inside view. From the initial conception to the present, the combination of both organic and geometric structure has been a consistent part of the sculpture.

WHAT THEY SAID. What, with our Ph.D. in art appreciation from one of the Caribbean's most prestigious correspondence schools, we actually saw it more as a representation of our elite town center, literally elevated above our mundane natural environment by virtue of its high-quality midscale chain retail and dining, yet somehow glassed off from the rest of the community, which can only peek through the curtain -- an ironic representation of the lack of transparency about the introduction of paid parking -- with envy at the Pottery Barn furnishings on offer while the smugness of those who choose to frequent it literally radiates out of it. Just goes to show you that art is in the eye of the beholder. Plus there's not a Triffid in sight.

Designed by South Lakes High School students under the guidance of Marco Rando, the project is actually pretty cool. You can come to a celebration of "Simon" with the school's STEAM team at 7 Monday evening if you're so inclined.

Update: Monday's celebration has been canceled due to the excessive heat.

Gotta Park 'Em All! Reston's Newest Smartphone App Is Way Cooler Than Pokemon Go, But You'll Have To Wait Until September To Pay--Er, Play

Less than a week after Pokemon Go made Reston lose its collective mind and filled Lake Anne Plaza with happy screen-obsessed flaneurs for the first time in recent memory that ukuleles weren't involved, Reston has an even cooler, more exciting, and -- dare we say it? -- more elite smartphone app to play with.

ParkRTC doesn't have, whazzitcalled, Pokeballs or anything, but it does grant you the right to continue parking at our gritty urban core shrine to elite midscale dining and retail offerings, plus the promise of exclusive discounts from participating merchants. Rad!

You know how you can tell ParkRTC is elite? Pokemon Go may have run into a little trouble with its privacy settings, but this app doesn't even have privacy settings! Give us some good blockquote, BFFs at Reston Now:

Left blank was the FAQs section and the privacy policy, which has been a source of concern for some would-be visitors.

Bah. Having all our personal information sifted through by some dude named Dimitry in Smolensk is a small price to pay -- certainly less than the $2 an hour that RTC will soon charge for access to its state-of-the-art automated parking garages -- to be able to get a primo space for our Starbucks runs.

We can't wait to claim the basement level of the parking garage for Team Mauve! But wait, what's this?

Paid parking at Reston Town Center will be pushed back to September, Boston Properties representatives have told store owners.

Reston Town Center was supposed to go to paid parking ($2 an hour) on weekdays beginning Aug. 1. Weekends and special events will remain free.

Boston Properties also told merchants “we are also working on another innovative element of our plan which will provide for an even safer place to live, work and shop – we are very excited about this element of our plan which we, unfortunately, are not able to discuss publicly at this time due to business disclosure issues.”

Some people are hoping the delay means that public opposition to the elite paid parking plan may prompt Boston to change -- or at least soften -- its plans to charge for parking. We're not holding our breath, but we're hoping they'll use the extra time to "gamify" the app even more. Instead of Pokeballs, maybe you'll be able to fling virtual, "Great" Falls-sized sacks of money towards corporate logos to "capture" various retail experiences. Perhaps you'll "battle" parking enforcement golf carts by getting back to your spot on level 5 before time runs out! Maybe you'll be able to pick which "team" you want to battle for (we're calling dibs on Team World of Beer.) We're almost certain there will be a way to virtually scorn all the teenagers, poors without smartphones and other non-elite visitors to RTC. We literally can't wait. Gotta park 'em all!

Forget Invasive Plants: Pokemon Go Critters Infesting Reston

Forget the eight verboten invasive plants that are making the native vegetation in our beloved earth-toned community more imperiled than Marcel Breuer-designed concrete bunkers. We've got a whole new series of critters to worry about on our lovely (and smoke-free) pathways.

A Confidential Restonian Operative who may or may not be a resident of Restonian World Headquarters tried to explain to us this whole Pokemon Go phenomenon, geez Daaaad, just SWIPE UP, OKAY?. All we know is that we're frightened to go outside now.

Wouldn't be the weirdest thing someone's found in one of Reston's lakes.

Each of those balls contains a DRB violation letter. Time for a trip to Home Depot!

At first, we thought this was our hopes and dreams for the Plaza flying away. But wait! We think we're getting the hang of this whole cellular telephone game now:

POKESQUIRREL, WE CHOOSE YOU. PREPARE FOR BATTLE!

EARTH-TONED HORSE, YOU HAVE MET YOUR MATCH.

Did we get the power-up and win the game?

Reston's Hottest New Housing Option: You Choose the Caption

Confidential Restonian Operative "Adrian 'Chip' Monk" shared this photo of South Reston's hottest new single occupancy residential unit... or is it? We'll let you pick the caption:

1) Latest edgy IPAR performance art installation depicting Reston residents trapped in their soul-sucking suburban environment

2) RA reveals final design of Leak Lake House, complete with likely users and well under initial renovation budget

3) Fairfax County's proposed studio apartment zoning welcomes its first tenant

4) Test run for entering and exiting new elite parking facilities at Reston Town Center (with metal cages to keep out the teenagers and poors without smartphones riffraff)

5) Contemporary housing with appropriate Millennial-friendly branding: TNY HS

6) Whatever it is, appropriate earth tones ensure it will not be blasted back to the stone age 1963 by the DRB's fleet of drones, the end.

Talloakspocalypse Soon: With Planning Staff Approval, Prepare Yourself For a 'Retail Terrace,' Same Old Retail Buildings

With plans to convert the Tall Oaks Stucco Wasteland Village Center into a mostly residential neighborhood with a smidgen of retail now moving forward, with county staff recommending approval ahead of a planning commission meeting next week, we got a new look at the 350-page planning report (PDF of computer-crashing dimensions; consider yourselves warned). And along with our favorite dead-eyed CGI Peeping Tom granny, staring blankly at the wall, we learned a thing or two.

First of all, the slightly larger than initially proposed (but still less than local residents wanted) 8,000 square feet of retail space is concentrated in two existing buildings, the former 7/11/Curves and that deserted office building thingy we always assumed was used by some shadowy outfit that straps bombs to dolphins. (Sadly, the former Burger King's days appear to be numbered.) But they're going to look "great," as another real estate expert once said. Behold!

AWWWW YEAH NEW FABRIC AWNINGS! We can't wait until "Tenant Sign" moves in and sells... signs we guess.

But for Stucco Wasteland purists, never fear: They're keeping some things old school:

That'll give CGI Granny something to stare at.

Then there's the existing office building.

That new two-story entrance tower thingy doesn't look bad, actually. "Tenant Sign" is going to give "Tenant Sign" across the way a run for its money, though.

The townhouses and condos have a decent, if somewhat monochromatic, look about them:

We know what you're saying to yourselves. "I enjoy fiber cement cladding as much as the next person," you're saying, "but what is the design intent?" Glad you asked:

True to their word, "various shades of brown" are definitely "harmonious with its context" in Reston.

But that's not all! The various bits of open space, a point of some contention, may not have gotten much bigger on this go-around, but they do have fancier names. There will be a "Central Plaza," a "Retail Terrace," a "Linear Green" (isn't that what Metro shut down this week for repairs?), an "Entrance Plaza," a "Village Promenade," and a "Community Recreational Area," where you can participate in such popular fitness activities as Grab the Metal Pole and Wonder What to Do Next:

Or stare at confounding metal spheres:

The kids will thrill to play on the one foundation that wasn't quite level:

And the rest of us will find hours of entertainment perusing the different materials, particularly the "Taupe Fancy."

Or maybe that's just us.

All in all, it's not a Wegman's, but it's been nudged more in the right direction than the developers presumably wanted on the first iterations. These days, that might be all we can hope for, the end.