Is Reston Losing Its Architectural Soul? The Lofts II Fight Explained

Three Office Towers, a Hotel, and a Tunnel: Reston's Next Big Build

There is a development taking shape on the south side of the Dulles Toll Road that has barely registered with most Reston residents, and it may end up being one of the largest projects in the area. In this episode, Graham and Kathy break down Comstock's proposal for the Commerce Metro Center, the roughly sixteen acres of aging office buildings and parking lots near Wiehle Avenue and Sunrise Valley Drive. The plan calls for a 2.4 million square foot mixed-use district along the Wiehle corridor: three new office towers, a 240-room hotel, up to 540 residential units, ground floor retail, an optional grocery store, and seven named parks and plazas. There is a signature tower designed by the firm of the late Helmut Jahn, a new Metro Plaza that links directly to the station walkway, and a proposed tunnel under Wiehle Avenue meant to connect future development and finally make this stretch walkable. Graham and Kathy also put the project in context with the larger build-out of Reston Station, Isaac Newton Square, and the rest of the urban core, and what all of it could mean for Reston by 2035 and 2040. Before the main story, the two catch up on local openings and news: Midnight Treats, the vegan cookie shop now on the pavilion at Reston Town Center; NH44 Indian Brewing Company, the new Indian-fusion brewery at Arrowbrook Center in Herndon; the new Reston North Park playground near Home Depot; the switch to a drone display instead of fireworks at Lake Fairfax Park for the Fourth of July; and the growing problem of high-speed e-bikes and electric dirt bikes on the W&OD Trail, including what the e-bike classes actually mean and where each one is allowed.

Is Reston Losing Its Architectural Soul? The Lofts II Fight Explained

Reston was founded on a promise that its buildings would be worth looking at. So what happened to that idea? In this episode we dig into the Lofts II proposal at Reston Station, a 158-home project on Samuel Morse Drive, and ask why so much of Reston's new construction is arriving flat, boxy, and forgettable. Kathy and Graham are just back from two weeks in London, where renting e-bikes to zip across the city became the highlight of the trip. That experience sent them home thinking about Reston's own bike share, which already draws strong ridership at local stations. We pull up the Capital Bike Share map and talk about what could make a popular system even more useful: more e-bikes, and better infrastructure to ride them on. Along the way we cover the Paris Baguette grand opening at the Fannie Mae building, the Innovations in Flight event coming to the Udvar-Hazy Center on June 13th, the A. Smith Bowman Distillery landing on Virginia's endangered historic places list, and a Washington Post tree-cover map that shows South Reston sitting around 80% canopy. The architecture conversation closes with the heart of the episode: Lofts I residents have filed concerns about pedestrian gaps, missing green space, parking shortfalls, and stalled bike-lane striping along Reston Station Boulevard, and those concerns are now holding up approval for the next phase. We look at award-winning multifamily projects elsewhere to ask a simple question. Could Reston do better?

Reston's Historic Bowman Property Is Getting 57 Townhomes. Does It Fit?

Old Reston Avenue has a story most people drive past without noticing. Tucked behind a wall of trees sits a 127-year-old stone manor house built in 1899, the old Bowman Manor, now used as office space and surrounded by two buildings slated for demolition. A joint development between the Armed Forces Mutual Association and EYA Townhomes would replace those buildings with 57 new townhomes, all designed in an English cottage style meant to complement the manor itself, which Fairfax County requires to remain as a historic landmark. In this episode, Graham and Kathy walk through the full set of renderings, the site plan, the four-story townhome elevations, and what the promenade and green space between units would look like. They also get into the traffic concern on Old Reston Avenue near the W&OD Trail, the timeline for the July 14th planning board hearing, and whether this project actually reflects what Reston was built to be. Before the main story, the episode covers Davio's at Reston Station expanding into the old Plaza Bar space where Matchbox used to operate, the upcoming Tephra ICA Arts Festival marking its 35th year on May 16th and 17th, and a firsthand walk of the Rails to River Trail from Lake Fairfax to Colvin Run Mill with tips on crossing Route 7, what's at the mill, and why the hike is good for families.

Rivana Just Broke Ground Near Herndon, And It Could Rival Reston Town Center

Ground just broke on what could become the most significant development along the Silver Line since Reston Town Center started filling in. The project is called Rivana, and it sits on the Fairfax/Loudoun County line near Innovation Center Metro — a 9-million-square-foot development with 3,700 residential units, 3.5 million square feet of office space, an entertainment district, 16 acres of green space, and a restored stream running through the heart of it. For scale: the whole thing is roughly a third larger than the Pentagon. That's the main event. Before we get there, we stop at the JW Marriott Residences in Reston, where a buyer just set a statewide condo record — $10.25 million for a combined 5,700 square foot unit. We were at the open house just before that news broke, so we walk through what the available units actually look like, what they cost, and what kind of lifestyle the building is built around. We also round up the summer concert scene across Reston and Herndon. Seven different concert series are running this summer, including Herndon's Friday Night Live approaching its 500th show. The full list is on our website for anyone trying to plan ahead. Topics covered: Rivana mixed-use development at Innovation Center, JW Marriott Residences Reston record condo sale, summer concerts in Reston and Herndon, Silver Line corridor growth, Dulles technology corridor, Horse Pen Run restoration, Boulder Ridge preservation, and what Rivana means for housing demand in Reston and Herndon.

Lake Anne in Reston Is Getting New Signs. Not Everyone Is Happy About It.

Lake Anne has been a cornerstone of Reston since the community was founded in the 1960s, but for years it has had a wayfinding problem. A significant number of Reston residents have never made it there, partly because the signage does not exactly announce itself. That may be changing. In this episode, Graham and Kathy break down the proposed new Lake Anne signage package that StreetSense recently unveiled at a virtual public meeting. The concept draws from mid-century color palettes and Mondrian-influenced geometry, with a full wayfinding system planned for cars and pedestrians entering and moving through the area. Reactions in the comments have been mixed. Some residents find the new proposals clean and directional. Others think the existing sign has a character the new concepts do not match. Graham and Kathy weigh in. They also run through a packed spring events calendar, from the return of the Lake Anne Farmers Market and the Earth Day Chalk Fest at Reston Town Center to Polar Heat on Lynn Street in Herndon and the Tour de Hunter Mill cycling ride hosted by Supervisor Walter Alcorn. And if you have been watching the Reston Town Center Next development take shape, there is a notable wave of restaurant openings coming, including Paris Baguette, Clarity's second location, Dogfish Head Ale House, Grazi Nona, and Yunnan Noodles.