Alcorn Forms New Task Force Focused On Future Reston Town Center North Projects

RESTON, VA — Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn announced on Tuesday that he was creating the Reston Town Center Public Facilities Community Task Force to oversee a number of projects taking place near the Reston Town Center.

"Currently, that area includes the aging Reston Regional Library, Embry Rucker Shelter and a county Human Services building – all in close proximity to my office and the Police Department’s Reston District Station," Alcorn said, in a statement emailed to Patch. "I will be calling upon homeowner and condo association representatives from the surrounding Reston Town Center North area to provide input on the public facilities planned for the redevelopment. Reston residents have waited patiently for new — or the renovation of — these existing county facilities by Reston Town Center. It is imperative that we have community dialogue and move forward with location and co-location options."

Alcorn released his statement along with two related board matters he introduced at Tuesday's Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting.

In the first board matter, Alcorn called on the board to approve the scheduling of a public hearing on the transfer of part of the Reston District Station's parking lot to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority. This was made in response to a recent unsolicited proposal from a developer to redevelop a 2.89 acre site at the intersection of Bowman Towne Drive an Towne Center Parkway that includes the parking lot and property owned by FCHRA.

If approved, the project would add 400 affordable housing units to the property, build a new parking garage for the police department and construct the new Reston Regional Library.

Alcorn's second board matter called on the county's Office to Prevent and End Homelessness in the Department of Housing and Community Development to evaluate the performance of county agencies and nonprofit organizations dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness. The results of the review would help the county update its homelessness strategies in collaboration with the Continuum of Care committee of the Affordable Housing Advisory Council.

Related: Fairfax Board Takes First Step Toward Building New Reston Library

Cornerstones, a nonprofit that provides support and advocacy for the county's homeless population, operates the Embry Rucker Shelter. The 70-bed facility is located at 11975 Bowman Towne Drive, which is within the area on which the new task force would be focusing.

On the evening of April 4, Reston Strong, a local group advocating for the homeless, set up tents outside Alcorn's office at the North County Governmental Center. The demonstration coincided with the ending of the county's seasonal hypothermia shelter.

During a Lunch With The Reston Reporter Facebook Live interview on Friday, Alcorn commended Reston Strong for bringing attention to the plight of the unhoused and the need for more affordable housing across the county.

"What we really have struggled with is to have enough affordable housing for people and I realized that that is the ultimate long-term solution that I am focused on," Alcorn said. "We also need an updated and expanded in degree Embry Rucker Shelter. ... But, until we get enough affordable housing in the area, we're going to keep rolling the boulder up the hill and it's going to keep rolling back down on us."

At the end of February, the Reston Comprehensive Plan Study Task Force wrapped up its two-year review of the document that guides development in the Reston area.

Since then, Alcorn and task force members have been hosting informational meetings with various groups to solicit feedback on the group's interim recommendations, which will be used to inform the final draft submitted for county approval.

During the Facebook Live interview, Alcorn mentioned that there were a number of proposals involving Reston Town Center North that would be released once the plan review task force finalizes its recommendations.

Related: New Vision For Reston Planning Proposed In Task Force Study

"There's a list of community facilities we need to go into Reston Town Center North, including the library, including the new Embry Rucker Shelter, including a rec center, including a ball field, maybe a school," he said. "But what we don't know yet is where each of them will go, so expect more activity on that."

The formation of the new Reston Town Center Public Facilities Community Task Force appears to be timed to coincide with the new library and affordable housing project proposal, as well as others expected to be released when the plan review recommendations are finalized.

"It's an active area," Alcorn said. "I don't want to see dead spots in Reston Town Center North. I want it to be places that have of activity, that people are around, comfortable walking across and walking through and into. There are some important pieces that have to be addressed, but I do want to make sure to focus on the public part.