GAINSWave Therapy in Merrifield, VA

Food for Others cut the ribbon Thursday on its new expanded space in Merrifield, increasing its ability to serve the region's food insecure.

FAIRFAX, VA — Elected officials and local community activists converged on Merrifield on Thursday morning to help Food for Others cut the ribbon on its expanded warehouse and food distribution center.

The regional food bank's new facility includes 10,391 square feet of warehouse and office space, and the new "My Market," where Northern Virginians eligible for emergency food assistance can shop in a grocery store setting.

"It was really important to allow our families the opportunity to shop for their own food," said Annie Turner, executive director of Food for Others. "It's more dignified, it's more respectful, and it reduces food waste in the community."

Although Thursday was My Market's official grand opening, the location has been serving Food for Others' clients since Jan. 26.

"In the first two weeks, our customer satisfaction has increased on average 13 percent because of the new space," Turner said, during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "In those two weeks, we served over 82,000 pounds of food and about 8,400 individuals already. We look forward to really expanding the empowerment model for our clients, and we look forward to so much more for clients."

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Allowing the clients to choose what food they wish to take, cuts down on the amount of unused items that are discarded from pre-packed food parcels.

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik grew up just down the street from Food for Other's headquarters on Prosperity Avenue. She remembered what it like living on free meals and going to the supermarket with her mother when it was hard to buy meat. Her family had to make hard choices about what they'd be able to have at home.

"Ensuring that families feel welcome, that they have a space for their kids, that they have those wraparound services and that they have the dignity even if they're not able to pay for the food themselves, that they're able to have the experience that everyone in the community has," Palchik said. "This is an incredible accomplishment."

In Fiscal Year 2022, Food for Others distributed 3.7 million pounds of food to 49,893 households across Northern Virginia.

Food for Others clients can take items from one of My Market's refrigerated shelves, giving them the experience of shopping in a grocery store setting.(Michael O'Connell/Patch)On Thursday morning, market coordinator Patrick Salas was giving visitors a peek behind the scenes, showing off the expanded warehouse space.

"This feels a little bit bigger because it's more open," he said. "It'll give us a better opportunity for organization and just a little more fluid space to where we can move and really get trucks in here and pack."

Three years ago, Silas started out as a warehouse helper and then began driving trucks to pick up donations from the nonprofit's grocery store partners. He's been the market coordinator for about a month and will be overseeing the facility.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America since 2020 to help raise awareness of hunger in our local communities, a persistent national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that 1 in 8 people face hunger. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.

The Mosaic District has been declared a rousing success by Fairfax County, but between that mixed-use neighborhood and the Dunn Loring Metro station to the north, vestiges of Merrifield’s more industrial past remain.

A trio of new redevelopment pitches promise to further the county’s efforts to revitalize Merrifield by replacing older properties with housing that’s more closely integrated with retail, offices and other commercial activities.

Advanced by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Dec. 6) as part the Site-Specific Plan Amendment process, which considers land use changes to the county comprehensive plan for individual properties, the proposals could collectively pave the way for some 4.7 million square feet of development, most of it residential.

Prosperity Business Campus

Calling for up to 2.7 million million square feet of development, property owner Link Logistics‘ proposed transformation of the 41-acre block of warehouses and offices along Prosperity Avenue between I-66 and Hilltop Road is the largest of the nominations.

The amendment would allow five mid-rise, multifamily residential buildings and two blocks of townhouses, though the southernmost building could be left as office.

The residences would be supported by ground-floor retail and private amenities, parking garages and nearly 12.9 acres of publicly accessible park space, including a central park across Prosperity Avenue and the retention of Long Branch stream valley to the west.

Under the name B9 Sequoia Prosperity Owner LLC, Link Logistics has proposed extending Merrifield Avenue through the site to Prosperity and adding two new local streets as well as a service alley.

“The proposed street grid and public park space will allow for the transformation of the existing office park into a porous and inviting community offering new pedestrian connections for the existing adjacent communities to the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metrorail Station,” the application says.

Merrifield at Dunn Loring Station

Built in 1968, the existing 706-unit apartment community at 8130 Prescott Drive could be replaced by 1.5 square feet of mixed-use development over eight blocks, including four low to mid-rise residential buildings and two residential high-rises ranging from 10 to 14 stories tall.

The other blocks consist of two-over-two stacked townhomes back up to the existing Providence Park townhouses and an up-to-five-story building that could have housing, a hotel, or office space with ground-floor retail.

Site owner and developer Malkin Properties says it would create a 2-acre urban park by expanding on the Fairfax County Park Authority’s planned Hartland Green Park, which has been scoped out but not yet constructed.

A ring road shown in the Merrifield Suburban Center comprehensive plan would be built as a connection between Pleasantdale/Hartland Road and Park Tower Drive. Intended to help neighborhood traffic reach Gallows Road and Route 29, the road would have transit lanes and on-street parking to accommodate public transit, such as the Relay shuttle, and ridesharing.

“The Merrifield at Dunn Loring Station SSPA proposal complements the attractive and successful development at the Dunn Loring -Merrifield Metrorail Station at a compatible scale to surrounding residential uses, and furthers Fairfax County’s goals of creating vibrant, transit-oriented communities that include a diversity of housing stock,” the application says.

Alliance Center Condominium

Compared to the redevelopments proposed above, the owners of this commercial lot at 2929 Eskridge Road is requesting a more limited amendment that would enable housing on the property without having to consolidate it with a larger project.

Built in the early 1970s, the Alliance Center houses the Fairfax Cable Access Corporation, the beer distributor Ferment Nation, a swimming pool contractor, and a couple of martial arts centers, among other tenants.

“Regretfully, after fifty years, the Center is now a tired reminder of Fairfax County past,” Steve Teets, an agent representing the Alliance Center, wrote in the application, noting that the land surrounding the 3.2-acre parcel was largely redeveloped with the Mosaic District.

Instead of the large-scale development currently envisioned by the comprehensive plan, the property owners have proposed two multifamily buildings with up to seven stories on top of a two-level parking garage. Each floor would be about 30,000 square feet, resulting in a maximum gross floor area of 420,000 square feet.

The application says the buildings would be designed to complement the housing in the Mosaic District.

“We should always encourage old and tired properties that abut key Urban centers to maximize their potential, with the understanding they need to ‘blend’ into their surroundings,” Teets wrote. “This proposal makes the future Alliance Center look like just another Town Center parcel. It passes the eye test. It blends.”

When the Board of Supervisors adopted its list of accepted SSPA nominations, Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith noted that the Alliance Center’s application was incomplete, since it still needed signatures from four out of its 24 condo owners.

However, the nomination was still among the nine in the Providence District advanced to a screening phase, where the applications will be reviewed by county staff and opened up for initial public comments.

“The bulldozers are not coming down the street because someone has put in an SSPA,” Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross said. “I think we need to be able to calm folks down about that. They don’t need to be that anxious about these, because this is just the first step in what will be a long process.”

(Updated at 7:50 p.m.) A major fire at the Little River Square apartment complex in Annandale sent a person to the hospital early yesterday (Sunday) morning.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched to the 7400 block of Little River Turnpike at 1:38 a.m., according to a tweet.

The fire affected two third-floor apartments, extending to the attic, the department said. Three alarms were required to get the blaze under control, meaning the amount of firefighters, trucks and equipment called to the scene was three times the standard, initial response.

“This usually occurs because the fire is, or potentially could be, getting larger,” an FCFRD spokesperson said.

The reported injuries were not considered life-threatening.

The FCFRD also responded to an apartment fire in Merrifield shortly after 6:30 a.m. yesterday. Firefighters at the scene in the 8100 block of Heatherton Lane saw smoke issuing from the apartment.

One person was taken to a hospital with injuries not deemed life-threatening. The fire resulted in an estimated $20,000 in property damages, the department reported this afternoon.

At 1:38 AM, units dispatched to apartment fire in 7400 block of Little River Turnpike, Annandale. Fire was on the third floor extending into attic. Fire now under control. Crews hitting hot-spots. One occupant transported to hospital. Went to 3rd alarms total. #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/QOXKwac1T4

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 5, 2023

3RD ALARM WORKING FIRE – Annandale, VA

2 Victims Removed and taken to local hospitals non life threatening, Heavy Fire on Side C from 2 apartments. pic.twitter.com/n9bWME2uKN

— Xavier “X” (@xthefirephoto) February 5, 2023

A Starbucks in Merrifield has unionized.

About a month after filing a petition for an election, workers at the cafe at 3046 Gate House Plaza voted 30-2 in support of forming a union on Friday (April 22), becoming the coffee company’s first store in Fairfax County to take that step.

“My first reaction was just happiness,” employee and organizer Claudia Sol said. “We’re all very proud of each other for what we were able to accomplish…It’s pretty amazing to see all the work that our store did to be able to unionize, and we’re looking forward to what’s to come.”

Some local elected officials, including Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik and Del. Marcus Simon (D-53), stopped by the store both before and after the vote to show their support for its unionizing efforts.

“Everyone deserves a good union job with fair pay, quality health care, and rights at work,” SEIU Virginia 512 President David Broder said. “The Merrifield Starbucks workers’ overwhelming vote to unionize is an historic moment and yet another sign that working people in Fairfax County are organizing for an economy that works for all of us.”

FALLS CHURCH WORKERS WIN 30-2, becoming the 6th unionized Starbucks store in Virginia!!!! pic.twitter.com/rCAetQrNtI

— SBWorkersUnited (@SBWorkersUnited) April 22, 2022

The landslide victory came just nine days after union proponents suffered a defeat in Springfield, where Starbucks workers voted 10-8 against unionizing on April 13.

While she doesn’t have any direct knowledge of what happened in Springfield, Sol says she heard that the district manager was “really aggressive” when talking to workers one-on-one in the lead-up to their election.

Organizers told NPR that Starbucks cut their hours and warned benefits and promotions would be at risk if they unionized, though the company has denied engaging in union-busting activities. Workers United, the union that employees hoped to join, filed charges against Starbucks last week, alleging retaliation, coercive threats, and other issues to the National Labor Relations Board.

“We are listening and learning from the partners in these stores as we always do across the country,” a Starbucks spokesperson said. “From the beginning, we’ve been clear in our belief that we are better together as partners, without a union between us, and that conviction has not changed. We respect our partner’s right to organize and are committed to following the NLRB process.”

When asked about the filed complaints, the spokesperson reiterated that Starbucks is committed to following the NLRB’s process.

At the Merrifield store, Sol says their district manager and other members of the regional corporate team started visiting more frequently after the union petition was filed, but they didn’t interact with employees much until the week before the election.

At that point, the corporate team held one-on-one meetings with workers where they argued that a union would be an unnecessary “third party” and urged everyone to vote in the coming election, according to Sol, who noted that while the union would be part of Workers United, the actual contract negotiations will be done by employees on a store-by-store basis.

“I think the reason that they were trying to get the entire store to vote was probably because they were hoping that there were going to be more ‘no’ votes than ‘yes’ votes, and that would make it so that we wouldn’t have a union,” Sol said. “But that backfired.”

The Merrifield store is the 28th Starbucks in the U.S. to unionize since a Buffalo, New York, store led the way in December, and over 220 stores in 31 states have now filed for elections, according to Starbucks Workers United.

The union said in a statement that it’s “proud and excited” to add the Merrifield store to the bargaining table and that it’s petitioning for federal relief to get store organizers who were allegedly fired for union activities reinstated.

“We are not standing for Starbucks’ threats, fear-mongering and intimidation and we will continue to fight for our right to organize,” SB Workers United said.

Now that the store has unionized, Sol says they will select employees to form a bargaining committee. They will then undergo training on contract negotiations and determine what everyone’s priorities are.

She anticipates two top priorities will be raises and a restoration of the food benefits that Starbucks introduced early in the pandemic — where workers got one free food item per day regardless of whether they worked that day — but later scaled back.

“I know that’s very important for some people,” Sol said. “We don’t know their economic situation, and it could be that maybe that’s their one meal of the day, so I think that’s one of the things we definitely want to see if we can try and bring that back.”

(Updated at 3:20 p.m.) A coworking company that advertises its flexible offices as “the future of workspace” is bringing that future to Merrifield.

Venture X has leased nearly 28,000 square feet of space on the third floor of Williams Crossing (3060 Williams Drive) and will open its first coworking location in Fairfax County on Jan. 2, 2023, the company announced last Wednesday (Aug. 10).

The site will offer private offices, shared desks, virtual office space, conference rooms, and a community and cafe area.

This will be Venture X’s fourth Virginia location, including one that opened in Arlington last year, and the second owned by Richie and Charissa Parsons, who also own a location at One Loudoun in Ashburn.

“After being open less than 10 months, our first location is almost at capacity,” Richie Parsons said in a press release. “So, we’ve been looking at options for expansion. When presented with the opportunity to open a Venture X in a highly desirable location next to Mosaic District, we knew this would be the perfect spot for our second location.”

Parsons highlighted the building’s relative proximity to the Mosaic District, I-495 and Route 50, and the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station as assets.

Founded in southwest Florida in 2012, Venture X is now a subsidiary of the United Franchise Group Coworks, which is the largest privately held coworking franchise in the world, according to the press release. It has almost 50 locations worldwide.

While initially a challenge for the industry, the pandemic has fueled a coworking revival, as employers push to reopen offices while acknowledging that many workers want the option to work remotely.

Venture X President Michael White said in a statement that the company is “thrilled” to see the Parsons bring a franchise to Merrifield, which he called “an ideal community” for the “contemporary, design-forward” concept.

“Our brand is geared towards business professionals looking for upscale surroundings,” White said. “The demand for more flexible workspace in Virginia continues to increase and this highly anticipated location is expected to enter the market around the end of this year.”