HCA LOCKED SUV BURGLARY @ AUG 26

An HCA Block 2 carriage house Member resident reported today that someone stole a laptop computer from a locked SUV at about 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 26.  Previous burglars targeted only unlocked HCA vehicles.  The burglary may have been linked to a similar incident reported Monday by RestonNow at adjacent Vantage Hill where an armed thief broke into another vehicle and fired five gunshots while getting away at about 6:20 a.m. the same morning.  Members should remove all valuables, lock their vehicles, and report early morning suspicious activity to Fairfax County Police by dialing 911.

RA PROPOSES NEW NORTH SHORE POOL LIGHTS

In a letter and DRB application dated August 15, stamped August 17, postmarked August 18, and received August 21, 2017, RA advised HCA Members that it plans to install four new pool and facility entrance lights and replace five existing wall lights immediately across North Shore Dr. from HCA Block 3 Goodman Houses.  Based on a five business day registration period ending August 22, HCA requested Affected Party status to allow Block 3 Member homeowners the opportunity to review the proposal, ask questions and if necessary oppose or request changes in the proposal at the planned September 12, 2017 DRB meeting presentation.  HCA scanned the full DRB proposal package front and back for HCA Member download and review.  Concerned Members should coordinate with Block 3 Director David Pickering, and plan to attend the September 12 DRB meeting. 

LAKE ANNE FELLOWSHIP HOUSE UPDATE

This week RestonNow reported that the Fellowship House redevelopment project is progressing and that team member CPDP stated the following in a June 22 news release:  " ... The new (240-unit senior affordable rent) facility is planned for the eastern (undeveloped) portion of the property.  When it is completed and the residents relocated from the old buildings to the new facility, the existing buildings will be removed and the unused (western, adjacent to Hickory Cluster) portion of the property will be sold for residential development to support the cost of building the new project.  MAC Realty Advisors, a local real estate brokerage firm, has recently been selected as a broker for this portion of the site. ... "  MAC Realty Advisors advertises that it " ... has set numerous pricing records for urban infill and suburban apartment sales. ... "

This indicates that a to-be-determined commercial redeveloper will be purchasing the western portion of the property, and will most likely try to build as many units as allowed by law to generate maximum senior building project funds.  The new buildings may be as close as about 10 feet east of the shared property line approximately 76 feet from Hickory Cluster Block 1 individual carriage house rear property lines.  HCA intends to provide input to RA and the developers to minimize cluster impacts and preserve existing buffer trees, and will post updates on this website when available.

HCA ARCHITECT GOODMAN TYSON'S CLIENT PASSES

The Washington Post reported today that the visionary real estate developer who hired Hickory Cluster Architect Charles M. Goodman, FAIA, to design major Tyson's Corner office parks and The Commons of McLean multi-family apartment complex, WestGroup Management LLC founder Gerald T. Halpin, died August 14, 2017 at age 94.  Like Reston's late founder Robert E. Simon, Jr. earlier at Hickory Cluster, Halpin commissioned Goodman to design notable works of commercial and residential Modern, and later Post-Modern, Architecture.  Goodman's WestGroup buildings exhibited many of the same design elements used earlier at River Park Mutual Homes in Washington, DC and then in Hickory Cluster, including flat roofs, multi-panel and bay window units, and jutting concrete beam ends later expressed as building mass. 

Sadly, many if not most Goodman WestGroup buildings, including The Commons, have been or will be demolished as part of MetroRail Silver Line station area redevelopment to make way for newer, larger, and more profitable buildings.  For more information, also see the HCA Goodman Preservation webpage.

HCA BLOCK 3 ENTRANCE LOT END NO PARKING

HCA will begin a long-overdue street asphalt repaving and repainting project within the next few weeks.  As part of that work, HCA has now posted and will paint the Block 3 entrance parking lot south end as a designated no parking area to be used only for backing out of adjacent east and west spaces.  Effective immediately, residents should park in east and west spaces only.  Residents parked in the end no parking area will be cited and towed at their expense without further notice.  For more information, contact repaving project co-lead Director Jeff Ashley.

HCA RESALE DISCLOSURE DOCS UPDATE

To conserve, protect, and enhance the value of all real property subject to Fairfax County Codes and the Amended Reston Deed, the County, RA, and HCA established standards that govern the upkeep, use, occupancy, condition, and physical appearance of that property.  Upon purchase, HCA Member homeowners agree to maintain their Goodman Houses in compliance with these standards.  If they do not fulfill their obligations, then RA and HCA typically cite them for non-compliance as part of the disclosure process leading to home resale Settlement.  At that point, resolving non-compliant items becomes a negotiated matter between Sellers and Buyers, and Buyers inherit full responsibility for all unresolved non-compliant items.  Unfortunately, some Sellers just pass on these problems to Buyers, some Buyers never resolve them, and the architectural integrity and unique value of Hickory Cluster spirals downward.  So to encourage timely resolution, Goodman design preservation, and higher property values, HCA now advises Buyers within the HCA Compliance Summary and related information that they must resolve non-compliant items within 90 days after Settlement if Sellers have not already resolved them.  If unresolved 90 days after Settlement, HCA will act further to motivate compliance.  In addition, HCA will encourage consistency with RA compliance efforts and documents by providing RA with an official complaint based on the HCA Compliance Summary.  For reference, see RA Cluster Housing Design Guidelines, RA Use and Maintenance Standards, and HCA Governing Documents.

HCA REGULAR MEETING CHANGES @ AUG + SEP

HCA typically holds Regular Meetings on the third Wednesday of each month, except when holidays or other schedules conflict.  However, the Wednesday, August 16 meeting has been rescheduled to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 23, 2017 at RCC Lake Anne to ensure full and timely Executive Session discussion and award of street asphalt re-paving proposals, and to accommodate a key HCA Director unavailable the previous week.  In addition, because of an RCC facility scheduling conflict on Wednesday, September 20, the HCA Regular Meeting that month will be held instead at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, September 21, 2017 at RCC Lake Anne.  As usual, HCA will follow its typical Regular Meeting agenda.