Deadline To Signal Support For Lake Anne Plaza Beautification Project Extended: Correction

CORRECTION (3 p.m.): An early version of this story said he LARCA Board had agreed to the adding $12,000 to its 2022 budget. That is not the case and the story has been updated to reflect that.

RESTON, VA — Negotiations between the Gupta Family Foundation and the condo association representing Lake Anne Plaza property owners over the proposed $25o,000 plaza beautification project are moving forward, according to an email from Shashi Gupta.

"Not sure what the hesitation is for the LARCA Board to commit (not spend) to including $12K in the 2022 budget, but we have agreed to extend the deadline to Dec 6," Gupta said, in his email to Patch. "Heck, it’s less than 1% of their budget."

During a Nov. 18 community meeting at the Reston Community Center, Margaret and Shashi Gupta presented their proposal for the Lake Anne Rising beautification project, which would be paid for with contributions from the community. As seed money, the Guptas pledged a $25,000 grant from their foundation. Their main stipulation was that LARCA ( Lake Anne of Reston, A Condominium Association) would kick in $45,000 and signal their commitment to the project by Dec. 1. They also wanted the board to agree to continue funding landscaping in future budget.

Related: Lake Anne Rising Project Appears To Be Rising From The Ashes

LARCA President George Hadjikyriakou told Patch on Wednesday afternoon the board supported the Guptas' proposal. The board just needed more time to review the 2022 budget, which is due at the end of the month. In addition, the board's lawyers needed to review the Guptas' offer to determine whether the board is allowed to enter into such an arrangement under its bylaws.

As Patch reported on Tuesday, an agreement between the board and the Guptas appeared to have stalled. At that time, Hadjikyriakou said he appreciated the foundation's offer but couldn't commit by the Dec. 1 deadline to supporting the project or authorizing the $45,000 for the beautification when the plaza already was facing an estimated $37 million in infrastructure repairs.

Over the last two years, LARCA's landscaping budget had fallen close to zero, as the board redirected money to pay for emergency repairs and address other infrastructure concerns.
As a result, the plaza's appearance began to deteriorate and the Guptas identified it as an area of concern.

Related: Lake Anne Beautification Stalls Over Deadline, $45K Commitment

While the Guptas waited for the board's answer before the Dec. 1 deadline, a group of nine Lake Anne property owners raised $33,000 toward LARCA's share of the project. From Shashi Gupta's perspective, the LARCA board only had to commit to including the $12,000 in its 2022 budget.

As a trade off, Shashi Gupta extended the deadline to Dec. 6, pushing the completion date of the Lake Anne Rising project back o May 5. In their original proposal, the Guptas gave April 30 as the completion date for the project. That way work would be done in time for the May 1 opening of the Reston Farmers Market.

The proposed beautifications would include filling the plaza's 15 planters with new plants, cleaning concrete and bricks, installing a sign at the entrance of the plaza, and restoring both the Pyramid Park sculpture and the Fonseca Monolith.

To pay for the beautification work, the foundation proposed a budget of $250,000, which would be raised with the following funding program:

• Gupta Family Foundation: $25,000
• LARCA: $45,000
• Reston Community Center (RCC): $50,000
• Reston Association (RA): $25,000
• Community Fundraising: $105,000

With the exception of the $25,000 grant, the other numbers in the foundation's presentation were characterized as aspirational.

With the extended deadline, the LARCA board will have more time to confer with its lawyers to determine if the association's bylaws allowed it to enter into such an agreement and make that monetary commitment. Hadjikyriakou told Patch on Thursday afternoon this was the reason for the board's delay in responding to the Guptas' offer.

Gupta Family Foundation is poised to move forward with the remainder of the project's fundraising, once it receives the OK from LARACA. This will include a sponsorship request to the RCC and a presentation to the RA Board.

With the Gupta Family Foundation acting as project catalyst and sponsor, the Reston Museum will serve as the project's fiscal agent and will host the project website. Public Art Reston (PAR) will provide oversight of the art restorations.

Lou Finch will act as the project director and the Gupta's daughter Radhika Murai would be in charge of fundraising. The fundraising period will last through Jan. 31. Members of the public will have the opportunity to donate at different levels of support.

A five-member advisory council will oversee the project. The council will include the Guptas, a LARCA board member, Renette Oklewicz of the Reston Museum and Maggie Parker of PAR.

On the first page of the Guptas' presentation, the title reads "Lake Anne Rising - Phase 1." When asked what Phase 2 and beyond might be, Shashi Gupta said the beautification project was just the first community funded effort. They designated it "Phase 1" in the hopes the it would serve as model for other future community-funded efforts addressing the ongoing infrastructure issues facing Lake Anne Plaza.