Impasse With Lake Anne Board Causes RCC To Move Concert Series To Reston Station

RESTON, VA — For years, Restonians have enjoyed free musical performances during the summer months on Lake Anne Plaza as part of the Take a Break concert series, but that will not be the case this year.

The Reston Community Center is moving its annual summer concert series to Reston Plaza after failing to reach an agreement with the condo association board that manages Lake Anne Plaza.

"The Lake Anne Condominium Association (LARCA) is working on crafting policy for plaza use and an application document that supports that policy, and we ran out of time to properly plan and execute these kinds of events in an orderly way, before they fully developed their policy and their application materials," RCC Executive Director Leila Gordon said, in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Patch obtained a copy of an April 5 email in which Gordon notified the LARCA Board she was rescinding RCC's application to host the summer concert series at Lake Anne Plaza.

"RCC may not enter into agreements that contain the language of the present drafted licensing agreement or under the policy governance of the proposed Plaza use policy under consideration by the board this evening," she wrote in the email.

Since it had taken the board so long to formulate the draft licensing agreement, Gordon wrote that it wouldn't be prudent to host the Take a Break concert series at Lake Anne Plaza this summer.

"As a county agency, RCC can't indemnify or hold harmless any entity, carries self-insurance coverage, and would not be able to make a side agreement to assume responsibilities of our landlord as a function of the landlord accepting responsibility for our costs in presenting events on the Plaza," Gordon wrote. "These issues have been identified via email to board members, CMC Management, and by their forward to LARCA's legal counsel. We are moving forward with our planning in the absence of further information being available to us."

Cheryl Terio-Simon, widow of Reston founder Robert E. Simon, is the landlord of the commercial property occupied by the RCC in Lake Anne Plaza.

Fairfax County has a lease-to-buy agreement with Terio-Simon (Simon Trust) for the property, which is the largest commercial space in the plaza. If all terms of the agreement are met, the county would be able to claim the title for the property on April 30, 2039 by paying her $1.

Patch reached out to the LARCA Board and its lawyer via email on Monday morning and again on Wednesday evening for comment, but no reply has been received. This story will be updated if Patch receives a response from the LARCA Board.

Other events that typically take place during the summer at Lake Anne Plaza include the Pride Festival, the Roots Festival and the Labor Day Jazz and Blues Festival. RCC is not responsible for planning or organizing any of those events, outside of providing sponsorship if such opportunities become available, according to Gordon.

The 2022 Take A Break season will kick off on June 2 with a performance by bluegrass artist Shannon Bielski and Moonlight Drive. The weekly musical performances will continue from 7-8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights into September on the Metro Plaza adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston Metro Station. Concertgoers will be able to have their parking validated by ParkX from 6:30-9:30 p.m.

“The Reston community looks forward to RCC’s summer concert series all over Reston,” said RCC Board Chair Bev Cosham, in a release. “We hope the short distance down the road to Reston Station won’t be inconvenient and that we will see all of our Lake Anne neighbors and friends there.”

Tracey Schar, senior vice president of marketing for Reston Station owner Comstock, said in a release that the company was delighted to host the concert series on Metro Plaza.

“We are proud to partner with Reston Community Center to enhance our 2022 Summerbration entertainment event schedule and look forward to welcoming everyone to Reston Station," she said.