At 7 a.m. on Aug. 7, Mayor Keven LeBlanc attended a ribbon cutting at 348 Elden Street, suite 460. The business was Beignets & Brew, a New Orleans-style beignet and coffee shop. Its regional representative, Travis Loan, told FFXnow that the business chose Herndon for its community and its locally owned businesses.
That breakfast opening came about six weeks before a Fairfax County judge ruled on the block a few hundred feet away. The court case over the nearly five-acre parcel at Elden and Center has no end date. Around that parcel, though, a steady run of openings, programs and dated events is adding, piece by piece, much of what the stalled project was supposed to bring.
Where the Elden and Center block stands
The parcel in question covers nearly five acres in the northeast quadrant of the Elden Street and Center Street intersection. The town transferred it to Comstock for a mixed-use block with apartments, an arts center, retail space and a parking garage. FFXnow reported that Comstock withdrew from the project in December 2024. The final version had called for 273 apartments, 17,600 square feet of retail, a 4,265-square-foot arts center and a 761-space garage. None of it has a construction date today, so those figures describe a plan, not a schedule.
The town sued for the land's return. In an opinion dated Sept. 17, 2026, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Tania M.L. Saylor wrote that the town "is not entitled to a reconveyance of the property." Her reasoning, as FFXnow summarized it, rests on a 2020 amendment that let the developer leave the project without penalty and on the wording of the deed.
Both sides have spoken publicly since then. The town is preparing an appeal, and Mayor LeBlanc's statement said the town "is stunned and disappointed by the court's ruling regarding our land in the heart of our community." Comstock responded with a release that FFXnow quoted:
"We remain willing to keep with our original intent to work with officials on redeveloping a key piece of Herndon's historic downtown into a Class-A mixed-use development."
The mayor's statement says the town will share updates as legal developments progress. Until then, the block's future depends on the appeal timeline, and nobody has published one.
The arts center already has an address
The 4,265-square-foot arts center in that plan was meant for Arts Herndon, the town's nonprofit arts group. Its situation has been uncertain for a while. In March 2025, FFXnow reported that the group was expected to leave its building at 750 Center Street by March 31, 2025. The town had offered a smaller temporary space at 397 Herndon Parkway, and Arts Herndon's leadership said that space wouldn't support its public events.
Nineteen months later, Arts Herndon is still programming at 750 Center Street. It posted a "We're Open!" announcement on June 4, 2026. Its October calendar is one of the fullest in downtown Herndon.
- Livingston: A Life in Color, a gallery exhibit running from Oct. 5 through Dec. 30
- Discover & Share, a Little Free Library and free gallery that runs through Dec. 1
- A nonperishable food and hygiene products drive, Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to noon
- Zen Doodle 2 Workshop with artist Lorrie Herman, also Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at $45 per person with supplies included
- Arts Herndon Halloween Boogie, Friday, Oct. 30
The Halloween Boogie is the group's annual Halloween show. This year's lineup has five bands: JANE. from DC, dogs from Northern Virginia, Druid St0n3 and an invitati0n from Herndon, and The Convulsionistas from Maryland. Doors open at 5 p.m. and music starts at 6. It's all ages and a sober venue. Admission is a $10 to $20 sliding scale, and no one is turned away for lack of funds. Costumes are encouraged, and the group asks guests to bring nonperishable food for unhoused neighbors.
397 Herndon Parkway has its own role this fall. The Herndon Municipal Center is closed for renovation from Oct. 2, 2026 through Jan. 2, 2027, and town services moved to 397 Herndon Parkway starting Oct. 5. Anyone with town business through the holidays should go to that building, not the Municipal Center.
Elden Street filled in from the edges
The stalled plan included 17,600 square feet of new retail at Elden and Center. Over the same stretch of Elden Street, three restaurants opened in existing buildings in about six weeks, with no new construction and no garage.
Beignets & Brew came first, on Aug. 7 at 348 Elden. Three days later, on Aug. 10, Panda Express opened its first Herndon restaurant at 598 Elden Street, according to the company's grand opening announcement on Herndon Patch. It's a drive-through location in a former Burger King building. FFXnow reported that it made a $1,000 donation to Cornerstones at the opening.
The third opened the same day as the court opinion. On Sept. 17, Navarasa by Biryani Grill began its soft opening at 328 Elden Street, according to The Burn. It took over the former Paradise Indian Cuisine space. Its address is a short walk from Beignets & Brew.
Taken together, the three cover breakfast and coffee, a quick drive-through meal and a sit-down dinner. All of them opened in existing storefronts or buildings that were already there.
Out by the Metro, a brewery opens Saturday
The other new opening this month is northeast of downtown, near the Innovation Center Metro station. Voodoo Brewing is scheduled to open Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2311 Dulles Station Boulevard, on the ground floor of Makers Rise. Owner John Curry Lee described the menu to FFXnow as elevated pub fare. The space is planned for 143 indoor seats and 40 on the patio.
That Saturday is a busy one. Arts Herndon's food drive and Zen Doodle workshop run that morning on Center Street, and Voodoo opens later in the day out by the Silver Line.
The downtown calendar from here to the tree lighting
The summer concert season is over. Friday Night Live closed its 2026 schedule with an extended-season show on Sept. 11, featuring Herr Metal and Dr FU. What's left on the fall calendar is smaller and spread out, and most of it falls in the next ten days.
- Thursday, Oct. 22, 8 a.m. to noon. The Herndon Farmers Market runs Thursdays from 8 a.m. to noon at 765 Lynn Street. New vendors this season include Karya Kuisine, Meltwin Kitchen, Sicilian Mom and The Avo Bar. Returning vendors include Amazónica Coffee Espresso Bar, Bad Ass Pickles, Baguette Republic, BlackStone Honey Bee Farms, Chunker's Bakery, Grace's Pastries, House of Empanadas, Mt Olympus Berry Farm and Wine'ing Butcher. Fairfax County runs a food scrap composting drop-off at the market.
- Saturday, Oct. 24. Morning food drive and Zen Doodle workshop at Arts Herndon, then Voodoo Brewing's opening day at Makers Rise.
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 8 a.m. to noon. The town lists the market season as running through Oct. 30, which is a Friday. That makes Oct. 29 the last Thursday market of 2026.
- Friday, Oct. 30, from 5 p.m. Arts Herndon Halloween Boogie at 750 Center Street.
- Through Dec. 30. The Livingston exhibit stays up at Arts Herndon through the holidays.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 to 6:30 p.m. The town's free Holiday Tree Lighting & Sing-Along at Town Hall Square. An older town page lists Dec. 6, but the 2026 event page says Dec. 5.
The block at Elden and Center has no date on that list, and it won't get one until the appeal plays out. Meanwhile, the Center Street gallery stays open into December, and the three new Elden Street restaurants are already serving.
If you'd like to talk through how downtown Herndon's changes might affect a home you own or one you're considering nearby, the team at Paul Wesley Real Estate follows these local updates closely and is always glad to share what we know. Contact us whenever the timing feels right.
