Man Arrested for Tysons BASE Jumping Incidents — A 70-year-old contractor faces trespassing charges after allegedly parachuting off one of the office towers currently under construction at Capital One Center on Oct. 11. Police believe Chuck Moeser has also jumped from other buildings in Tysons, including the Lumen Apartments building and the Capital One building that houses Wegmans. [The Washington Post]
Metro to Start Returning Some Trains to Service — The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission reported “no technical objections” to Metro’s plan to return up to 336 of its 7000-series railcars to passenger service. The transit agency says it will phase these trains in through the end of this year before pausing for 90 days to assess operations. [WMATA]
Taxicab Demand Declines in Fairfax County — “For a variety of factors — from the popularity of ride-sharing services to more housing being built near Metrorail stations to the ongoing COVID pandemic — the overall fleet of taxicabs in Fairfax County has fallen by more than two-thirds in recent years. The Board of Supervisors…voted unanimously Dec. 6 not to issue any additional taxicab certificates this year and keep the limit at the current 654.” [Sun Gazette]
Vienna Invites Families to Daytime New Year’s Eve Party — “Vienna will get its own New Year’s celebration, albeit 12 hours before the countdown to 2022. Noon Year’s Eve will be hosted on Friday, Dec. 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cedar Park Shopping Center parking lot…There will be a live DJ, pop-up artisan market, games, giveaways, crafts, a noon countdown celebration and more.” [Patch]
Tysons Partnership is getting a new leader.
Starting on Jan. 1, Richard Bradley will serve as acting executive director of the nonprofit, which is charged with helping Fairfax County fulfill its vision for Tysons, Tysons Partnership said in a news release this morning (Tuesday).
A principal at the consulting firm The Urban Partnership, Bradley has been involved in economic development efforts in D.C., Arlington’s National Landing, and Maryland.
He will succeed Sol Glasner, who has served as the organization’s president and CEO since 2017. He announced in August that he will retire on Dec. 31.
Tysons Partnership says Bradley emerged as an appropriate choice to take over based on the past year that he has spent advising the organization, which has been working on a rebranding and searching for a new, more sustainable business model.
This past summer, Tysons Partnership also received $250,000 in Economic Opportunity Reserve funds from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to support its branding efforts, including the transformation of the former Container Store on Leesburg Pike into a community event venue now called The PARC at Tysons.
“Rich is a seasoned professional with decades of experience as an advocate and champion for livable urban management districts in this region and throughout the world,” Tysons Partnership Board Chair Josh White said in a statement. “He has spearheaded numerous strategic planning efforts and headed up transportation management programs, so really is a perfect fit for the Partnership’s current needs.”
Tysons Partnership also announced that Drew Sunderland, its current communications director, has been promoted to deputy director, putting him in charge of overseeing the organization’s daily operations.
In addition, the partnership’s board of directors has approved a resolution endorsing Fairfax County’s One Fairfax equity policy as a guide that it will use to make Tysons “an inclusive urban community.”
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors thanked Glasner for his Tysons Partnership work last week with the passage of a joint board matter put forward by Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik.
“The County is working closely with Tysons Partnership to determine best practices and the best approach for a transition,” Palchik said in the news release. “Rich is helping to frame the picture and providing guidance through his connections to the International Downtown Association. Both the County and the Partnership benefit from his experience as we work together to define what a future anchor organization for Tysons might look like.”
Here is more on Bradley from the press release:
Rich Bradley is a principal in The Urban Partnership, a consulting firm offering a range of innovative urban planning, development and management solutions.
A few of the region’s most successful economic development growth areas have sought Bradley’s expertise including most recently, the National Landing Business Improvement District (BID), Friendship Heights Business Alliance and the incoming Silver Spring BID, in addition to his work with Congress Heights and DowntownDC BID. He is recognized as an urban management leader in developing or refining strategies for improving the effectiveness of urban management organizations and the vitality of their areas.
Bradley was the founding Executive Director of the DowntownDC BID, where he served for 17 years and oversaw an $11 million program of special services and catalytic planning and place making which helped spark the economic renewal of Washington DC’s downtown core.
Joint Statement Released on Settlement of FCPS Disability Lawsuit — As first reported by The Washington Post in late November, Fairfax County Public Schools has settled a lawsuit over its use of restraint and seclusion on students with disabilities. The students and disability advocacy organizations that filed the case say they hope “this resolution will ensure that no other student will ever have to experience such trauma.” [FCPS]
Thousands Donate Child Face Masks to County — “Thank you to the community for coming together to donate child face masks! We have collected 12,065 masks! Thank you to @FairfaxCountyPD for hosting the donations bin and @VolunteerFFX for all your help putting together donations!” [Ready Fairfax/Twitter]
Metro to Testify on Safety Issues in Congress — Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th) says he will call on Metro’s top leaders to testify at a congressional hearing about the safety issues spotlighted by October’s train derailment, which have kept more than half the transit agency’s fleet out of commission for almost two months now. Connolly, who represents Fairfax County, calls Metro’s failure to report the issues when they were discovered years ago “a mortal sin.” [NBC4]
Fairfax Stands Alone With Court Records Paywall — “While all other Northern Virginia jurisdictions provide free, remote public access to basic docket information for individual criminal and civil cases in circuit court, Fairfax County’s CPAN system costs $150 per quarter, or $600 per year.” [WTOP]
I-495 Lane Closures in Tysons Continue — “Lane closures and ramp closures on I-495 North and I-66 East will be implemented during the overnight hours again this week, December 13-17, as bridge beam installation for a new flyover ramp from I-495 North to I-66 West continues at the I-66/I-495 Interchange as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project.” [VDOT]
With plans to develop the West Falls Church Metro station area now in place, Fairfax County has decided to evaluate how to improve the surrounding transportation network so it can actually accommodate the anticipated growth.
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation will kick off a West Falls Church Active Transportation Study at 7 p.m. today (Monday) with the first meeting of a new citizens’ advisory group.
The study will focus on the pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in and around the West Falls Church Transit Station Area, which is bounded by I-66, the Dulles Toll Road, Haycock Road, and the Falls Church City border near Route 7.
“The ultimate goal of the study effort will be to improve pedestrian and bike access and safety around the Metro station,” Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said by email. “To the extent located in the study area, safe access to several schools, including Lemon Road and Haycock [elementary schools] in the Dranesville District, will also be considered.”
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed staff to create an active transportation plan in July after approving an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan that allows more mixed-use development in the West Falls Church TSA.
While Virginia Tech halted plans to redevelop its West Falls Church campus earlier this year, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officially signed an agreement with developers in August to bring over 1 million square feet of residential, retail, and office space to the TSA.
Coupled with Falls Church City’s impending West Falls project, the development could draw an influx of residents and traffic that has community members pushing the county to address existing safety challenges and enhance streets and sidewalks not built to support the increased density.
The West Falls Church Active Transportation Study will identify possible projects to improve safety, accessibility, comfort, and connectivity for bicyclists, pedestrians, and other non-motorized travelers, according to a draft scope of work.
In addition to providing “multiple opportunities for community input,” county staff will conduct an assessment of existing facility gaps and barriers to access in conjunction with the 13-person advisory group, which will consist of:
- Three representatives each from the Dranesville and Providence districts
- Two representatives each from Dranesville and Providence school PTAs in the study area
- One representative each from the McLean Citizens Association, Providence District Council, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, and Fairfax Families for Safer Streets
The citizen group will be assisted by a technical advisory group with local and state transportation, schools, parks, and police officials as well as one representative each from Metro, the City of Falls Church, and Virginia Tech.
Noting that the study will encompass both sides of Route 7, Foust points to Haycock Road between Great Falls Street and the Metro station as one area he anticipates will get a lot of attention.
“The sidewalk is very narrow and needs to be improved,” he said. “I also expect [the advisory group] will identify many intersections where we need to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.”
A tentative timeline for the study has an initial public meeting taking place this winter, followed by the completion of the existing conditions assessment in the late winter or early spring. A final report with recommendations is scheduled to go to the Board of Supervisors in summer 2022.
Foust says the study will establish priorities among the identified projects, which could be funded privately through the county’s rezoning process or compete for public money.
(Updated at 5:55 p.m.) Rape Case Moves to Supreme Court — “A Virginia man who’s serving 65 years in prison for brutally raping two lifeguards in Alexandria and Fairfax County will ask Virginia’s Supreme Court to overturn his convictions, based on the way he was caught. On Tuesday, attorneys for Jesse Bjerke will ask the commonwealth’s highest court to throw out his 2020 conviction and sentence for attacking lifeguards at deserted pools in Fairfax in 2014 and Alexandria in 2016.” [WTOP]
Restaurants Confirmed for Founders Row — Four tenants, all restaurants, have signed leases for a total of 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space at Falls Church’s Founders Row, developers told the city council’s economic development committee yesterday. The restaurants offer seafood, upscale Asian cuisine, healthy Asian street food location, and ‘elegant modern American cuisine.'” [Falls Church News-Press]
Mosaic District Apparel Company Makes Acquisition — “Custom Ink LLC is finally coming up for air after a very tough 2020…First, the Fairfax custom printing and retail startup is fresh off an acquisition of New York-based corporate gifting company Swag.com, and revenue is around $500 million a year, [CEO Marc] Katz said, up both from 2020 and from 2019, though he declined to share more specifics.” [Washington Business Journal]
Commercial Burglaries Reported — Three commercial burglaries occurred in the Mosaic McLean District last Wednesday and Thursday (Dec. 8-9). The targeted businesses were a Shell gas station and Sun Cleaners on Chain Bridge Road as well as Tysons Florist, where someone painted the walls with graffiti in addition to taking property. [FCPD]
Vienna Chiropractor Prepares for Retirement — “‘I fell in love 34 years ago and as I drove down Maple Avenue on a Sunday morning and found my office space, and I said a little prayer,’ Avedisian said. ‘And the next morning I was signing a lease. I felt very connected, it felt home and felt like this is where I belong.'” [Patch]
The weekend is almost here. Before you start parsing Fairfax County’s new electoral district map or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit news from the Tysons area that you might’ve missed.
These were the most-read stories on Tysons Reporter this week:
- Redevelopment considered for Pan Am Shopping Center
- JUST IN: Vehicle crash takes out power in Falls Church City
- Tysons Galleria department store builds holiday buzz with first Black Santa
- Townhome project by Graham Park Shopping Center breaks ground
- Vienna to replace invasive trees, thanks to anonymous $20,000 donation
Ideas for stories we should cover can be sent to [email protected] or submitted as an anonymous tip. Photos of scenes from around the community are welcome too, with credit always given to the photographer.
You can find previous rundowns of top stories on the site.
Mixed-use development in the MetroWest community near the Vienna Metro station is a step closer to becoming a reality.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday (Dec. 8) to recommend approval of developer Pulte Homes’ applications to construct five residential buildings with 480 units and 35,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
The plans also include at least 35% open space, a childcare center, a residents-only pool and pool house, a 1,150 square-foot community center with WiFi and meeting space on the ground floor of building 16, and a community park that will be open to the public.
Set for a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors public hearing on Jan. 25, the proposal is expected to revive efforts to bring retail and other amenities to MetroWest more than a decade after the development was originally approved.
“This application is a welcome catalyst for action and will help us realize the [Fairfax County] Comprehensive Plan’s vision for mixed-use, transit-oriented development at the Vienna Metro station,” Providence District Commissioner Phil Niedzielski-Eichner said.
Submitted to the county last December, Pulte’s proposed changes to its development plans and proffers primarily concern the planned daycare center, which was relocated and will now have an enrollment cap of 150 children, up from 100.
The developer also sought to remove a restriction that limited it to a certain number of residences until buildings with non-residential uses are also put in place.
Since the original MetroWest plans were approved in 2006, the 56-acre site has gained 860 dwelling units in the form of townhouses, senior housing in The Atrium, and The Providence, an assisted living facility that opened in March.
However, the plan’s non-residential elements stalled amid a changing real estate market and disputes between Pulte and fellow developer CRC Companies, which is responsible for building a town center on the north side of the development.
County staff said at a public hearing on Nov. 3 that the limit on residential construction was put in place after previous promises of mixed-use development around the Vienna Metro station failed to materialize.
Niedzielski-Eichner said on Wednesday that Pulte has now committed to constructing at least one building with non-residential uses before starting the second of two remaining fully residential structures.
“We’re holding the 4th building to accommodate what we thought was a reasonable request from the Planning Staff,” DLA Piper land-use lawyer Antonio Calabrese, who is representing Pulte, told Tysons Reporter by email. “The County wants to be certain that we have completed the attractive MetroWest swimming pool, children’s play area and large courtyard prior to final occupancy of our 4-building land bay.”
Pulte continued revising its proffer conditions up to the day of the planning commission vote to address lingering concerns about the retail, pedestrian accessibility, the daycare center, and electric vehicle infrastructure.
According to a 16-page memo from Pulte and markups of the proffer agreement that Fairfax County’s planning department shared with Tysons Reporter, the additional commitments include:
- At least 5,000 square feet of non-residential space on the ground floors of buildings 16, 17, and 18 must be “Type 1” uses, including retail sales, food, financial, and personal service establishments
- Parallel parking spaces and tree wells designed with accessibility in mind
- A 9,500 square-foot cap on the daycare center
- Priority access to the daycare for MetroWest residents with an exclusive grand opening, additional marketing, and a waitlist of interested, qualified families
- An increase in parking outfitted for electric vehicle charging from 2% to 4%
The proffers will all be part of the formal proffer agreement presented to the Board of Supervisors in January, the county planning department says.
Niedzielski-Eichner also reported that negotiations to resolve ongoing conflicts between Pulte and CRC “appear on track to finding solutions that will facilitate the full restart of MetroWest development.”
CRC filed site plans for two of its five planned buildings on Aug. 31 that are under review by county staff. The developer has said it anticipates breaking ground in mid-2022.
“We’ve held very fruitful discussions with CRC and look forward to continuing our productive collaboration,” Calabrese said. “Both entities have a vested interest in completing their high-quality plans within MetroWest.”
Omicron Variant of COVID-19 Found in Virginia — Yesterday (Thursday), the Virginia Department of Health confirmed the state’s first case of the omicron variant that was first identified in Botswana and South Africa in November. The sample came from an adult in the northwest region who had no history of international travel, but did travel domestically during the exposure period. [VDH]
Tysons Event Company Is Now Public — “Event management company Cvent has once again become a public traded company. As of Thursday morning, the firm began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker CVT following the close of a merger deal with special purpose acquisition company Dragoneer Growth Opportunities Corp. II.” [Technicl.ly]
Local Startup Raises $7 Million — “Tysons tech startup Datasembly, which gives grocers and other retailers real-time product pricing data, has raised millions in new funding to hire aggressively and get its analytics platform to more customers in a period of pandemic-fueled demand.” [DC Inno]
Washington Post Reviews Local Selfie Wrld — “I have feelings about Selfie Wrld, an Instagram selfie studio tucked away in the Tysons Corner Center mall; feelings I considered while attempting to make a sultry, thoughtful face while uncomfortably posed on a hard red plastic couch shaped like a pair of lips, in a red room, beneath a red neon sign that said ‘Feelings,’ because nothing about this place is subtle.” [The Washington Post]
Voting Starts for Vienna Holiday Lights Contest — “As homes and businesses get decorated for the holiday season in Vienna, it’s time to vote for the best displays in town. The annual Vienna Holiday Decorating Contest is now open for voting through Dec. 16.” [Patch]
Vehicle manufacturers at Tysons Corner Center can now let customers purchase a car on-site and drive away with it.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to grant the mall’s request that vehicle sales be a permitted use in its parking garages after a public hearing on Tuesday (Dec. 7).
Under the approved plan, Tysons Corner Center can allocate 30 parking spaces each to up to eight different vehicle manufacturers for vehicle storage and sales. The designated spaces will account for 240 out of the roughly 11,000 spaces available at the mall.
Tenants are prohibited from using the spaces to provide vehicle services, and the mall has committed to limiting loading activities to outside its operating hours, so they won’t disrupt customer traffic, Fairfax County Zoning Evaluation Division Director Tracy Strunk told the board.
“No outdoor display is going to be permitted. That’s one of the development conditions,” said Brian Clifford, a land-use planner with DLA Piper who represented Tysons Corner Center at the hearing. “At the moment, we only have two [tenants], but we asked for eight total just for the sake of flexibility, and there’s nothing that could limit another manufacturer from coming.”
The mall’s two current vehicle manufacturers are Tesla, which also has a store on Tyco Road, and Lucid Motors, which opened a showroom on Nov. 6.
According to Tysons Corner Center’s rezoning application, Tesla was allowed to have six designated parking spaces, including two electric chargers, to store vehicles when the county permitted its showroom in 2012, but customers couldn’t make purchases directly from the showrooms.
Instead, customers order a vehicle, make a deposit, and have the car delivered to them at a later date, according to Clifford.
He says allowing on-site vehicle sales will put Tysons Corner Center “at the forefront of the vehicle sales industry,” allowing the showrooms to offer a standard car dealership service but in an environment similar to other mall retail stores.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended on Nov. 17 that the supervisors approve the mall’s application, a decision also supported by county staff.
Lucid Motors is also planning to open a store and service center at Tysons Galleria. That proposal got the planning commission’s approval on Oct. 20 and was later granted by the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 9.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said she believes the addition of auto sales at Tysons Corner Center will add to the mall’s vitality.
“I did get a chance to swing by on the opening day of the Lucid location recently — very enthusiastic public, very well-displayed,” Palchik said. “I look forward to seeing more of these electric vehicle sales coming to our county, especially Tysons.”
(Updated at 9:35 am. on 12/10/2021) The Highland District apartments — now branded The Rylan — are on their way toward completion next year.
Construction crews are now adding floors and setting the wooden framework in place for a five-story complex with 390 units of multifamily housing at 1768 Old Meadow Road.
Despite supply-chain issues making it harder to obtain materials, the project remains on track to be finished in summer 2022, according to Josh Wooldridge of The NRP Group, the developer behind The Rylan.
However, don’t expect a restaurant or coffee shop to follow suit.
When Fairfax County approved the Highland District in 2016, plans for the mixed-use development along Old Meadow Road featured a commitment to between 10,000 and 37,000 square feet of retail and service space.
That now appears unlikely to come to fruition, according to Wooldridge.
The Rylan was previously envisioned with 5,000 square feet of retail under original developer MRP Realty, but the current developers chose to go entirely residential, he says.
NRP specializes in apartment development, and there was no mention of retail when the company announced in May 2020 that it had partnered with real estate firm PointOne Holdings to work on the building.
“Essentially, there’s no market for it,” Wooldridge told Tysons Reporter. “When you put just a little bit of retail in these buildings, it almost never succeeds.”
While having ground-floor retail to serve residents sounds appealing, it’s risky unless the property lands a major brand like Starbucks, Wooldridge says, pointing to the closure of Republik Coffee Bar in Highgate at The Mile as an example.
He also says Tysons East is becoming “over-retailed,” noting that the initial proposal for The Rylan is dwarfed by the nearby Scotts Run development, where The Heming apartment building alone is expected to boast 38,000 square feet of commercial space.
Retail is also out at The Bexley, the condominium complex across the street that developer NV Homes completed in 2020. Wooldridge says that, as far as NRP is aware, the owners of the three other parcels designated for the Highland District have no plans to redevelop them, instead leaving the existing office buildings in place.
Despite the change in plans, Wooldridge says NRP is “really excited about what’s happening in Tysons,” noting The Rylan’s proximity to the Capital One headquarters and Fairfax County’s recently added recreational trail along Scott’s Run.
“So, you’re going to be able to walk from our site along that path up to the [McLean] Metro,” he said.
He also noted that the apartment building will benefit from the future pedestrian bridge connecting Old Meadow Road to Tysons Corner Center over I-495. A crew is currently preparing the site for the Virginia Department of Transportation project.
“On the weekend, weather’s nice, real easy walk over to the movie theater and to the food court at the mall,” Wooldridge said.
Amenities will include a resident clubroom with gaming rooms, working areas and a doorman, infinity edge pool, yoga lawns, outdoor activity areas, outdoor grilling areas, and a warehouse-style fitness center with separate spin and cardio studios, PointOne Holdings previously said.
The development will also have pocket parks, according to Woolridge.
Pricing could be released in the spring.
David Taube contributed to this report.
