I-66 West Lane Closures Start Tonight — I-66 West in the Vienna area will be reduced to a single travel lane around 10 p.m. today (Friday) and tomorrow with one lane remaining closed during the day on Saturday. The closures are needed to shift the westbound travel lanes between Gallows Road and Nutley Street to new pavement as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project. [VDOT]
Two Injured in McLean House Fire During Storm — Two people went to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries after a house in the 6600 block of Osborn Street caught fire around 9:10 p.m. on Tuesday (Aug. 10). The fire, which displaced five occupants and resulted in approximately $25,000 in damages, was caused by an unattended candle placed too close to curtains during a thunderstorm-induced power outage. [FCFRD]
Craft Beer Restaurant Planned for Tysons Galleria — “Yard House, the casual, craft beer-focused restaurant with a growing Greater Washington presence, will open a new location inside the redeveloped former Macy’s store at the Tysons Galleria. Building permits filed this week with Fairfax County describe the project as eventually spanning 14,236 square feet and entailing an outdoor patio at the redone Galleria space.” [Washington Business Journal]
Falls Church Adds Affordable Housing — Falls Church City bought properties at 310 and 312 Shirley Street for $925,000 each on Wednesday (Aug. 11). The 2,560 square-foot buildings consist of four one-bedroom apartments that will be preserved as market-rate affordable units, joining the 16 such units that the City already owns at 208 Gibson Street and 302 Shirley Street. [City of Falls Church]
More than two years after the idea was first proposed, Metro has the approvals it needs to set the stage for mixed-use development around its West Falls Church station.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced today (Thursday) that it has signed an agreement with a development group that will make over the 24-acre transit station area with more than 1 million square feet of office, retail, and residential space.
Branded FGCP-Metro, LLC, the development partnership consists of EYA, Hoffman & Associates, and Rushmark Properties. EYA and Hoffman are also part of the Falls Church Gateway Partners group behind the West Falls project that got key approvals from the Falls Church City Council earlier this week.
Falls Church News-Press reported on Monday (Aug. 9) that WMATA gave the developers a go-ahead to work on its land that day, according to a spokesperson from the Gateway Partners team.
“Building transit-oriented development is an important strategy for managing many of this region’s most pressing challenges, such as traffic congestion, sustainability, housing production, and transit ridership recovery,” Metro General Manager and CEO Paul Wiedefeld said. “The West Falls Church Metro Station is a unique opportunity that will convert underutilized parking lots to provide housing, jobs and economic opportunities, and create a cohesive development plan with the adjacent publicly-owned sites.”
In its news release, WMATA says the joint development agreement with FGCP-Metro will “generate long-term revenue for Metro through 99-year ground leases, in addition to fares from new ridership.”
Plans to turn the West Falls Church TSA into a mixed-use hub have been in the works since 2018, when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors initiated a study to consider amending the county’s comprehensive plan for the transit station area.
The Metro Board of Directors authorized a solicitation of potential developers to build up the 24 acres of land that it owns by the station in January 2019.
According to a WMATA staff report, a feasibility study completed before the board’s vote determined that the TSA should be reconfigured and redeveloped to create “continuity” with the City of Falls Church’s planned development of the former George Mason High School site as well as a proposed expansion of Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center.
While the West Falls project has moved forward, Virginia Tech abruptly dropped its expansion plans in March, though the change has not significantly altered the other development plans so far.
After two years of study by a task force appointed by Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust, the Fairfax County board approved a West Falls Church TSA comprehensive plan amendment on July 13, paving the way for Metro’s new agreement with developers.
“I am pleased that it envisions a vibrant mixed-use, pedestrian friendly environment and attractive public spaces, while respecting nearby established residential communities,” Foust said of the approved plan, though neighborhood concerns about the potential influx of traffic brought by the new development will need to be addressed.
Now that its agreement with WMATA is in place, FCGP-Metro still needs to get specific plans approved by Fairfax County, a process that is expected to unfold over the next year:
The rezoning application will include the detailed plans for the redevelopment of Metro’s parking lots with apartments, townhomes, neighborhood retail, and public green spaces. It will connect the proposed mixed-use redevelopment of the Meridian High School (formerly George Mason High School) site in the City of Falls Church to the West Falls Church Metro Station with new bike lanes, broad sidewalks, publicly accessible park spaces and a secondary grid of streets that will help alleviate some of the congestion in the area.
WMATA says it will hold a public hearing later this year on proposed changes to the West Falls Church Metro station commuter parking and bus facilities, including a replacement of the existing parking lot, a relocation of the bus bays, and a redesign of the Kiss & Ride facility.
Construction on the overall redevelopment project is expected to begin in 2023.
Tysons Could Get a Rock Climbing Center — An affiliate of the Manassas-based Vertical Rock Climbing & Fitness Center plans to convert the former Hamilton’s Sofa & Leather Gallery at 8461 Leesburg Pike into a rock climbing facility. The 9,220 square-foot space has been leased and is slated to open later this year, but Fairfax County is still processing permit applications to allow the use at that location. [Washington Business Journal]
Tysons Education Nonprofit Honored by General Assembly — Del. Mark Keam (D-35th) presented a signed commendation to the Center for Excellence in Education (7918 Jones Branch Dr.) during the 38-year-old nonprofit’s annual Congressional luncheon on July 15. The State Senate and House of Delegates both approved a proclamation recognizing CEE for promoting science, technology, engineering, and math education with free programs for students and teacher training. [CEE]
Visit Fairfax Joins Regional Sports Tourism Partnership — “The tourism-marketing organizations of Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties on Aug. 10 announced the launch of SportsNOVA, a new regional sports-tourism partnership designed to market Northern Virginia as a premier destination for travel-sports events.” [Sun Gazette]
Maryland Beltway Project Contract Approved — The Maryland Board of Public Works voted 2-1 to approve a “predevelopment agreement” with toll lanes operator Transurban and financial firm Macquarie to design express lanes on I-270 and part of the Capital Beltway. The much-debated project is seen as critical to the success of Virginia’s 495 NEXT project in McLean, which got key federal approvals last month. [The Washington Post]
(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) The Capital One headquarters in Tysons will remain largely empty for a couple of months longer than anticipated.
The financial giant will postpone its plans to bring workers back to offices under a new hybrid model until Nov. 2, two months later than the previously scheduled reopening date of Sept. 7, Capital One CEO Rich Fairbank announced today (Wednesday) in a message to employees.
When offices do reopen, workers, contractors, vendors, and visitors will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be at a Capital One office or campus. Employees will be required to upload proof of their vaccination to be on-site, though details about that process are still forthcoming.
The vaccination requirement will be in place at least through the first quarter of 2022.
Workers who aren’t vaccinated will be permitted to continue working from home, and all employees will be allowed to work remotely during the company’s initial reopening period, though vaccinated associates will be “strongly encouraged” to work in person, according to the message.
Fairbank says he had hoped “high vaccination rates among our associates” would enable Capital One to reopen its U.S. offices in September as planned, but the increased coronavirus transmission across the country fueled by the Delta variant “has put a damper on our aspirations.”
“I know that some associates are unvaccinated at this time and may be disappointed or frustrated by this announcement,” Fairbank said. “But a key prerequisite for a successful return is our associates having confidence in the safety of our work environment. Our announcement today is in service of that objective.”
Capital One is one of Fairfax County’s largest employers with roughly 52,000 workers around the world, about 10,000 of them in the D.C. area, according to WTOP.
The continued closure of the corporation’s headquarters at 1680 Capital One Drive has affected surrounding businesses as well.
The Starbucks in the building has been temporarily closed during the pandemic due to the lack of office workers. A spokesperson for Capital One Center, the mixed-use development forming around the headquarters campus, told Tysons Reporter in June that the coffee franchise plans to reopen the location.
Capital One Center Managing Director Jon Griffith says work on the development will not be affected by the change in the company’s return-to-office plans.
“The opening of the public-facing components of our Tysons footprint…remain unchanged in light of the recent announcement about Capital One’s return to the office plans,” Griffith said in a statement. “We are excited to welcome our Tysons neighbors to the opening of Starr Hill Biergarten at ‘The Perch’ planned later this month and to the opening of Capital One Hall in early October.”
The developer has said that The Perch — a rooftop park with a beer garden — will open this month, followed by The Watermark Hotel on Sept. 21 and Capital One Hall on Oct. 2.
Updated at 4:25 p.m. — A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has now been issued for Fairfax County. In effect until 5 p.m., storms are moving east at 15 miles per hour with 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts that could bring down trees and large branches, potentially leading to power outages.
Earlier: Fairfax County is still in the process of recovering from last night’s storm, and the next one is already on the way.
The National Weather Service has put the entire D.C. region under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 9 p.m., warning of the potential for hail and damaging winds similar to the blasts that disrupted travel and power in the Vienna and Falls Church area yesterday (Tuesday).
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued until 9 PM this evening for all areas east of the Allegheny Front. Damaging winds and large hail will be the primary threat for these storms. pic.twitter.com/CXqq3C1nP4
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) August 11, 2021
[8/11 at 2:15 PM] ⚠️A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect until 9 PM tonight. Potential hazards from these storms include: damaging wind gusts, hail, lightning, and isolated flash flooding. Be prepared to move indoors and know what to do if a warning is issued. #VaWx #BeReady pic.twitter.com/4nGV078aXl
— Ready Fairfax (@ReadyFairfax) August 11, 2021
In addition, a Heat Advisory will remain in effect until 8 p.m. today with an Excessive Heat Watch scheduled to begin at noon tomorrow (Thursday), when the heat index could reach up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fairfax County residents who drive used cars may get a higher vehicle tax bill this year than they were anticipating.
An unusual rise in the value of used cars will result in an average tax increase of $25 for about 12% of county residents, primarily those who own vehicles valued at $20,000 or less, the Fairfax County Department of Tax Administration (DTA) said in a news release yesterday (Tuesday).
“This COVID thing is really making an impact on everything here,” said Juan Rengel, director of the DTA’s Personal Property and Business License Division. “What’s happening with vehicles [is] we are experiencing an increase of about 5% in vehicle values of used cars. Typically, used cars depreciate in value year over year. That’s not the case this year.”
According to Fairfax County, the increase in assessments stems from a reduced supply of vehicles due to global shortages in automobile parts, particularly microchips, and an uptick in demand for used cars over newly manufactured cars from both customers and dealerships.
People holding onto their used cars instead of selling them, low turnover in fleets for rental car companies, and dealerships compensating for the shortage in new vehicles by filling out their lots with used ones are all putting pressure on the used car market, driving up prices, Rengel says.
He added that low interest rates have also been a factor, enabling more people to obtain loans to purchase cars.
Like the rest of Virginia, Fairfax County calculates a vehicle’s assessed value based not on the purchase price, but rather, on the market value of its specific year, make, and model over all the sales for that vehicle as of Jan. 1.
“Whatever the car value is as of January 1, that’s what we use,” Rengel said.
Vehicle taxes can be appealed if the owner believes their vehicle has been overassessed based on body damage, rusting, or high mileage, according to the DTA.
Fairfax County’s current vehicle tax rate is $4.57 per $100 of assessed value. Personal property tax bills will start to go out in the mail soon, with payment for existing and new vehicles registered in the county prior to July 1 due on Oct. 5.
Rengel notes that Virginia partially relieves the tax burden on owners by subsidizing a portion of the first $20,000 of assessed value for vehicles utilized for personal use. This year, the state will pay 57.5% of the tax bill, though owners are required to certify to the county annually that their vehicle remains qualified to receive the subsidy.
According to Rengel, Fairfax County projects that it will collect $496.7 million in personal property tax revenues this year, all of which will go into the county’s general fund that supports schools, public safety, human services, and other government functions.
Though it’s unusual for car values to go up over the course of a year, the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic means vehicle taxes could increase again next year.
“If things continue the way they are, we can see prices going up again in 2022, but of course, we’re speculating for 2022 at this point,” Rengel said.
Photo via Obi Onyeador/Unsplash
Reminder: Heat Advisory Today — A Heat Advisory will be in effect from noon to 8 p.m. today (Wednesday) with heat index values ranging from 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The National Weather Service advices drinking water, staying inside as much as possible, and checking on neighbors with the extreme heat and humidity bringing the risk of heat-related illnesses. [NWS]
Falls Church Gateway Development Approved — “In a series of unanimous 7-0 votes Monday night, the Falls Church City Council gave final decisive approvals to special exceptions and the site plan for the biggest project in the City’s history, a 9.75-acre mixed use development at the site of the now-demolished old George Mason High School property. The project…now awaits a groundbreaking set for early next year.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Northrop Grumman Celebrates Space Launch — The Falls Church-based company launched its 16th mission to resupply the International Space Station at 6:01 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday) from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Named NG-16, this is the fifth mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract with Northrop Grumman. The contract was first awarded in 2008 and covers a minimum of of eight missions to the ISS through 2024. [Office of the Governor]
Meet the New Thoreau MS Principal — “Teresa Khuluki spent the last nine years as principal of Wolftrap Elementary School just north of the town of Vienna. On June 30, she traveled a few miles south to become principal at Thoreau Middle School. Serving as Thoreau Middle’s principal will let her get back to her enthusiasm for working with older, secondary-level students, Khuluki said.” [Sun Gazette]
Updated at 9:45 p.m. — Metro has restored service on the Orange Line between Vienna and East Falls Church after it was suspended earlier due to a power outage at the West Falls Church Metro station.
Earlier: A thunderstorm has taken out power for thousands in the Tysons area, particularly around Vienna, Falls Church, and Merrifield.
The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for northeastern Fairfax County at 5:12 p.m., though by that time, the rumble of thunder had likely alerted anyone in the area.
Moving east at 15 miles per hour, the storm brought 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts, according to the NWS, which warned about the potential for fallen trees and large branches.
“This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles,” the alert said. “Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.”
The storm arrived quickly, leaving many unprepared.
Prob should have put the umbrellas down in Tysons. This poor guy. @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/9SZTfvOlrd
— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) August 10, 2021
At least 51,423 Dominion Energy customers in Fairfax County are now without power, according to the site PowerOutage.US.
Dominion Energy’s outage map shows many of the outages concentrated in Falls Church, Merrifield, and Vienna, where businesses in the commercial area along Maple Avenue and Church Street were among those that lost electricity.
Dominion Energy generally estimates that power will be restored between 7 p.m. and midnight, though the cause of some outages is still under investigation. Most of the outages have been attributed to out circuits, but one affecting more than 5,000 people around Vienna and Oakton is the result of a tree falling on a power line.
Metro has suspended service on the Orange Line between Vienna and East Falls Church due to a loss of power at the West Falls Church station. The transit agency says shuttle buses have been requested.
Orange Line Delay: Train service suspended between Vienna & E Falls Church due to a power outage at W Falls Church. Shuttle buses requested.
— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) August 10, 2021
Power out in Dunn Loring too pic.twitter.com/xwAP95RWMY
— James Holcombe (@jameslholcombe) August 10, 2021
Even with the thunderstorm, Fairfax County can expect little relief from the summer heat and humidity over the next couple of days, with the heat index expected to surpass 100 degrees tomorrow and on Thursday (Aug. 12).
While temperatures in Fairfax County haven’t exactly been comfortable over the past couple of days, the heat is about get worse before easing up at the end of this week.
The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory for the D.C. area, including Fairfax County, that will take effect from noon through 8 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday). An Excessive Heat Watch will follow on Thursday (Aug. 12) over roughly the same time frame.
Forecasts indicate high temperatures of 95 degrees tomorrow and 99 degrees on Thursday in Tysons, but the addition of humidity could make it feel like more than 100 degrees.
Here is more from the alert:
* WHAT…For the Heat Advisory, heat index values will range from around 100 degrees west of Interstate 95 to around 105 degrees near and east of Interstate 95. For the Excessive Heat Watch, dangerously hot conditions are possible with heat indices possibly ranging from around 105 degrees west of Interstate 95 to around 110 degrees near and east of Interstate 95.
* WHERE…The Washington, Baltimore, and Fredericksburg areas, central and southern Maryland, northern Virginia, and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.
* WHEN…For the Heat Advisory, from noon to 8 PM EDT Wednesday. For the Excessive Heat Watch, from Thursday afternoon through early Thursday evening.
* IMPACTS…Extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities.
The NWS advises preparing for the incoming heat by drinking plenty of fluids, staying out of the sun and in air-conditioned rooms when possible, and checking in on relatives and neighbors.
“Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances,” the NWS says in the alert. “This is especially true during warm or hot weather when car interiors can reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
A Heat Advisory has been issued for portions of our area Wednesday as increased heat and humidity will result in heat indices ranging between 100-105 degrees. Slightly hotter conditions expected Thursday, prompting an Excessive Heat Watch. https://t.co/JxQPRW87Gr pic.twitter.com/SbRldDZPPF
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) August 10, 2021
Stay safe this summer and KNOW the symptoms of heat-related illness! ☀️🌡
⬇️Heat safety tips
💧Stay hydrated
🌳Find shade
👶Don't leave kids/pets unattended
🤝Check up on neighbors
🚗LOOK before you LOCKMore info
➡️https://t.co/mZEhRFo8WJ pic.twitter.com/TYUBzq7qWE— Supervisor John Foust (@DranesvilleSup) August 10, 2021
Photo via Ritam Baishya/Unsplash
The McDonald’s at the Pan Am Shopping Center just outside of Vienna has closed.
Located at 3091 Nutley Street, the fast-food chain shared a standalone building in the shopping center with what used to be a Capital One Bank, though that space at 3095 Nutley has been vacated as well.
Neither McDonald’s nor Federal Realty, which owns the Pan Am Shopping Center, returned a request for comment on exactly when the location shuttered and what led to the closure.
Both 3091 and 3095 Nutley Street are now listed as available for leasing on Federal Realty’s webpage for the shopping center.
McDonald’s announced in July 2020 that it was permanently closing 200 stores, most of them in Walmarts. The move focused on “low-volume restaurants” and was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
