South Block is now opening the doors to its new home in the Town of Vienna.
The juice and smoothie bar left its location at Jammin Java and plans to officially open next week at 207 E. Maple Avenue.
Amir Mostafavi, the owner, shared on the public Facebook group Vienna VA Foodies yesterday that the new location is doing a soft opening this week via Uber Eats from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The menu includes cold-pressed juice, toast and salad, smoothies and bowls.
Mostafavi said that Monday, July 6, will be the spot’s official opening date.
“We are so excited to be a part of this amazing community! I grew up in McLean… so this spot hits really close to ‘home’ for me!” Mostafavi wrote.
Photo via South Block/Facebook
Georgetown Pike Reopened — Westbound Georgetown Pike near Bellview Road in McLean was closed earlier this morning due to a tree that fell into power lines. [Fairfax County Police/Twitter]
Sizable Sale — “The McLean estate of Janice Smith, ex-wife of former ABC News White House correspondent Sam Donaldson, has sold for $24 million.” [Washington Business Journal]
Federal Report Finds Failures With Virginia DOE — “A new federal report finds systemic failures in how the Virginia Department of Education monitors and responds to special education complaints against local school districts.” [Inside NoVa]
It’s beginning to look a lot like – a fire station! Construction of new Station 44, Scotts Run, continues to progress nicely! New station is being built as part of a development condition to meet growing needs for emergency services in Tysons area. #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/XlYfayvOow
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) June 26, 2020
Fairfax County planners support proposals to construct a mixed-use building — rather than two residential towers — over a parking podium in the Scotts Run development.
The developer, Cityline Partners, is looking to have the newly proposed 25-story building contain roughly 450,000 square feet of residential ground floor area and 15,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. The building would have 447 residential units, according to the staff report.
Cityline also wants to modify the parking podium by adding retail along with the above-grade parking, according to the staff report. Proffers limit the parking to 80 feet, and the developer plans to stay within the allotted height range, the report said.
“With the use of glass and masonry, the podium is designed to suggest occupied space rather than a parking garage,” the report noted.
The proposals would tweak some aspects of the Scotts Run development, which will span approximately 40 acres near the McLean Metro station. The overall development will add retail, office and residential spaces along with a new grid of streets.
While the county’s planners support the proposal, the staff report noted ways the developer could improve the project’s aesthetics, like “additional attention to architectural features, such as canopies.”
More from the staff report:
Staff continues to recommend that the applicant refine the vertical banding on the building façade to create a continuous line between levels and further compliment the backlit podium treatment in order to accentuate the impression that those levels are occupied space and de-emphasize that they are structured parking.
The staff reported noted that the change from two towers to one building would not significantly impact Tysons’ skyline.
” Staff believes that the proposed changes do not present any substantial land use issues and the proposal remains in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan,” the report said.
The Planning Commission will consider the proposed changes on Wednesday, July 8.
Image via Fairfax County
Updated 3:05 p.m. — Around 3 p.m., the fire department tweeted that the gas leak has stopped and the road closure should end soon.
Several residents have been evacuated following a gas leak that crews are working to fix in Tysons this afternoon.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue tweeted shortly after 1 p.m. that crews were working on the leaking four-inch gas line at Gallows Branch Road and Kidwell Drive.
About 30 minutes later, the fire department added that nearby residents had been evacuated “in [an] abundance of caution” and that the gas company’s crews were working to fix the leak.
Because of the leak, Gallows Road at Gallows Branch Road is closed and drivers can expect delays, the fire department tweeted.
People should avoid the area, according to the fire department.
UPDATE: leak stopped. Situation stable. Most units returning to service. Gallows Road/Gallows Branch Road should be open soon. Avoid area. Expect delays. #FCFRD #traffic https://t.co/OQVqqJi4BC
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) June 29, 2020
Photo via Fairfax Fire/Rescue/Twitter
Peet’s Coffee won’t reopen its doors in the Town of Vienna.
A Peet’s spokesperson confirmed to Tysons Reporter that the Vienna location (332 Maple Ave E.) is permanently closed. The spot is still listed at “temporarily closed” on the coffee chain’s website.
The spokesperson did not respond to questions about when or why the Vienna store closed and instead offered a statement saying that Peet’s opens and closes coffee locations each year for different reasons.
“While not easy decisions, regional adjustments to our coffeebar presence are important for effectively managing our resources and for developing our business,” the statement said.
The statement went on to say that Peet’s works with employees from its closed shops to find them jobs at other Peet’s locations.
While the company is no longer in Vienna, coffee drinkers can still find Peet’s in the Tysons-area.
The Peet’s mobile app shows that the Tysons location (8150 Leesburg Pike) is accepting orders. Tysons Reporter reached out today (Monday) about the status of the shop at Tysons Station and will provide an update.
Image via Google Maps
Repairs are almost done along Leesburg Pike in Tysons as part of the Silver Line’s first phase.
The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project shared photos of the concrete work on a new ramp along westbound Leesburg Pike, finished sidewalk repairs near the Spring Hill Metro station and finished work on the sidewalk, curb and gutter near Spring Hill Road.
Silver Line Phase 1 includes the four stations (McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro and Spring Hill) in Tysons along with the Wiehle-Reston East station.
“Crews will finish repairs along Route 7 and will complete final clean up and punch list items by the end of June according to a project executive,” according to the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
Previously, the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project shared updates in April on crews placing concrete near Leesburg Pike for a new ADA ramp and excavation work along Old Meadow Road.
Photos courtesy Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project
Microsoft Closing Physical Stores — “Microsoft Corp. is closing its physical retail stores around the world… Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) lists a total of 72 stores in the United States, with three mall locations in Greater Washington: Westfield Montgomery in Bethesda, Fashion Centre at Pentagon City and Tysons Corner Center.” [Washington Business Journal]
Latest on COVID-19 Cases — “As the world topped 10 million coronavirus cases, the spread of the virus in Northern Virginia continues to stabilize, according to Sunday’s report from the Virginia Department of Health.” [Inside NoVa]
“Get It to Zero!” Campaign — “The Northern Virginia Regional Commission, which is working with local governments to coordinate the region’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, has released a new video encouraging area residents to help bring the number of positive tests to zero.” [Inside NoVa]
Battle the Beetle — “It has not yet been detected in Fairfax County, but the county government is asking local residents to be on the lookout for the Asian longhorned beetle, which has been found in other areas of the country and is very destructive to hardwood trees.” [Inside NoVa]
Metro’s Plans for Fourth of July — “Metro will run more frequent trains and extend service beyond 9 p.m. at designated stations closest to the National Mall.” [WMATA]
Silver Line Shutdown’s Impact on Tysons — “When Metrorail’s Silver Line opened in 2014, officials had high hopes for its ridership numbers. Though it ultimately did not meet those expectations, it fared better than other lines that have lost ridership since the Silver Line’s launch.” [Greater Greater Washington]
The “Tysons After Dark” series highlights different activities that keep people busy once the sun goes down.
Movie-goers have three different drive-in movie options this summer in the Tysons area.
The various screenings recommend that people get their tickets sooner rather than later due to limited capacity. Here’s where people can find the drive-in movies and which dates still have tickets available.
Mosaic District
Tonight, drive-in movies kick off at the Mosaic District with “Captain Marvel.”
People must stay in their vehicles on the seventh floor of the Market parking lot to watch the movies, which will have captions and audio via an FM transmitter on the radio. Movie-theater inspired fare from Alta Strada will be available to order.
While tickets have sold out for tonight’s show and the double feature — “Toy Story 4” and “Jurassic Park” — on Friday, July 24, tickets have not gone on sale for the yet-to-be-announced films on Friday, Aug. 28.
The Boro
Last week, The Boro started off its four-week-long screenings with “Dreamgirls.” The drive-in at The Boro has a pedestrian-only section along with spaces for cars and offers extended restaurant outdoor seating and live entertainment.
“The entire series is sold out, but we are opening a limited number of spots to each upcoming movie at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning!” a post on The Boro’s Facebook page said on Tuesday. Tysons Reporter previously wrote about the full line-up of family-friendly films.
Capital One Center
Capital One Center will soon have drive-in movies from July 11 to Aug. 2 to fundraise for Second Story, a local nonprofit that helps people seeking food, shelter and emergency support.
While the movies at the McLean Metro lot (1820 Dolley Madison Blvd) are free, Capital One is asking people to make a $25 donation when they register.
“How to Train Your Dragon,” which is the series’ first movie on Saturday, July 11, still has available slots. The movies for July 12 ad July 18-19 are sold out.
Registration will open on July 13 for:
- Saturday, July 25: “Shrek”
- Sunday, July 26: “A League of Their Own”
- Saturday, Aug. 1: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
- Sunday, Aug. 2: “Footloose”
Food will be available from Curbside Kitchen. Movie-goers must stay in their vehicles.
Photo via The Boro Tysons/Facebook
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn is inviting locals to join his upcoming virtual event with Fairfax County’s police chief.
Alcorn plans to host the virtual town hall with Chief of Police Edwin Roessler Jr. from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1.
Hunter Mill District residents can join in the discussion on the police department and the community by asking questions or providing input on policing topics, according to an email from Alcorn’s office. People who cannot attend the event live can email questions to the Hunter Mill District Office.
Participants will have a number of ways of joining the town hall, which will be hosted on Webex.
People can either register to attend via Webex, watch on YouTube Live or listen in by calling 1-408-418-9388 and using the access code 129 359 7948.
Once the event ends, the YouTube video will be available on the Hunter Mill District website sometime on Thursday evening, according to the email.
Alcorn photo via Supervisor Walter Alcorn/Facebook, Roessler photo via Fairfax County
Several Tysons-area fireworks and festivities for Independence Day have been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
The McLean Community Center. Town of Vienna and City of Falls Church called off their fireworks display. Falls Church said that it canceled the fireworks due to construction on the new George Mason High School.
“The city previously said an alternative event would be planned,” Patch reported on Falls Church. “The Recreation and Parks Department is putting together a virtual scavenger hunt for the Fourth of July. Details will be announced at a later time.”
Fireworks are still set to take place in D.C., though.
People in Vienna looking for an alternative can order a “4th of July in a Box” package for $20. Meanwhile, Fairfax County has advice for using fireworks safely and determining which are illegal and legal.
Let us know in the poll below what you plan to do for the Fourth of July.
Photo by Sheri Hooley on Unsplash
