(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Shoppers can find more than take-out from restaurants at Tysons Corner Center now that the mall is back open.

It is one of 20 malls that operator Macerich announced today (Tuesday) has fully reopened.

Fox 5 reported that shoppers at Forever 21, Kay Jewelers and more confused some people, but noted that Gov. Ralph Northam’s temporary restrictions due to COVID-19 say that non-essential businesses can stay open if they limit customers to 10 people or less.

Shoppers at Tysons Corner Center can expect “enhanced sanitation practices and social distancing protocols in place,” according to Macerich’s announcement.

“Nationwide, our centers create employment for more than 110,000 people, and our portfolio generates approximately $1.1 billion in sales tax revenues and $225 million in property taxes that support essential services at every level,” Thomas O’Hern, Macerich’s CEO, said.

Previously, Macerich has stated that keeping Tysons Corner Center open — while other malls operators closed — helps employees at the mall.

“Local economies depend on us, and our retailers are eager and ready to open for business in a safe, carefully planned, well-executed manner,” O’Hern said in the announcement.

Macerich’s CFO recently said that about 26% of billed rent for Macerich malls were collected in April.

The Town of Vienna’s election is underway, and voters have less than four hours to vote in-person or drop off their ballots.

As masked voters file into the Vienna Community Center or drive to the  Fairfax County Government Center to drop off their ballots in a special box, Tysons Reporter is exploring what civic duty looks like during a pandemic.

Voter turnout has typically fluctuated between 5% and 23% for the town’s elections for the last 20 years. But that may change this year.

“Traditionally, for municipal elections, it’s hard to get a good turnout,” Councilmember Howard Springsteen, who is running for the mayor’s seat, told Tysons Reporter.

Starting in March, Fairfax County officials took to social media to encourage Vienna voters to use the “disability or illness” box when requesting absentee ballots, hoping that mail-in ballots would decrease long lines for in-person voting.

The reminders worked. Vienna voters requested more than 3,200 absentee ballots, according to the town.

There are roughly 11,800 registered voters in the town, according to the state election department. If all of the absentee ballots are completed and submitted, that would put the voter turnout percentage around 27% — not including in-person voting.

“I think voter turnout will be higher than we’ve had in a while,” Mayor Laurie DiRocco told Tysons Reporter.

Signs of the times for voting in the time of a #pandemic. Voters will find these floor markers and signs at the polls in Vienna & Clifton today. Polls close at 7 p.m.#viennava #cliftonva #election2020 #covid_19 #COVID19 #socialdistancing #fairfaxcounty #virginia pic.twitter.com/Cw4wwP2LPr

— Fairfax County Votes (@fairfaxvotes) May 19, 2020

Voters weren’t the only ones urged to do their civic duty by voting from home.

DiRocco, who is retiring when her term ends this June, told Tysons Reporter on Friday that she asked all of the candidates to stay away from the Vienna Community Center today (Tuesday) to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

In previous years, it has been “very much of a social gathering,” according to DiRocco, who added that people would bring picnics and socialize with one another outside of the 40-foot distance line as people prepared to vote.

“I had reached out to the candidates and recommend we do not show up at the election,” DiRocco said. “All of the candidates agreed to that, which I thought was really good.”

But DiRocco sounded frustrated when she told Tysons Reporter that she received messages from people this morning “who were a little nervous” because they spotted mayoral candidate Pasha Majdi outside the Vienna Community Center.

“I don’t know what else to say at this point,” DiRocco said, stressing that it’s important to respect public health and safety concerns for voters.

Majdi told Tysons Reporter that he was about 300 feet away from the community center — “I could not throw a football from across the street.”

“We thought it would be a nice gesture to thank people for voting by waving from across the street, several hundred feet [away] from the polls,” he said.

The decision of whether or not to stand outside the polling place was never a dilemma before the pandemic, and it is not the only issue that candidates recently faced as Northern Virginia’s coronavirus numbers continue to rise.

Many of the candidates responded to Tysons Reporter’s inquiry about how the pandemic changed their campaign strategy, saying that social media has played a larger role in getting their messages out.

“My team of supporters and I had to change the game plan,” mayoral candidate and current Councilmember Linda Colbert said.

Colbert said that she started her campaign this year with the goal of getting to “every house in Vienna.” Instead, she ended up writing a letter to every resident instead.

Traditional face-to-face methods of interacting with voters — going door-to-door, attending events and handing out campaign literature — are moot while social distancing guidelines and the stay-at-home order are in effect.

“Voters in Vienna appreciate it when candidates knock on their doors and take a few minutes to answer questions before leaving a pamphlet,” Roy Baldwin, a councilmember candidate, said. “Since early March, none of that has been possible — the last thing I would want to do would be to either pick up or unwittingly spread the coronavirus by such close contact.”

Baldwin said that this campaign is “certainly nothing” like the one he ran in 2016.

“I’ve gone to the phone a lot more, and to email, text messages, and Facebook posts, as well as traditional mailers and print ads,” he said, adding that he’s even done Zoom conferences.

Ray Brill Jr., a councilmember candidate who said face-to-face “was to be the cornerstone of my campaign,” said that he pivoted to social media, word-of-mouth, signs and mailings to reach voters.

Brill also said that sharing his message through candidate essays, like he did for Tysons Reporter, “gave voters the opportunity to compare and contrast each candidate’s position on key issues facing the Town of Vienna so they could make an informed decision before they voted.”

Brill isn’t the only candidate missing in-person communication.

“I much prefer face-to-face. I don’t think you have a dialogue with people on social media,” Springsteen, who is running for the mayor’s seat, told Tysons Reporter. “I don’t get a lot of feedback [from voters].”

He said that he’s relied on boosting Facebook posts and sent out two mailings — a letter and a postcard — this year, adding that he’s put out fewer yard signs to reduce in-person contact.

While he said he’s “getting a lot of hits on my website,” he said that posting online can feel like putting a message out into a void.

Limited traditional campaigning tactics have forced some candidates to get creative.

“I have no idea if it will translate into votes, but my daily bike rides with the Choose Chuck velocipede has at least brought smiles to people’s faces,” councilmember candidate Chuck Anderson said.

Anderson noted that he keeps “at least 20 feet” away from people while on his bike rides down the middle of the street.

“With a number of neighbors strolling the streets, I have been able to get my name out, at least, to a large number of voters,” he said.

Colbert, a mayoral candidate, turned to daily videos.

“One day I posted a video expressing my concerns for town residents and businesses,” Colbert said. “After receiving positive feedback, I did it another day until I was doing it every day.”

Some of the biggest COVID-19 challenges have impacted the candidates’ jobs more than their campaigns.

“My day job is dealing with the coronavirus,” councilmember candidate Ed Somers said. “So I’m certainly busier in my day job… I think the challenge is the balance of doing what I need to do for work and doing the outreach I need to do for the campaign.”

Majdi shared a similar sentiment, saying that he shifted his focus away from the campaign more to his duties as a current councilmember.

“Campaigning has taken a back seat to the COVID-19 response,” Majdi said. “The top priority is public health and safety.”

Still, Majdi is talking to voters over the phone, and Somers is relying on his network to vouch for him.

“I’ve found [the campaign] to be a good experience,” Somers said, adding that he thinks online communication has “made us more authentic… [since] we’re going more off our instincts.”

Photo via Fairfax County Votes/Twitter

Ashley Hopko contributed to this story, photo (2) courtesy Chuck Anderson

(Updated 5/20/2020) Before Orange and Silver line stations temporarily close this Saturday (May 23), Fairfax County officials for the Tysons and Vienna areas want to know more about the closures’ impact.

Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn plan to hold a virtual town hall on Thursday (May 21), according to staff from Palchik’s office.

The discussion will include representatives from WMATA and the county’s transportation department.

All Orange and Silver line stations west of the Ballston station will be closed through the fall for platform reconstruction at the four Orange Line stations and work to connect the Silver Line with the upcoming stations running from Reston to Ashburn.

The town hall is set to start at 6:30 p.m. People can register online.

(Updated at 10:50 a.m.) While most of Virginia has started the first phase of Gov. Ralph Northam’s reopening plan, Northern Virginia localities won’t be able to start easing restrictions until May 29 at the earliest.

The delay aims to give those localities more time to meet five criteria:

• downward trend of hospitalizations over a period of 14 days
• downward trend of positive test results over a period of 14 days
• increased testing and tracing
• sufficient hospital beds and intensive care capacity
• increasing and sustainable supply of personal protective equipment (PPE)

As of state health data today (Tuesday), the Fairfax Health District, which includes Fairfax County and its towns and cities, has at least 8,111 COVID-19 cases — up by 177 cases from yesterday’s count — and 299 deaths related to the virus.

Tysons Reporter used data for the Fairfax Health District during the month of May to see how the area is faring with the five criteria.

The total number of hospitalizations has continued to increase this month, starting with 650 on May 1 and now past 1,100 today.

The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association says that roughly 4,200 COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized have been discharged. Meanwhile, 377 of the 1,497 patients with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases are in the ICU and 199 are on ventilators.

As for testing, the Fairfax Health District has had more than 34,000 testing encounters and its current 7-day positivity rate for the total number of tests is 19.9% — compared to 13.4% statewide.

Positive test results in the Fairfax Health District have fluctuated day by day so far this month — with dips on both Mondays — but the trendline indicates a downward slope.

Data from the Virginia Department of Health shows that the number of testing encounters from lab reports this month have steadily increased since mid-April, but now appears to be tapering off.

The hospital bed and ICU capacities for Northern Virginia hospitals are unknown at this time.

COVID-19 illustration via CDC/Unsplash, data for graphs via Virginia Department of Health 

Vienna Election Day — Today, voters will pick the new councilmembers and mayor. Here’s our guide to who the candidates are and how to find out more about them. [Tysons Reporter]

Helping Hand — The McLean Little League and the Deevy Group at Compass will deliver food to Inova’s ICU and ER departments today at 6:30 p.m. [Patch]

Some Shoppers Spotted at Tysons Corner Center — “A few stores, such as Kay Jewelers, Forever 21 and Altar’d State, were open. According to Northern Virginia resident Dorothy Gundy, who provided the photos to WTOP, stores were asking shoppers to line up in the concourse and letting a few people in at a time.” [WTOP]

Units on scene of a townhouse fire in the 1600 block of Colonial Hills Drive in the McLean area. First arriving reported smoke showing from rear of home. Fire found on deck. Fire is out. No extension to home. Most units returning to service. #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/qGEmlfoETc

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) May 19, 2020

The polls are open until 7 p.m. tonight for the Clifton and Vienna town elections. Please practice #socialdistancing when you go #vote today to keep yourself, others and our dedicated election officers safe!#GOTV #electionday #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/4A3HPYqPpT

— Fairfax County Votes (@fairfaxvotes) May 19, 2020

Updated 6/1/2020 — Corrects dates for second set of live performances. 

COVID-19 precautions are affecting live performances, but The Alden in McLean has found a way to bring shows to people that is similar to drive-in movies.

“Drive-Thru Drama” is set to run for two weekends in July (July 3-5 and July 10-12) with shows from 6-8 p.m., according to a press release.

The theater, which is a part of the McLean Community Center, plans to hold auditions via Instagram submissions.

“Priority will be given to actors who live, go to school or work in the MCC tax district,” the press release said. “There are no age or gender requirements in the script, but all actors must be 14 years old or older.”

More from the press release:

“Drive-Thru Drama” is the brainchild of The Alden’s Director of Youth Theatre Programs Danielle Van Hook. “Like so many, I was missing live performance and knew there had to be a way to safely produce a non-virtual show,” said Van Hook. “Nothing replaces the feeling of sitting with your neighbors in The Alden, but I hope this helps bring a little respite away from the screens and returns a level of normalcy to people’s lives.”

The show will be the debut performance of “Small Change,” a play written and directed by Andrew Scott Zimmer. Commissioned by The Alden, “Small Change” follows the travels of a $1 bill as it journeys through time and space, interacting with different people’s lives and leaving its mark on the world. Actors will perform one, cohesive story through short monologues at various stations in the center’s parking lot. Audience members will be directed to drive the route from actor to actor…

The Alden is placing several safety precautions into place to adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’ COVID-19 guidelines such as requiring the actors to wear personal protective equipment and setting up the route so that actors are positioned six feet away from the cars and passengers.

People should note that performance dates could change based on Gov. Ralph Northam’s orders. A limited number of tickets for the shows will be available online two weeks before the opening.

Five companies headquartered in Tysons and one in the Falls Church area have made this year’s Fortune 500 list.

At #41, Freddie Mac in Tysons nabbed the highest spot of the 11 Fairfax County companies on the list, according to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA).

The rankings are based on the companies’ 2019 revenue, according to the press release.

The local companies on the list cover a wide variety of industries. “The wide diversity of the industry sectors represented here also is striking, everything from our traditional strengths in IT, aerospace and defense to financial services, hospitality and construction, and that also speaks well for the stability and resiliency of our business base,” Victor Hoskins, FCEDA’s president and CEO, said in the press release.

The Tysons companies on the list include:

• #41 — Freddie Mac
• #96 — Northrop Grumman in the Falls Church area
• #97 — Capital One Financial
• #155 — DXC Technology
• #338 — Hilton Worldwide Holdings
• #450 — Booz Allen Hamilton

“Only a handful of communities can say they are home to 11 Fortune 500 companies. It sends a really strong message from the corporate world that this is a strong, stable, resilient location for headquarters operations,” Hoskins said.

Last year, seven of the 10 Fairfax County companies on the Fortune 500 list were based in the Tysons area.

Polling Patience — “[T]hose who will be voting in person at the Vienna Community Center will have to jump through a few more hoops and will not have the chance to mingle with the candidates on-site. Voters should be patient expect a slower-than-normal process, election officials said. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.” [Inside NoVa]

Summer School — “Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will continue distance learning for students during the summer along with targeted intervention services. Virtual learning for students this summer is based on current Fairfax County Health Department guidelines for social distancing and guidance from the state that school buildings remain closed in July.” [FCPS]

State Data No Longer Includes Antibody Tests — “On Thursday, the Virginia Department of Health announced they would no longer include the results of antibody tests in their overall data, though officials stressed that its inclusion did not significantly alter the trends that aided the governor in making the decision to reopen. About 15,000 antibody tests had been included, making up about nine percent of the overall testing number.” [DCist]

Public Libraries to Soon Offer New Services — “FCPL is preparing to begin offering contactless pickup of holds or staff selections on Monday, June 1.” [FCPL/Facebook]

Plans for an apartment building and office tower in Tysons are on hold as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the economy.

Macerich, the operator of Tysons Corner Center, owns half of the Tysons Tower office building and Vita apartment building outside the mall. In 2019, Macerich was working to finance both properties by the fall.

Macerich’s CEO Tom O’Hern said during earnings calls in late 2019 and early 2020 that Macerich was under contract to sell its 50% interest of Vita for roughly $82 million.

But during the first-quarter conference call on Tuesday, O’Hern said that discussions to sell the apartment building stalled when the pandemic hit the U.S.

“Once the entire market got volatile say mid-March, [our partner] decided to hold off,” O’Hern said. “We like the asset. We like the diversities in net operating income. So, we’re just fine hanging on to that 50% interest.”

As for the 22-story office building, Scott Kingsmore, the CFO for Macerich, said that Macerich got a 10-year, $190 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan on Tysons Tower in September.

In 2012, Macerich announced that Intelsat, a satellite services company, signed a 15-year agreement to move its headquarters to Tysons Tower, taking up more than a third of the building. It’s unclear what will happen to the office building now that Intelsat filed for bankruptcy this week, Fortune reported.

When asked in February about the fate of the office tower, O’Hern said that Macerich has an “open mind” about selling it.

“The transit station has been built there and both assets are doing quite well,” he said. “That could possibly be a candidate to be sold.”

Macerich Moving Forward  

During the rest of the earnings call on Tuesday, Macerich executives talked about rent collection difficulties and what their malls will likely look like when they reopen.

Kingsmore, the CFO, said that Macerich collected about 26% of its billed rent in April and, as of May 8, had received about 18% of the May rent.

Kingsmore said that he expects more rents to get paid in May, adding that Macerich is working to collect past due rent.

“The vast majority of our leases do not abate our tenants’ obligation to pay rent,” he said.

Macerich, a publicly-traded real estate investment trust, has seen its stock nosedive from $60 per share in December to roughly $6 since March — the same price as its low point during the 2008 recession. Macerich has also reduced its dividend.

While Macerich and other mall operators are struggling during the pandemic, the three executives said they recognize the stress retailers face.

“Even growing and accelerating e-commerce sales cannot make up the lost profit sales from physical store closures,” O’Hern said, adding that e-commerce is expensive because of high delivery costs.

O’Hern said that many of its retail tenants are fulfilling orders from their mall stores. Currently at Tysons Corner Center, “24 tenants are fulfilling orders averaging over 8,000 packages per day,” he said.

What Reopened Macerich Malls May Look Like 

When Macerich’s currently closed malls reopen sometime in June, O’Hern said he expects online ordering and pick-up at the store to become more popular.

Doug Healey, Macerich’s senior executive vice president of leasing, added that he expects to see the following new measures at reopened Macerich malls:

• reduced hours
• limited occupancy
• strategic inventory placement to create more floor space
• fitting rooms cleaned after each use
• contactless payment
• “phone to trunk” service

“Retailers want to open as soon as it’s safe to do so,” Healey said. “Online business will never replace the importance of the physical store.”

Photos courtesy James B. Crusan III

Vienna Eatery Getting Creative With Outdoor Dining — “Clarity chef/owner Jonathan Krinn has dreamed up a way to revive the fine dining experience. On Saturday he’ll launch ‘A Lot of Clarity,’ a five-course prix-fixe meal served in 16 designated ‘slips’ — that’s the tonier nautical term for parking spaces–in the outdoor lot of his Vienna, Virginia restaurant.” [Washingtonian]

Happy Trails — “A variety of scenic walking routes are found within the City of Falls Church… Starting from the Falls Church Community Center, a short stroll through the trails running under the nearby Virginia Pine canopy provides a view of Cherry Hill Park and its 1845 Greek Revival manor house.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Home Sales Drop as Prices Rise in N. Va. — “A total of 1,725 properties changed hands across the region in April, according to figures reported May 12 by MarketStats by ShowingTime. That’s down from 2,160 transactions a year before… Sales were down in every jurisdiction except the city of Fairfax… [The] average sales price of all properties that went to closing during the month stood at $667,527, up 7.5 percent from a year before.” [Inside NoVa]

New Senior Shopping Service — “Fairfax County, through the Health Department’s Neighbor to Neighbor Program (N2N), has launched a free grocery shopping and pharmacy pick-up service. The service is provided to seniors at private residences by volunteers who have completed background checks.” [Fairfax County]

Masks Now Mandatory — Riders will have to wear face coverings when using the Metro or Fairfax Connector starting on Monday, May 18. [Metro, Fairfax County]

Cedar Lane over I-66 is scheduled to close Friday and demolition of the bridge is slated to begin Saturday. Project will take about six months. Lots of info about the project and its impacts in Vienna area in this On Deck with Mercury episode: https://t.co/lXjtnPZaB0

— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) May 13, 2020