Tysons Corner Center at night (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)
(Updated at 10:35 a.m.) Contrary to some reports on Twitter, there were no gunshots at Tysons Corner Center last night, Fairfax County police confirmed.
Officers with the Tysons Urban Team did take two people into custody at the mall as part of an investigation into a robbery in Arlington County, the department said.
The FCPD said that it was working with the Arlington Police Department on the case and had located three suspects at Tysons Corner Center. Two of the suspects were taken into custody, and a firearm was recovered, but no shots were fired.
“The investigation continues. One suspect outstanding. No outstanding threat to the mall or community,” police said.
A handful of tweets from around 8 p.m. yesterday say that “everyone” in the mall started running, mentioning a possible active shooter and stores going into lockdown.
According to the Washington Post, the robbery suspects ran when officers arrived, which may have triggered a fire alarm, but no evacuation was ordered. Neither of the suspects was holding a gun when they were detained.
The FCPD didn’t immediately respond to FFXnow’s inquiry seeking to confirm the Post’s reporting.
Gun-related anxieties have been high at Tysons Corner Center since three shots were fired on June 18, triggered a panicked evacuation. The suspect in that incident was indicted in September.
The mall was also evacuated on Aug. 7 after the sound of a light fixture shattering was mistaken for gunfire.
Tonight, our TUT officers located three suspects involved in a robbery in Arlington. No shots were fired. Two suspects taken into custody and a firearm was recovered. The investigation continues. One suspect outstanding. No outstanding threat to the mall or community.
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) December 19, 2022
was inside Tysons Corner and saw a crowd running towards the exit, so told my husband that we should just leave. as we exit the garage, they announced to evacuate the mall immediately. we saw this outside Macy’s. don’t know what’s happening but stay safe! pic.twitter.com/t4ZKdZGTGg
— marj (@marjanneco) December 19, 2022
Tysons Arrest Leads to Retail Theft Ring Bust — “With some great information from our partners at Nordstrom and Bloomingdales, officers assigned to our Tysons Urban Team were able to make apprehension. At the time of the arrest, the woman had a booster bag containing over $3,700 in stolen sunglasses…The group is linked to prior thefts over the previous several days of over $25,000 in merchandise in the DC Metropolitan area.” [FCPD/Facebook]
Possible Shots Fired in Herndon — “Town of Herndon Police responded early Thursday afternoon for the report of possible shots being fired in the 300 block of Elden Street, according to a 1:17 p.m. post to the department’s official Twitter account. Police reported that one subject was detained at the scene and there were no victims.” [Patch]
Fast-Casual Health Food Restaurant Gets Fairfax Ribbon-Cutting — “Fairfax City is Roots Natural Kitchen’s 12th location, which was chosen due to its proximity to George Mason University and access to the larger Washington, D.C. area, according to Caballero…Although Friday was the official ribbon-cutting, the restaurant has been open for about two weeks.” [Patch]
Belle Haven House Goes All Out on Christmas Decor — “Over 250,000 lights. Three hundred plastic blow molds. Twelve fully decorated artificial Christmas trees. More than 100 inflatable holiday decorations ranging in size from 2 feet to 15 feet…That’s what it takes for Kurt Farmer to transform his Alexandria home into Farmer’s Christmas House.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Some Social Media Apps Banned for State Employees — “Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin banned the use of TikTok, WeChat and other ‘Chinese-owned mobile phone applications and websites on state government technology’ on Friday. The ban applies to all executive offices and executive branch agencies.” [NBC4]
Author Discusses Opioid Epidemic in Tysons — “[Beth] Macy spoke on Tuesday night at a book signing event hosted by Bards Alley Bookshop at 1st Stage theater in Tysons. Macy’s newest book is Raising Lazarus, a sequel to her 2018 book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company That Addicted America, on which a Hulu limited series is based.” [Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office]
Anti-Drunk Driving Initiative Launches — “The Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s SoberRide initiative is now in operation for the holiday season, and will remain available through Jan. 1. The effort teams with Lyft to provide free rides home to those who may have had too much to drink during the holiday season. It will be operational nightly from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.” [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]
Local Volunteers Honored by County — “Fairfax County recently announced the winners of its 2022 Environmental Excellence Awards, and both honorees in the ‘Individual County Resident’ category are from around the Richmond Highway corridor.” The honorees were a longtime Hollin Hills Civic Association chair and a senior student at West Potomac High School. [On the MoVe]
It’s Monday — Clear throughout the day. High of 37 and low of 27. Sunrise at 7:24 am and sunset at 4:50 pm. [Weather.gov]
With winter on the horizon, Fairfax County is still racing to suck up the last leafy vestiges of autumn.
Specifically, the county’s crews have yet to pick up leaves in McLean and Idylwood, as a combination of staffing shortages, equipment issues and an early leaf fall have delayed collections, the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services acknowledged yesterday.
The county will deploy multiple trucks and has hired an additional contractor to collect leaves in both areas on Monday (Dec. 19), a deviation from its typical approach of serving each of its nine collection areas separately.
“By dividing resources, it will take additional time to complete each area,” DPWES said. “Service in both remaining areas will begin concurrently. Vacuum collection staff have been working 10-hour shifts and most Saturdays and will continue to do so.”
About 25,000 residents receive leaf collection services from the county, all of them concentrated on the east side, especially the Mason District. Pickups have been completed in areas three through nine.
Public works services nationwide have been affected by a depletion of truck drivers and other essential employees. Fairfax County had to make some tweaks to its yard waste collections last fall due to a shortage of haulers, and trash pickups continue to be a struggle.
DPWES says it doesn’t have “a mechanism in place” allowing residents to get their leaf collection taxes refunded, but they can opt out of county services by petitioning the Board of Supervisors to “de-create” their vacuum leaf district.
According to the county website, the petition process to create or expand sanitary districts reopened on Dec. 1, but with DPWES apparently at full staff and equipment capacity, the department plans to use private contractors for any additional service areas.
When new development comes up for review in Fairfax County, one of the first questions often asked is “how will this impact vehicle traffic?”
A proposed shift in Fairfax County’s analysis could change that and put more emphasis on alternative modes of transportation.
A new approach cagily named “Additional Measures of Effectiveness” could rework the way the county evaluates the transportation piece of new development. The bottom line could be less emphasis on car traffic and more on infrastructure for bicycles, buses, pedestrians and more.
“Measures of effectiveness are quantitative measures that gauge performance of some level of effectiveness in transportation planning,” Gregg Steverson, deputy director of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, told the Board of Supervisors’ transportation committee on Tuesday (Dec. 13).
Currently, the county mainly measures the level of service — how much traffic roadways can support — and the amount of vehicle delay and queuing expected. But Steverson said that focus keeps cars at the forefront of transportation development.
“Our roadway and network changes get codified in terms of ‘what will this do to traffic’ instead of ‘how will this impact bike usage’ or ‘what’s our access to transit going to be’ or ‘do pedestrians feel safe walking here,’” Steverson said. “As such, a lot of our recommendations center on road widening, which, in activity centers, means widening them beyond what is necessary given the multi-modal area.”
Steverson said if the county wants to become more multimodal and make bus, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic as viable as cars, it needs to update its measures of effectiveness to match that. That could mean transportation analyses for new developments specifically for pedestrians, bicycles and transit.
“We’re looking to have analysis be just as multimodal in nature as our county is striving to be,” Steverson said. “This is not a change in policy. This is a strategy to take those existing policies and develop an analysis to mirror those policies.”
This shift wouldn’t apply universally. The presentation noted that the county is broken up into “tiers” of similar land uses, with different modes of transportation emphasized in different areas. For example, the type of bicycle and transit-focused development might be more heavily emphasized in Tysons’ urban environment, but not as much in low-density, residential neighborhoods.
The revision is still in its formative stages, with more meetings and presentations scheduled throughout the first half of 2023. Steverson said staff still has to talk to the Virginia Department of Transportation to get “buy-in” on the idea and do outreach to advocacy and citizen groups.
Steverson said staff also has to sort through what the right amount of measurements are, saying that adding too many variables could overburden developers and overcomplicate the county’s development process.
While there are still significant details to be ironed out, the transportation committee expressed enthusiasm for the idea.
“I think we definitely need to be moving on this,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said. “This has come up in a number of different forums over the last few years: the need for other measures of effectiveness for the transportation system. I do encourage staff to continue thinking more about where various other measures of effectiveness would be appropriate and what those might be.”
The McLean Community Center has found a new executive director who will, hopefully, be a bit more permanent than its last one.
Fairfax County announced yesterday that the MCC Board of Directors appointed Betsy May-Salazar at a special meeting on Wednesday (Dec. 14) after an over four-month search for a long-term successor to Daniel Singh, who resigned on July 26 just 14 months into the job.
Evan Braff, a countywide coordinator in Fairfax County’s Office of the County Executive, took over as acting executive director on Aug. 15 following Singh’s resignation. May-Salazar will officially assume the position on Jan. 3.
“On behalf of the McLean Community Center Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome Betsy as our new executive director,” MCC Board Chair Barbara Zamora-Appel said in a statement. “Her extensive experience managing operations, strategic planning and development of compelling programs for the public, along with her longstanding ties to McLean, position her well. I look forward to working with Betsy to expand our reach, cultivate partnerships and make the McLean Community Center the best it can be for our community.”
Say hello to the new Executive Director of the McLean Community Center, Betsy May-Salazar!
Her appointment was approved by the MCC Board of Directors at their meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 14. She succeeds MCC Acting Director Evan Braff.
Read more: https://t.co/vRkumQ9vSJ pic.twitter.com/yvVuwp4J7n
— McLean Community Center (@mcleanvacenter) December 15, 2022
A longtime resident of McLean, per the news release, May-Salazar had worked at the National Building Museum in D.C. since 1995, most recently serving as its senior vice president and chief operating officer.
Before that, she was program director of the Washington chapter of the American Institute of Architects, a professional nonprofit that provides education, advocacy and community outreach for architects.
She received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in interdisciplinary studies from Miami University and a master’s degree in arts in American studies from George Washington University.
When Singh arrived at MCC in April 2021, he and the board touted promoting diversity and equity as a top priority, a stance that occasionally spurred backlash from some community members.
While the county’s release didn’t share much insight into what May-Salazar will do in her new role, the community center has focused on expanding its audience as it works to finalize a five-year strategic plan and prepares for its 50th anniversary in 2025.
Last month, MCC launched a youth ambassador initiative to promote its events and programming more among local high school students.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano is gearing up for what may be the most heated local election race in 2023.
The first-term chief prosecutor, who defeated a longtime incumbent in 2019 on the strength of a progressive platform, is planning to seek reelection next year, a representative for Descano confirmed to FFXnow.
An official announcement is expected to come soon, another spokesperson said.
Over the last three years, Descano has championed reform policies including a diversion program for those who commit non-violent crimes, increased transparency of bond hearing data, and an end to cash bail.
Like Arlington’s Parisa Dehghani-Tafti and Loudoun’s Buta Biberaj, who were also elected in 2019 as reform advocates, Descano has been accused of being “soft on crime” and mishandling certain cases, with those involving sexual violence receiving particular scrutiny. He was also the focus of two recall campaigns last year.
In a statement to FFXnow, Descano touts his record as a “progressive” who has helped the county become “the safest jurisdiction of its size anywhere in the country, saying he’s been “encouraged by many over the last year to continue this work.”
I plan on making an announcement soon regarding the 2023 election. Since first being elected in 2019 I have worked each day to deliver safety and justice for our community. I’m proud of what we have accomplished, delivering progressive criminal justice reform including investments in “next generation” diversion programs, increased use of Veterans Treatment and Mental Health dockets, creating a Red Flag Law team aimed at getting guns out of someone’s hands who poses a danger, and leading a more transparent office by the launch of a public Data Dashboard on our work.
These and other reforms have helped deliver a justice system led by our values all while making Fairfax County the safest jurisdiction of its size anywhere in the country. I have been encouraged by many over the last year to continue this work. I am grateful for that encouragement and also for the widespread community support that has resulted in us having over $100,000 in campaign funds on hand one full year prior to the next election. This shows the strength and breadth of the support from those that want to keep Fairfax County’s justice system moving forward.
Four years ago, Decano was part of a wave of Northern Virginia progressive prosecutors to be elected as their localities’ top law enforcement officer.
In Arlington, Dehghani-Tafti launched her reelection campaign late last month. Biberaj hasn’t yet declared her intentions for next year.
Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid is also planning to run for reelection in 2023, she told FFXnow by email, though she didn’t elaborate on her reasoning.
Kincaid was first elected in 2013 in a special election, becoming the first woman to lead the office in its nearly three centuries of existence. She was reelected in 2015 and 2019, so this will be her fourth time running.
While the commonwealth’s attorney and sheriff often work together on cases, a disputed incident last year suggested some friction between the two offices.
A Sept. 28, 2021 incident report from the sheriff’s office accused Descano and his chief deputy of displaying “disrespect and unprofessionalism” toward county courthouse security guards that were “unsuited for an officer of the court.”
However, FFXnow’s review of video from the incident and a courthouse source appeared to mostly contradict the sheriff’s office report.
Neither Descano nor the sheriff’s office has publicly commented on the incident since.
Several other local elected officials have already confirmed their intentions for 2023.
Dranesville District school board member Elaine Tholen won’t be running next year, while Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren said she will. Springfield District Representative Laura Jane Cohen is shifting gears and is looking to join the Virginia House of Delegates.
Five county supervisors will also seek reelection, while Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross and Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust are both stepping down after long tenures on the board.
County’s Moroccan Community Cheers World Cup Team — “Morocco became the first African team in World Cup history to reach the semifinals following a victory against Portugal last week…More than 100 members of the local Moroccan community gathered on Wednesday afternoon to watch their home country’s match-up against Les Bleus at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church” [DCist]
Proposal Floated for Van Dorn Metro Development — “An industrial park on Vine Street, squeezed between the Van Dorn Street Metro station and the Beltway, could be replaced with a new mixed-use development…The development plans, however, hinge on hopes that the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) express lane plans don’t bleed over onto the site.” [ALXnow]
Where to Celebrate Hanukkah in Fairfax County — “This year, Hanukkah begins on December 18, 2022 and ends on December 26, 2022. And you’ll find plenty of events celebrating the holiday in Fairfax County and throughout the Capital Region.” [Visit Fairfax]
New Asian Curry Restaurant Opens in Chantilly — “Score another one for the global food community. Actually, score two. Karé Bar opened in Chantilly in November. It’s on Metrotech Drive, making it easy to head to Shilla Bakery or Chateau de Chantilly after lunch or dinner.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
PNC Bank to Shutter Some Local Branches — “PNC Financial Services Group Inc. is closing 32 more branches across 10 states, according to new regulatory filings, including a dozen in Virginia and Maryland.” Closings will come early next year to six Fairfax County locations, including one in Burke, one in Kingstowne, one in Groveton and three in Springfield. [Washington Business Journal]
Emergency Taxi Surcharge Continued — “Fairfax County supervisors on Dec. 6 meeting unanimously approved a temporary, uncodified ordinance that will permit an up-to-$1-per-trip taxicab-fuel surcharge that will be in effect from Dec. 30 through June 30 next year. Supervisors have the option of rescinding the ordinance sooner because of sustained changes in economic conditions.” [Sun Gazette]
Merrifield Solar Panel Company at Home in Fairfax — “Merrifield-based Ipsun Solar, a company that installs residential and commercial solar panels, was started in 2016 with a lofty goal: fighting climate change, said Herve Billiet, CEO, who co-founded the company along with Joe Marhamati.” [Fairfax County EDA]
County Offers Tips for a More Sustainable Holiday — “The seasons are changing, the days are shorter, and the 2022 holiday season is here! Keep reading for tips on how to be more sustainable throughout all your holiday festivities” [Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination]
It’s Friday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 46 and low of 35. Sunrise at 7:22 am and sunset at 4:49 pm. [Weather.gov]
MidnighTreats and its softball-sized cookies are back in the Town of Vienna.
The business will potentially roll out its large, plant-based cookies this weekend with its new bakery at 167 Glyndon Street SE, fulfilling a dream that owner and Vienna resident Johnny Nguyen had since he started baking in his mom’s house.
“It’s been my goal ever since then to really open up a real storefront here,” Nguyen said. “…I didn’t have money or anything back then to do it. So, it’s been kind of a long process, but it’s always been the goal to get back here in Vienna.”
The soft opening is tentatively planned for Saturday (Dec. 17), with a grand opening to follow once a permanent sign is in place. Vienna’s Board of Architectural Review is set to discuss a signage application for the bakery tonight.
MidnighTreats began in 2018 as a home-based delivery service, where Nguyen and a partner alternated between baking and driving the desserts out to their customers. The business started accepting pick-up orders once it moved into a commercial kitchen in Chantilly.
The first full storefront didn’t come until this past May, when it opened in Reston’s Plaza America. The company originally had a lease for Springfield’s Backlick Center, but the deal collapsed when the shopping center changed hands this spring.
“They wanted to combine two spaces, so that never went through, and that’s why I was scrambling to find a place and we ended up in Reston,” Nguyen told FFXnow by phone.
After exploring the possibility of adding a ghost kitchen in D.C., MidnighTreats landed its dreamed-of space in Vienna. The 1,000-square-foot suite was filled for over a decade by Silva’s Patisserie, a family-owned bakery that abruptly closed in 2019.
Like in Reston, the Vienna store will compete against Crumbl Cookies, which arrived at 203 Maple Avenue in 2020. While that makes Crumbl more established as a brick-and-mortar store, Nguyen notes that he built up a “small but loyal following” through deliveries.
“[The new store] puts them back in our delivery radius, so that’ll be cool to hopefully meet some of the same people we were delivering to before,” he said.
Nguyen says the type of cookies sold are also distinct. Where Crumbl goes flat and wide, MidnighTreats makes them thick and chunky, and notably, it doesn’t use any ingredients derived from animals.
According to its website, MidnighTreats aims to show that vegan desserts can be fun too. Rotating on a regular basis, the current menu includes seasonal flavors like hot cocoa and peppermint white choco, along with classic chocolate chip, cinnamon roll and funfetti cookies, and a brownie cookie called The Chocoholic.
“They’re pretty unique, and we do a lot less sugar than most places, and I think it makes the flavor pop more,” Nguyen said. “…Some [customers] have even said I wouldn’t have tried it beforehand, but I think it’s going to be a unique and different cookie experience than most.”
Vaccines designed to combat omicron subvariants of COVID-19 are now available in Fairfax County for everyone 6 months and older.
The Fairfax County Health Department has obtained updated or bivalent vaccines for kids 6 months to 5 years old after federal health officials approved the shots to that age group last week.
The shots became available to people 12 and older in August, and eligibility expanded to kids 5 to 11 years old in October.
“The updated vaccines provide protection from both the original virus strain as well as the more recently circulating Omicron variant,” the FCHD said. “Getting the updated booster dose is important because protection decreases over time and as the virus changes.”
Time is running out, though, to get shots from the county’s mass Covid vaccine clinics. As announced last month, the clinic at the Hyland South County Center administered its last dose yesterday (Wednesday), and the Fairfax County Government Center clinic will close at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 17).
The county will still distribute Covid vaccines, but after Saturday, those seeking an appointment at one of the health department’s district offices must contact their call center at 703-324-7404. Other options for getting a shot can be found at vaccines.gov.
Kids under 5 can get the bivalent vaccine as either a booster if they’ve gotten the Moderna vaccine or the third dose in their “primary series” of Pfizer vaccinations.
“Children 6 months-4 years who already completed their three-dose primary series with the original Pfizer vaccine are not eligible for an updated booster dose at this time,” the department said. “The data to support giving an updated bivalent booster dose to these children are expected in January.”
It’s now been almost two years since the county received its first Covid vaccine shipment. In that time, more than 2.8 million doses have been administered to residents of the Fairfax Health District, which also includes the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church.
Over 1 million residents — 85.9% of the population — have gotten at least one dose, including:
- 93% of people 18 and older
- 99% of 16-17 year olds
- 95.6% of 12-15 year olds
- 64% of 5-11 year olds
However, just 21.9% of kids under 5 have received a dose, per FCHD data. While the vaccines don’t provide complete protection against contracting Covid, they lower the risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and both short and long-term complications from the disease, health officials say.
The expansion of eligibility for the bivalent vaccines comes as COVID-19 cases in the Fairfax Health District continue to rise post-Thanksgiving, jumping from a seven-day average of 120.4 cases on Nov. 26 to 249.3 cases today, according to Virginia Department of Health data.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rate the county’s community Covid level as low based on a case rate of 130.11 per 100,000 residents, a hospitalization rate of 7.7 new admissions per 100,000 residents, and 5.2% of hospital beds being occupied by confirmed Covid patients.
The district is averaging a death per day for the past week, reporting a total death toll of 1,717 people for the pandemic. There have been 253,907 cases and 5,209 hospitalizations due to Covid.
According to the FCHD, testing has increased recently, even as Curative closes its mobile sites in the county today. But the testing positivity rate has climbed from under 10% at the end of October to 17.2%, as of Dec. 4, indicating “a true increase in disease,” a spokesperson told FFXnow.
Though still far below last winter’s surge with the omicron variant’s arrival, the uptick in cases throughout the D.C. region has Montgomery County in Maryland recommending that residents resume wearing face masks. Neighboring Arlington County and Alexandria City are also seeing cases increase.
Fairfax County hasn’t made any changes to its health guidance, but with the flu and other respiratory illnesses also in the air, the FCHD still advises residents to consider masking, especially if they have symptoms, along with other habits that help prevent sickness:
As people spend more time indoors, where there is more crowding and less ventilation, and where there is less attention to other mitigation efforts (distancing/masking/handwashing), it is not surprising to see respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, flu and other viruses spread. The health department continues to encourage these everyday prevention steps, in addition to staying up to date on COVID-19 boosters as the variants change, and flu shots for everyone over age 6 months. Simply staying home when ill makes a big difference in community transmission, too.
With Covid transmission increasing nationally, the White House has relaunched its program offering four free at-home testing kits per household through covid.gov/testing.
A Richmond-based commercial law firm that dates back to the post-World War II era is inching closer to Tysons Galleria.
Citing a need for more space to accommodate its growth, Hirschler officially moved its Tysons office into a 12,200-square-foot suite at 1676 International Drive just before Thanksgiving, the company announced late last month.
The new space is about 3,000 square feet larger than the firm’s previous office at 8270 Greensboro Drive, according to a spokesperson.
“We have been looking forward to this move since we began exploring this amazing space on International Drive,” said Justine Fitzgerald, managing partner of Hirschler’s Tysons office. “The enthusiasm across our Tysons team from finally inhabiting our new office is already palpable. As we continue to make ourselves at home in the upcoming weeks, we are excited about the impact that the upgraded amenities, technology and collaborative space will have for our clients.”
Hirschler said the move was needed to allow “additional space for sustained growth” of its Northern Virginia and D.C. area operations.
Founded as Hirschler and Fleischer in 1946, the company established its Tysons office in 2016 as part of a merger with the local firm Leach Travell. The office handles business, bankruptcy, real estate, and litigation cases and has now grown to 17 attorneys, the press release said.
The expansion comes as many companies opt to downsize their offices in response to the rise of remote work during the pandemic. In the third quarter of 2022, 80% of Northern Virginia’s leasing activity involved spaces smaller than 10,000 square feet, and vacancies in the region rose to 19.1%, according to an office market report by Avison Young.
In Tysons, demand remains high for “high-end” trophy office space, developers said at a “Future of Tysons” panel earlier this month. The area has added 360,000 of Class-A office space this year, behind only Crystal City in Northern Virginia, Bisnow reported.
An economic study released in March 2021 predicted that Tysons will need at least 1.9 million square feet of new office space over the next 10 years, but it also found that the pipeline for office construction exceeded projected job growth.
Given the uncertainties of the office market and Fairfax County prioritizing affordable housing, developers in the Tysons area and beyond have increasingly focused on converting or replacing commercial properties with residential or mixed-use projects.
The county is also exploring the possibility of allowing vacant commercial spaces to be used as emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness.
