Meet Hailey, Tysons’ latest Pet of the Week. Hailey is a sweet senior who loves being around people and sitting in the sun.
Here’s what her friends at Operation Underdog WV had to say about her:
Hello from Hailey!
This charming senior girl is super sweet and submissive. She came to us from a home that had too many cats and dogs to care for, and we are currently treating her for flea allergies and skin infection.
Hailey’s starting to feel better and likes nothing more than to bask in the sunshine. She likes people and is calm and respectful but is not overly rambunctious in her interactions. She is tolerant of other pets and would make a great addition to a family with older children or as a companion to an individual who is looking to spend peaceful days with a truly special senior soul.
Hailey is about 60 pounds and 10 years of age or older.
Are you and Hailey the perfect match?
Fairfax County is designing restoration plans for an eroded stretch of Little Pimmit Run from Franklin Park Road to just upstream of Kirby Road in McLean.
The $9.23 million project will address 7,100 feet of degraded stream channel in addition to about 1,250 feet of tributaries, which will be restored so that they tie into the main channel of Little Pimmit Run.
“The water has a lot of energy and it’s causing a lot of erosion,” project manager Fred Wilkins said during a recent meeting.
According to Wilkins, the project aims to slow the speed of the water, which will protect infrastructure and area vegetation. It will also restore the ecology of the stream and the surrounding area, while preventing sediment and pollutants from flowing from Little Pimmit Run into the Chesapeake Bay.
Identified in 2019, other problems caused by the ongoing erosion include undercut banks and compromised trees, the county’s project page says.
Wilkins says another goal of the project is to protect infrastructure.
“There are multiple locations where we have sanitary pipes that cross the stream bed, and in some cases, the water can move debris that can damage the sanitary crossings, as shown during the 2019 storm, which caused emergency repairs to be needed,” he said.
Last but not least, the project manager said the county aims “to give the community something to enjoy.”
The project will unfold in two phases, starting with a stretch of stream from Franklin Park Road to Chesterbrook Road that runs parallel to Solitaire Lane. The second phase picks up north of Chesterbrook Road and goes away the way to Kirby Road.
Right now, county officials are deliberating the future alignment of the channel. Once one is chosen, concept designs should be ready to be submitted this September 2021. A community meeting is slated for November.
There will not be a construction timeline until the designs are completed.
The project straddles private property and county property, and will require coordination between the county and property owners, Wilkins said.
People in the area can expect to see flagging and survey markers over the next several months, according to the county’s project website.
“Survey markers do not necessarily mean that the marked tree will be removed,” the website said.
This restoration work joins another stream restoration project along the channel between Forest Lane and North Albemarle Street, along with a sewer realignment project, emergency wastewater stabilization, and a Fairfax County Department of Transportation sidewalk project, Wilkins said.
The project is being funded through the county Stormwater Service District.
Images via Fairfax County
The consulting company Guidehouse will bring more than 900 new jobs to Fairfax County later this year when it opens a new global headquarters in Tysons, Gov. Ralph Northam announced yesterday (Monday).
The new campus will be located at 1676 International Drive and house more than 1,550 employees when at full capacity.
“This move will allow us to best accommodate growth, serve our people and clients, and attract talent,” Guidehouse CEO Scott McIntyre said. “Virginia offers a highly skilled workforce and business-friendly climate, making it an ideal location for Guidehouse’s future.”
In terms of geography, the announcement represents a small move for Guidehouse, whose current headquarters is just down the road in Tysons Galleria. But the company says the new building will better accommodate the growth and increased demand for its services that it has experienced recently.
Guidehouse currently has more than 9,000 workers and over 50 offices around the world. It works with both the commercial and public sectors in industries ranging from financial services, health, and energy to defense and national security.
According to a company news release, Guidehouse will invest $12.7 million to establish its new headquarters and plans to create more than 1,000 new jobs in Virginia over the next three years.
“We are currently in design development of the space and targeting an early Fall occupancy date,” Guidehouse spokesperson Joy Jarrett said.
According to Northam’s office, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and Virginia Economic Development partnership collaborated to help Tysons beat out D.C. and Maryland for Guidehouse’s global headquarters.
The company is now eligible for the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, a state-funded initiative that reimburses companies for the costs of training new full-time employees, and the state’s Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit.
“A headquarters in Tysons puts [Guidehouse] in the center of the largest business hub in the D.C. region and a talent pool that will be able to enjoy the growing number of amenities in the area,” FCEDA CEO and President Victor Hoskins said.
Guidehouse says it was drawn to Tysons for the area’s strong education and healthcare systems as well as Fairfax County’s “commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship.”
The news comes on the heels of Northam’s April 30 announcement that the cybersecurity company Ridgeline International will expand its operations in Tysons with 162 new jobs and a research and development hub expected to launch in June.
Fairfax County currently hosts corporate headquarters for 11 Fortune 500 companies, and just in the past year, the county has secured major commitments from Microsoft, Google, and Volkswagen.
“This announcement by Guidehouse is another indication of the strength of Fairfax County as a headquarters location for companies that operate around the globe,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said. “It is a testament to the investment the county government has made into creating and sustaining a world-class business location that also draws the kind of professional workforce the company needs to grow and succeed.”
Photo via Google Maps
New Fairfax County Police Chief Sworn In — Kevin Davis was formally sworn in as Fairfax County’s new police chief yesterday morning (Monday). The former Baltimore police commissioner begins his tenure amid intense scrutiny of his past conduct and the county’s hiring process. [FCPD]
Wolf Trap Wireless Tower Plans Put on Hold — Fairfax County has paused negotiations with Milestone Communications on a special exception application for a 114-foot-tall monopole on the Wolf Trap Fire Station site. The proposal drew strong opposition from community members, who argued that the structure would be inappropriate for the surrounding residential neighborhoods. [Sun Gazette]
Tysons Pandemic Recovery Survey Deadline Extended — Tysons Partnership has extended the deadline for its survey to evaluate expectations for the area’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic to May 21. Previously scheduled to close on May 14, the survey asks about people’s interest in returning to offices, transit, dining, and other activities that were disrupted by the pandemic. [Tysons Partnership]
Vienna Animal Hospital Proposes Expansion — Veterinary Surgical Centers, which is located in Suite 100 in the basement of 124 Park Street SE, wants to expand to the first floor, where it would add neurology treatment, a new imaging center with a waiting room, exam and operating rooms, and other facilities. The Vienna Planning Commission will make a recommendation on the proposal at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday (May 12). [Patch]
Clemyjontri Park Playground Named Best in Region — Virginia Living readers voted for Clemyjontri Park as the site of Northern Virginia’s best playground in the magazine’s “Best of Virginia 2021” competition. The McLean park’s unique playground was designed for children of all abilities, including kids who use wheelchairs, walkers, or braces and kids with developmental or sensory disabilities. [Fairfax County Park Authority]
Photo by Hilde Khan
McLean’s Chesterbrook Shopping Center has changed hands for the first time since the early 1980s.
After managing the property for almost two decades, Federal Realty Investment Trust has now acquired the 89,625 square-foot shopping center at 6244 Old Dominion Drive for $32.1 million, the real estate brokerage firm KLNB announced on Friday (May 7).
The entire transaction took less than four months to complete, according to a press release from KLNB, which represented the previous owner, Chesterbrook One LLC.
“Chesterbrook Center is well positioned for significant growth and perfectly aligns with our Northern Virginia strategy,” Barry Carty, Federal Realty’s senior vice president of East Coast acquisitions, said. “We were thrilled to work with KLNB on this sale and look forward to building on the previous owners’ decades of work to grow Chesterbrook into a destination center for the community.”
According to KLNB, the Chesterbrook Shopping Center had been owned by the same family since the early 1980s and has been anchored by Safeway since 1965.
Other tenants include Starbucks, Walgreens, Bank of America, BB&T Bank, Mylo’s Grill, New Star Asian Bistro, and the dog daycare and boarding facility Playful Pack, which officially opened yesterday (Monday).
Federal Realty has served as the center’s operations and leasing manager since 2002, which will allow for a “seamless transition” in ownership, Federal Realty Corporate Communications Manager Brenda Pomar says.
“With its close proximity to Tysons, Arlington and Washington D.C. along with the impactful amount of daily vehicular traffic on Old Dominion and the strong demographics surrounding the property, Federal is excited to explore opportunities for Chesterbrook,” Pomar said.
Old Dominion Drive gets about 18,000 vehicles per day, according to KLNB.
Federal Realty’s leasing brochure for Chesterbrook states that 137,751 people live within a three-mile radius of the shopping center, and the area’s median household income is $172,080.
The plans for the property going forward are not yet clear, but Federal Realty Vice President of Asset Management Deirdre Johnson says the acquisition supports the property manager’s overall strategy for Virginia, which is fueled by the area’s “strong job growth, desirable demographics, high barriers to entry, and business-friendly climate.”
Federal Realty’s other Tysons-area properties include Tysons Station, Pike 7 Plaza, and the Pan Am Shopping Center on Nutley Street in Vienna, along with Falls Plaza, Graham Park Plaza, and Idylwood Plaza in Falls Church.
Federal Realty sold a portion of Graham Park Plaza last year to the developer EYA, which is replacing the vacant retail space with townhouses. The company is also rebranding Falls Plaza as Birch & Broad as part of a renovation project that’s expected to finish later this year.
“Chesterbrook presents many opportunities to create a unique and special community destination,” Johnson said. “We are currently exploring options and look forward to announcing future plans.”
Photo courtesy KLNB
Fairfax County has surpassed the halfway mark for COVID-19 vaccinations, as reported cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus continue to decline.
According to Virginia Department of Health data, 51% of Fairfax County’s population — or 585,447 residents — have now gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot. That puts the county in line with neighboring jurisdictions in Northern Virginia, including Loudoun (50.4%) and Arlington (51.2%).
After previously trailing by a hair, the county now has now inched past Virginia as a whole in terms of fully vaccinated residents. 35.4% of the county’s population — or 406,383 people — have received all required shots, compared to 35.1% of the state overall.
Virginia has administered at least one dose to more than 4 million people, or 47.1% of its population. 3 million residents have been fully vaccinated.
With more people getting vaccinated, Fairfax County’s COVID-19 caseload continues to shrink.
While the number of new cases ticked back up to 126 cases on Friday (May 7), the Fairfax Health District reported just 22 cases today (Monday), the fewest since 21 cases came in on Sept. 28.
The county is now averaging 63.4 cases over the past seven days, bringing the case rate down to a level not seen since Aug. 1, when the weekly average was at 60.6 cases after hovering in the 50s and 60s throughout July.
The Fairfax Health District has now recorded a total of 77,422 COVID-19 cases, 4,053 hospitalizations, and 1,104 deaths.
While demand for the COVID-19 vaccine has started to ebb, Virginia’s push to achieve herd immunity could get a boost if federal officials approve the vaccine for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 this week as anticipated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet on Wednesday (May 12) to discuss recommending that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine be approved for 12 to 15-year-olds, according to the Fairfax County Health Department.
Pfizer reported on March 31 that its vaccine has shown a 100% efficacy rate and “robust antibody responses” in a clinical trial with 2,260 participants between 12 and 15 years old, none of whom contracted COVID-19 after getting vaccinated.
The company says it expects to get authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for the expanded use of its vaccine, which is currently approved for people 16 and older, sometime this week.
The Fairfax County Health Department says vaccine will be ready so that parents and guardians can start making appointments as soon as the federal approval comes in.
“The state and local health departments will let everyone know when the vaccine is approved for use among 12-15-year-olds and our appointment scheduling systems will update accordingly,” the FCHD said in a blog post.
Chart via Virginia Department of Health
The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.
We’ve searched the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean, and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!
Tuesday (May 11)
- Hand Lettering Workshop (Online) — 6 p.m. — CraftJam will be teaching the basics of hand-lettering, including how to add style, details, and decoration to your lettering. The event is free, but registration is required.
- Fit4Mom Stroller Strides — 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the Mosaic District (2910 District Ave) — Fit4Mom Stroller Strides is a total-body workout for moms with their kids in tow. The 60-minute workout includes strength training, cardio, and core restoration, along with entertainment for the little ones in your stroller. The class will meet in Strawberry Park in front of Mom & Pop. Register online. Your first session is free. There will be a second class held this week on Thursday (May 13) at the same time.
Wednesday (May 12)
- (the) Unruly Theatre Project’s Virtual Improv Show (Online) — 7 p.m. — The McLean Community Center’s teen improv group is putting on its latest virtual performance. Registration is open up to two hours before the show. The Zoom link and password will be emailed to those who register. For more information, contact [email protected].
Thursday (May 13)
- Trivia Night at Solace Outpost — 7 p.m. at Solace Outpost (444 West Broad Street) — It’s trivia night at Solace Outpost, and everyone is invited. Teams of up to seven people can compete in the free game to win the first-place prize of a $30 gift card or a $20 gift card for second place.
Friday (May 14)
- The Fast and the Furious Movie Series at The Boro (1667 Silver Hill Drive) — 7:15 p.m. — ShowPlace ICON Theatre and The Boro are hosting free The Fast and the Furious movie showings for Extra Members every Friday for the next few weeks. Signing up to be an Extras Member is free and can be done at iconmember.com. This week’s movie is The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. More information and other movie showings can be found on the ShowPlace Icon website.
Saturday (May 15)
- Tour de Hunter Mill — 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. starting at Reston Community Center (2310 Colts Neck Rd.) — The inaugural Tour de Hunter Mill is a community bicycle ride that will take cyclists on a tour through Reston, Vienna, and Tysons. Tickets are still available at $25 per rider, and people can pick between a family route or one of two long routes depending on their ability and interest.
- McLean Day 2021 — 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Ave) — McLean’s annual hometown celebration looks a little different this year. Drive-thru entertainment, such as jugglers, magicians, animals and more, will perform, and because there won’t be the typical vendor slots, virtual exhibition slots will be available via the Mission McLean app. The event is free. Longer lines are expected towards the start of the event, so plan your visit accordingly.
- 1st Stage Masters’ Class: Acting a Song (Online) — 2-4 p.m. — Voice coach Jane Margulies Kalbfeld is hosting an in-depth discovery of lyrical interpretation. The class will “explore and personalize the lyrics of a song with a powerful, step-by-step technique that can also be utilized in dramatic and comedic acting,” according to the 1st Stage website. Registration is required, and the cost is $35 per person.
- Spring 2021 Habitat Restoration Event — 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at Cherry Hill Park (312 Park Ave.) — Join the City of Falls Church Habitat Restoration Team in restoring the ecosystems of the local city parks. Volunteers will clean out invasive plants and plant native ones that benefit local wildlife. Registration is required to help maintain COVID-19 safety guidelines. For questions and more information, email Jeremy Edwards at [email protected].
It’s unclear what he was protesting, it’s unclear why he was protesting, but Vienna has an angry chicken-man.
According to last week’s Vienna Police Highlights, on May 2 around noon, there was a trespassing call for a man harassing customers at Clarity, an American-dining restaurant at 442 Maple Ave E.
Officers responded to the report of a man dressed in a chicken costume harassing customers at the restaurant. Members of a political party were having a private gathering at the restaurant. The man dressed as a chicken was with an opposing political party. The manager of the restaurant trespassed the man from the property. The man moved to the sidewalk in the public right of way to continue his protest.
The police report does not specify the exact nature of the political disagreement, but it clearly ruffled some feathers.
COVID-19 Vaccine Could Soon Be Approved for Teens — The CDC is scheduled to discuss recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for 12 to 15-year-old individuals on Wednesday (May 12). If it is approved, the Fairfax Health District says it will have vaccine available, and state and local appointment scheduling systems will be updated accordingly. [Fairfax County Health Department]
Falls Church Man Arrested for Threatening People at Mosque — 41-year-old Jonathan Lincoln faces assault and disorderly conduct charges after reportedly threatening people with a knife and trying to stab a security guard at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Seven Corners. The incident occured around 3 p.m. on Saturday (May 8), and there were no injuries. [WTOP]
Virginia Republicans Hold Nominating Convention — Virginia Republicans cast ballots in 39 different locations across the state on Saturday in a convention to select the party’s nominees for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. The results could take days to materalize, but turnout was expected to surpass the party’s last gubernatorial convention in 2013, when about 8,000 of 13,500 approved delegates cast ballots. [The Washington Post]
Falls Church News-Press Announces Endorsements — The Falls Church News-Press has thrown its support behind Terry McAuliffe, who is seeking to return to the governor’s mansion in November. It also endorsed Del. Mark Levine (D-Alexandria) for lieutenant governor and incumbent Mark Herring for attorney general. [Falls Church News-Press]
Vienna Farmers Market Kicks Off Season — “It may be cloudy and chilly but the Farmer’s Market hosted by our local Optimist Club in @TownOfVienna is open! Pleased to help cut the ribbon to open this season of fresh foods and goods!” [Del. Mark Keam/Twitter]
Construction on Madison High School Addition Continues — “Tearing the roof off the place, literally! If you watch until the end you can see a sheet a of steel be pulled down. One at a time, they came down today. Making room for the third floor!” [James Madison High School/Twitter]
The weekend is almost here. Before you fire up the grill or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit recent news from the Tysons area that you might’ve missed.
These were the most-read stories on Tysons Reporter this week:
- Luxury electric car producer Lucid Motors eyes second Tysons location
- Virginia updates rules for face masks, could lift all capacity limits in June
- UPDATED: Route 123 in McLean reopened after security threat at CIA headquarters
- Fairfax County averages under 100 new COVID-19 cases while nearing vaccine milestone
- UPDATED: Strong winds wreak havoc on power, traffic in Tysons
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.
Image via Fairfax County
