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.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, baddpizza still aims to open a new McLean location in the next few weeks, according to Joel Salamone, the eatery’s owner.

Though there isn’t an opening date set, the upcoming location at 6263 Old Dominion Drive will “100%” be open by June, Salamone said, adding that he might open it sooner if possible.

Inspired by Buffalo-style food, the pizza parlor not only serves medium-crust pizza, but also hot wings, salads, desserts and sub sandwiches, according to its website.

Unlike other joints, baddpizza has a sweeter sauce and places toppings right up to the edge, according to Salamone.

The new location joins another in Falls Church (346 W. Broad Street), which opened in February.

Photo via baddpizza/Facebook

In celebration of Virginia Business Appreciation Month, the Town of Vienna launched a new campaign called ViennaUnited.

ViennaUnited consists of community activities throughout the week and will benefit 1,800 of the town’s small businesses, according to a press release.

Events include bingo, a drive-by business challenge and “people’s choice awards” to local businesses given in an array of categories.

For the drive-by business challenge, people are encouraged to make signs supporting and encouraging their favorite spots by flashing the signs, the press release said. People are welcome to post pictures on social media and use the hashtag #ViennaUnited.

To score bingo points, people can engage in activities such as letter writing, ordering lunch from a local eatery and visiting a community coffee shop.

Though COVID-19 impacted small businesses, according to Natalie Monkou, the town’s economic development manager, event organizers hope this event will give business owners a boost.

“More than ever before, we need to show appreciation to our business community as we also consider the next steps toward recovery,” Monkou said in the press release. “This is a small but visual step in showing our support and showcasing the innovation and resiliency that is present in our town.”

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]

Nightlife is zilch in Tysons at the moment due to the pandemic. After a brief hiatus, the “Tysons After Dark” series is back to highlight different online activities from local organizations and offerings from eateries that keep people busy once the sun goes down. 

To promote its tenents during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tysons Galleria is offering various at-home activities and programming.

For those seeking lifestyle inspiration, the mall is offering five different courses from tenants, each of which help with interior design, personal style or food and drink, according to the web page.

For example, BoConcepts is offering free interior design advice from an expert. People can also explore the store digitally to see what’s showcased on the floor.

While spending more time at home, people are encouraged to take care of their health and step up their beauty routine with more offerings from mall vendors. Dolce Vita Salon & Spa is offering at-home hair touch-up kits for $65+ and the Tory Burch Foundation is offering a free wellness guide.

For those feeling crafty, the mall also now offers art project blueprints on its website as well.  Offerings include chalk art, origami and floral drawing tutorials.

Anyone who wants to pick up a bite to eat from the mall can also take advantage of a spend $50 get $20 deal at participating restaurants.

Photo via Anastasiia Chepinska on Unsplash

With uncertainty about the future of social distancing requirements and community health guidelines, Fairfax County Public School Board members are discussing what the upcoming fall semester might look like for teachers and students.

Though they said they won’t be making an official decision until the June meeting, board members bounced around ideas for online schedules and smaller class sizes at a work session on Monday (May 11).

The main concerns for the board include how to respect social distancing measures, how to help students who might not be able to return due to health concerns for themselves or their family, training for teachers and staff and finally how to ensure the continued quality of education, according to a slideshow shared at the work session.

Given current conditions, though, the board said it is looking at several possible options for the fall semester and is waiting to make a final decision until it has more guidance.

“We lack clarity around the time and conditions we might return under,” said Sloan Presidio, FCPS Superintendent. “We are hoping to get that clarity from the state in the coming weeks.”

The first possibility would be to begin the school year virtually using distance learning, giving faculty to revise schedules and curriculum that “best-fits students needs.”

To help with child care services and other needs that are usually fulfilled with in-person education, Presidio suggested that FCPS would work with faith-based organizations and similar institutions to fill the gap.

Yet another scenario would be returning to school in the fall, but with social distancing guidelines.

“That would require us to serve students based on their needs,” Presidio said, adding that priority would be given to students who would benefit the most from in-person instruction. Examples include students with learning disabilities or students learning English as a second language.

He also noted that it is easier for middle school and high school students to transition online than for elementary school students who have shorter attention spans.

Melanie K. Meren, Hunter Mill District Representative voiced concern at the meeting over the best ways to build communities for younger students, who are familiar with touch and play in their learning process.

“I would like to have more information about how we are going to acclimate our youngest learners to school,” she said.

A final scenario would be fully returning to a normal school schedule and offering online enrollment opportunities for students who wish to stay home, according to the meeting documentation.

Ricardy Anderson, a Mason District Board Member also suggested that schools send out a survey to parents, asking if they would let their students return to school regardless of FCPS’s decision — so FCPS could plan ahead and offer a more advanced online learning opportunities and partnerships.

Karen Keys-Gamarra an at-large board member also suggested that FCPS should work harder to communicate plans with parents and said that better channels of communication would “relieve anxiety” that many people are currently feeling.

Going forward, Anderson said FCPS must develop a “robust infrastructure” to guide online learning.

For a worst-case scenario, FCPS is also working on a plan if, for whatever reason, students would have to once again transition back into distance learning.

To help with the mental welfare of students in the coming months, regardless of in-person or online instruction, the board said they want to implement a stronger social-emotional learning plan.

“That is foundational to everything else we want to do academically,” one of the board members said.

The cost of the program would cost roughly $7 million according to the documentation at the meeting, which when broken down includes roughly $1 million for development of the curriculum, another $1 million for the screening tools and the remaining $5 million for new staffers and instructors.

Photo via Element5 Digital on Unsplash

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

Two lifelong friends who work at Hoar Construction in Tysons and Clyde’s in Maryland recently teamed up to feed health care workers around the D.C. area. 

By leveraging their connections at their companies, Bryce Yetso, the general manager of Clyde’s, and Mike Dramby, Hoar Construction’s senior project manager, said that they have handed out over $3,000-worth of food at two regional hospitals within the last few weeks.

Though Hoar Construction works on a variety of projects, Dramby specializes in hospital construction and expansion for the D.C. area office, so he said he was already somewhat familiar with the needs of hospital workers during this hectic time.

Meanwhile, Clyde’s was forced to furlough workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but was able to bring people back to work recently with the new request for meals, according to Yetso.

“Bryce was looking to get his people back to work and we were looking for a way to help front line folks,” Dramby said, adding that it made sense to join the two efforts together.

Hoar Construction managed fundraising efforts and coordination with the hospitals while Clyde’s was responsible for meal preparation and delivery, the men said.

Though Hoar Construction originally offered to front the meal order cost, Dramby said that almost all of his coworkers contributed to the effort.

Dramby told Tysons Reporter that his company has been especially busy during this time, because hospitals are investing money in wing expansions to boost capacity for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Going forward, the two men hope to cater meals to medical staff at two other hospitals in the near future.

Photo courtesy Clyde’s Catering

Small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Fairfax County can apply for grants through a new program approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

The Fairfax Relief Initiative to Support Employers (Fairfax RISE) uses $25 million in federal funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The program is intended to provide immediate relief for small businesses and nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and “address gaps that may exist among complementary programs,” according to the county.

“Our hope is that these grants will help small businesses and nonprofits be able to emerge from these difficult times by retaining employees and preparing to grow in the future,” Fairfax County Chairman Jeff McKay wrote in a statement.

Businesses and nonprofit organizations can begin applying in early June. Funding will be awarded based on the number of employees, with amounts varying from $10,000 to $20,000.

Funding can be used for compensation, capital, equipment, inventory, rent and other critical operating expenses. No grant funds can be used to pay debts to start or close a business.

Here’s more from a press release:

Fairfax RISE will offer grants to qualified businesses or nonprofits that will not have to be repaid. It also specifically establishes a minimum allocation of 30% of the program’s total dollars — or $7.5 million — towards awards for minority-, veteran-, and women- owned businesses.

Not only have these kinds of businesses historically faced difficulty obtaining financing, but they also make a major contribution to the county’s economy. Minority-owned companies with employees account for 32% percent of businesses in Fairfax County, and collectively, all minority, women and veteran-owned businesses employ 80,000 people in the county with total annual revenues of $14.4 billion.

The grant application process is expected to begin in early June 2020. To be eligible, applicants must be established and have one or more location(s) in Fairfax County, including the principal place of business. Fairfax County includes businesses and nonprofit organizations located in the Towns of Herndon, Vienna, and Clifton. Additionally, awardees must have less than 50 total employees across all locations, have been in operation over 1 year; and, with the exception of nonprofits, have a valid Business, Professional and Occupational Licenses (BPOL).

The county also created a microloan fund for small businesses using county dollars.

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