Could a desire for more park space make McLean less attractive to developers? That was the question residents pondered at a meeting earlier this week.
Currently, a task force made up of McLean residents and civic group members has been working with Fairfax County to revamp the McLean Commercial Business Center (CBC).
While the Fairfax County Park Authority pushed for more parks at the task force’s Monday (May 20) meeting, some of its members worried that an emphasis on more parks might push developers away.
Ryan Stewart, a senior planner for the Fairfax County Park Authority, said that a long-term vision for green space in McLean would move toward a mixed-use model, possibly emulating Fairfax Corner, Reston Town Center or the Mosaic District.
Population size determines countywide park facility service level standards, Stewart said.
With projected population changes that could have McLean see nearly 3,000 more residents and 1,500 fewer employees, the Park Authority recommends an additional 4.25 more acres of urban park space, a new playground and another sports court at full buildout in McLean.
“Any development scenario should consider how these needs will be met within the CBC or nearby,” a Park Authority presentation slide said.
The immediate area of the CBC has several parks, including McLean Central, Lewinsville, and Bryn Mawr.
Stewart stressed that urban parks provide a variety of benefits, including social connections, urban cooling and air and water quality improvement.
Kim Dorgan, the chair of the task force, supported a common sentiment among the task force members for more greenery.
“We all want trees,” she said, adding that McLean already has a green space deficit. “We are already 2.5 acres under where we ought to be in today’s standards in terms of green space,” Dorgan said.
While members of the task force said that adding more parks is important, they also expressed concern that developers might balk at more green space requirements.
“I’m all for green space, but stick it to a developer and say you need to give me an acre is going to be challenging,” one task force member that Tysons Reporter was unable to identify said.
Dorgan suggested finding a “creative” way to improve access to the McLean Central Park as a possible way to avoid the trade-off between more green space or more development.
“If we do nothing and there’s nothing that happens in McLean, we are still not where we want to be,” Dorgan said. “We need the change to get where we want to go.”
As Tysons gets taller, it’s become the scene of a hardcore — and illegal in this case — extreme sport: BASE jumping.
Last year, police investigated a series of incidents where people would trespass into the under-construction, 32-story Lumen building, climb to the top, and jump off with a parachute.
Videos from the jumper’s point of view were sent to FOX 5 in March.
“A total of six jumps are being investigated,” Fairfax County Police Lt. John Lieb told Tysons Reporter. “We believe we have identified one of the suspects, but confirming the date and location of the jump to make sure the elements of trespassing are met. We would encourage anyone else who has information to let us know.”
Lieb said that while the jumpers could be charged with a separate act of trespassing each time they cross over the property line, police believe differences in time of day and weather conditions in videos taken by the jumpers would indicate that the jumps took place on several different occasions.
Catherine Moran and Vernon Miles worked on this story.
A parade and fireworks are planned for a pair of Memorial Day commemorative events in the Tysons area.
On Sunday (May 26), the U.S. Marine Band will play a free concert at the Filene Center (1551 Trap Road) in Wolf Trap National Park. A fireworks display is planned to follow the concert.
Gates open at 6:30 p.m. for lawn and in-house seating, with curtains opening at 8 p.m. the fireworks are planned to start at around 9:45 p.m.
Seating capacity for the event is limited. The Fairfax Connector bus from the West Falls Church Metro station will not be available for the event. Parking is free and attendees can get $5 off two Lyft rides with the code WOLFTRAP19.
On Monday (May 27), the City of Falls Church is hosting its 38th Annual Memorial Day Festival and Parade with an expected 12,000 visitors. The festival is planned to feature food, live entertainment, artists and various vendors.
The Don Beyer Volvo 3K Fun Run is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. The parade is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Free public parking will be available in the Kaiser Permanente garage at the corner of N. Washington Street and Park Avenue and at the George Mason Square garage (103 W. Broad Street).
The parade and festival will also result in several street closures.
- Park Avenue will be closed from 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m. between N. Maple Avenue to N. Virginia Avenue (except for limited vendor traffic)
- Little Falls Streed will be closed from 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m. between Park Avenue to Great Falls Street
- Great Falls Street
- Pennsylvania Avenue
- Fulton Avenue
- N. Oak Street
- Lincoln Avenue
- N. West Street
- Park Avenue
Other Memorial Day events around the area include:
- The Murphy Challenge: Memorial Day Workout and Grill-Out — 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at CrossFit Tysons Corner (8452 Tyco Road) — The event is a fundraiser to support educational charities to honor the life of Lt. Michael Murphy. Three workouts will be held followed by a grilling event, with attendees asked to bring a drink or dish to share. Visitors and non-members can sign up online.
- Memorial Day Annual Pool Party — 12-2 p.m. at Sport&Health McLean (1800 Old Meadow Road) — The summer barbecue and pool event is hosted by Sport&Health McLean and will include information about aquatics programs, camps and more.
Photo via Facebook
Canadian shoe retailer Aldo and two sister stores of an Italian fashion brand have new spots in Tysons Corner Center.
The shoe store moved from its spot by the Lord & Taylor on the second level to a space neighboring the Lego store on the first level on Thursday, May 9.
Upstairs next to Aldo’s former spot, sister stores Calzedonia Italian Legwear and Beachwear and Intimissimi opened last Friday (May 17).
Calzedonia sells socks, leggings and beachwear, while Intimissimi, which is also a part of the Calzedonia family, focuses on Italian lingerie.
Currently, shoppers at Calzedonia can buy one bikini and get 20 percent off of a second bra or buy two bras and get one for free at Intimissimi.
Two more bidders are now vying for a Tysons property poised for redevelopment and new owners.
McLean-based Tepe & Hisar LLC submitted a bid earlier this month to buy the property for $19.5 million, while Virginia Beach-based Cobalt Real Estate Solutions LLC offered to pay $30.4 million for an adjacent office building, the Washington Business Journal reported.
Shortly after Fairfax County OK’d the redevelopment project near the corner of Leesburg Pike and Gallows Road in the Old Courthouse district two years, the developer filed for bankruptcy.
The approved plans for International Place (8201 Leesburg Pike), which were submitted by a limited liability company as a project of the Stafford-based Garrett Cos., would add one main new building and five secondary mixed-use structures.
The Washington Business Journal previously reported that the LLC arranged a May 7 hearing to seek permission to sell the property to a Middle Eastern real estate developer who chairs the United Arab Emirates-based Nobles Properties.
While neither of the new deals is final, a bankruptcy judge authorized the new purchase agreements on May 10, the article notes.
Now, the stalled development may face a decision on new ownership at an upcoming June 4 hearing.
“Representatives for the debtor filed a motion with the court seeking authorization to reject an earlier purchase agreement stuck with Thallium so the office building at 8133 Leesburg can instead be sold to Cobalt,” the Washington Business Journal reported.
Image via Fairfax County
The Town of Vienna is no stranger to landing on lists for prime spots to live.
For the second year in a row, Vienna nabbed the #1 spot for “The Best Places to Live in Virginia” list by HomeSnacks, which uses data from the Census, FBI, OpenStreetMaps and other sources to rank areas around the country.
HomeSnacks analyzed 62 places around the state and determined that Vienna’s low unemployment rate, “very stable household median incomes” and low crime rate made it stand out.
HomeSnacks used several criteria to evaluate its national “Best Places to Live” list this year, including high population density, low unemployment rates, median income adjusted for the cost of living, low housing vacancy rate, high expenditures per student, low student-teacher ratios and low crime.
So what do you think? Which of the following criteria do you think makes Vienna so desirable?
Bicyclists and drivers can expect new lane markings on Greensboro Drive by The Boro development early next month.
Last week, a self-identified cyclist questioned on Twitter when the road would get new striping.
“The new asphalt is nice, but total chaos,” the May 14 tweet said. “[The] eastbound bike lane, second travel lane, and center turn lane [are] all obliterated. And it’s been a few weeks.”
Jennifer McCord, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, told Tysons Reporter that the roadwork is being completed by a developer under permit.
The developer gave this update on Greensboro Drive via the VDOT spokeswoman:
VDOT approved a temporary striping plan to allow bicycle traffic to share the southbound lane of Greensboro Drive between Westpark and Solutions until improvements to Greensboro, Westpark and Solutions have been completed. Currently, there are bicycle “sharrows” between Westpark and Silver Hill. Prior to Greensboro being milled and overlaid between Silver Hill and Solutions, a sharrow was installed and a remaining sharrow will be reinstalled.
In addition to the shared lane marking, the signal at the intersection of Westpark and Greensboro drives will be modified and new signals will be installed at Greensboro’s intersection with Spring Hill Road and Solutions Drive, the spokeswoman said.
“The contractor plans to mill and overlay Greensboro and Westpark the weeks of May 28 and June 3; then pavement markings will be placed relative to the bike lane from Westpark to Solutions,” McCord wrote in an email.
Drivers and bicyclists can expect temporary markings until the signal construction is complete. Once the work on the signals finishes, Greensboro Drive will then welcome new permanent markings, McCord said.
Hey @VaDOTNOVA is there a striping plan/timetable for Greensboro Dr in #Tysons? The new asphalt is nice, but its TOTAL CHAOS. Eastbound #bikelane, 2nd travel lane, and center turn lane all obliterated. And it's been a few weeks. Thanks! pic.twitter.com/B0oFCbUOEh
— Chris French (@chrislfrench) May 14, 2019
Updated 5/22/2019 — A new plan could widen the Beltway in McLean, but nearby residents say the plan won’t do anything to fix the bottleneck of traffic.
At a meeting in Cooper Middle School (977 Balls Hill Road) yesterday (May 20), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) presented plans to add new toll lanes from the Dulles Toll Road to the American Legion Bridge to help alleviate a severe bottleneck in the region.
The plans for the toll roads have been in the works since last June, but the need for a solution to Beltway congestion was highlighted in March when a tanker crash paralyzed regional traffic.
VDOT’s plans call for the expansion of express lanes to the bridge and connections with the Dulles Toll Road. A connection to the George Washington Parkway is being considered, but options are included to not have the express lanes connect to the parkway.
VDOT officials said the three bridges in McLean that pass over the Beltway would be replaced and would include new pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
But for over an hour, McLean residents expressed outrage at the expansion of the Beltway and a perception that the decision had already been made behind closed doors. Residents who felt empowered by a recent rejection of a proposal to limit access to Georgetown Pike from McLean — a proposal that new state legislation means could come back — asked why this expansion was being treated as a done deal.
“[That] was a transportation solution for a neighborhood problem,” Susan Shaw, megaprojects director for VDOT, said at the meeting. “This project is a regional transportation project. We will consider input from communities, but we will also be considering transportation improvements for the region. If we only let direct impact communities decide — we would never provide any regional project.
One of the biggest criticisms — raised by State Senate candidate Nicole Merlene running against Barbara Favola — was that the success of the project seemed dependent on the expansion of the bridge and connection to toll roads on the Maryland side, projects that are still in early stages.
Shaw said that no traffic analysis was ready yet to show the impact of the toll lanes without improvements on the Maryland side, but she said that would be considered before final approval.
“We don’t have that traffic analysis yet, but I would expect there to be a bottleneck without increased capacity on the bridge,” said Shaw. “I think the question is, ‘Are there other improvements that we would see on this project? If there’s a period of time where Virginia is in on this project and Maryland is not, are there transportation benefits?’ That will be included in the assessment.”
Firefighters say improperly discarded smoking materials led to a house fire in the Wolf Trap area last Friday (May 17).
There were no injuries, but the fire in the Chase Hill neighborhood is estimated to have caused $5,200 in damages.
UPDATE: House fire 9900 block Chase Hill Ct, Wolf Trap 5/17/19. Occupant awoke to see fire on exterior home. Smoke alarms alerted after fire discovered. 7 occupants displaced. Cause: IMPROPER DISPOSAL of SMOKING MATERIALS. Damages: $5,200. No injuries. Sink It or Soak It! #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/eKIgliSN6L
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) May 21, 2019
The fire is the latest in what the fire department says has been a trend, with several house fires throughout Fairfax being caused by improper disposal of smoking materials like cigarettes.
Photo via Facebook
A Fairfax County grand jury indicted Veronica Youngblood Monday (May 20) with two murder charges after she allegedly shot both of her daughters, according to news reports.
Youngblood was arrested in Loudoun County and charged with murder after police found two girls with gunshot wounds in their Tysons apartment last year, Tysons Reporter previously reported.
The 5-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, and the 15-year-old died at the hospital.
The incident happened after a custody dispute between Youngblood and her divorced husband, WTOP reported.
The 33-year-old mother was previously charged with the murder of the younger daughter and wounding the older daughter — the indictment was the first time she was charged in the 15-year-old’s death, WTOP reported.
Photo courtesy FCPD
