Be warned if you’re planning on displaying any Carolina Hurricanes gear in McLean: your new neighbor Evgeny Kuznetsov might take exception.

Kuznetsov, a Russian-born 26-year-old center for the Washington Capitals, and his wife Anastasia purchased two adjacent properties in McLean along Spring Hill Road, according to the Washington Business Journal.

The properties cost a combined $5.95 million and the sale closed on March 26. Kuznetsov signed a $62.4 million contract with the Caps in 2017, making him one of the few millennials able to afford a house in wealthy McLean on their own.

If Kuznetsov is looking to grab a post-work drink with some colleagues, Sakura Japanese Steak and Seafood House in Tysons seems to be a favorite of one of his teammates.

Photo via Facebook

Anyone in Tysons missing the old O’Malley’s Pub at the DoubleTree Hilton in Tysons might be pleased to go back and find a new bar in its place.

The new “Tysons Social Tavern” at 1960 Chain Bridge Road opened last Friday (April 5). So far, manager Joanna White said the business has mostly been driven by hotel guests, but as the bar and restaurant gets its footing it will start reaching out to the community at large.

White said that while O’Malley’s Pub was popular, when the rest of the DoubleTree was renovated to become a more full-service hotel they were left with a pub that still very much had a late-20th-century vibe.

“We wanted to keep the tavern feel but update it,” White said.

The restaurant offers a range of bar staples, from sandwiches like Reubens and Philly cheesesteaks to meals-to-share, like wings or pizzas. So far, White said the local favorite has been the tavern’s rockfish.

The bar also offers an array of local craft beers, like several selections from Alexandria’s Port City Brewery.

While local nightlife and bar options can still be scarce, Tysons Social Tavern is part of a growing trend of more locally-oriented watering holes to cater to the residential and working communities around Tysons, as opposed to chain restaurants mostly serving mall-goers.

On May 1, White said Tysons Social Tavern is planning to start its Grubhub service to deliver food around the region, which she said will hopefully help boost its profile in the local community.

With the Nouvelle residential building open and The Monarch under construction, Cityline Partners LLC is hoping for Fairfax County’s permission to move forward with the next step of the Arbor Row project near Tysons Galleria.

The overarching plan is to transform the back end of Tysons Galleria along Westpark Drive into a suite of mixed-use buildings. Block E is the Nouvelle, and Block D is the under-construction Monarch hotel.

On April 24, Block C of the project will go to the Planning Commission to try and amend the change the two approved office buildings planned at the site into a two-tower senior living complex called The Mather.

The towers are proposed to be 18 and 27 stories tall with a podium connecting the towers on the lower levels. The site would contain 300 independent living units, 78 assisted living units, and 18,000 square feet of retail and restaurants on the lower floors.

“The quasi-public use of the Mather community will complement the mix of residential, office and retail uses within and surrounding Arbor Row,” the project developers said in the application. “In addition, this Mather community will bring an attractive senior living use to Tysons, addressing a need that currently is not being met.”

Following the Planning Commission hearing, the project is scheduled to go to the Board of Supervisors on May 7. If approved, tentative opening for The Mather is planned for 2022.

Vienna’s Windover Heights Historic District is a little secluded, but on Sunday, April 28, the neighborhood is throwing open its doors to the public for its annual A Walk on the Hill.

The small neighborhood is located just northwest of the Maple Avenue near Lawyers Road. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Windover Heights being designated as a historic district.

The festival is planned to include live music and photography exhibits, in addition to tours of the historic neighborhood. During the celebration, visitors are also invited to stroll through 50 participating yards and landscaped gardens.

Several homes in the neighborhood date back to the late 19th century, with the local history going back further with stories of Union soldiers using the area as a cavalry outpost during the Civil War.

According to town documents, notable historic spots on the tour include:

• 214 Lawyers — The original First Baptist Church was built here in 1887 by the black community on land deeded for $1 by Major O. E. Hine, Vienna’s first mayor. The material was from the Union Army barracks of the Civil War. This was the first church in Vienna and was also used as a school until the 1890s.
• The Barn at Windover — The barn was originally part of the Salsbury dairy farm on the hill. Handmade wooden pegs have continued being used in the building’s preservation and the original design is maintained.
• The West End Cemetery — The land was deeded in 1884 by Capt. Harmon Salsbury and his second wife, Susannah Freeman, to the small black community that had grown up around the Salsbury farm. Many of the tombstones date to the turn of the century and before. Thomas and Daniel West, prominent black citizens, are buried here. In 1987 Historic Vienna, Inc. rededicated the cemetery as a historic Vienna landmark.

The event is free and open to the public, with local residents providing punch and cookies during the celebration. Parking for the event is available at the Green Hedges School and at the Vienna Arts Society (243 Church Street NW).

Photo via Facebook

Fairfax County police are looking for witnesses to help clear up conflicting accounts of a reckless driving incident last week.

Police say the incident took place last Friday (April 5) on Beulah Road between Leesburg Pike and Old Courthouse Road. According to FCPD:

We received complaints of reckless driving around 5:45 p.m. involving three cars — a black Honda Civic, a blue Honda Civic and a silver Honda Accord. One car was forced off the road and caused several nearby drivers to have to avoid collisions.

The drivers were identified, but police said they provided conflicting accounts of the event.

The incident is believed to have started in Maryland but continued down into Fairfax County, police said. There were no injuries.

“We would like to speak with anyone who may have witnessed the aggressive driving behavior of these individuals at that time,” police said in the press release. “Anyone who may have information regarding this incident is asked to call Master Police Officer C. R. Quattrin at the McLean District Station at 703-556-7750.”

Tips can also be submitted anonymously online, by calling 1-866-411-TIPS or by texting “TIP187” plus the message to CRIMES (274637). Tipsters are eligible for cash rewards of $100 to $1000 if the information leads to an arrest.

Editor’s note: Over the next several weeks, Tysons Reporter is profiling the eight districts of Tysons. This is the third article in that series.

Almost three hundred years ago, when Thomas Fairfax was still alive, the county’s first courthouse was built where the “Toilet Bowl Building” now stands. The courthouse is long gone, but it has given its name to the second of Tysons’ eight districts.

“Old Courthouse” is now home to mid-rise offices, but is destined to become a mixed-use residential quarter as the Comprehensive Plan is implemented.

Ironically enough, the Old Courthouse district doesn’t actually include the land where the courthouse itself once stood. Rather, the district runs along Old Courthouse Road and Gallows Road and is bounded by Route 123 to the northwest, Route 7 to the northeast, the Beltway to the east, and the single-family neighborhoods to its south and southwest.

Old Courthouse is today home to a collection of low- and mid-rise office buildings and a few strip-mall-style retail and dining options. Tomorrow, it could be home to many more people.

The Tysons Comprehensive Plan envisions this area as “a neighborhood that supports an active 24-hour environment where people go to restaurants or shopping after work.” and where “residential development will become a dominant use in most subdistricts, which will create the sense of community throughout this district.”

In a sense, this will be the residential counterpart of the Tysons Central 123 shopping area just north of it.

Getting Around

As a mixed-use residential area, planners intend for families living in Old Courthouse to be able to satisfy most of their day-to-day needs with a short walk. Pedestrian infrastructure, like more pleasant sidewalks and safer crossings, will help make that vision a reality.

Perhaps the most major change in the blueprints for Old Courthouse is the extension of Boone Boulevard. Ultimately, this street could triple in length, extending all the way from Kidwell Drive in the south, crossing Route 123 in the north, and leading into the civic center planned for the western part of Tysons Central 7. That extension — along with other proposed new streets perpendicular to it — would create a denser grid of streets, making it easier for both pedestrians and vehicles to move around.

Public transportation will be key to the district’s future. Almost all of Old Courthouse is within a mile walk of the Greensboro Metro station, and some is much closer. The extended Boone Boulevard has been identified as a prime candidate for a circulator line connecting the different neighborhoods of Tysons.

Old Courthouse also stands to benefit greatly from the potential park on top of the Route 123-Route 7 intersection, which would make it much easier for people to get to the Metro station as well as provide some much-needed green space.

Redevelopment Projects

Although the vision of the Comprehensive Plan extends for decades, a handful of development projects in the coming years offer us a peek into the future of Old Courthouse.

For the most part, developers will be permitted to construct offices and shops in addition to residences throughout Old Courthouse. However, Fairfax County hopes to incentivize additional housing by letting developers build taller buildings if those buildings are residential — with the requirement that these taller apartment or condo buildings have a light impact on traffic.

In 2015, Fairfax County approved plans for a development including 385 apartments and 129,000 square feet of commercial space to be located in the northern part of Old Courthouse on Rt. 7. This plan, called International Place, would bring a much more urban form, with wide sidewalks and street cafe seating. However, the developer who was to be responsible for the project has since declared bankruptcy, leaving the undeveloped-but-approved project on the market.

A hospital could also be coming to the eastern part of the district as the medical system seeks to be able to serve the increasing number of residents across Tysons.

This summer, you can find love touring around Fairfax County — a tour that will start next month in Tysons.

As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the “Virginia is for Lovers” slogan, Fairfax County received a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation to send series of letters spelling out “LOVE” around the county.

According to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority:

Fairfax County will receive its first permanent ‘LOVEwork’ sign, which will embark on a Summer of LOVE tour to county attractions. The LOVE tour will kick off on the Plaza at Tysons Corner Center from May 9 to May 19, coinciding with National Travel & Tourism Week.

The sign is also scheduled to be displayed at Caboose Commons in Merrifield from June 26 to July 1.

It will make an appearance in the Tysons area at Wolf Trap, where it will be displayed from July 12 to July 24, before eventually being sent to the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton as part of a permanent display.

Photo via Virginia Tourism Corporation

A woman allegedly walked into American Bird Company (7219 Lee Highway) in Falls Church and walked out with stolen baby birds — twice.

Police say on March 30 the theft of a young green Indian ring-neck — a type of parakeet — was reported at the store. The bird had an estimated value of over $700.

Then, two days later on April 1, an employee at the store said the woman they suspected had stolen the first bird was seen returning to the store. When a manager confronted her, the employee said she ran out of the store holding two birds.

The employee said the manager chased the woman down the street. An older bird was able to get free and was captured, but the employee said she managed to hold onto a young grey cockatoo. Police said the estimated value of the bird was $250.

A video showed the woman in the store, but police said it had no identifying information. The store employee said a bird had only been stolen from the store — which has been in business since 1989 — once before.

“It’s a terrible thing,” the employee said. “They’re young and she probably doesn’t know how to care for them.”

Photo of a baby cockatoo via Flickr/Rob and Stephanie Levy

(Updated April 12) Posh! — a high-end interior designer at 419 Maple Avenue E in Vienna — is having a closing sale.

Nearly all merchandise in the store is 20 percent off, though given the luxury implied in the store’s name, that still leaves most larger items in the store well over $1,000.

Prices in the store range from a $6,000 credenza near the front to $33 linen hand towels.

Employees at the store would not say when the store was planning to fully close, though the store remains very heavily stocked with merchandise.

After surviving its first winter, Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road) is celebrating spring with its first craft brewery festival: Springfest.

The festival is planned for Saturday, April 27, from 12-7 p.m. The event will feature live music throughout the day.

According to an email, at least ten breweries will be participating.

• Ono Brewing Company
• Vasen Brewing Company
• Rocket Frog Brewing Company
• Mad Fox Brewing Company
• Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company
• Settle Down Easy Brewing
• Forge Brew Works
• Lake Anne Brewhouse
• Caboose Brewing Company

Tickets are available day-of or can be ordered online.

Photo via Caboose Brewing Company