A rezoning request for a proposed office tower near the McLean Metro station will be considered by the Board of Supervisors later this month.
Akridge and the Ronald D. Paul Companies are looking to develop 1690 Old Meadow Road, a triangular spot between Dolley Madison Blvd and the Old Meadow Road, into a 15-story tower with Class A offices.
Called One Tysons East, the project would include a 8,300-square-foot restaurant and cafe on the main level, along with retail space and a bike room, according to the website.
The project plans for five levels of parking with 500 spaces — two levels of parking would be underground, while three would be above the lobby. Above the parking, the tower would have 11 floors of office space totaling 24,500 square feet.
The tower also plans to have a landscaped outdoor terrace with a bocce court on the fifth floor, which would also include a client-only cafe, coffee bar, conference room, fitness center and yoga space.
The developers are looking to increase the floor area ratio and receive approval for their plans.
The Planning Commission recommended approval for the rezoning last April after discussion on how the distinctive curved-glass tower could potentially kill birds.
Now, county documents indicate that the Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing on March 24.
Images via One Tysons East
Happy Friday! Here are the latest stories about the Tysons area that the Tysons Reporter team has been reading:
Tysons Auto Group to Offer Luxury Hybrid Speedsters — “Tysons-based Exclusive Automotive Group has since updated its plans to include sales and service of both Karma Automotive and Koenigsegg vehicles. This will be the first presence for both in the D.C. area.” [Washington Business Journal]
Affordable Housing Spike Expected — “Fairfax County could soon more than double funding for its affordable housing loan program, with local leaders starting work on a new budget that would offer up more than $45.7 million to power affordable development.” [Washington Business Journal]
McLean Falls on Richest U.S. Places List — “The next Virginia town on the list was McLean at 30 with an average household income of $293,323. McLean fell from 25th place last year, although its average income rose from $283,992… Rounding out Virginia towns on the list was Wolf Trap at 47, down from 42 in last year’s ranking. The average household income increased from $261,610 to $265,175.” [Patch]
Falls Church Concerned About Upcoming Metro Parking Closure — “Falls Church’s Assistant City Manager Cindy Mester will be on an urgent conference call with WMATA officials and her counterparts in Arlington and Fairfax Friday in an effort to mitigate the impact on neighborhoods in the City of Falls Church of WMATA’s plans, announced less than two weeks ago, to close the parking lots at the East and West Falls Church Metro stations months ahead of the closing of the stations for platform repairs over the summer.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Thank you for sharing these great pictures with us. We recently had a local Daisy Troop tour the Vienna Police Station. We are glad the children had a wonderful time and also learned about police work. @TownofViennaVA @fcpsnews pic.twitter.com/cEHkZWSKbh
— Town of Vienna Police (@VPDVA) February 28, 2020
The Langley School, a private school in McLean, wants a multi-million-dollar makeover.
Today (Tuesday), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved issuing $21 million in revenue bonds by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority to the school for a renovation.
“The bonds will be entirely supported by the revenues of The Langley School,” according to county documents.
County documents said that the funding will help cover the costs of renovating, equipping and acquiring a three-story academic building that would serve as the school’s “hub,” along with:
- flexible learning spaces
- primary school facilities
- fifth-grade space
- library
- music facilities
- renovating existing campus primary school facilities
“In addition, the applicant requested the ability to pursue refinancing or refunding certain prior debt, funding reserves, capitalized interest and/or swap breakage costs related to the proposed bonds or the prior bonds and funding certain costs of the issuance of the proposed bonds,” the documents said.
The school (1411 Balls Hill Road) teaches kids from preschool to eighth grade.
Image via Google Maps
Welcome back from the long weekend! Here are the latest stories about the Tysons area that the Tysons Reporter team has been reading:
Vienna Officials Grapple With Mishaps — “The Vienna Town Council and town staffers devoted the first half of a Feb. 10 work session to discussing why some recent missteps occurred, and what can be done to prevent them in the future.” [Inside NoVa]
Fairfax County Reconsidering Mother-in-Law Suites — “Fairfax County could soon substantially loosen its regulations governing accessory dwelling units, perhaps following the lead of D.C. and other local jurisdictions looking to expand available housing options for renters.” [Washington Business Journal]
Leaders Say Merrifield Needs More Community — “Greater Merrifield Business Association leaders want to foster a community atmosphere in Merrifield, but know they’re at a disadvantage compared with long-established communities such as Vienna, Fairfax or Falls Church.” [Inside NoVa]
Sneak Peek: Later this week, expect Tysons Reporter to provide an update on e-scooters in Vienna and a profile on Fava Pot in Falls Church.
The Hunter Mill District Supervisor is planning on coming to the Town of Vienna in a few weeks to hear from local residents.
Walter Alcorn announced on Twitter that he will hold a town hall on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The event is set to take place from 7-9 p.m. at lecture hall 25000 at James Madison High School (2500 James Madison Drive).
People interested in attending can RSVP to [email protected].
Alcorn hosted his first town hall since joining the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in Reston earlier this month.
Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors plans to soon laud the James Madison High School’s marching ensemble for its achievements last year.
In a joint board matter, Supervisors Walter Alcorn and Dalia Palchik, who represent the Hunter Mill and Providence districts, want to recognize the school’s marching ensemble several for “an outstanding season and historic championship.”
Called the “Pride of Vienna,” the marching ensemble won the Virginia Marching Band Cooperative State Championship in the fall for the second year in a row.
The group also won the Bands of America Regional Competition last fall.
“This victory was [the] first time a Virginia band has won a Bands of America Mid-Atlantic Regional Competition in nearly 40 years,” according to the board matter.
The group competed on the national level, ultimately becoming semi-finalists.
The Board of Supervisors voted yesterday (Tuesday) to invite the marching ensemble and the Town of Vienna to an upcoming board meeting to receive congratulations.
“I look forward to having ‘Pride of Vienna’ come here,” Palchik said.
Photo via Marsha Komandt/Facebook
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has decided to waive the county building and inspection fees for Vienna’s new police station.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn and Chairman Jeff McKay proposed the board matter on Tuesday (Feb. 11).
Alcorn said that Vienna town officials requested the waivers.
The Town of Vienna is currently designing a new police station that will have a community room and more space.
“This new building will provide the opportunity for the Town to place all their police functions in one building with upgraded technology and security,” the board matter says. “The building is also being designed to accommodate the town’s emergency planning needs and will include additional community space for the town’s residents.”
While the new station is under construction, the police plan to use space in Town Hall and have a temporary station at 440 Beulah Road NE.
“In 2020, Vienna will be submitting plans and applications for this project which require numerous permits and inspections from Fairfax County,” according to the board matter. “The Town of Vienna has requested, and we support, waiving all county building and inspection fees applicable to the Vienna Police Facility Construction Project to best serve the community.”
Image via Town of Vienna
Tomorrow (Feb. 4), the Fairfax County’s Transportation Committee will meet to discuss upcoming projects around the area.
Board members will kick off the meeting, which begins at 3 p.m. in the Fairfax County Government Center, with updates and progress regarding the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Expansion project.
According to the documents posted ahead of the meeting, the I-495 project will include expansion of express lanes to George Washington Memorial Parkway, replacement of existing overpasses, implementation of a shared-use path and addition of new noise barrier walls.
Upgrades could save drivers up to 25 minutes during their peak-hour commute, especially with ease cut-through traffic congestion in local communities, according to the documents.
Other items on the agenda include bus and Metrorail improvements and the Bicycle Master Plan.
For people who bike to work, a shared-use bike path behind the noise wall will connect the American Legion Bridge to Maryland, the presentation said.
Meanwhile, an ongoing I-495 Regional Transit Study is expected to become public sometime this year.
A public forum to discuss the discuss environmental and technical reports from the project is set for March 12 at Langley High School (6520 Georgetown Pike) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recently approved changes to improve road safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.
At the board’s Tuesday meeting, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn and Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk jointly unveiled a proposal to initiate a review of the county’s Department of Transportation’s ActiveFairfax planning process.
ActiveFairfax is a transportation plan that includes a Bicycle Master Plan and Countywide Trails Plan Update for the county.
“Sixteen pedestrian fatalities in our county in 2019 is too many,” Alcorn said. “Most of our built environment is still designed for moving vehicles, which creates obvious conflicts and we need to evolve toward safer walking and cycling.”
More from the board matter:
The commitment of Fairfax County to address this is clear, including more than $300 million in funding approved for stand-alone bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects over the past decade.
Most of these projects have been implemented, while some are still in progress. It should be noted that the $300 million in funding doesn’t include bike and pedestrian projects that are being implemented as part of larger roadway projects, or in VDOT’s repaving schedule…
Due to the General Assembly reallocating funding for Metro’s State of Good Repair Initiative, the Board deferred a number of bike and pedestrian projects last year. And we all have examples of more bike and pedestrian projects to be done, if more funding were available.
Fortunately, the General Assembly is looking at options for increasing transportation funding, but currently they don’t go far enough.
Alcorn and Lusk want the county’s departments and the Virginia Department of Transportation to coordinate their efforts and also want FCDOT to review the following:
- working timeline for the ActiveFairfax Plan
- external communications strategy for the planning process
- evaluation of the current approach for funding pedestrian improvements
- examination of how tech can improve pedestrian and bicycle safety ahead of ActiveFairfax
- whether the county can achieve measurable safety goals like Vision Zero
Lusk called recent pedestrian-involved fatalities and injuries along county roads a “public safety crisis.”
The Board of Supervisors will continue the discussion about the ActiveFairfax Plan at the transportation and public safety committee meetings, according to a press release.
With the risk of solar installations delaying or stopping altogether, Fairfax County is pushing politicians in Richmond to enact legislation that would lift renewable energy restrictions.
Yesterday, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of supporting Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw ‘s proposal to back several bills introduced during the 2020 General Assembly that would promote a transition to a low-carbon economy
The bills include:
- HB 572 introduced by Del. Mark Keam (D-35th)
- HB 912 introduced by Del. Marcus Simon (D-53rd)
- HB 1184 introduce by Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-49th)
- SB 710 (known as Solar Freedom Bill) introduced by State Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-9th)
“These bills remove statutory barriers to distributed solar electricity generation thereby allowing local government along with Virginia residents and businesses to invest in and benefit from on-site solar generation,” Walkinshaw said.
Fairfax County is facing statutory barriers as it looks to expand its use of solar energy, Walkinshaw said.
“Fairfax County and other non-residential customers are essentially unable to use purchase power agreements due to statutory barriers including a power purchase agreement pilot program limit of 50 megawatts in the service area of Dominion Energy Virginia,” he said.
If the legislation does not pass, Fairfax County won’t be able to proceed with on-site solar installations that would total more than 40 megawatts of electricity, he said.
“I think the key message to the General Assembly is that our projects are ready to go,” Walkinshaw said. “If this legislation doesn’t succeed this year, they will stop.”
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik and other board members shared support for Walkinshaw’s proposal.
“Over the past several years, I’ve had conversations with people who do this energy work nationally or internationally, and to continually here from them that Virginia is one of — if not the most — challenging place to get any of this done, I think it’s time to turn that corner,” Palchik said.
Chairman Jeff McKay said it was “frustrating” for advocates when similar legislation failed in the General Assembly last year.
“This is an issue really critical to us here,” he said.
The board voted 9-0, with Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity absent, to send the letter to the General Assembly delegation and Gov. Ralph Northam.
