Capital One is extending its reach to the north side of Scotts Crossing Road in Tysons.
Fairfax County records show that the company purchased 9.4 acres of land at 1820 Dolley Madison Boulevard for $37 million in May 2019. The site was previously known as Scotts Run North and belonged to developer Cityline Partners.
Now, Capital One wants to transform the parking lot that currently occupies most of the property with a permanent park on the south end and an interim baseball field to the north. The latter will eventually be replaced with mixed-use buildings, according to a development plan filed with Fairfax County on Feb. 3.
Dubbed Capital One East Park, this is the second recreational facility project that Capital One has sent to county planners in recent weeks. On the south side of Scotts Crossing, an urban park has been proposed for Capital One Center, the development emerging around the company’s Tysons headquarters.
“As an extension of our corporate campus, these spaces will not only serve Capital One, but will also be of benefit to our Fairfax County neighbors and community, in keeping with the Tysons Comprehensive Plan,” Capital One corporate spokesperson Angela Solomon told Tysons Reporter by email.
She noted that both proposals will bring more outdoor gathering and recreational space to Tysons East and include road and utility infrastructure upgrades to prepare for future planned development.
Capital One anticipates beginning construction on both projects this summer, aiming for completion by fall 2023, Solomon says.
Called Frances Park in Cityline’s Scotts Run North plans, Capital One East Park will be 33,410 square feet in size when fully built. The submitted application covers 29,888 square feet, stating that the rest will be delivered with future building construction.
The park will feature a variety of amenities, such as a plaza or seating area, a play area, a fitness zone, water features, and bathrooms. The plan also shows “a potential carousel or other similar feature.”
While the park will be publicly accessible, the temporary baseball field will be privately owned and operated. It’s primarily intended to be used by Capital One employees, but will be made available to community sports leagues, according to Solomon.
The field is expected to have approximately 1,000 square feet of building space for a press box and restrooms.
“These amenities will help Capital One continue to attract and retain talented employees in an evolving office market, and will provide a range of recreational opportunities on a site that is currently used exclusively for surface parking,” McGuireWoods land-use planner Mike Van Atta wrote in the statement of justification for the project.
Capital One has proposed maintaining 194 of the existing parking lot’s 665 spaces until the five buildings planned for the site are constructed.
The company says it’s also working with Fairfax County to accelerate work on a road to potentially connect Scotts Crossing with the Dulles Airport Access Road. A portion of the connector road will be built as part of the park project.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved 1.5 million square feet of development for Scotts Run North in 2015. The plans call for two residential towers and three office buildings, one of which could be turned into a hotel instead, as well as 49,000 square feet of space for retail or service uses.
Capital One’s statement of justification suggests it will adhere to that plan, saying that the Capital One East Park proposal “will not impact the phrasing or ultimate delivery of the approved future development.”
Photo via Google Maps
Man Arrested in Vienna Shooting — A 25-year-old Manassas man has been charged with malicious wounding and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after a shooting in the Navy Federal Credit Union parking lot at 801 Follin Lane SE. Police found a male victim who had been shot in the upper torso around 12:36 a.m. yesterday (Thursday) in what investigators believe was a personal dispute with no greater threat to the community. [Vienna Police Department]
Fairfax County Pushes to Vaccinate Unhoused Residents — “Hutson is one of roughly 1,200 unhoused residents in Fairfax County, according to the county’s January 2021 point-in-time count…Getting COVID-19 vaccines to this transient — and highly vulnerable — population is a major challenge for public health staff like Vukadinovich.” [DCist]
County Seeks Kid-Sized Mask Donations — The Fairfax County Health Department hopes to collect 10,000 new, unused face masks that can fit children who are too young to get vaccinated, particularly toddlers and school-aged kids. Masks can be dropped off at all local police stations and will help the county fill requests from nonprofit partners. [FCHD]
Falls Church Cuts Ribbon on New High School Campus — “It was the major ceremony that officials here have been working toward for more than a decade. At Homecoming Week at Meridian High School, the brand-spanking new $120 million high school facility was formally dedicated with a ribbon cutting last Saturday morning.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Latter-Day Saints Opens New Wolf Trap Church — “A new meetinghouse for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been completed in the Wolf Trap area and will offer public tours during an open house. The new meetinghouse at 1632 Crowell Road, Vienna will serve residents of Vienna, McLean, Reston, and other nearby communities. The estimated membership is 600 Latter-day Saints.” [Patch]
Capital One Delays Office Reopening Again — “The McLean-based financial giant has opted not to reopen its offices in a hybrid format Nov. 2. It first announced in June it would reopen in September, then in August delayed that until November. Hybrid remains the plan, but the company will no longer attempt to forecast a date as to when that might be implemented.” [Washington Business Journal]
(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) The Capital One headquarters in Tysons will remain largely empty for a couple of months longer than anticipated.
The financial giant will postpone its plans to bring workers back to offices under a new hybrid model until Nov. 2, two months later than the previously scheduled reopening date of Sept. 7, Capital One CEO Rich Fairbank announced today (Wednesday) in a message to employees.
When offices do reopen, workers, contractors, vendors, and visitors will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be at a Capital One office or campus. Employees will be required to upload proof of their vaccination to be on-site, though details about that process are still forthcoming.
The vaccination requirement will be in place at least through the first quarter of 2022.
Workers who aren’t vaccinated will be permitted to continue working from home, and all employees will be allowed to work remotely during the company’s initial reopening period, though vaccinated associates will be “strongly encouraged” to work in person, according to the message.
Fairbank says he had hoped “high vaccination rates among our associates” would enable Capital One to reopen its U.S. offices in September as planned, but the increased coronavirus transmission across the country fueled by the Delta variant “has put a damper on our aspirations.”
“I know that some associates are unvaccinated at this time and may be disappointed or frustrated by this announcement,” Fairbank said. “But a key prerequisite for a successful return is our associates having confidence in the safety of our work environment. Our announcement today is in service of that objective.”
Capital One is one of Fairfax County’s largest employers with roughly 52,000 workers around the world, about 10,000 of them in the D.C. area, according to WTOP.
The continued closure of the corporation’s headquarters at 1680 Capital One Drive has affected surrounding businesses as well.
The Starbucks in the building has been temporarily closed during the pandemic due to the lack of office workers. A spokesperson for Capital One Center, the mixed-use development forming around the headquarters campus, told Tysons Reporter in June that the coffee franchise plans to reopen the location.
Capital One Center Managing Director Jon Griffith says work on the development will not be affected by the change in the company’s return-to-office plans.
“The opening of the public-facing components of our Tysons footprint…remain unchanged in light of the recent announcement about Capital One’s return to the office plans,” Griffith said in a statement. “We are excited to welcome our Tysons neighbors to the opening of Starr Hill Biergarten at ‘The Perch’ planned later this month and to the opening of Capital One Hall in early October.”
The developer has said that The Perch — a rooftop park with a beer garden — will open this month, followed by The Watermark Hotel on Sept. 21 and Capital One Hall on Oct. 2.
Falls Church City Requires Masks and Distancing — “Masks and social distancing are now required for all visitors and employees — regardless of vaccination status — in City of Falls Church facilities, including City Hall, the Community Center, and the Mary Riley Styles Public Library when it reopens. This safety precaution mirrors the rules in other Northern Virginia jurisdictions.” [City of Falls Church]
D.C. Restaurant Week Returns — The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s annual D.C. Restaurant Week kicked off yesterday (Monday) and will last through Sunday (Aug. 15), with many participants again offering to-go options. Tysons venues include Agora Tysons, The Capital Grille, La Sandia, and more. [Viva Tysons]
Vienna Outback Steakhouse Eyed for Another Drive-Thru Bank — “Chase Bank is seeking a conditional use permit for a bank with a drive-thru ATM at 315 Maple Avenue East. The existing one-story building at Maple Avenue East and Glyndon Street SE would be demolished and replaced with a new bank and drive-thru ATM. The project requires review from the town’s Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.” [Patch]
Capital One Exec Appointed to Fairfax County EDA — Joe Vidulich, federal government relations director of Capital One, joined the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority Board yesterday (Monday) after the Board of Supervisors approved the addition. The Virginia General Assembly passed a law earlier this year allowing the board to expand from seven to nine seats. [Fairfax County]
Vienna Contractor Settles Federal Lawsuit — IT company Sage Consulting Group, Inc. agreed to pay $4.8 million to settle allegations that the company and its owner Robert Pleghardt paid kickbacks to obtain subcontracts on set-aside contracts intended for small businesses owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged citizens. The settlement was announced yesterday (Tuesday) by Acting U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh for the Eastern District of Virginia. [U.S. Attorney’s Office]
Capital One Plans Technologist Hiring Surge — “Amid cloud growth, banking giant Capital One plans to add 3,000 new roles for technologists by the end of 2021…Almost 75% of the hires will be in engineering roles, focusing on machine learning, software development and data work to advance the company’s natural language processing. Capital One said ‘hundreds’ of positions will be open at the company’s headquarters in McLean, Virginia, with others will be at locations across the country.” [Technical.ly]
Language Barriers Challenge Those Seeking Unemployment Benefits — “Many non-English speakers who lost their jobs during the pandemic had to rely on their children, family or friends to help them file unemployment insurance claims with the [Virginia Employment Commission]. The state agency does not provide claimants with any language translation options other than English and Spanish on its website.” [Inside NoVA]
Wolf Trap Adds More Summer Concerts — Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts has added five more shows to its 50th anniversary season lineup, including singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, “Star Wars: A New Hope” in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra, and a “Broadway in the Park” musical theater showcase featuring “Hamilton” star Renée Elise Goldsberry and Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell. [Patch]
Photo by John Lee/Twitter
Capital One Adopts Hybrid Work Model — The founder and CEO of Capital One, which employs almost 10,000 people in the D.C. area, told workers yesterday (Tuesday) that its U.S. offices, including its headquarters in Tysons, will reopen on Sept. 7. The company will shift to a hybrid model where employees can work virtually on Mondays and Fridays with no requirements for how many days they need to be in the office. [WTOP]
Traffic Calming Measures Coming to Vienna and McLean — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted last Tuesday (June 22) to approve the installation of “$200 Additional Fine for Speeding” signs along Vaden Drive between I-66 and Lee Highway near the Vienna Metro station. The county will also spend $40,000 to install four speed humps on Churchill Road in McLean. [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]
Founders Row Apartments Start Preleasing — The 322-unit Modera apartment building and 72-unit Verso senior living complex in Falls Church City’s Founders Row development are now preleasing in anticipation of opening later this year. The site will also host a six-story, mixed-use building with ground-floor retail and a movie theater, and a second phase is currently in the works. [Mill Creek Residential/PR Newswire]
Falls Church Among Healthiest U.S. Communities — The City of Falls Church came in third in U.S. News & World Report’s fourth annual Healthiest Communities rankings, the same spot that it has occupied for the last two years. Fairfax County made the top 15 at No. 14. [Patch]
(Updated at 5:10 p.m.) A luxury hotel, skyline view park, and entertainment venue part of the campus surrounding Capital One’s new headquarters are slated to open this year.
Construction crews are still building at the Capital One Center site alongside the Capital Beltway in Tysons, but Tysons Reporter has confirmed that The Watermark Hotel, the development’s 25-floor, 300-suite luxury hotel, is scheduled to open on Sept. 21.
The Perch, the outdoor park sitting atop Capital One Hall that will feature a beer garden anchored by Starr Hill Brewery, will open in August, and the performance venue itself will open to the public on Oct. 2, spokesperson Andrea Khoury told Tysons Reporter.
“It’s really a high-end experience,” Khoury said of The Watermark, noting that the final pieces are now coming together.
The following details for the hotel were also released:
The property will feature studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom suites with furnishings that are similar to an apartment. Each over-sized suite will include a pantry style kitchen with mini-fridge, microwave and coffee service. The suites offer large work areas, well-appointed bathrooms, digital flat screen televisions, complimentary high-speed internet, and a sophisticated, yet warm home-like décor. With stone countertops, tile and carpeted floors, and upscale furnishings, the suites will present a comfortable environment that is very functional for both short-term and longer-stay guests.
The Watermark Hotel offers a full, self-service breakfast serving a seasonal selection of local produce and baked goods, classic breakfast staples, and elevated coffee offerings. Additional hotel amenities include a business center, 1,600 square-feet of meeting space, a well-equipped fitness center, ample parking spaces, a self-serve market and sundry, and an expansive outdoor patio with appropriate seating and direct access to the 1.2 acre skypark–The Perch. The hotel also offers a full-service bar featuring craft cocktails, a wide selection of local beers and wines, appetizers, salads, small plates and entrees with an international flare.
B. F. Saul Company Hospital Group of Bethesda, Maryland announced today (Monday) that it will operate the hotel, which will be owned by Capital One and have no franchise affiliation.
“We are delighted to partner with Capital One to introduce this one-of-a-kind hotel in the heart of the Capital One Center campus,” B.F. Saul Company President Mark Carrier said. “Our dynamic team of hospitality professionals look forward to doing everything possible to exceed the expectations of the Capital One community.”
Capital One’s new headquarters (1600 Capital One Drive) was constructed adjacent to the company’s previous one and was completed in 2018, becoming the tallest occupied structure in the D.C. region.
Capital One Center occupies more than 24 acres near the McLean Metro station. The first component of the mixed-use development arrived in November with the opening of Wegmans.
Since announcing its first confirmed performer earlier this month, Capital One Hall has started to fill out its inaugural season lineup with a mix of musicians and comedians, including the country band Little Big Town for the opening weekend. The facility will contain a 1,600-seat main theater and a 225-seat black-box theater called The Vault.
Early Voting Begins Today — At 9 a.m., Fairfax County voters can start casting their ballots for the June 8 Democratic primary. Early voting has expanded from previous years, with all registered voters now allowed to participate and the county immediately offering three locations with Saturday hours. [Fairfax County Government]
McLean Downtown Plan Public Hearing Pushed Back — The Fairfax County Planning Commission will defer a public hearing on the McLean Community Business Center study that was scheduled for next Wednesday (April 28). A new date for the public to comment on the much-debated draft plan will be announced on April 28. [Fairfax County Planning Commission]
I-66 West in Dunn Loring Closed Tonight — “All lanes of I-66 West approaching I-495 will be closed during the overnight hours Friday, April 23, to allow for continued installation of bridge beams for new ramps at the I-66/I-495 Interchange. All I-66 West traffic will be detoured around the closure via Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) West and I-495 South.” [VDOT]
Man Arrested for Capital Beltway Crashes — Virginia State Police arrested a 26-year-old man yesterday (Thursday) for allegedly crashing into two vehicles around the 53-mile marker of I-495 in Fairfax County and punching the drivers in an attempt to carjack their vehicles. The suspect is in custody in Maryland with charges pending as he awaits extradition to Virginia. [WTOP]
Fire Temporarily Closes Vienna’s Church Street — Fairfax County Fire and Rescue units responded to a fire in the basement of a building on the 100 block of Church Street NE in Vienna yesterday. The fire was extinguished with no reported injuries, but the activity temporarily closed the road between Center and Mill streets. [Patch]
Capital One Airport Lounge Coming to Dulles — “Capital One Financial Corp. plans to open its Dulles International Airport lounge sometime in 2022 and we now have renderings that show what the 9,100-square-foot space could look like. The Dulles location will be the second of a network of lounges the McLean-based financial giant is branding, Capital One (NYSE: COF) announced Monday.” [Washington Business Journal]
Virginia-based Starr Hill Brewery announced today (Wednesday) that it will be nesting in The Perch, the skypark atop Capital One Hall in Tysons.
The brewery will lease a biergarten space with more than 5,000 square feet within the 1.2-acre skypark, which is expected to open this summer. Visitors will have access to an outdoor dining and lounge space as well as an amphitheater with lawn seating, which will offer live entertainment managed by Starr Hill.
Starr Hill will serve a biergarten-themed menu and stock a full bar highlighting its beers.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the growing development around the Capital One Center,” Starr Hill Vice President of Finance and Retail Josh Cromwell said. “The Perch is such a unique space and when we were approached about bringing to life a rooftop biergarten and amphitheater concept, we couldn’t turn it down. There will be tremendous energy at Capital One Center and we’re proud to bring Starr Hill into the D.C. metro area.”
Headquartered in Crozet, Virginia, Starr Hill has four locations in Richmond, Roanoke, Lynchburg and Charlottesville. The independent, regional craft brewery has won numerous awards in the U.S. and abroad.
“Capital One Center is thrilled to welcome one of the most-recognized breweries in Virginia, Starr Hill, to The Perch,” Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith said. “Starr Hill’s brand and reputation within the craft beer community, as well as their experience in the live music scene, will further establish The Perch as a unique destination for Tysons and the Greater Washington region.”
In addition to the Starr Hill Biergarten, The Perch will feature food trucks, a games plaza, a sculpture garden and a dog park. The skypark is situated above Capital One Hall, a corporate and performing arts center set to open this fall, and adjacent to the Watermark Hotel, Capital One’s corporate lodging facility, opening in late 2021.
Starr Hill is not the only retailer to recently announce it would be setting up shop in the 6 million square-foot Capital One Center in Tysons.
Reston Skylines first reported earlier this month that the boutique nail salon and spa Nothing in Between Studio will be moving into the ground floor of Capital One Center.
NIB Studio confirmed the news to Tysons Reporter. This location marks an expansion for the salon, which also has a studio at 6410 Arlington Blvd in Falls Church.
The studio bills itself as a “healthy and clean nail salon” providing non-toxic nail care. It offers eco-friendly, non-toxic, plant-based, cruelty-free products.
“We are providing full spa services including body massage, body scrub and chair massage,” NIB studio told Tysons Reporter.
An opening date has yet to be announced, Capital One Center Manager of Marketing and Community Affairs Meghan Trossen says.
“Right now we have no other leases to announce,” she said.
Reston Skylines also reported that City Tap House, which has seven locations, including one in Loudoun, would be coming to Capital One Center. However, the brewery told Tysons Reporter that it does not have plans to set up shop in Tysons.
Photos courtesy Starr Hill Brewery
(Updated at 12:20 p.m.) In one month, the public will get its first taste of The Perch, a 1.2-acre sky park expected to open at the Capital One Center development in Tysons this summer.
Capital One Center opened registration this morning (Tuesday) for its upcoming “Pups & Pints” event, which will transform the McLean Metro station parking lot into a pop-up dog park with a beer garden, food trucks, and live music — amenities that will all be included in the sky park.
Pups & Pints will take place from noon to 7 p.m. on May 1, 2, 8, and 9. While the event is free, attendees are required to register in advance for two-hour time slots so organizers can control the site’s capacity, which will be limited based on Virginia’s COVID-19 public health guidelines.
Capital One Center Manager of Marketing and Community Affairs Meghan Trossen says the development decided to bring another pop-up event to the McLean Metro parking lot, which it owns, after the success of the drive-in movie series that it hosted last summer to support the nonprofit Second Story.
“I think a lot of people are looking at pop-ups or repurposing of parking lots as different ways to elevate and build a sense of place,” Trossen told Tysons Reporter. “I think Tysons has struggled with creating a brand and identity…and we really want to help with that mission and ensure that Tysons develops in a way that has a sense of community.”
According to Trossen, about 5,000 people attended the 12 drive-in movie screenings at Capital One Center. The development is expecting over 1,000 attendees over the four planned Pups & Pints days in May.
Like it did with the drive-in movies, Capital One Center is encouraging Pups & Pints visitors to donate to a nonprofit that it has partnered with for the event. In this case, proceeds will go to Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, a nonprofit based in Arlington that rescues abandoned and neglected pets and helps them find new homes.
The event will also showcase local businesses that offer dog-related products or services, such as training schools, dog daycares, and stores that make dog treats or toys. There will be between four and six vendors each day, Trossen says.
“We’re really trying to focus on local small businesses or local nonprofits to try to elevate those,” Capital One Center Managing Director Jonathan Griffith said.
The emphasis on the local community will extend to the three food trucks that will change each day as well as the musical acts, which will all come from the D.C. area.
Pups & Pints will also feature a “Mutt Strutt” contest where dogs will compete on stage in front of a panel of judges. The first panel will consist of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay, former Chairman Sharon Bulova, and Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik.
“I am honored and excited to serve as one of the “Mutt Strutt” Judges for Capital One Center’s Pups & Pints Program,” Palchik said by email. “…This is a perfect opportunity to bring our community together safely, to create active spaces, and to highlight the work of a non-profit in the greater Tysons community.”
As for the “pints” aspect of the event, the beer garden will be run by the same brewery that will operate The Perch Biergarten when it opens in July, though Griffith told Tysons Reporter last week that Capital One Center is not yet ready to announce who that tenant will be.
While Pups & Pints was designed as a sneak peek of The Perch, Griffith says Capital One Center sees events like this and last summer’s drive-in movies as essential to Fairfax County’s long-term goal of turning Tysons into “America’s Next Great City,” a place where people will want to live, not just work or shop.
“The event alone won’t stand on its own and radically transform Tysons overnight,” Griffith said. “But it’s through these types of events, these types of activations that we can show that Tysons is a community, that there is more than those two definitions of the mall and of the office that have historically been defining Tysons.”
