Capital One can now move forward with adding more office space for its employees at the Capital One Campus in Tysons.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the proposal, which swaps a planned hotel with the office building, yesterday.
Gregory Riegle, the lawyer representing Capital One, told the supervisors that replacing the previously approved, but unbuilt, hotel with office space will increase economic development near the Metro.
Riegle said that the hotel had faced challenges prior to the pandemic, which the pandemic exacerbated. Riegle did not specify what the issues were.
While the pandemic’s impact on office use is still undetermined, Riegle said that the hotel-to-office swap will support the long-term vision for the Capital One Campus. Riegle said that Capital One intends to use the new office building just for its employees as the banking giant increases its presence in Tysons.
Riegle added that the new plans will add more retail and enhance street activation.
The campus currently has two office buildings, a conference center, a parking garage and surface-level parking, according to county documents. “Construction activity is on-going on a 31-story office building, an 8-story performing arts center, and a 28-story hotel/residential building,” the documents say.
The proposal did not receive any public comment during the public hearing yesterday.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said that the change better fits the recommended percentage of office use in the Tysons Comprehensive Plan and that the area has other planned hotels.
As for economic development, Palchik added that the office building will support jobs for construction workers.
Palchik praised the proposal for gaining “widespread community support” in a few months, noting that the Gates of McLean and McLean Citizens Association both support the proposal.
“[It] sets a high standard for future Tysons applications,” Palchik said.
The expansion plans for the Capital One Campus in Tysons may turn out differently than originally expected after the developer approached the Fairfax County Planning Commission last night with new ideas.
Major proposed changes to the plan include the elimination of the planned hotel and the addition of new office space and real estate, which Gregory Riegle, the lawyer representing Capital One, said was requested because of changes to the market.
“Candidly, the hotel industry in Tysons and the Northern Virginia area had a number of challenges in terms of oversupply even before the pandemic. The intervening circumstances have only exacerbated those realities,” Riegle said.
“The overall master plan of the campus remains the same,” Stephen Gardner, a senior planner with Fairfax County, said, adding that the amount of office space will jump to 67%.
Two buildings would slightly decrease in height if this adjustment is approved, while another building would increase its height to 305 feet, which is equivalent to roughly 28 stories, Gardner said. Open space on the campus would remain the same.
The building with the increased height would include 328,974 square feet of extra floor area.
After a brief discussion, the Planning Commission unanimously voted to favorably recommend the changes to the Board of Supervisors. The county board is set to consider the proposal on July 14.
It is unclear which businesses might take over the additional retail spaces provided by the proposed changes.
“Progress is continuing irrespective of situations with the pandemic and associated issues,” Riegle said, adding that the Wegmans is expected to be completed later in 2020, while the performing arts center will likely be done in 2021.
Image courtesy Fairfax County Planning Commission
Drive-in movies are coming to Tysons outside Capital One for four weeks this summer.
While the movies are free, Capital One Center is encouraging moviegoers to make a $25 donation to Second Story, a local nonprofit that helps people seeking food, shelter and emergency support. People can also text “MOVIES” to 50155 to make a donation.
Here is the line-up:
- Saturday, July 11: “How to Train Your Dragon”
- Sunday, July 12: “Pitch Perfect”
- Saturday, July 18: “Men in Black”
- Sunday, July 19: “Grease”
- Saturday, July 25: “Shrek”
- Sunday, July 26: “A League of Their Own”
- Saturday, Aug. 1: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
- Sunday, Aug. 2: “Footloose”
The movies will take place at the McLean Metro lot (1820 Dolley Madison Blvd) from 7-11:30 p.m.
Moviegoers are asked to register in advance due to limited space. People will be able to get food at the movies from Curbside Kitchen.
More from the event page:
In addition to following and enforcing CDC guidelines, our event guidelines are approved by local county officials. No smoking, alcohol and drugs are permitted.
Parking has a limited capacity to ensure proper distance between cars, and guests must stay in their vehicles (except for bathroom usage). Restrooms and hand-washing stations will be provided and sanitized consistently throughout the event.
Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash
After opening a little more than a year ago, City Works in Tysons closed its doors, according to a company spokesperson.
Located right outside the Capital One headquarters, the American tap house and eatery (1640 Capital One Drive N.) first announced a temporary closure due to COVID-19, but a statement to Tysons Reporter today says there aren’t any plans to reopen the spot.
“With the challenges presented in the current environment, Bottleneck Management is focusing its energy into well-established City Works restaurants in other markets around the country, while remaining focused on future national expansion,” according to the statement from Bottleneck Management, which operates City Works.
It is unclear exactly when the company decided to permanently close the location or what will happen to the spot.
“City Works is proud to have served the Tysons community, and thanks their guests for their patronage,” the statement said.
Image via Google Maps
Tysons is no stranger to people jumping off of its tall buildings. Now, a building under construction at Capital One’s campus seems to be the latest spot for parachuters.
Two videos posted by Reddit users on Sunday (April 5) each appear to show a person parachuting off of the building that will include a Wegmans store, rooftop park, residential units and parking.
One dash cam video recorded at the intersection of Colshire Drive and Dolley Madison Blvd appears to show a parachuter float down from near the future Wegmans building and land in the middle of Scotts Crossing Road.
The user who posted the video said that the incident happened around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The second video, which was taken in The Gates of McLean development, appears to show a parachuter jump off the building.
“Two people jumped,” the user who posted the second video said in the comments. “I saw the first jump out of the corner of my eye and was able to catch the second on my phone.”
Fairfax County police received a report of two people jumping from a building near Capital One Drive and Scotts Crossing Road around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sgt. Greg Bedor told Tysons Reporter.
Police checked the area around the building, but weren’t able to find the jumpers, Bedor said.
“We are aware of the situation and have been in contact with local authorities,” a Capital One spokesperson said when Tysons Reporter asked about the Reddit posts.
On Monday (April 6), police took a report of a trespassing complaint in the 1600 block of Capital One Drive that happened on Sunday, Bedor said.
“Officers are actively investigating to determine if the trespassing complaint is related to the event described on [April 5],” he said.
People have jumped off of Tysons buildings seemingly for fun in the past. Previously, police investigated a series of BASE jumping incidents at the 32-story Lumen building.
“Dangerous and illegal activities such as this, particularly during a time when emergency medical services are already operating under pressure, are irresponsible and put unnecessary strain on limited community resources,” the Capital One spokesperson said.
Image via u/tlis on Reddit
Editor’s note: Tysons Reporter will temporarily have “Morning Notes” every weekday instead of twice a week to accommodate more news.
Capital One Pledges $50M to Food Aid, Small Business Assistance Groups — “Capital One Financial Corp. has pledged $50 million to support nonprofit partners working in part on food and hunger aid as it continues to ramp up its efforts during the novel coronavirus outbreak.” [Washington Business Journal]
Mosaic District-Based Company Furloughs Employees — “Custom apparel printing company Custom Ink LLC is ‘hemorrhaging cash’ and is furloughing hundreds of its workers for two months as it grapples with the economic fallout of the novel coronavirus and in hopes of being better prepared for a possible recovery.” [Washington Business Journal]
BAE Systems to Move to Falls Church Office — “A West Coast real estate investment firm has acquired a Falls Church-area office building, the soon-to-be home of BAE Systems Inc., for nearly $100 million. An affiliate of Menlo Park, California-based Menlo Equities LLC acquired the 367,349-square-foot 2941 Fairview Park Drive in a deal recorded March 25.” [Washington Business Journal]
Utility Companies Providing COVID-19 Relief — Fairfax County has compiled a list of the utility companies suspending service disconnections and offering other billing options during the pandemic. [Fairfax County]
Don’t Be Scammed! — Fairfax County shared examples and recordings of scam calls and emails related to the coronavirus. [Fairfax County]
McLean Restaurant Shares COVID-19 Challenges — “And the past few years have been rough for Rocco’s. The glitzy, glam shopping universe growing nearby is offering of-the-moment restaurants that have little to do with Rocco’s sturdy baked ziti and red-checkered tabletops.” [Washington Post]
https://twitter.com/VaDOTNOVA/status/1245063845607026688?s=20
It’s #Census day!
✋ Raise your hand if you already completed your #2020Census. Don’t get left out – #BeCounted! Bring federal dollars home to our community for healthcare, education, transportation and more.
➡️ Take the Census: https://t.co/1xr38GEiLe #FFXCounts pic.twitter.com/igPuAyaAfB
— Fairfax County Government (@fairfaxcounty) April 1, 2020
Capital One says that one of its Tysons employees has tested positive for coronavirus.
“Today, we were notified that a Capital One colleague who works in our office at 8020 Towers Crescent Drive, in Tysons, Virginia, tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) and is currently receiving the appropriate medical care,” according to a statement from the banking giant to Tysons Reporter.
The building is behind Tysons Corner Center.
The statement says that after Capital One learned about the diagnosis today (Friday), the “impacted office” was closed.
“[We] are following recommended guidelines from the CDC and other public health authorities to disinfect the space and common areas,” the statement says.
More from the statement:
We are in the process of identifying and notifying those who came into close contact with this associate to provide information on steps to take if they have symptoms of illness and to ask them to self-quarantine for 14 days.
As our CEO shared earlier this week, Capital One has proactively taken steps to encourage and enable social distancing, including asking those in roles that can be performed remotely to work from home, temporarily suspending all non-essential business travel and announcing increased paid leave and more flexible attendance policies.
We wish this associate a full and quick recovery, and have offered support and outreach to them and their family. As always, our priority remains focused on the health, safety, and well-being of our associates, customers, and communities.
Bloomberg News first reported on Wednesday that the banking giant was asking people to work from home starting on Thursday (March 12).
The memo said that the company will announce increased paid sick leave and flexible attendance policies.
As of late 2018, Capital One, which has 52,000 employees in total, had moved approximately 2,000 employees to its new headquarters next to the McLean Metro station.
Image via Google Maps
(Updated at 3:25 p.m.) Capital One is reportedly asking its employees to work from home to help prevent the coronavirus — affecting possibly thousands of employees at its Tysons headquarters.
Bloomberg News first reported that the banking giant is letting people work from home starting on Thursday. For employees who can’t work remotely, the company plans to begin “spacing out employees,” the memo from CEO Richard Fairbank says.
“While to date we have no known cases of coronavirus among our associates, we are taking further steps to encourage and enable social distancing,” according to a copy of the memo Tysons Reporter obtained.
The memo said that the company will announce increased paid sick leave and flexible attendance policies.
As of late 2018, Capital One had moved approximately 2,000 employees to its new headquarters next to the McLean Metro station.
The company has 52,000 employees in total.
Now being called a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the spreading COVID-19 coronavirus has prompted schools to close or switch to online learning and companies to ask employees to work from home.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Virginia Department of Health says there are nine “presumptive positive” cases of COVID-19 in the commonwealth, with five in Northern Virginia.
A new beer garden in a sky park plans to open next year atop Capital One Hall.
Construction is underway on the Capital One Center — the second phase of Capital One’s campus in Tysons, which is set to be completed in 2021.
Called “The Perch,” the outdoor space on top of the parking podium and Capital One Hall — 10 stories above the ground — plans to offer interactive art sculptures, a park, activities like yoga and beer at The Perch Biergarten, according to the website.
The Perch is set to open in the fall of 2021.
The “serene village green” will join Capital One’s planned additions for the Tysons East urban campus:
- an 80,000-square-foot Wegmans grocery store
- a performing arts center with a 1,500-seat main hall and a 250-seat black box theatre
- Davio’s, a Northern Italian restaurant
- more retail in the second half of 2021
In addition to the upcoming beer hall, Capital One is looking to change a previously approved — yet unbuilt — hotel into a new office building, according to Fairfax County documents.
Capital One says that the change would allow for more open space, jobs and retailers:
Consistent with well settled planning and economic development objectives, this application presents an opportunity to further add employment opportunities and vitality at the headquarters campus in a location immediately adjacent to the McLean Metro station…
A lower level lobby and retail uses along Capital One Drive North and Scotts Crossing Road will wrap the parking garage. The approved drop-off area for the previously contemplated hotel use will be removed and replaced with public open space to enhance and activate these ground floor uses…
Additional retail use is proposed for Building 3 in the location of the previously approved garage entrance that will be shifting eastward.
Image via Capital One Center
Hat tip to Chris H.
Seven companies in the Tysons area landed on Forbes’ “America’s Best Employers for Diversity 2020” list.
In total, 13 Fairfax County-based companies made the list, according to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA).
Forbes released the third annual list with 500 companies on Tuesday (Jan. 21).
“The workforce today — and the workforce of tomorrow — want to see a commitment to diversity and inclusion by employers,” Victor Hoskins, FCEDA’s president and CEO, said in a press release. “[The ranking] is a testament to these Fairfax County companies’ efforts to attract talented employees from all backgrounds and walks of life.”
Two Tysons area companies cracked the top 100. (SAP in Pennsylvania nabbed the #1 spot.)
Here are the ranks the Tysons area companies received on the list:
- #51: Navy Federal Credit Union (Vienna)
- #54 Booz Allen Hamilton (Tysons)
- #282 Hilton Worldwide (Tysons)
- #302 Capital One Financial (Tysons)
- #316 Northrop Grumman (Falls Church)
- #355 Mars (McLean)
- #447 Gannett (Tysons)
Nearby, three companies in Reston — SAIC, Leidos and Bechtel — also made the list.
More from FCEDA about the list:
Forbes developed the rankings in partnership with market research firm Statista. To create the list, employers were identified in an independent survey from a sample of more than 60,000 U.S. employees working for companies with at least 1,000 people in their U.S. operations.
According to Forbes, additional factors were considered such as diversity levels among executives, existence of a leadership position responsible for diversity, proactive communication about diversity and the presence of a diverse company culture.
