The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors greenlighted changes that will create a mixed-use residential building in Tysons’ Scotts Run development.
Cityline Partners proposed replacing two residential towers with a 25-story building, which will have approximately 447 residential units and ground-floor retail.
“A private courtyard and rooftop terrace with amenities such as a pool and sundeck, landscaped terraces, sitting areas, fire pit, outdoor kitchen and grill and dog run area are also proposed for the building,” the county’s staff report noted.
As for the parking, the new building will be over a parking podium like the two previously approved towers, but will get slightly modified, staff said.
The new residential tower will reside in Scotts Run South — a portion of the development that is bringing new retail, office and residential buildings near the McLean Metro Station.
County staff noted that the change from two buildings to one will not substantially alter the development’s skyline.
The board approved the changes after a public hearing last Tuesday (July 28).
Image via Fairfax County
The Fairfax County Planning Commission postponed its decision on a rezoning application for a proposed residential building near the Tysons Corner Metro station.
The owners of J.R.’s Stockyards Inn want to replace the restaurant with a 26-story residential mixed-use building.
The restaurant opened in 1978, and the owners have been in the Tysons area for a long time, John McGranahan, Jr., the lawyer representing the applicant, told the Planning Commission. J.R.’s Stockyards Inn closed its daily restaurant operations in 2011, Tysons Reporter previously reported.
The proposal wants the 270-foot-tall building to offer up to 244 units and a small retail space on the property at International Place and Watson Street, according to county documents. The project also includes a public park and an underground parking structure.
“We designed this parcel to be the first piece of the puzzle… We think it will be a catalyst to redevelopment in this part of Tysons Corner,” McGranahan said.
Following a public hearing last night, the Planning Commission decided to delay voting on whether or not to support the rezoning application. The postponement will give county staff time to work with the applicant on several issues and to review the revised proffers submitted on Wednesday afternoon.
The main issues for county staff and the applicant involve the proposal’s elevated deck over an access road, what Capital One will do with its nearby property and how much of a financial contribution the applicant should make to further Tysons’ grid of streets.
The Planning Commission will reconsider the rezoning application on Sept. 16.
Rendering via KGD Architecture
Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.
It seems like everyday a new “for sale” or “for lease” sign goes up somewhere around town.
It’s hard to keep up with what’s coming in, going out, or going up. Some plans get denied, some you’ve never heard about get approved, and others have got PR teams who blast about upcoming changes. There’s a Facebook group for Vienna, called the Vienna Development: Open Discussion, which is a good place to start.
There are multiple resources online if you are curious about a specific project:
- Town of Vienna
- Fairfax County Land Use Planning and Interactive Map
- McLean Office of Community Revitalization
- City of Falls Church Development Projects
- Tysons Partnership for Development Projects
Don’t see something listed? You can always email me and I’ll do some digging for you!
Plans for a proposed commercial building in Falls Church may soon move forward.
Fairfax One LLC wants to add a 12,000-square-foot building at 130 E. Fairfax Street — the current location of parking for the nearby Protestant Episcopal Church. The project, which is called Southgate II, proposes to house Scramble, a kids’ play gym that is currently located in Alexandria.
The developer told the city’s Planning Commission earlier this year that churchgoers would still be able to park there, along with space at an adjacent property.
While some of the Planning Commissioners had concerns about the location of the kids’ center and the project’s “suburban, strip mall feel,” some argued that child care is needed in that part of the city and that the building is an improvement from the site’s current conditions.
On Monday, the Falls Church City Council is set to move along the rezoning process for the site. Currently, the site plan for the project is on hold until the rezoning application is finalized, according to city documents.
Map via Google Maps
Falls Church Development Moving Forward — “With the Falls Church City Council’s first in-depth public look at the detailed special exception site plan for the 9.77-acre mega-West End development project Monday night, an undertone arising from the Covid-19 pandemic’s ‘unbelievable headwinds’ suddenly facing it in these extraordinary times was in the background for the three-hour discussion.” [Falls Church News-Press]
List of Local PPP Loan Recipients — Patch has lists of local businesses in Vienna, McLean and Tysons that received loans of $150,000 or more. [McLean Patch, Vienna Patch]
Local Leaders Respond to DeVos’s Criticism — “U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos had some criticism for Fairfax County Schools’ virtual learning during the pandemic and reopening plan for the fall. Leaders from the school system, the largest in Virginia, responded in defense of the plan providing only virtual learning or a mix with two days of in-person learning.” [Patch]
Pandemic’s Impact on Local Dentist — “As coronavirus restrictions in response to the pandemic ramped up in mid-March, dentists like Dr. Nicole Van closed their offices for all but emergencies. Since reopening, the dentist’s office experience looks different from pre-pandemic times.” [Patch]
Photo courtesy Hilde Kahn
Citizens Group Raises Concerns About Tysons Project — “A proposed Tysons development might be the right thing for a spot now occupied by low-rise commercial buildings, but the applicant should resubmit the proposal after making several improvements, McLean Citizens Association board members said July 1.” [Inside NoVa]
FCPS Town Hall Tonight — “Join FCPS Superintendent Scott S. Brabrand, Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services Sloan Presidio, and director of the office of special education procedural support Jane Strong for an FCPS virtual Town Hall on Monday, July 6, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]
Tysons Company Donates Thousands of Masks — “Fairfax County received a donation of 15,000 FDA-approved KN95 masks from Portals Global, a Tysons-based consulting firm. Portals Global’s CEO Omo Igiehon said he chose Fairfax County as the donation recipient in order to give back to the community that he has lived in for 21 years.” [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority]
New Mayor, Town Council Members — “New Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert and the new Town Council will be sworn into office at a public ceremony on July 6. The ceremony will be held outside the Vienna Community Center at 6 p.m.” [Patch]
Fairfax County planners support proposals to construct a mixed-use building — rather than two residential towers — over a parking podium in the Scotts Run development.
The developer, Cityline Partners, is looking to have the newly proposed 25-story building contain roughly 450,000 square feet of residential ground floor area and 15,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. The building would have 447 residential units, according to the staff report.
Cityline also wants to modify the parking podium by adding retail along with the above-grade parking, according to the staff report. Proffers limit the parking to 80 feet, and the developer plans to stay within the allotted height range, the report said.
“With the use of glass and masonry, the podium is designed to suggest occupied space rather than a parking garage,” the report noted.
The proposals would tweak some aspects of the Scotts Run development, which will span approximately 40 acres near the McLean Metro station. The overall development will add retail, office and residential spaces along with a new grid of streets.
While the county’s planners support the proposal, the staff report noted ways the developer could improve the project’s aesthetics, like “additional attention to architectural features, such as canopies.”
More from the staff report:
Staff continues to recommend that the applicant refine the vertical banding on the building façade to create a continuous line between levels and further compliment the backlit podium treatment in order to accentuate the impression that those levels are occupied space and de-emphasize that they are structured parking.
The staff reported noted that the change from two towers to one building would not significantly impact Tysons’ skyline.
” Staff believes that the proposed changes do not present any substantial land use issues and the proposal remains in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan,” the report said.
The Planning Commission will consider the proposed changes on Wednesday, July 8.
Image via Fairfax County
A 1.2 million-square-foot development in Falls Church has a new name as it progresses through various approval stages by City Council.
Hoffman & Associates and EYA announced that they have named the upcoming gateway development to the northwestern end of the city “West Falls.”
“The name West Falls pays homage to the site’s location within The City of Falls Church known for its vibrant community and thoughtful urban design,” a press release said.
The development will include offices, a hotel, apartments, condominiums, retail space and senior housing spanning roughly 9.5 acres. It will also include approximately 1 acre of open space for the public.
West Falls is included in a 35-acre transformation to turn the area near the West Falls Church Metro station into a gateway for the city. As part of the larger plans, George Mason High School will be relocated.
In 2019, the City Council approved an agreement for a 99-year ground lease with the developers and a Special Exception Entitlement for the first phase of the project’s entitlement.
Earlier today, Hoffman and EYA submitted their Special Exception Site Plan (SESP) to the city — the latest step in the entitlements process, according to the press release.
Construction is expected to start on West Falls in late 2021, and the first phase of the development is anticipated to open in late 2023, according to the press release.
Image via City of Falls Church
On Tuesday, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors green-lighted a rezoning that will open parts of the Valo Park office complex up to the public.
Tamares, Valo Park’s owner, wants to add retailers and restaurants, renovate an existing rooftop terrace and open the complex’s current amenities, including a conference center, auditorium and fitness center, to the public. Tamares is considering attracting a rooftop craft brewery atop a parking garage.
“It is anticipated that these proposed changes will help to sustain the current Class A office use and energize this part of Tysons after business hours,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said.
A separate comprehensive sign plan for the project was approved by the Planning Commission in May. Some McLean residents raised concerns about light pollution from the signs.
Currently, the office park (7950 Jones Branch Drive) is home to the headquarters of newspaper giant Gannett and cloud computing company Appian.
The Valo Park changes will now join upcoming changes to urbanize Tysons’ North Central neighborhood, which currently has the Park Crest and Highgate residential buildings.
Last summer, the Board of Supervisors approved the massive, mixed-use development called The Mile, which will transform 38 acres into 10 buildings with residential, retail, office, hotel and storage space, along with six parks spanning more than 10 acres.
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said that people can now walk to Valo Park thanks to the new Jones Branch Connector, which includes sidewalks and bike lanes.
“But for the sign issue… this is a really good application that is exactly moving Tysons in the direction that we all want to see it go — developing this kind of mixed-use, reuse,” Foust said. “This is a really important piece in the Tysons puzzle.”
After years of pausing the Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) zone in attempts to revamp it, the Vienna Town Council decided last night to repeal the zoning code and “start fresh.”
The Vienna Town Council held a public hearing last night on the two options for the MAC’s future: either repealing it or extending the moratorium, which has been in place since 2018, on the zoning code to June 2022.
To Repeal or Not to Repeal?
The two choices received a mixed reaction during the public hearing. Supporters for extending the MAC generally side that the zoning code has many good aspects that they don’t want to see completely scrapped, while supporters for repealing argued that town staff and consultants the town wants to hire need a clean slate.
Mary McCullough, who recently left the town’s Planning Commission, urged the Town Council to keep suspending the MAC until the code rewrite is done. “Repeal says we harmed,” she said. “That’s the message you send with repeal.”
Vienna resident Roy Baldwin said that repealing the MAC sends the message that the work from volunteers on the zoning code “is of no value.” Resident Ray Brill Jr. disagreed, saying that people’s hard work on the MAC is not enough of a reason to keep it.
“The fact that we repeal does not mean we don’t incorporate the vision and some of the things we like,” Brill added.
Cindy Petkac with the town’s planning and zoning division told the Town Council said she thought they would be “better off starting fresh.”
“I think it would be more efficient to repeal it,” Petkac said. “It is a cumbersome, confusing process in my professional opinion.”
Consultant Challenges
The town’s plans to hire a consulting firm to help with rewriting the code also factored into the conversation last night about what to do with the MAC.
The Vienna Town Council initially paused its plans to hire a firm for $250,000 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baldwin, the local resident, testified that he isn’t convinced the town needs to spend money on consultants when locals with expertise “will work for free.”
Council Douglas Noble argued that bringing in a consultant is even more important now to help the town heal from the pandemic. The Town Council will consider hiring the consulting firm on June 15, Mayor Laurie DiRocco said.
Close Vote
After the public hearing and some discussion among the councilmembers about the MAC, Noble proposed a motion to repeal it.
“It’s not about the MAC,” Noble said. “It’s about how do we make Make Avenue commercially economically viable?”
To quell some concerns about ditching the good parts of the MAC, Councilmember and Mayor-elect Linda Colbert offered an amendment that would make reports, studies, surveys, comments from the Planning Commission and Board of Architectural Review and more a part of the package of information the consultants would review.
A lively discussion continued on the idea to repeal, and Noble suggested withdrawing his motion, saying that he thought the councilmembers wanted to talk more.
Ultimately, the council approved Colbert’s amendment and then voted for Noble’s motion 4-3, with Noble, DiRocco and Councilmember Nisha Patel voting “no.”
“We learned over time the MAC code had flaws,” Noble told Tysons Reporter today. “I did not believe those flaws were fixable.”
Image via Town of Vienna
