The Vienna Town Council will review two projects along Maple Avenue in a work session tonight (Monday), after indicating concerns that developers are trying to skirt zoning regulations by pushing their proposed heights a bit higher than current limits might allow.
The 380 Maple development is a proposed mixed-use building with 7,500 square feet of ground floor retail and 40 residential condominiums on three floors. The building includes one floor of underground parking and two floors of structure above-ground parking, but staff noted that the applications calls for an extra half-floor added to the mix, beyond current limits in the area.
“Staff notes that the applicant is proposing a half-floor of parking between the first story and second story of the building, beyond the four stories allowed per code,” staff said in a project overview. “The applicant is applying for a modification of requirement for the additional half-story.”
While approving of greater levels of parking available at the site, Councilmember Douglas Noble said at a meeting last week that he was concerned the additional half-story would still be contrary to the Maple Avenue zoning code’s five-story limit.
Meanwhile, the Sunrise Assisted Living project, a four-story building with 85 assisted living units and 7,700 square feet of first-floor commercial space, is also requesting a “half-story” space.
“Staff notes that the applicant is proposing a half-story space to include additional lobby and common spaces for the assisted living facility between the first story and second story of the building, beyond the four stories allowed per Code,” staff said in the project overview. “The applicant is applying for a modification of requirement for the additional half-story.”
An additional item listed as “limiting discussion with developers” was also added to the agenda at the request of Councilmembers Pasha Majdi and Howard Springsteen, two of the leading opponents to the controversial Maple Avenue Commercial developments last year.
Image via Town of Vienna Planning and Zoning
New Falls Church Development — “Founders Row, a future mixed-use development set to bring a major transformation to Falls Church, has broken ground. Mill Creek Residential’s 4.5-acre development will include luxury apartments and retail space at West Broad Street and North West Street. A formal groundbreaking ceremony will happen Monday, March 4.” [Patch]
Vienna Posting More Meetings Online — “The town of Vienna long has posted video recordings of Town Council and Planning Commission meetings, but those who wished to review less-formal work sessions of those bodies were out of luck. That has changed recently, as the town has begun posting on the Web audio recordings of meetings and work sessions of those bodies within 48 hours, said town spokesman Lynne Coan.” [InsideNova]
Vehicle Slams into Vienna ABC Store — “A driver pulled into a parking spot at the Virginia ABC store, 436 Maple Ave., E., on Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m. and accidentally left his vehicle’s transmission in drive, Vienna police said.” [InsideNova]
The old AMT Building at 7901 Westpark Drive has been completely demolished, clearing the way for the new 10-story City View office tower.
City View was announced in 2013 as part of the broader Arbor Row development, which was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2012. The project is just east of Tysons Galleria.
The tower is planned to include 200,000 square feet of office space.
The project’s brochure boasts that the tower will be one block from the Tysons Corner Center Metro station with quick access to the Beltway.
Planned amenities include a rooftop terrace that can accommodate 100 people for events, a fitness center and cafe. The project plans include a garage and surface parking area.
Staff at American Real Estate Partners said they would not comment on the planned completion date for the project.
(Updated on 12/8/2021) Construction is now underway at the sprawling Highland District from developer CityLine MRP Realty, which is planned to add 1.8 million square feet of residential, retail and office space on a 17-acre site straddling Old Meadow Road.
The new development is just east of the Beltway and south of Route 123, near the McLean Metro station.
Along with the Scotts Run developments, the Highland District is one of the large projects planned to replace the 1970s-era office buildings in Tysons East with new mixed-use developments.
The developer is kicking off the project with work on “Highlands B,” one of two buildings planned as the start of the new development. The buildings will be located on either side of Old Meadow Road at the southern end of the development. Building B is planned to offer 210 residential units and 7,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor.
Across the street, the mid-rise “Building A” is planned to have 410 residential units and 5,000 square feet of retail.
Plans for the development also include a spread of eight public parks throughout the Highland District, from urban plazas to smaller pocket parks.
The largest of the parks will take a small existing field and convert it into a full athletic field with an adjoining sports court, child play area and a dog park. The athletic field, which will be owned and operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority, will have synthetic turf and will be lit.
Photo via Fairfax County Planning and Zoning
For over a year, the One Tysons East project was one on a long list of plans in the works but without any firm timeline established.
But now, it seems the project is picking up steam. No staff report is available online yet, but the project is scheduled for a Planning Commission hearing on March 27 followed by a Board of Supervisors review on April 9.
The plans call for the addition of a towering glass office building to the corner lot at 1690 Old Meadow Road, featuring a distinctive curved glass design.
The project is planned to include 250,000 square feet of office space and 12,000 square feet of retail, part of the growing Tysons East network that includes the Scotts Run complex and the Capital One headquarters.
Image via Akridge
The proposed redevelopment of a vacant office in northeast Tysons is moving forward for approval over the next month.
The Hanover Company’s plan is to demolish the existing seven-story office building and replace it with a new 400 unit residential development called Hanover Tysons.
The project is scheduled to be discussed at the Planning Commission’s Feb. 27 meeting with a Board of Supervisors hearing at on March 19.
The Washington Business Journal noted that the new development is one of the new crop of developments, like the nearby The Mile residential complex, that are being built slightly further away from transit than the more high-profile and high-impact developments like The Boro. Hanover Tysons is a little under one mile from the Tysons Corner Station, a roughly 20-minute walk.
Brian Tucker, managing director for JLL, said at Bisnow’s Tysons State of the Market last month that developments are becoming increasingly stratified between those built almost on top of the Metro stations and those further away.
“Roughly 30 percent of buildings [in Tysons] are built have been close to Metro,” said Tucker. “Those further away from Metro are going to have to make certain changes and accept the fact that their rent streams are going to be significantly lower. It’s going to be a tale of two cities.”
According to the staff report on the new development, 66 residential units in the Hanover Tysons, or 20 percent of the total, will be workforce affordable.
Photo via The Hanover Company
Firefighter Training in McLean Home — “[Fairfax County Fire and Rescue] units have been conducting ladder truck training exercises at a donated home, in the McLean area, that is slated for demolition.” [Twitter]
New Store Opening in Tysons Galleria — “Lafayette 148 New York has ventured into the nation’s capital, opening its first Greater Washington location this week in the Tysons Galleria shopping center. Its first freestanding boutique in the Mid-Atlantic region, the new Lafayette 148 shop measures 2,500 square feet.” [Washington Business Journal]
Silver Line Test Train Doesn’t Get Far — “The first test train on Metro’s Silver Line extension to Dulles Airport made it only 1,000 feet out of the Wiehle-Reston East station before running into trouble, sources told News4.” [NBC Washington]
Falls Church Development Includes Micro Units — “If approved by the F.C. City Council going forward [the new West End development will] include an extra 150,000 square feet in residential density, including 50,000 square feet for senior housing and 100,000 square feet for 40 or so of the first new condominiums built in the City in over a decade, and even more notable, some 150-175 ‘micro unit’ rentals.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Turmoil in Richmond, Leaders’ Future Uncertain — Under fire for each of their own controversies, resignations by Virginia’s Democratic governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general could end up triggering a special election or even elevating a Republican state lawmaker into one of the top jobs. Meanwhile, the chaos in Richmond was the lead story on the national evening news this week — twice — and made the cover of this morning’s New York Post, with the headline “Virginia is for Losers.” [Politico, Twitter]
A group is meeting and planning out strategies to handle increased growth in downtown McLean — but, in the meantime, some of that transformation is already underway.
A new building at 6707 Old Dominion Drive was approved by the Board of Supervisors in October. The building is planned to replace a surface parking lot behind the current retail properties with a 44-unit mixed-use residential building.
During the planning process, some nearby McLean residents expressed concerns that the site could have a detrimental impact on local parking and traffic. Today, the property is a frequently crowded parking lot behind a retail complex on Old Dominion Drive.
The building will have 112 parking spaces for existing uses, replacing those taken by the new development, at surface lots to the south and west of the new building.
The plans show four levels of parking structure with 173 spaces located under six floors of residential units. The staff report indicates that the occupants of the 44 new condominium units are unlikely to have a substantial impact on nearby streets.
Because the development contains less than 50 units, none are required to serve as affordable housing, though a contribution to the county’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund is included in the development plans as a condition of approval.
According to the application:
“The benefits of a residential/office/commercial mix of uses has been proven many-fold in the County. This property, located adjacent to what is considered the “South Village” area will hopefully serve to catalyze other redevelopment efforts within the [downtown area].”
The Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling (FABB) is hoping to rally local cyclists and pedestrians for a show of support for two bridges in a new planned urban center in Merrifield.
Tomorrow evening (Tuesday) at 7 p.m., the Merrifield Study Task Force is scheduled to host a meeting at the Providence District Office and Community Center at 3001 Vaden Drive in Fairfax to discuss the bicycle and pedestrian connectivity of the new plan.
The plan is to transform 203 acres of land at the Beltway-Arlington Boulevard interchange southeast of the Mosaic District into a new development that may contain office, hotel or residential buildings.
According to the organization’s website:
FABB is advocating for improved bicycle access as part of the comprehensive plan amendment. This includes two bike/ped bridges over the Beltway (one south of Route 50 at the Inova site and one north of Route 50) and improved connections to the Providence Recreation Center, Holmes Run Park, and the Cross County Trail.
Analysis of the plan’s impact will continue through the group’s March 5 meeting, after which the group will begin drafting recommendations for a final staff report estimated for June.
FABB is also scheduled to host a meeting on Feb. 20 at 7:30 to discuss the latest trail improvements through the Virginia Department of Transportations Transform I-66 project and discuss upcoming bicycling developments for the Tysons area.
Photo via Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning
Police Looking for Missing Local Man — Fairfax County Police are asking for the public’s help finding a missing, endangered 21-year-old man who was last seen January 31 on the 3100 block of Monticello Drive in Falls Church. [Twitter]
Part of Development Project Offered for Sale — “A piece of the planned 2.5-million-square-foot Arbor Row mixed-use development in Tysons is being offered for sale as its owners seek to capitalize on the momentum growing through other recently completed or planned projects in the area.” [Washington Business Journal, Bisnow]
West Falls Church Development Modified — The Falls Church City Council is set to vote on a series of five modifications to a plan for the private development of a 10.3 acre city-owned property near the West Falls Church Metro station. Among the changes are “an increase in residential density allowing an additional 50,000 square feet in senior housing and an additional 100,000 square feet in residential density of either condominiums or studio and one bedroom apartments.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Pair Arrested for Mall Theft, Assault on Officer — Two women from Laurel, Maryland were arrested last week and charged with stealing items from the Superdry store at Tysons Corner Center. One of the women is charged with assault on law enforcement after allegedly trying to fight the arresting officers. [FCPD]
Gannett Rejects Takeover Offer — Tysons-based newspaper chain Gannett has rejected an unsolicited takeover proposal, made by a hedge fund-owned company best known for slashing costs and jobs. [USA Today, BusinessWire]
Free Soup at Barnes and Noble — The Tysons Corner Center Barnes and Noble store is offering free soup with the purchase of a sandwich this month. [Instagram]
