An outdated office building in northern Tysons could be replaced by a new mixed-use residential and commercial development called Hanover Tysons if its rezoning is approved early next year.

The new development would be located just west of Jones Branch Park at 1500 Westbranch Drive.

Currently, the site is occupied by a seven-story office building that was built in 1983 and is currently vacant. Redevelopment of the parcel would also require rezoning, and is scheduled for a Planning Commission hearing in February 2019, with a Board of Supervisors hearing in March.

The new residential building would be between 5-7 stories with 350-400 dwelling units. Portions of the ground level along Jones Branch Drive would be designed to accommodate retail and service uses. In keeping with Fairfax County’s efforts to promote more affordable housing around Tysons, 20 percent of the residential units, or 66 of the potential 400 units, would be workforce housing.

“Approval and construction of the proposed Hanover Tysons development will continue the implementation of the Tysons vision by converting a suburban-style office building into a lively residential community and help address the current imbalance between those who work and live in Tysons,” wrote Elizabeth Baker, senior land use planner for the law group filing on behalf of developer Hanover Co., in the application. “Provision of on-site workforce housing will promote Tysons as a community for all.”

The development would also bring street improvements to Jones Branch Drive and Westbranch Drive, widening them to allow parallel parking spaces, bike lanes, and streetscape improvements.

In addition to streetscape improvements, the application also includes new public and private parks for recreational use. The public park would add 1.12 acres of gardens, trees, walking paths and outdoor seating. The private amenity space would include a new swimming pool.

The plan for downtown McLean will break it into three zones, but local residents want to make sure it doesn’t become a second version of Tysons.

After a year of meetings with the community, contractor Streetsense presented its final vision for the McLean Community Business Center (CBC) last night (Monday) in Longfellow Middle School.

In Streetsense’s final proposal, the McLean CBC would be broken into three categories: center, general, and edge.

Colin Greene, Director of Planning at Streetsense, said the center zone could be occupied by either retail or residential spaces with a few offices. Buildings in this area would generally go up to seven stories, though Greene said those could be up to ten stories if they offer open space benefits.

In the general zone, Greene said the building heights could go up to five stories tall, with an emphasis on scaling development down as it approaches the edge zone, which would primarily consist of two or three story residential buildings.

“We expect and recommend that that [scale of residential development] continues,” said Greene. “Redevelopment would need to be in-kind and similar in scale and size.”

The map at the meeting showed the center zone in dark purple, with the general and edge zones in lighter shades.

The new plan puts McLean’s downtown center at the corner of Elm Street and Beverly Road, a corner whose most notable occupant today is the “Wok & Roll” Chinese restaurant. But the proposal would see the corner eventually developed with towering new residential and office buildings with retail frontage.

This new plan would also require substantial infrastructure improvements, including road improvements for Elm Street and Beverly Road and converting the nearby Center Street into a pedestrian avenue.

Several of those in attendance at the meeting had concerns about the level of density in the new downtown McLean, particularly with the proposal of a seven or ten-story office building in the heart of the CBC. More than one McLean local said they didn’t want to see the downtown turned into another Tysons.

Robert Moll, a McLean resident, said he looked at the sudden expansion of development in downtown Bethesda, Maryland, and said he didn’t want to see this happen to McLean.

“The CBC is not going to compete with Tysons for office space,” Greene said. “There is a low need for offices [here]. We don’t foresee a long or deep demand for office use.”

Green said most of the office space proposed for downtown McLean would be replacing existing, aging office buildings rather than adding new office capacity.

One local resident said that many of his neighbors and other members of the community would have liked an option for things to remain the same in McLean rather than see any new development, but many in the audience vocally opposed this idea.

“I’m out and about all the time and I get a lot of feedback on when I’m not getting something done,” said Supervisor John Foust. “One [bit of] feedback I get a lot is that we’re not doing enough to make McLean a place people can come together. That’s what they tell me they want in McLean. It’s not a scientific survey, but there’s support for doing something good but not overboard.”

After the presentation, those in attendance browsed the final plan spread across several boards in the back of the room.

“There are some real positive things here,” said Rob Jackson, chair of the McLean Citizens Association’s planning and zoning committee and a member of the CBC task force. “I like the focus on Elm Street and Beverly Road and putting the focus there. But I still have questions about where cars are going to park when people come for this pedestrian area.”

Walkability, even since the early meetings, was one of the most talked about topics for McLean residents at the CBC meetings.

“We enjoy walking everywhere,” said Frank Peterson, a local resident, “so we fully support the comment that this effort should integrate pedestrian-friendly ways to get around.”

Foust said working through the parking and pedestrian issues related to the McLean CBC study are going to be a priority as committees begin to meet in January to start looking at how to turn this vision plan into a reality.

The log cabin at 307 Cabin Road SE has survived for over 80 years, but it couldn’t survive development plans to subdivide the lot it sits on.

Last night (Monday), the Vienna Town Council voted to approve a subdivision of the cabin that would ultimately result in its destruction. But like the Planning Commission at their meeting in November, the Town Council couldn’t find a compelling reason to deny the application, which cabin-aside would be an otherwise unremarkable request.

The cabin is not a designated historic location, which means it has no legal protections. Members of the Town Council noted that it was one of several buildings in the town that have some historic relevance but not enough to protect or have an impact on the local community.

There is also the issue that the building is also in poor shape, with rotting wood and a fragile structure. The owner of the site told the council that the building could not be saved.

“This does mean things to the community,” Councilmember Carey Sienicki. “We heard from citizens that this is an important structure. Unfortunately, it was in disrepair. It can’t be moved.”

Instead, some of the logs from the site may be salvaged as it is taken apart. The council also proposed working with Historic Vienna to preserve pieces of the building and erect a plaque, either at the site or at a display the Freeman Store and Museum.

Members of the council lamented that while the developer American Signature Properties had said they were amenable to historic research and preservation as long as it didn’t interfere with development plans, representatives of the group at earlier meetings concerning the cabin had showed little interest in any form of preservation.

Town Attorney Steve Briglia told council members that there was very little the town could do to force the developer to engage in preservation measures for the cabin.

Photo via Town of Vienna

One of Tysons’ oldest remaining restaurants could be demolished to make way for a new residential development.

An application submitted to the Fairfax County Department of Planning and zoning this summer proposes replacing J.R.’s Stockyards Inn, a two-story restaurant that’s occupied 8130 Watson Street for the last 40 years, with a new large-scale residential development. According to the application:

“After many years of successful community restaurant services, it is time to advance the transformation of this part of Tysons by pursuing a new vision for the Subject Property for future generations.”

The residential mixed-use building proposed for the site, designed by KGD Architecture, would consist of adjoining 11-story and 23-story towers. According to the application, the new building would be part of an ongoing effort to revitalize the older retail-commercial area near the Tysons Corner Center mall and set a precedent for future redevelopment in the area.

According to the architect’s website, the project would include 291 luxury apartments, 5,300 square feet of ground floor non-residential uses, and a 200-seat children’s theater. The proposal says the new building will also have three levels of below-grade parking and one level of podium parking.

J.R.’s Stockyards Inn, one of the first restaurants in Tysons to open outside of Tysons Corner Center mall, closed its daily restaurant operations in 2011 to focus on banquet and catering operations.

The proposal is currently under review by Fairfax County government staff and no hearing for the project has been scheduled so far.

It’s been a long time coming, but plans are being finalized for the Tysons Biergarten’s move to a new interim location at the McLean Metro station.

Cityline Partners LLC is scheduled to present its plans for the next stage of the Scotts Run development at a Fairfax County Planning Commission meeting on Thursday. The plans include two office towers and one residential building.

Before those buildings are developed, however, Cityline is asking that the site be used as a beer garden and an open lawn.

“One of the uses that the applicant is considering is a biergarten, which would be relocated from its current location at Tysons Central (adjacent to the Greensboro Metro Station) to the proposed [area],” wrote Cityline in the application. “Tents and shipping containers converted into food vendor establishments will serve the potential biergarten use.”

Tysons Biergarten is currently located near the Greensboro Metro station with a month-to-month lease. The location has always been a temporary fill for the planned Tysons Central development at the site — part of the broader Boro complex — but has become a local nightlife destination.

In addition to the Biergarten, a small plaza with a kiosk is proposed outside of the biergarten entrance manned by a person to help oversee parking.  The application specifies that the structures and interim uses are not permanent.

In 2013, the Board of Supervisors approved Cityline’s plans for a mixed-use redevelopment with hotel, office, retail and residential uses across 5 million square feet. How long the Tysons Biergarten would be located in this space before development begins is currently unknown.

After review by the Planning Commission, Cityline’s proposal will move forward for approval by the Board of Supervisors.

Top photo via Facebook. Development map via Cityline Partners LLC

A month after announcing that KPMG was leasing up to seven floors, the Boro Tower is touting another newly-signed tenant.

Law firm Womble Bond Dickinson will be moving into the tower’s 15th floor in mid-2019, developers The Meridian Group and Rockefeller Group announced Tuesday morning.

The under-construction, 20-story office tower, part of the massive Boro development next to the Greensboro Metro station in Tysons, is now 68 percent leased. Other announced tenants include the soon-to-be-relocated headquarters of Tysons-based TV station group TEGNA and the law firm Hogan Lovells.

More from a press release:

The Meridian Group and Rockefeller Group announced today that Womble Bond Dickinson is moving its Tysons office to Boro Tower, a new trophy office tower near completion at The Boro

The law firm will lease 24,239 square feet – the Tower’s entire 15th floor — beginning in mid-2019. The building is now 68 percent preleased ahead of construction completion, with about 135,000 square feet of office space remaining.

“We are excited and proud to welcome this outstanding law firm to Boro Tower,” said David Cheek, President of The Meridian Group, which is developing The Boro.

Today’s announcement continues the momentum for the mixed-use development. “Womble Bond Dickinson joins a premier lineup of firms, companies and organizations that have chosen The Boro for their new location,” said Gary Block, Chief Investment Officer of The Meridian Group.

Womble Bond Dickinson will relocate its Tysons office at 8065 Leesburg Pike about a mile away. Approximately 40 of the firm’s attorneys and staff will work at Boro Tower.

“We’re excited to be moving into Boro Tower, a premiere office building located in The Boro, which we anticipate will be a vibrant complex and a new hub to the Tysons business community. Our new space will provide an ideal location (including easy Metro access) and office environment to serve our existing clients and attract new ones,” said Gary Nunes, the firm’s Tysons Office Managing Partner.  “Our firm is experiencing an exciting period of evolution and growth, and our new space will help fuel that growth, including helping us recruit and retain top talent. Womble Bond Dickinson has called Northern Virginia home for nearly 20 years, and this move ensures that we will remain an active member of the community for many more years to come.”

Meridian and Rockefeller Group are co-developing the Gensler-designed, 437,000-square-foot trophy office tower.

From its vantage on “The Hill” – the highest ground elevation in Fairfax County -Boro Tower offers panoramic views from the Blue Ridge Mountains to downtown Washington, D.C. The 20-story building, designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, features a shimmering glass curtain wall, accented by a modern, white-glazed terra cotta.

The Tower offers 9- to 10-foot finished ceilings and ideally sized, efficient floorplates that minimize columns and maximize daylight and views. The building boasts ample amenities, including a rooftop terrace, fitness center, locker rooms and bicycle storage that perfectly complement the 10,000 SF of lobby level retail space.

CBRE’s Rob Faktorow and Terry Reiley represented The Meridian Group and the Rockefeller Group in the leasing deal. Womble Bond Dickinson was represented by Mike Shuler and Nate Krill at Avison Young.

“Boro Tower continues to generate significant interest from a wide range of prospective tenants,” said Tom Boylan, Vice President of The Meridian Group. “It offers the best of all worlds: a trophy office building in an ideal location, surrounded by numerous dining, shopping and entertainment options.”

Womble Bond Dickinson is the fourth major tenant to select Boro Tower for its offices.

The three others:

• Big Four accounting firm KPMG, which announced last month that it will lease up to seven floors of the Tower.
• Global law firm Hogan Lovells, which will occupy the Tower’s entire 17th floor and the majority of its 16th floor.
• Media company TEGNA, which is moving its headquarters to the top two floors.

Boro Tower is located in the heart of The Boro, Meridian Group’s amenity-rich development. Located within steps of the Greensboro Metro station, The Boro will be the premier Metro-oriented, mixed-use destination in Tysons.

The 15-acre development will consist of a dynamic mix of office, rental and for-sale residential, retail, entertainment and open park space – a walkable urban environment that has long been sought in Tysons.

The Boro’s dramatic 1.7 million-square-foot first phase, on schedule for completion in 2019, will deliver nearly 700 residential units, 260,000 square feet of destination retail and Boro Tower.

“The Boro  is one of the premier developments in the Washington Metro area,” said Hilary Allard Goldfarb, Senior Vice President at Rockefeller Group.  “Tenants are drawn to Boro Tower for its quality, location and amenities, combined with the sense of place that The Boro district uniquely offers.”

Ideally located near Route 7, Route 123 and Greensboro Drive, The Boro is designed to bring people outside — with pedestrian-friendly roadways, attractive open spaces and a variety of restaurants offering outdoor seating.

The Boro has already attracted such best-in-class companies as Whole Foods Market, which is planning a 69,000-square-foot flagship location; and Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON Theatres, which will open a luxurious new cinema with 15 state-of-the-art screens and upscale dining options.

“The Boro will be a vibrant community to live, work, dine and relax,” Boylan said. “It will be a place that sparkles with life both day and night. We have a lot to look forward to here.”

Courtesy photo

Long Lines at Local Whole Foods — If you ordered turkey or anything else for Thanksgiving dinner from the Whole Foods Market in Idylwood Plaza, expect long lines this morning. [Instagram]

County Offices Closed for Holiday — Fairfax County Government offices will be closed Thursday and Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, the Fairfax Connector will be running on a modified holiday schedule both days. [Fairfax County, Fairfax County]

Turkey Frying Safety Tips — “Using a turkey fryer this year to cook your Thanksgiving dinner? Please make sure you fry the turkey and NOT your home!” [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]

‘Political Transformation’ in Fairfax Co. — “A group of younger candidates is gathering in the wings, frustrated by crowded classrooms, traffic congestion and the rising cost of living in the county of 1.1 million — Virginia’s most populous jurisdiction and its undisputed economic engine.” [Washington Post, Erika Yalowitz]

Holiday Stroll Planned in Vienna — “The 22nd annual Church Street Holiday Stroll is slated for Monday, Nov. 26 along historic Church Street in Vienna. Santa is expected to glide into the area on a 1946 fire truck at 6:15 p.m., then help Mayor Laurie DiRocco light the holiday tree at 6:20 p.m.” [InsideNova]

Big New Development for West End of Falls Church — “The development team of EYA, PN Hoffman and Regency Centers was chosen by the Falls Church City Council Monday night to orchestrate a dense and diverse $500 million development of 10.3 acres of City-owned land where its George Mason High School currently sits,” near the West Falls Church Metro station. [Falls Church News-Press]

Hot on the heels of Amazon announcing its new office campus in Arlington, eyes are turning towards Apple’s rumored interest in a new location in Northern Virginia — specifically, Tysons.

The Washington Post reported in May that Apple was considering the Scotts Run development in Tysons. Now, Tysons Reporter hears that the iPhone maker is “seriously” eying a Fairfax County office campus, potentially bringing up to 20,000 jobs to the area.

So what is Scotts Run and what is planned there, exactly?

Scotts Run is a proposed 8 million-square-foot mixed-use development near the McLean Metro station. The development, broken into Scotts Run North and South, straddles Dolley Madison Boulevard (Route 123).

Scotts Run had been mentioned as a potential location for Amazon but passed over by Fairfax County and the Commonwealth of Virginia as an official applicant in favor of the 26-acre CIT site in Loudoun, also Tysons’ competitor for Apple.

Scotts Run South is part of a rapidly growing network of new developments at the eastern end of Tysons spurred by the development of the Capital One headquarters. Approved in 2013, plans call for seven apartments, nine office buildings, an Archer Hotel and retail space. The 425-unit apartment complex The Haden and the 14-story office building Mitre 4 have already been completed.

Two new residential towers were approved in May 2018. The towers will have a maximum of 475 units combined, of which 20 percent will be dedicated to affordable housing.

The proposed Scotts Run North development north of Dolley Madison Boulevard would convert a surface parking lot, which currently serves as parking for the Metro station, into a high-density mix of residential and office buildings.

Whether Apple chooses to go the Amazon route and help inspire a new name for the neighborhood remains to be seen.

It’s official: half of Amazon’s HQ2 will be coming to Arlington and Alexandria. But while the offices won’t be located in Fairfax County, experts tell Tysons Reporter that the impact will be felt across the region.

Jerry Gordon, President of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said today that the new headquarters is not only likely to bring 25,000 new jobs to the HQ2 site, but will likely pull 50,000 to 75,000 jobs following Amazon into the region.

“There’s going to be a lot of new jobs, particularly in Tysons because of the Metro connection,” said Gordon. “There’s going to need to be new housing and new office space. The whole region is going to boom.”

Gordon said the first companies to feel the impact of the new headquarters will be regional construction companies, who are likely to see more work as developers scramble to meet the new residential and office space demands.

Among the excitement for new jobs are concerns that the headquarters will also make Tysons, an area already infamous for traffic congestion and a lack of affordable housing, denser than its supporting infrastructure allows.

“I’m hoping we get just enough of a boost from HQ2 for everyone to get raises or better jobs,” said a commenter on the Tysons Reporter Facebook page, “not so much of a boost that we end up with a housing crisis like what Seattle or [San Francisco] have right now.”

Gordon said there’s legitimacy to these concerns.

“When you bring in all these new people, you’re going to find housing values go up,” said Gordon. “There’s going to be a lot of families and they’re not going to want to live in high rises. If you want to own — or if you do own — property in the area it’s going to go up in value.”

Gordon said apartments will also feel the squeeze as new Tysonians move in, especially in the interim before the residential development market can catch up to the demand.

“Renting apartment space, that’s going to go up too,” said Gordon. “It’s all based on supply and demand. When that demand increases dramatically, the prices go up.”

Unfortunately, Gordon also said that the headquarters will likely impact traffic as well.

“If Arlington creates enough housing to accommodate, or new housing is built in proximity to the Metro, that impact will be relatively small,” said Gordon. “But that won’t be the case. This is 25,000 people… It depends on whose hired, but you’re still adding 25,000 jobs in the primary sector so there’s going to be an impact on transportation.”

But overall, Gordon said Amazon is likely to have a positive impact on the community.

“Everyone’s been focused on the new jobs, but people don’t think about the fact that Amazon is one of those companies that are very good corporate citizens,” said Gordon. “I know in Seattle they’re involved in issues from homelessness to arts to health issues. If that’s any indicator for how they’ll be involved here, the region is about to get a good shot in the arm.”

Anyone who has visited Republik Coffee (7915 Jones Branch Dr) might have noticed that the building it’s located in is “Highgate at the Mile.” But what exactly is The Mile?

The Mile is a proposed development aimed at transforming 39 acres of office park east of Tysons Galleria into 13 mixed-use buildings. The Mile development would include residential, retail, office, hotel and storage locations.

The Mile is set to be a mixture of high-rise and mid-rise residential and commercial structures, with the ground floor reserved for retail uses. According to the application:

The goal is a transformation of the existing suburban office park into a vibrant mixed-use community interwoven with parks, open spaces, and public gathering areas. The proposal will replace the existing mid-rise office buildings and substantial surface parking typical of an older suburban office park and help transform Tysons Corner into the urban environment envisioned by the County.

The first of the new developments proposed, simply referred to as Building A in the application, would be a seven-story residential building with 280-425 units. Building A would be located just west of Highgate.

The development application for Building A also includes the first stage of a series of street improvements planned for the new development to improve connectivity between the potential development sites.

Plans for the development were submitted late last year but, according to the Fairfax County website, no Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors hearings have been scheduled.