Auditing giant KPMG LLP will be bringing $30 million dollars and 500 new jobs in a sweeping expansion of its Tysons operations.

KPMG will be moving into seven floors of Boro Tower, part of a massive mixed-use development near the Greensboro Metro station, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced Wednesday morning.

The building, expected to open in early 2019, is a block away from the offices that KPMG currently occupies at 1676 International Drive. That building, in turn, is also set for a substantial renovation.

A $1 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund was approved by Northam as an economic incentive to facilitate the move. Virginia also offered a slew of other incentives, including a Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit for the new full-time jobs coming with the expansion and employee retraining activities provided by the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

“We’re committed to Fairfax County and are excited about the growth that we’re seeing here in world-class innovation and leading-edge technology — two areas that align with our own core services and strategic approach,” said Jerry Carlson, a KPMG managing partner, in a press release.

The expansion was also facilitated with local help from the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

“KPMG has been a major employer and corporate citizen in Fairfax County for years, and we are delighted to see that the company has chosen the county as a base to expand its audit, tax and advisory business significantly,” said Gerald Gordon, president and CEO of the FCEDA, in a press release. “This coincides with the continued growth and diversification of the county economy and the increasing realization that this is a great draw for the workforce the company wants to attract and retain.”

“This illustrates our strength in the professional services sector that creates so many jobs here, and is a great vote of confidence in the kind of business community that we promote here,” a FCEDA spokesman added.

New McLean Residential Building Approved — “Hailed as a much-needed infusion of residential space in McLean’s Community Business Center (CBC), Benchmark Associates LP’s proposed 44-unit multi-family building received unanimous support Oct. 16 from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The structure will be located on 1.43 acres at 6707 Old Dominion Drive and feature six residential floors built atop at 3.5-level parking garage, with a total floor-area ratio of 1.99.” [InsideNova]

‘Gone with the Wind’ Is Fairfax’s Favorite Book — Fairfax County residents have selected the Civil War epic Gone with the Wind as their favorite book, besting runner up To Kill a Mockingbird by a 66 percent to 34 percent margin. [Facebook, Fairfax County]

Vienna Development Proposal Downsized — “With the Vienna Town Council set to decide the fate Oct. 29 of a proposed mixed-use development at 430-444 Maple Ave. W., the developer has offered a raft of changes to make the project more palatable to local residents… [offering] to decrease the project’s gross floor area by about 12,000 square feet and reduce the number of residential units from 160 to 151.” [InsideNova]

Fairfax County is looking to turn the forests around the Beltway-Arlington Boulevard interchange into Merrifield’s newest urban center.

The Merrifield Suburban Center Task Force meets for the first time tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 7 p.m. in the Inova Conference Center at 3225 Gallows Road. The group is tasked with developing recommendations for the land surrounding the interchange on three sides.

At the July 31 meeting, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors initiated a process to review land use for 203 acres of land in the vicinity. Mixed-use office, hotel, and residential are all being considered as potential choices for development.

The portion of the site to the northeast of the interchange is Fairview Park North, a parcel of land mostly wooded except for a Northrop Grumman headquarters and a few other office buildings.

Fairview Park South, across Arlington Boulevard, is the smallest parcel of land and is mostly unused land north of the Falls Church Marriott. The southwest parcel is a wooded area surrounding the Inova Center for Personalized Health, which will remain on site.

At tomorrow’s meeting, the Task Force is scheduled to review the existing conditions of the site. Transportation issues is the topic for a subsequent meeting scheduled for Nov. 13. A full schedule meetings is available online.

The group is expected to deliver a final recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on April 23, 2019.

Photos via Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning

One week after a fire gutted the abandoned Marco Polo restaurant on Maple Avenue, there’s still no answer for what caused the blaze.

At a Town Council meeting on Oct. 15, Vienna Chief of Police James Morris said the fire was reported around 2 p.m. on Sunday, and by 3:16 p.m. the flames under control. The building was vacant and there were no injuries in the fire, but the building itself is a complete loss.

Morris said throughout the week there have been complaints of kids hanging around gawking at the site. Even when the building was intact though, Morris said there was some unsavory activity at the site.

“The property itself has had broken windows and significant vandalism of buses in the back lot. There has been a lot of activity around that building.”

Battalion Chief Willie Bailey said it’s not uncommon for fire investigations to take over a week, with variables being size of the structure and the level of damage.

Before the fire, the building had been planned for demolition to make way for a new development approved on May 7 this year.

The site has been home to a number of buildings since 1900, but the recently-burned one had been located there since 1954. Local developer Doug D’Alexander applied to have the lot redeveloped in 2015, but a protest petition meant the Town Council would have to vote 6-1 in favor of development. In the end, the development fell one vote short.

D’Alexander returned in 2017 with a more scaled down version of the development called Vienna Market. The new development would consist of 8,200 square feet of retail space with 44 townhouse condominiums. The development was unanimously approved at the meeting.

Tysons Reporter was unable to reach D’Alexander, so the timeline for the development and the impact of the fire on redevelopment plans are currently, like the cause of the fire, still unknown.

(Updated 4:30) — A series of improvements for 1676 International Drive are planned to bring the building more in line with newer developments like the nearby Boro project.

1676 International Drive is currently a 13-story, 300,000-square foot office building. Brandywine Realty Trust, the owner of the property, said the renovations will focus on transforming the interior space into a more popular flexible workspace environment. Renovations begin this month and are expected to be completed next fall.

New outdoor and recreation spaces will include an outdoor fireplace and lounge, an oversized outdoor TV, a bocce court and other relaxation areas. A new penthouse suite will include a 120-person conference center and a luxury fitness center.

Infrastructure enhancements are also planned for the area will also improve the building’s accessibility to Tysons Galleria across International Drive and the Boro, diagonally opposite the property across Greensboro Drive.

Brandywine Realty Trust said in a press release that the added walkways and a new traffic signal planned for Tysons Boulevard will improve accessibility to the building.

Allie Seifert, a spokeswoman for Brandywine, said the redevelopment is part of a broader strategy of reinvesting in existing assets in burgeoning neighborhoods outside D.C., like Tysons and Ballston, and converting them into more modern workspaces.

Brandywine also recently announced a new line of flexible office offerings similar to MakeOffices and WeWork called BEX, with the first location opening at 8260 Greensboro Drive in Tysons.

Police Release Sketch of Vienna Robbery Suspect — Fairfax County Police have released a sketch of the suspect who robbed a man at gunpoint on Oct. 6 along path to the Vienna Metro station. [Facebook]

Rapid Pace of Tysons Development — The pace of development in Tysons is impressing even seasoned local business people. At a recent Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce breakfast, the gathered crowd was wowed by a slide showing buildings now under construction and approved developments in Tysons. [InsideNova]

Local Firms Place High on Fortune List — From the most recent FCEDA E-Bird: “Hilton and Mars Inc. are among the top three places to work — not just in Fairfax County but in the world according to Fortune.com. San Francisco-based Salesforce, Tysons Corner-based Hilton and McLean-based Mars ranked 1-2-3 based on employee surveys conducted by Fortune partner Great Place to Work around the world. Companies racked up points based on respect, fairness, pride, camaraderie, and trust.” [Fortune]

FCPS Digital Citizenship Week — “This week is Digital Citizenship Week in our county schools and it’s important for parents/guardians to help children become safe, ethical, responsible and respectful digital citizens.” [Fairfax County]

Cvent Makes Big Acquisition — Tysons-based event tech company Cvent has acquired D.C.-based event and venue planning startup Social Tables for, reportedly, more than $100 million. [Washington Business Journal]

Reminder: Social Media Week Fairfax Tomorrow — Social Media Week Fairfax, featuring a number of marquee speakers including Judy Smith of Scandal fame, will be taking place tomorrow (Thursday) from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at Capital One HQ in Tysons. A complete agenda is available here.

Finding a place to live in Tysons can be difficult, even outside of the problems with affordable housing.

Jonathan LaCroix from the Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce noted that the ratio of jobs to housing units in the area is lopsided, with roughly 100,000 jobs but only 19,000 residents. So for those hoping to live a little closer to where they work the housing market can be scarce and expensive.

To help, Tysons Reporter has put together a list of apartments and condominiums available to rent or buy currently and a look at housing coming down the pipeline over the next few years.

According to apartments.com and other sources, these are the places in Tysons that are available for rent:

• The Adaire (1521 Boyd Pointe Way) – Price range from $1,723 to $3,445
• The Ascent (8421 Broad St) – Price range from $1,753 to $3,509
• The Commons of McLean (1653 Anderson Rd) – Price range from $1,585 to $3,450
• Eaves Tysons Corner (1723 Gosnell Rd) – Price range from$1,655 to $2,100
• Dolley Madison Apartments at Tysons (1805 Wilson Ln) – Price range from $1,695 to $2,195
• Haden (1575 Anderson Rd) – Price range from $1,569 to $6,370
• Highgate at the Mile (7915 Jones Branch Dr) – Price range from $1,610 to $4,889
• The Kingston (7480 Birdwood Ave) – Price range from $1,965 to $4,500
• Nouvelle (7911 Westpark Dr) – Price range from $1,709 to $8,282
• Post Tysons Corner (1526 Lincoln Circle) – Price range from $1,600 – $3,330
• Vita Tysons Corner (7902 Tysons One Pl) – Price range from $1,654 to $7,965

Several apartments and condominiums are clumped together at Park Crest just north of Tysons Galleria:

• Avalon Park Crest (8250 Westpark Dr) – Price range from $1,785 to $2,470
• Ovation at Park Crest (8231 Crestwood Heights) – Price range from $1,833 to $5,185
• The Lofts at Park Crest (8210 Crestwood Heights Dr) – Price range from $2,270 to $5,471
• One Park Crest (8220 Crestwood Heights Dr) – Price range from $499,900 to $1,050,000

Other existing condo buildings include:

• Lillian Court (1635 International Drive)
• Westwood Village (1500 Northern Neck Dr)
• The Rotonda (8352 Greensboro Dr)

There are several apartment complexes currently in development:

• Westpark Plaza – Four planned buildings with a planned 1,300 residential units in two of them
• The Boro – Several mixed-use development buildings — including the “Rise” apartment tower and “Verse” condominium tower — near the Greensboro Metro station
• The Monarch – A planned luxury condominium building
• Tysons West Phase III – A planned development hub that will include 669 residential units
• Residences at Tysons II – A planned pair of 30-story residential towers adjacent to Tysons Galleria
• Lumen – A 32-story residential tower with 398 apartment units planned for completion by the end of 2018 and open for renting spring 2019.

Apart from the above list in and around central Tysons, there are also a number of other residential options just east of the Beltway with McLean and Falls Church mailing addresses, including but not limited to: Tysons View, Tysons Glen, Eaves Fairfax Towers, the Oaks at Falls Church, PeachTree of McLean, Tysons Landing Apartments, Regency at McLean condos, Encore of McLean condos, the Colonies of McLean condos, the Commons of McLean, the Gates of McLean condos, McLean Chase condos, Renaissance 2230 condos, and the Fountain at McLean condos.

It’s no secret that Tysons is growing.

The skyline is filled with construction cranes and seemingly every week there’s an announcement of a new restaurant or business moving into the area. But as Tysons grows, it also faces infrastructure challenges and threats from neighbors.

Professor Stephen Fuller, Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, said that Tysons is finally starting to recover from the 2013 budget sequestration. Fuller said the sequester had a more damaging impact on the region than the 2008 recession, as the type of contracting that fills Tysons office space was cut by 15 percent.

Today, Tysons is still left with 15 percent office vacancy, which Fuller said puts the market on about even footing with Arlington. Rosslyn and Crystal City were both particularly hard hit by contracting cuts that left sweeping vacancies along the Metro corridor.

But Fuller noted that both Tysons and Arlington have comparative strengths and weaknesses that make them very different marketplaces.

“Arlington has old office spaces with bad floor plans,” said Fuller. “That’s sending people out to Tysons, which has newer office space.”

Gerald Gordon, who will soon be retiring as President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said that the county essentially gave a blank check to developers for density near Metro stations, which has helped incentivize new construction.

“The county allowed for unlimited density in a quarter mile radius of each station,” said Gordon. “We have these really tall buildings and we’re going to see a lot of new office space. Some of the older buildings are coming down, being replaced by more floors to be a lot of office spaces.”

But older office space is also one of Arlington’s greatest strengths, as Fuller said the outdated office spaces in Arlington are also often less expensive than the new office suites in Tysons where speculation has sent land prices skyrocketing.

Another of Arlington’s strengths, according to Fuller, is the culture and vibrancy that Tysons mostly lacks.

“When Amazon was looking at Northern Virginia, they were looking at Crystal City, not Tysons,” said Fuller. “Tysons just doesn’t offer lifestyle that they’re looking for.”

Fuller said the new apartment buildings and lifestyle-supporting commercial retail coming into Tysons is a good sign that Tysons is working towards that vitality, but Fuller said bringing that kind of culture is going to take two key ingredients: walkability and time.

“It’s about the distance between buildings, it isn’t walkable,” said Fuller. “Some internal circulation system will be required. It’s been long discussed, but I haven’t seen any yet. The Capital One complex, with the headquarters expansion, is going to make that a node that people are going to want to get to.”

Gordon similarly said transportation is one of Tysons greatest challenges over the next few years, but that stepping up public transportation in Tysons can help alleviate some of the areas traffic woes.

Most importantly, Fuller said it’s going to take time to organically build vibrancy and economic stability in Tysons.

“There’s work to be done, but they have to be patient,” said Fuller. “They’re delivering spaces faster than the economy is growing. The economy has picked up, 2017 was a much better year for the kinds of businesses that look at Tysons, but you can’t just snap your fingers and make it all happen.”

While Tysons and Arlington compete for office tenants and vibrancy, Professor Frank Shafroth, director of the Center for State and Local Leadership at George Mason University, said it’s important not to ignore Washington, D.C.’s increasing appeal for developers.

“Northern Virginia has traditionally, as part of the Washington metro region, been tied to the nation’s capitol,” said Shafroth. “Significantly reduced violent crime in D.C. has made the District far more attractive to millennials, decreasing the pressure for young families to want to move to the suburbs and deal with vicious commutes.”

The application for a controversial redevelopment on Maple Avenue will be coming back to the Vienna Town Council later this week.

On paper, the rezoning application for 430, 440 and 444 Maple Ave. W. is a simple redevelopment issue, but over the last months the application has ignited questions about how Vienna adapts to a marketplace swiftly leaving it behind.

On Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m., project developer Vienna Development Associates LLC will return to the town hall for a work session to try to convince Vienna the project is right for Maple Avenue.

The site is currently occupied by the Vienna Wolf Trap Hotel, but the developer hopes to convince the Vienna Town Council to approve rezoning of the site to let them build a new four-story mixed use development. The project would have 160 multi-family residential units and 22,000 square feet of retail space.

The project attracted controversy in the community from the start, with 53 residents speaking mostly against the project at a July 9 public hearing on the project. The Vienna Town Council received 99 written comments by the time the comment period closed in August.

Many of these comments expressed concerns about the validity of traffic studies paid for by the developer. The traffic studies showed that the project would not have more of a traffic impact on Maple Avenue than any development not-requiring rezoning approval would have.

But public comments and emails to the council said citizens were still concerned the new development would add to the congestion at an already busy intersection and make traffic worse in close proximity to two nearby schools.

A third-party review initiated by Vienna Town Council staff verified the findings of the initial traffic studies, but Vienna Development Associates LLC deferred its application at the Aug. 20 Town Council meeting to take into account feedback from the council and from public comments.

Now, the developer has said the traffic concerns about the project have been addressed. Along with a series of project changes that the company says will reduce residential traffic by 25 percent, the developer has identified several transportation improvements that it hopes will make the project more palatable, including:

• Extending turn lanes on the nearby Nutley Street and Maple Avenue
• Widening the Maple Avenue exit to allow right and left turn lanes
• Pedestrian and bus stop improvements
• A shuttle running from the site to the Metro

But transportation concerns are only one part of the opposition to the project. For many who oppose the project, the development is too large and out of character for the small-town feel of Vienna.

“If we’re going to have a project there, this one is not ready for primetime,” said Councilmember Howard Springsteen at the August meeting. “I think the developer has done a horrible [public relations] job and has created a firestorm of concerns around town. This is probably one of the most divisive things that has come to this town in 20 years.”

In addition to traffic concerns, Springsteen said he and many Vienna residents were concerned that the building was too large and lacked substantial green space.

“People are upset about this around town,” said Springsteen. “Some are in favor, but the majority are opposed. This project needs to be reworked.”

But for others on the Vienna Town Council there are concerns that pushback on projects like the mixed-use development on Maple Avenue will lead to developers passing Vienna by. While residents are concerned about Vienna losing its unique small town character as more of its neighbors become rapidly urbanized, Maple Avenue is plagued with chronic vacancies.

Nearly every block on Maple Avenue has a vacancy of some kind. Traveling west on Maple Avenue, Vienna starts to look like a ghost town. Some whole blocks, like the former Marco Polo Restaurant at 245 Maple Ave., are completely abandoned and showing signs of overgrowth.

“Maple Avenue is a terrific location, but there are concerns with vacancies and commercial corridor perception,” said Councilmember Carey Sienicki. “Relying on the traditional model of neighborhoods separated from strip malls may no longer be justifiable to meet those needs. It’s important to see the benefits of mixed use options.”

Sienicki said that she believed that the additional height of the building won’t negatively impact the character of the town.

“There has been a citizen insurgency precipitated from what has happened in surrounding jurisdictions,” said Sienicki. “Town must react to those external concerns for Vienna. We are not looking to be like other jurisdictions. We are Vienna.”

Concept renderings via Vienna Development Associates LLC. Hotel photo via Vienna Wolf Trap Hotel.

(Updated at 10:50 a.m.) As neighbors, McLean and Tysons couldn’t be more different. The former has a reputation as a quiet, suburban town with a long history and deep community roots, while the latter is a comparatively young and bustling pseudo-city in its own right.

But what happens in one will have a profound impact on the other, and Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust, who represents McLean, said that has become particularly clear with regards to regional traffic.

“Our plans say that Tysons development will be limited to Tysons and that the neighborhoods should be protected,” said Foust, “but the traffic that goes there goes through McLean and it has gotten worse.”

In discussions with members with the McLean Citizens Association, traffic was almost universally one of the most discussed items. The impact of the growing Tysons can already be felt in McLean, where both highways and residential streets are becoming increasingly clogged with commuter traffic. One of the big problems, on both a county and inter-state level, is the American Legion Bridge.

An average of 239,000 people use the American Legion Bridge every workday, according to a letter sent from the Fairfax Board of Supervisors to the Maryland Department of Transportation.

“The bridge is grossly over capacity,” said Foust. “It’s the responsibility of Maryland now. We’ve been encouraging them to expand… expansion would be a huge difference.”

Maryland has previously announced a $9 billion investment in reducing traffic congestion, including adding toll lanes north of the bridge, but the bridge itself remains a roadblock for commuter traffic heading to or from Tysons and McLean.

But expanding, supplementing, or replacing the bridge all come with difficulties. VDOT engineers have said that the bridge cannot be expanded and that it has reached capacity. Adding a new bridge to the site would also be difficult, if not impossible, given the low-density zoning in the area aimed at protecting the Potomac River. Fully replacing the bridge is a popular suggestion, but one that could take decades of planning, environmental, and financial work.

In the meantime, Foust said that traffic improvement projects in Tysons, like the Jones Branch Extension currently underway, will also help regional traffic flow. The new extension should take some pressure Route 123 and hopefully reduce congestion in McLean.

Ultimately, Foust said Tysons and McLean are going to need to rely on non-car transportation to help take some of the pressure off local roads. But paradoxically a lack of car-supporting infrastructure, at McLean Station on the Silver Line especially, makes that difficult.

“There’s a lack of parking at the stations here,” said Foust. “There’s no plan in place to build a lot [at McLean Station]. It’s very inconvenient. Generally, the Board does not want to encourage more traffic to drive into Tysons, but that means my constitutes can’t utilize the Metro.”

Foust said the County is working on expanding bus transportation, but that it will take a long time to get that to a convenient level. Given the growing pressure of traffic coming in and out of Tysons, it’s time McLean may not have.