(Updated 2:40 p.m.) — The Boro, the Meridian Group’s 1.7 million-square-foot development that aims to compete with Tysons Corner Center Mall as the commercial heart of Tysons, is inching closer towards completion.
The first opening is Boro Tower, which has already started opening to tenants.
“As of right now, we’ve delivered the Boro Tower,” said Caroline Flax, senior analyst for the Meridian Group. “Tegna moved in January.”
The Boro Tower is part of Block C, which includes the Showplace Icon theater building. Flax said the movie theater building is complete, with tenants finishing their build-out inside the space.
The residential and retail towers of Block A at the development’s northern point are scheduled for an opening later in the summer. Flax said the 25-story luxury condominium “Verse” tower, a collaboration between the Meridian Group and Kettler, is planned to open this fall. Pre-leasing for residential units for “Rise,” a 27-story apartment tower, will begin in the spring with move-in scheduled for the summer.
Much of the site’s premier retailers are located along Boro Place, the pseudo-main street of the Boro development. The street is currently undergoing its final round of paving.
Flax said many of the openings on Boro Place hinge on the timing of the region’s largest Whole Foods opening.
“Boro Place is going to open in coordination with Whole Foods, which is looking at late summer, early fall,” said Flax. “A lot of tenants don’t want to open until they do.”
Flax noted that most of the restaurants and retail in the development have already been announced, but that the company is still working on a couple contracts for retail occupants.
“We’re excited to get everything open and ready for the general public,” said Flax.
The publisher of VivaTysons Magazine has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
As first reported by the Washington Business Journal, Tysons-based Johnny Hanna & Associates LLC filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month, citing assets of $100,001-500,000 and debts of $500,001-1,000,000.
Among the biggest creditors are George Stephenson and his Alexandria-based Stephenson Printing, which are collectively owed nearly $400,000. A handful of business lenders are also listed as creditors.
VivaTysons is published every other month. It is mailed to readers and distributed to local businesses in Tysons, McLean, Falls Church, Vienna, Great Falls and Oakton.
Hanna told WBJ that he has struggled to sell ads in the magazine as digital advertising continues to overtake traditional media.
“People have shied away from print for a while,” Hanna is quoted as saying. “Not many people want to immerse themselves in the community.”
A projected budget filed in federal bankruptcy court says Hanna’s company expects revenue of around $120,000 and expenses of around $190,000 over the next 12 weeks. The expenses include more than $75,000 in compensation for employees, writers and graphic designers; $50,000 for printing; and $25,000 for postage.
Hanna told WBJ that he expects to get “back to normal” after the bankruptcy process.
The Greater Merrifield Business Association is “shaking off its low-tech past and ramping up efforts to connect with members and promote the community,” the Sun Gazette reports.
Among its recent efforts are a new website, pictured above, and the recruitment of younger members.
More from the Sun Gazette:
The organization is making its board larger, trying to diversify and get younger, Thompson said…
“We had an older-age demographic in the organization,” he said. “Not very many young people. Nobody had e-mail, nobody had Twitter. We were so far behind with the times and we were suffering from it. There are so many things that we do well, but we need the Millennials with us in this organization.”
The organization’s mission is “to build a strong network of local businesses, support our local community, and increase the customer traffic to our businesses,” according to the GMBA website.
Tysons Company Tops Fortune List — Tysons-based Hilton is No. 1 on Fortune’s new 100 Best Companies to Work For list. The hotel operator was also joined by local companies Navy Federal (#29, Vienna), Capital One (#39, Tysons), CustomInk (#86, Merrifield) and Mars Inc. (#98, McLean) on the annual list. [Fortune, Twitter]
State of McLean: Under Construction — “McLean is poised to benefit from a raft of infrastructure and revitalization projects, Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville) told the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce Feb. 14 [during] his annual ‘State of McLean’ speech.” [InsideNova]
Falls Church Property Assessments Rise — “Property values are on the rise in Falls Church, according to 2019 assessment data released by the city. Overall residential and commercial property values have increased from January 2018. Commercial property values rose by 4.3 percent and residential real estate values by 2.93 percent over the last year.” [Patch]
Arconic Scraps Plan to Move to Tysons — “New York City-based Arconic Inc. has decided not to relocate its corporate headquarters to Tysons, following announcements this week of a new chief executive and plans to split into two companies.” [Washington Business Journal, Wall Street Journal]
Crash Closes Road in McLean — Georgetown Pike was closed in both directions at Tebbs Lane in McLean by a multi-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon. [Twitter]
Beyer and Wexton on ‘Face the Nation’ — “Democratic Virginia Reps. Don Beyer and Jennifer Wexton renewed their calls for Gov. Ralph Northam and Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax to step down over their respective controversies” on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday morning. [CBS News]
Academic Competition for Local Students — A 10th grade BASIS Independent McLean student won first place in the 2019 Northern Virginia History Bowl Junior Varsity Division, an eighth-grader won The Langley School’s 2019 National Geographic Bee, and the Oakcrest School in Vienna sent three teams to compete at the regional Science Olympiad earlier this month. [McLean Connection, InsideNova, Fairfax Times]
Screen capture via @DildineWTOP
McLean Company’s $1 Billion Sustainability Plan — Candy maker Mars, Inc., based in McLean and the largest private company in Fairfax County, “has pledged to invest $1 billion over the next few years to support efforts involving renewable energy, food sourcing, cross-industry action groups and farmers.” [FCEDA]
Hunter Mill Candidates Skeptical of Development — “In the Hunter Mill District, home to both Reston and Vienna, current member Cathy Hudgins is retiring. The three declared candidates, thus far, all have platforms which argue the county has been too favorable to development.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Store Closing at Tysons Corner Center — Clothing retailer Charlotte Russe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is reportedly closing nearly 100 stores, including its Tysons Corner Center location. [Fox 5]
Vienna Inn Anniversary — “The Vienna Inn sells over 10,000 of its famous chili dogs every month, so it wouldn’t be easy to tally all the chili dogs sales since its 1960 opening. What we do know is the Vienna Inn has been open for 59 years and will mark its anniversary in February.” [Patch]
Teen Charged for Menacing Video — “A video showing a masked figure pulling a gun out of the trunk of a car in front of Wakefield High School has led to an arrest and charges against a Falls Church teenager.” [ARLnow]
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]
FCPS Closed Today — It’s a snow day for Fairfax County public school students. Light snow is currently falling around the area and sticking to untreated roads. FCPS decided to close amid fears of treacherous road conditions. [Reston Now]
Tysons Car Dealership Purchased — Arlington-based Graham Holdings has purchased the Honda dealership in Tysons. The land on which the dealership sits is currently for sale and slated for redevelopment. [BusinessWire]
Free Screenings of Black Panther in Tysons — Best Picture-nominated Black Panther is returning to 250 AMC theaters, including the AMC Tysons Corner Center 16, for free screenings from Feb. 1-7. [Patch]
Power Outage Left Some Schools in the Dark — Yesterday’s power outage in the Falls Church area left four Fairfax County schools without opening late due to cold weather. [WJLA]
FCPS on Two-Hour Delay — Fairfax County Public Schools are opening today on a two-hour delay due to dangerous cold and potentially hazardous travel on local roads. [Reston Now]
Metro Delays This Morning — Expect some delays if riding Metrorail this morning, in part due to fewer trains running amid the bitter cold. [Twitter]
Vienna Businesses Want More Economic Development — “Vienna’s business environment flourished in 2017 but weakened noticeably last year, highlighting the town’s need to hire a specialist to improve its commercial prospects, according to the 2018 annual report submitted by the Town/Business Liaison Committee (TBLC).” [InsideNova]
The goal was never really to make money, but Fairfax News editor and publisher James Hood said the costs have just been too much to keep the local news site running. In one month, the website that’s been covering local news since 1998 will shut down for good.
“It’s a difficult market,” Hood said. “Between the city and the parts of the county, Fairfax is very amorphous. We’ve never been hyper-local, we wanted to do the kind of regional coverage the Washington Post does, but with Virginia on top rather than the District.”
Hood launched several successful online ventures including Consumer Affairs, but Fairfax News was never sustainable enough to pay for a team of reporters to run it on its own.
“I was never really able to give Fairfax News the attention it needed,” said Hood. “And revenue was increasingly difficult. Years ago, I could put up a couple Google ads up and the site could have earned a few dollars and I could put a few cents in my pocket, but not anymore.”
Hood said he put more of his focus on making the site technically smooth and functional, but looking back he said he wished he’d changed some of the priorities.
“I didn’t spend as much as I should have on the editorial side,” said Hood.
The end had been coming for a while. The stream of news stories dwindled over time and a few months ago, managing editor Ed Tobias departed from the site.
“I enjoyed working on the site,” said Hood, “but I’m in my 70s and I don’t want to have to do this every day. I couldn’t find anyone to sell it to and I didn’t want it to just wither away.”
Though the closure is much smaller on scale, Hood’s shuttering of Fairfax News is part of a nationwide spate of closures and layoffs at online news outlets.
“It’s hard right now,” said Hood. “Twenty years ago, if you were enterprising, you could make a living as a reporter covering Vienna. But those times are at abeyance. Will they come back? Who knows.”
Photo via Facebook
