New details have emerged about the “boutique hotel” in the upcoming Scotts Run development in Tysons East.
Archer Hotel recently released more information about the hotel’s design and offerings.
Situated adjacent to the McLean Metro station, the seven-story, 178-room hotel will have a bar and restaurant operated by chef Charlie Palmer, along with rooftop event space, a fitness studio and underground valet parking, the press release said.
The hotel is designed by LK Architecture — the same firm behind the Tysons Walmart and Hyatt House in Merrifield.
The hotel will be a part of the southern portion of the 8 million-square-foot mixed-use development, which is split into Scotts Run North and South.
Scotts Run South includes several apartments and office buildings — including the completed 425-unit apartment complex called The Haden and the 14-story office building Mitre 4 — the Archer Hotel and retail space.
Meanwhile, Scotts Run North proposes a high-density mix of residential and office buildings.
“The Tysons locale boasts megacity attributes and infrastructure, while retaining welcoming touches like tree-lined streets and a lower-stress lifestyle,” the press release said.
The Tysons location will be the seventh Archer Hotel and is slated to open in summer 2021.
Image via Cityline Partners, map via SmithGroup
Construction recently started on a new trail in Tysons East that will connect Westgate Elementary School to the McLean Metro Station.
Scott’s Run Trail will provide a half-mile, 8-foot wide trail spanning Magarity Road to Colshire Meadow Drive near the McLean Metro station.
Robin Geiger, a spokesperson for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, told Tysons Reporter that construction on the trail started July 8.
“Work is just starting now with the placement of erosion control items prior to grading activities,” Geiger said.
Located within Scott’s Run Stream Valley Park and Westgate Park, the trail will be lighted and include two bridges — a 90-foot bridge over Scotts Run Stream and a 50-foot bridge over a tributary.
The $3.3 million project is being funded by the Federal Regional Surface Transportation Program and Fairfax County.
Geiger said that construction plans to wrap up in next September.
Photo via Fairfax County Department of Transportation
Fairfax County police arrested a kid for allegedly stealing someone’s phone near the Tysons Corner Metro station.
The incident occurred shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday (July 30) at 7902 Tysons One Plaza.
“The victim was sitting on the steps to the plaza when the suspect took the victim’s phone and ran away,” according to a police report.
Police said that they found and arrested the suspect.
https://twitter.com/cbweber521/status/1156392116270108672?s=20
Separate incidents on Tuesday included three home burglaries in McLean and one attempted commercial burglary in Tysons.
Police said that someone entered a home in the 7900 block of Old Cedar Court overnight through an unlocked door and took personal documents and jewelry.
Around 9 a.m., a homeowner reported to police that someone damaged a door, entered the home in the 7300 block of Hooking Road overnight and stole electronics.
Police said someone entered a home in the 11000 block of Old Stage Court through an unlocked door and took jewelry around 4:15 p.m.
An employee at Shiraz Market (8486 Tyco Roa) reported to the police that someone damaged the windows and door of the building, but nothing was taken.
(Updated at 9 a.m.) If you faced delays on Metro’s Silver Line in the Tysons area during yesterday’s evening commute, you might have a goose to blame.
A Metro spokesperson confirmed that an injured goose caused the delay yesterday.
The Fairfax County Police Department said that the Animal Protection Police Officer removed the goose, which had an injured wing and leg, and took it to a nearby animal hospital. Police did not have an update to share about the goose’s condition Tuesday (July 30) evening.
Metrorail Info tweeted around 4:30 p.m. Monday (July 29) that an animal on the tracks at Tysons Corner was causing single-tracking and delays in both directions between the Tysons Corner and McLean Metro stations.
Shortly after 6 p.m., another tweet said that single-tracking had ended, but that residual delays continued in both directions.
Silver Line Delay: Trains are single tracking btwn Tysons Corner & McLean due to an animal on the track at Tysons Corner. Expect delays in both directions.
— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) July 29, 2019
UPDATED: Silver Line Delay: No longer single tracking. Residual delays continue both directions following an animal on the track at Tysons Corner.
— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) July 29, 2019
Goose is the correct answer. An injured goose. #wmata
— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) July 29, 2019
Kiin Imm, a Thai restaurant in Rockville, Md., is coming to Merrifield.
An employee at the restaurant said that the restaurant has a grand opening scheduled for Friday (Aug. 2).
The online menu indicates that the eatery will serve up Thai salads, veggie spring rolls, Tom Yum chicken soup and Thai street food like Kua Gai noodles and khao kha moo.
The restaurant has a pending application to serve wine and beer at 2676 Avenir Place, Suite A by the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.
Kiin Imm will be open from 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and until 9:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday, according to the website.
Photo via Kiin Imm Thai Restaurant/Facebook
A person has been struck by a train at the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.
The incident was first reported by Fairfax County Fire and Rescue around 2:15 p.m. Firefighters were “working to access” the person struck by the train, the fire department said via social media; the person has since been extricated from under the train and taken to a local hospital.
Orange Line trains heading toward Vienna are instead terminating at West Falls Church, Metro said, with shuttle buses running between the West Falls Church and Vienna stations.
UPDATE – person struck by metro train in the 2600 block of Avenir Place in Merrifield: person has been extricated from under metro train. Crews will be transporting to an area hospital momentarily. #FCFRD #FairfaxCounty @MetroTransitPD pic.twitter.com/kwGypBi761
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) July 17, 2019
Orange Line Alert: Trains originating from New Carrollton will terminate at West Falls Church due to a person struck by a train at Dunn Loring.
— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) July 17, 2019
Orange Line Alert: Shuttle trains operate between Vienna and West Falls Church only due to a person struck by a train at Dunn Loring.
— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) July 17, 2019
Construction work on a connector ramp from I-66 to the West Falls Church Metro station is set to start a year later than planned.
“Our project manager, Mark Gibney, has confirmed that construction of the I-66 connector ramp to the West Falls Church Metro station will begin construction in summer 2020 and finish by fall 2021,” Michelle Holland, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transporation, tod Tysons Reporter.
Currently, cars traveling eastbound on I-66 to the Metro station exit from I-66, turn right to head south on Route 7 (Leesburg Pike), turn left at the intersection at Haycock Road and then turn left onto Falls Church Drive. “VDOT has identified operational and safety issues with this maneuver, especially during AM and PM peak periods,” according to the project’s website.
The new ramp, which is a part of the I-66 widening project, would connect two existing ramps, spitting drivers out onto Falls Church Drive.
While the VDOT website currently says that construction is set to begin this summer and get completed by fall 2o20, the spokesperson said that the website will soon get updated to reflect the correct information.
VDOT plans to hold a public meeting with a construction update on Wednesday (July 10) from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Yorktown High School (5200 Yorktown Blvd) in Arlington.
VDOT will hold a construction update meeting for the I-66 Inside the Beltway project on Wednesday, July 10 at Yorktown HS in Arlington. Visit https://t.co/8AV982AWI8 for more info. @VaDOTNOVA pic.twitter.com/SZpvo7iKaL
— John Foust (@johnfoustva) July 8, 2019
Map via VDOT
In the wake of Capital One opening the region’s tallest office building, the nearby McLean Metro station has had a sharp increase in Metro traffic.
New data from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission compared Metro ridership in January, February and March with the same period in 2018. All of the Silver Line stations in Virginia saw an increase in ridership over the previous year, part of an ongoing trend.
Overall the McLean Metro station had the largest increase in ridership with 20.6 percent growth.
The Greensboro Metro station, site of The Boro development and other projects aiming to compete with Tysons Corner Center as a commercial hub, also saw substantial ridership increase with an 18.4 percent growth.
The most popular station is Wiehle-Reston East — the end of the line — with 1,018,980 total riders over three months. In Tysons, the most population station was Tysons Corner with 490,212 riders over three months.
The Spring Hill Metro station had previously seen a 2.9 percent decline in ridership between last winter and the one before, but in the three months that followed the station saw a modest 2 percent increase in ridership over the previous year.
Photo 2 via Tysons Partnership/Twitter
Metro recently closed several stations on the Blue and Yellow lines south of Ronald Reagan National Airport for platform reconstruction that will last until September.
The temporary shutdown is a part of Metro’s plan to reconstruct its 20 outdoor concrete platforms.
Ahead of the closures, Metro got the word out about Metrobuses, free shuttles and other bus options — like the Fairfax Connector — for affected riders. (The 494 Fairfax Connector runs from Lorton to Tysons, passing through Springfield.)
Tysons Partnership has information about carpools and vanpools, which travel for free in express lanes.
From social media and news reports, the transition has caused commuting headaches for some people — from getting stuck in traffic to bus drivers getting lost to stranded riders. Others have reported few or no issues with alternative transportation.
Let us know below if the Metro shutdown will affect you during the summer.
The short Metro tunnel in Tysons is now the only one in Virginia without cell coverage, but Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said that should be remedied by next summer.
Calls inside the tunnel connecting the Tysons Corner and Greensboro Metro stations on the Silver Line are dropped regardless of cellular provider — interrupting 25 minutes of otherwise continuous cell coverage from the Wiehle-Reston to Ballston Metro stations.
The lack of cell service is more than a convenience issue. Experts have called it a glaring safety problem for the system — particularly in the wake of a death in a smoke-clogged tunnel in 2015.
On and off for 10 years, WMATA has been working with cell carriers to wire tunnels to provide continuous service, though the plan has hit several stumbling blocks along the way. The press release said the plan is to have all of the tunnels completed by June 2020:
The $120 million capital project to install dual radio and cellular cables within Metro’s tunnels began in February 2016 and is scheduled to be completed by June 2020. The labor-intensive process involves installing special trays on the tunnel walls to support the heavy cables and requires the track be taken out of service for the work to be done.
WMATA said 67 miles of the 100 total miles of track are now cell-accessible, including all of the Orange and Blue lines.
