The sprawling Boro development that hopes to become the new beating heart of Tysons could be getting a little larger.
The Meridian Group — developers of The Boro — are planning to submit designs this summer for a recently acquired property across Westpark Drive at 8333 Greensboro Drive, according to the Washington Business Journal.
The Business Journal reported that the new development would likely be a mix of residential types including townhouses, apartments, for-sale condos, and a high-rise senior living component.
Senior living has been particularly hard to come by in Tysons, especially with The Mather facing some difficulty in the approval process.
Image via Google Maps
Bicyclists and drivers can expect new lane markings on Greensboro Drive by The Boro development early next month.
Last week, a self-identified cyclist questioned on Twitter when the road would get new striping.
“The new asphalt is nice, but total chaos,” the May 14 tweet said. “[The] eastbound bike lane, second travel lane, and center turn lane [are] all obliterated. And it’s been a few weeks.”
Jennifer McCord, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, told Tysons Reporter that the roadwork is being completed by a developer under permit.
The developer gave this update on Greensboro Drive via the VDOT spokeswoman:
VDOT approved a temporary striping plan to allow bicycle traffic to share the southbound lane of Greensboro Drive between Westpark and Solutions until improvements to Greensboro, Westpark and Solutions have been completed. Currently, there are bicycle “sharrows” between Westpark and Silver Hill. Prior to Greensboro being milled and overlaid between Silver Hill and Solutions, a sharrow was installed and a remaining sharrow will be reinstalled.
In addition to the shared lane marking, the signal at the intersection of Westpark and Greensboro drives will be modified and new signals will be installed at Greensboro’s intersection with Spring Hill Road and Solutions Drive, the spokeswoman said.
“The contractor plans to mill and overlay Greensboro and Westpark the weeks of May 28 and June 3; then pavement markings will be placed relative to the bike lane from Westpark to Solutions,” McCord wrote in an email.
Drivers and bicyclists can expect temporary markings until the signal construction is complete. Once the work on the signals finishes, Greensboro Drive will then welcome new permanent markings, McCord said.
Hey @VaDOTNOVA is there a striping plan/timetable for Greensboro Dr in #Tysons? The new asphalt is nice, but its TOTAL CHAOS. Eastbound #bikelane, 2nd travel lane, and center turn lane all obliterated. And it's been a few weeks. Thanks! pic.twitter.com/B0oFCbUOEh
— Chris French (@chrislfrench) May 14, 2019
F45, an Australian-based high-intensity gym franchise, just signed a 10-year lease for The Boro development in Tysons.
The gym is set to open in the 2,310-square-foot second-level retail space at 1640 Boro Place, Suite 206, according to a press release.
F45 is targeting a late summer opening in The Boro — right around when many of the restaurants and retail plan to open in The Meridian Group’s development.
According to the press release:
F45 Tysons will offer fitness programs with more than 4,000 exercises changed daily; multi-screen LCD TVs displaying all exercises; heart rate technology for performance tracking; live DJ mixes and F45 FM music to keep members motivated; and a global support network of coaching professionals. The state-of-the-art fitness facility will include full locker rooms and showers.
The workout program combines interval, cardiovascular and strength training regimens into a rotating set of workouts.
“We are proud to welcome F45 Tysons to The Boro, and we are thrilled about the tremendous energy it will bring to the project,” Caroline Flax, the senior analyst for The Meridian Group, said in the press release.
Photo courtesy F45
Relocating is a part of office culture. But when the company moves just a few blocks away, some experts say it could be the sign of a healthy office market.
One of the most notable moves in Tysons was auditing giant KPMG LLP’s announcement last October that it would be moving from 1676 International Drive to the Boro, a project nearing the final phase of development.
On the surface, a move like that would have a minimal economic impact. Some local experts who spoke to Tysons Reporter said that moves like this allow companies to obtain relatively prime office space at low costs.
KPMG LLP not only got a newer, larger office out of the move, but also a $1 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Development Opportunity Fund and other tax credits.
The move also pushed Brandywine Realty Trust — the owners of 1676 International Drive — into a $20 million renovation that currently includes plans for a new flexible office space
Professor Frank Shafroth, director of the Center for State and Local Leadership at George Mason University, said the move could also be a positive sign that the region has a strong standing in the competitive Northern Virginia race to fill office vacancies.
“If they are moving in the same community, it means the community has the right amenities,” said Shafroth, “so I would guess there are certain unique benefits to them — and no harm to the community, because, clearly, in considering a relocation, they would have considered Arlington or other spots.”
Photo courtesy Brandywine Realty Trust
The long-awaited Tysons Technology Park near Leesburg Pike is about a month away from opening.
The athletic field just south of the intersection of Leesburg Pike and the Beltway will replace a surface parking lot with a five-level parking garage and a full-sized athletic field. The athletic field includes amenities like LED lighting, bleachers and bicycle racks.
The project was built as part of a proffer — an accommodation from a developer to qualify for zoning exemptions — from the Meridian Group for the nearby Boro project. Once opened, the field will be operated and maintained by the Fairfax County Park Authority.
Mike Killelea, a communications manager with construction contractor L.F. Jennings, said the project is a few weeks from completion.
“We should be turning it over to the Park Authority by the middle of May,” said Killelea “We should be done with construction by May 1.”
Killelea said after the handover to the Park Authority, the project will likely have to go through some paperwork and review before the it opens. Staff at the Park Authority said that until the park is handed over, it would be difficult to determine exactly how long that process will take, but that ribbon-cutting for the park is still tentatively planned for mid-late May.
Image courtesy L.F. Jennings
Free Rides to Tysons — The new Fairfax Connector Route 467, which runs from Tysons to Vienna to Dunn Loring, is now operating and is free for the month of April. [Twitter]
Law Firm Finishes Move to The Boro — “Womble Bond Dickinson is excited to announce that it has completed its move to the new Boro Tower effective April 1… [The law firm] will occupy the entire 15th floor of the Boro Tower, consisting of approximately 24,000 square feet of office space.” [CityBizList]
New Falls Church Ice Cream Shop — “Falls Church just got a little sweeter with the opening of Kiln & Custard at Lincoln at Tinner Hill, 455 South Maple Avenue. The business will celebrate its grand opening Sunday, April 7 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.” [Patch]
Vienna Named ‘Tree City’ Again — “Vienna has been certified as a ‘Tree City USA’ by the Arbor Day Foundation for the 18th time, and will host a special event on Friday, April 26 at 5 p.m. at the Vienna Community Center.” [InsideNova]
Mamma Mia! in McLean — “Langley High School concludes its 2018-2019 theater season with an international hit sensation: Mamma Mia!. It will play on April 25-27 at 7 p.m., April 28 at 2 p.m. and May 2-4 at 7 p.m. and May 5 at 2 p.m., 2019 at Saxon Stage Theater at Langley High School.” [McLean Connection]
Falls Church Van Break-ins — “Falls Church Police are seeking two suspects for breaking into the same van three times. Video from the latest break-in shows one suspect inside the van.” [Patch]
If you were thinking of getting your head shaved, doing so tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Boro will net $5,000 to be donated to the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Granite Telecommunications, a communications provider based in Boston with an office in Tysons, will set up a shaving booth for the company’s Shave to Save campaign. The fundraiser will be held in the Boro’s tenant lounge on the first floor of 8255 Greensboro Drive.
The fundraiser will run from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
“Granite will donate $5,000 for every head shaved,” according to a flyer for the event. “Hair grows back! Make a difference in someone’s life on April 3! No experience necessary!”
This isn’t the first time the company has hosted this kind of fundraiser. The “Saving by Shaving” event dates back to 2014 after Granite CEO Rob Hale jokingly dared a colleague to shave their beard.
Photo via Twitter
The Whole Foods in The Boro is officially scheduled for a launch sometime in late summer or early fall, and several restaurants and smaller retailers are waiting in the wings to piggyback off that launch.
The Whole Foods is part of Boro Place, which has commonly been dubbed the retail spine of The Boro.
Furniture retailer Ethan Allen is set to form another entrance to the Boro Place, filling a two-story location at the corner of Boro Place and Westpark Drive.
Caroline Flax, a senior analyst for the Meridian Group, told Tysons Reporter that the restaurants and retail of Boro Place are planned to launch alongside the Whole Foods.
The idea of the development phases being brought online together rather retail than trickling in one-by-one as they were completed is part of a broader strategy to make The Boro feel like a commercial sector to rival the Tysons Corner Center mall.
Flax said a few contracts are still being finalized for the development, but here’s what we know is opening along Boro Place:
- North Italia — A full-service Italian restaurant planned to occupy 6,200 square feet
- Flower Child — A fast-casual restaurant with a focus on healthy food
- Fish Taco — A D.C.-based taco chain
- Tasty Kabob — The brick-and-mortar location for a popular local food truck
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe — A national smoothie chain
- Colour Bar Studio — A second floor of The Loft building on Boro Place
- Akira Ramen & Izakaya — A soba noodle restaurant offering a variety of ramens
- Poki DC — A Hawaiian-inspired cuisine with counter-serve style poke bowls.
The developers behind The Boro — a sprawling project scheduled for staggered openings throughout the year — have filed paperwork for a plan to work with the company WhyHotel to turn unleased rental units into temporary hotel rooms.
“Given the large number of units in the building, the applicant anticipates that the initial lease-up period for the Rise will be at least 18-24 months,” Elizabeth Baker, senior land use planner for the developers, said in a report on the project. “During this period not to exceed 24 months, the Applicant proposes to temporarily utilize up to 150 market rate units throughout the building for short-term residential or hotel stays.”
The report notes that the stays would be coordinated and managed by WhyHotel, and the guests would have access to the residential parking garage in the building and amenities like the fitness lounge, club room, yoga studio and rooftop swimming pool.
As a bonus, the report says the short term residents would be more likely to use transit or alternate modes of transportation, resulting in a temporarily reduced demand on parking and single occupancy vehicles trips around the site.
There are no architectural design changes resulting from the proposal and at the end of the 24-month period, the temporary use would be terminated.
“The request represents a modest and relatively short term change in use for the property that will be positive for the Boro project and the county,” Baker said in the report.
A staff report and Planning Commission hearing are both scheduled for May.
(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.
