Realtors Holding Clothing Drive — “McEnearney Associates is holding its fourth annual winter-clothing drive through Jan. 4. Held in partnership with United Community Ministries, donations of new or gently used winter clothing can be dropped off at either the Arlington office (4720 Lee Highway) or McLean office (1320 Old Chain Bridge Road, Suite 320) weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.” [InsideNova]
Snow on the Way — Fairfax County is expected to get its first snowfall of the season Thursday, with up to an inch of snow and sleet falling Thursday morning before changing to rain. Forecasters, meanwhile, are calling for a snowier than usual winter, with up to two feet of snow falling inside the Beltway over the course of the season. [Capital Weather Gang, Twitter, Capital Weather Gang]
Changes in County’s Recycling Program — “What happens to your recycled items these days? That’s a good question as the worldwide recycling market has changed dramatically in recent months, especially due to ‘Operation National Sword‘ in China.” [Fairfax County]
Interview With Tysons Corner Center Santa — “Santa Claus is making a list and checking it twice as he begins to set up shop at malls and shopping centers throughout the D.C. region as we countdown to Christmas. That includes the Santa Claus at Tysons Corner Center, who has been there for three decades. Many throughout the area have sat on [Santa’s] lap and are now having their children take their turn visiting him.” [Fox 5]
McLean Citizens Reject Ramp Closure Resolution — “After debating nearly two hours over a pair of conflicting resolutions regarding the Virginia Department of Transportation’s proposal to temporarily close an on-ramp to northbound Interstate 495 during weekday afternoon peak hours, McLean Citizens Association (MCA) board members on Nov. 7 rejected both resolutions.” [InsideNova]
Fire at Madison High School — A fire broke out in a classroom at Vienna’s Madison High School Friday night, but was brought under control by a sprinkler system. [Twitter]
Vienna Legislative Priorities — “The Vienna town government’s draft 2019 legislative agenda looks decidedly similar to ones of yore and continues to ask the General Assembly to maintain adequate state funding and not further reduce local authority.” [InsideNova]
New Retail Concept Coming to Mall — “Macerich this weekend is launching a concept known as ‘BrandBox’ at Tysons Corner Center just outside Washington, D.C., one of the most valuable shopping malls in the U.S. There, it will house six brands, including apparel retailer Naadam and makeup company Winky Lux, for six to 12 months. Each brand will have its own mini store inside an 11,000-square-foot space, with new retailers funneling in and out each year.” [CNBC, Glossy]
Opioid Epidemic Discussion in Vienna — “It might be a scary topic, but still an important conversation to have: TOV’s Club Phoenix is hosting a parent discussion at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, on Understanding the Opioid Epidemic.” [Twitter]
Tysons may be in a long–running effort to drop the “Corner” from the name, but the Tysons Corner Center mall is still the most iconic location in the area. It’s a corner that has gone through some substantial changes over the years.
The mall celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. The Fairfax County Historic Imagery Viewer, which collects aerial photography of the county over time, shows the mall’s evolution from a grassy field to a sprawling urban center. As we did with development near Tysons Galleria and the Greensboro Metro station, we’re sharing a glimpse of Tysons Corner Center over the years.
The oldest photos date from 1937, when the area was more cows than people. The area was known as Tysons Crossroads, with the main local stores being Crossroads Market and Tysons Corner Market.
In 1976, the aerial photos shows the beginning of substantial changes in the area. The mall, constructed in 1969, had already started spurring some small development across Leesburg Pike. Also new in the 1976 photo is the Capital Beltway east of the mall, which was completed in 1964.
By 1990, the development across Leesburg Pike had continued apace. To the south, development of the Towers Crescent was still nearly ten years away. The mall itself had also undergone expansion in 1988, adding new anchor tenants like Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom.
In 2017, one of the biggest aerial changes to the mall is the addition of the Tysons Corner Metro station located on Chain Bridge Road. The Towers Crescent development south of the mall also filled the space at the corner of the Beltway and Leesburg Pike, including the addition of tech firm MicroStrategy. In the wake of the announcement that MicroStrategy would be expanding its headquarters, the Towers Crescent developers are allegedly looking to sell the property.
It’s one day after Halloween and Tysons is already getting into the Christmas season.
Santa will be coming to both Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria this fall. “Santa HQ” will be located on level 1 of the Tysons Corner Center near the Nordstrom, where guests are invited to take pictures with Santa and participate in an augmented-reality “Magic Mirror”.
Santa HQ, which is sponsored by cable channel HGTV, will run from Sunday, Nov. 11 to Christmas Eve (Dec. 24). Reservations for a photo with Santa can be made online (warning for those at work: the site auto-plays a loud video).
The Santa events kick off next Thursday, Nov. 8 with Snappy Hour With Santa. The event is a networking opportunity for professionals around Tysons (and the North Pole), running from 5-7 p.m. at Santa HQ before it officially opens.
On Dec. 2, the Tysons Corner Center will host its 2018 Santa Breakfast. The event will run from 8-10 a.m. outside the AMC theaters. Guests are encouraged to arrive early.
Admission to the events is free with an unwrapped toy to donate to the Holiday Giving Toy Drive. This year the drive will be benefiting Second Story, a local youth shelter.
Santa Claus is also scheduled to make an appearance at the mall’s Thursday, Nov. 15 tree lighting ceremony, which will be emceed Lance Bass from *NSYNC. More on that from the Tysons Corner Center website:
Come celebrate Wash-FM’s Kick off To Christmas and the annual lighting of Tysons Corner Center’s signature 51 foot Christmas Tree on The Plaza emceed by Lance Bass from *NSYNC!
Join Tysons Corner Center, Lance Bass from *NSYNC, 97.1- WASH-FM’s Chili & Toby, Chief Meteorologist Bill Kelly, and Tysons very own Santa Claus as they light the tree, followed by a very special holiday performances by the The Kintz-Mejia Academy of Ballet, The District, The Shiloh Baptist Church Choir, and Mahi Gudi.
Pre-event, guests also are invited to make a reservation to explore the immersive, engaging Santa HQ, the digitally enhanced visit with Santa presented by HGTV. Post-Event, have a warm beverage at Earls Kitchen & Bar, Shake Shack, or Barrel & Bushel, all located on The Plaza.
Meanwhile, the Tysons Galleria, the Santa’s Workshop will open on Friday, Nov. 16 for professional photoshoots with Santa.
Maggiano’s Little Italy in the Galleria will also be hosting its annual Breakfast with Santa on Dec. 15. Tickets are $25 for adults and $35 for children.
Photo via Facebook
Extra Security for Synagogue Event Tonight — “Temple Rodef Shalom, a Falls Church synagogue, will hold an interfaith gathering and has [additional] security in response to the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11.” The event is being held tonight (Oct. 30) at 7:30 p.m. [Patch]
Local Housing Watch — A two-bedroom, two-bath condo in Tysons is on the market for $374,900. The condo was written up in WaPo’s “Where We Live” section. [Washington Post]
Microsoft Store Hosting Senior Day — The Microsoft Store at Tysons Corner Center is hosting a “senior day” this coming Friday, with software training and a number of special guests. [Facebook]
The blistering pace of development in Tysons has many looking to the future, but sometimes it’s interesting to look back.
Aerial photos from the 1980s, available via Google Earth, help tell the story of the region’s evolution over the past three decades.
Tysons as an urban metropolis is a somewhat modern phenomenon for an area that was largely farmland for 100 years after William Tyson purchased it. In the 1960s, development was jump-started by the construction of the Capital Beltway, Dulles Airport, and the Tysons Corner Shopping Center in 1968.
By the 1980s, when the first satellite photos are available, Tysons was already a developed area. According to data from the U.S. Census, in 1990 the population of Tysons was 9,374. It grew by 35.8 percent to 12,734 in 2000.
The growth slowed a bit between 2000 and 2010, when the population rose by 11.2 percent to 14,159. Since then the pace of residential growth in Tysons has picked back up; the current population of Tysons is 19,627, already a 38.7 percent increase over 2010.
The 1988 image of Tysons, above, shows Tysons Galleria to the north on the eve of opening later that year. The streets surrounding Tysons Galleria were also widened and became more interconnected over the years, allowing for more dense construction to the north and to the east, including several recently opened and planned mixed-use developments. The offices to the west of Tysons Galleria are currently planned for major renovations to keep up with development further west on Leesburg Pike.
One of the most visually striking shifts on Leesburg Pike is the decrease in surface parking lots, which covered much of the office parks east of Leesburg Pike. Several of the lots have been replaced with under-construction developments like The Boro. The shopping centers west of Leesburg Pike have also become more active as well, with new restaurants like Honeygrow and Cava opening this year.
Photos via Google Earth
Vienna Halloween Parade Recap — Thousands attended the Vienna Halloween Parade on Wednesday, enjoying cool fall weather and a wide variety of marchers and floats heading down Maple Ave. One particular source of interest was a Vienna garbage truck decorated with artwork from local elementary school students. [InsideNova, Patch, Fairfax News]
Reminder: SoberRide This Weekend — Those heading to bars and parties this weekend can get a free, safe ride home thanks to the SoberRide program. The program, which is active for certain festive holidays — like Halloween — offers a free Lyft ride home up to $15 with a limited-time code. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue]
Hocus Pocus Playing in Tysons — Starting Saturday and running through Halloween, the classic 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus will be playing at the AMC Tysons Corner 16. [Patch]
Pair of Weekend Events at Biergarten — The Tysons Biergarten will be hosting “APBA Pit Bull Appreciation Day 2018” on Saturday afternoon and “Feargarten,” a costume party, on Sunday night. [Facebook, Twitter]
Town of Vienna Replacing Furniture — “The Vienna town government soon will replace Town Hall’s reception desk, kiosk and conference-room furniture under a $23,788 contract approved Oct. 15 by the Vienna Town Council. The main reception desk at Vienna Town Hall is more than two decades old, lacks adequate work space and has non-working drawers.” [InsideNova]
(Updated 12:20 p.m.) Tysons Corner Center’s ice skating rink will not be making a return to the mall this year.
“We are not having the ice rink this year,” said an employee in the mall’s management office. “I don’t know if there will be one somewhere else, but it will not be on mall property.”
A call to the rink’s phone number reaches a voicemail box thanking guests for a successful 2017-2018 season and saying the rink would return in November, which is no longer the case, we’re told.
The rink has been an annual winter activity at the mall for the fast few years, after its debut in 2015. It was even the site of a marriage proposal in 2016.
Becca Willcox, events and communications manager for Tysons Corner Center, confirmed that the rink would not be returning. Willcox said unpredictable weather and wind made it difficult to keep the rink open for a full season.
If you’re looking for other ice skating rinks in the area though, Tysons Reporter has you covered.
Photo via Facebook
The tech retail store b8ta in Tysons Corner Center will be one of seven locations nationwide to exhibit a new suite of Google hardware products, including the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.
The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are new phones by Google unveiled on Oct. 9 at an event in New York. Also unveiled was the Pixel Stand, a wireless charger, the Pixel Slate, a high-end tablet device, and Home Hub, an assistant that tracks day to day information like calendar events and appointments.
B8ta stores allow visitors to test out the products in a space designed to feel like a home setting. The products will be coming to b8ta stores in Texas, California, New Jersey and Arizona, as originally reported by Digital Trends. The Tysons Corner Center location is the only spot in Virginia to let users test out the new hardware before it goes on sale.
The new hardware will be available starting next Thursday (Oct. 18). The b8ta store is on the second floor of Tysons Corner Center, near the Bloomingdales.
Photo via b8ta
Players of Fortnite, popular battle-royale style multiplayer game, will have the opportunity to turn their hobby into profit. The Microsoft Store at Tysons Corner Center will be one of the stores hosting the North American Championship Tournament for Fortnite.
On Friday, Oct. 26, the Tysons Microsoft Store will be one of 20 stores in the Southeast region of the tournament. Teams from the Microsoft Store will be dropped into public matches, building points through placements (survival as a team) and eliminations of other players. The tournament will run from 5-9 p.m.
The top team from each store will move into a private match against teams from the other regional winners. The top three teams will take home a portion of the $7,000 prize pool. The top six teams move onto the national championship, where the top three teams will split a $15,000 pool. The national championship will take place on Nov. 10.
Mixer, a live-streaming platform owned by Microsoft, will host live broadcasts of the competitions and player interviews after the tournaments.
Entry to the tournament is free and open to everyone 14 and up. Registration is available online.
Participants between 14 and 17 must have a parent or guardian sign a parental consent form at the store. Hardware, including laptops, mice, mouse pads, and headsets will be provided. Xbox One controllers are available on request, or players can bring their own.
A full list of rules is available online.
Image via Twitter
