Tysons East Aims to Keep ‘Creative Class’ Around — “Lots of people come to the glitzy, suburban Tysons East neighborhood to work, but most of them leave as soon as the workday is over. Tysons wants to change that.” [Greater Greater Washington]

USA Today ‘Firmly Entrenched’ in Tysons — “The company split in 2015, spinning off TEGNA as a separate broadcast television and digital media entity that will soon to move to a new home atop Boro Tower in Tysons Corner. Gannett and USA Today remain firmly entrenched on Jones Branch Drive in the impressive, two-tower campus now known as Valo Park, where the news of the nation and world continues to be filtered through a bustling newsroom.” [FCEDA]

Local Companies Making Acquisitions — Two Tysons-based companies are making notable acquisitions. Global IT services provider Avineon is buying Michigan-based InfoGraphics, Inc. while Capital One is acquiring Wikibuy, a “tech start-up used by millions to price-check while shopping on Amazon.” [Citybizlist, CNBC]

Forum on Anxiety in McLean — “The Safe Community Coalition and McLean High School PTSA will host a screening of the documentary ‘Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety’ on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at the high school.” [InsideNova]

Tysons is working towards being a more bike friendly community, but as anyone who’s pedaled through the area could tell you, it’s not quite there yet.

The Fairfax County Bicycle Map ranks streets throughout the county on a “most comfortable” to “use caution” scale. Nearly all of Tysons is colored in the yellow “less comfortable” indicator.

Some of the major thoroughfares, like Westpark Drive, International Drive, and Leesburg Pike are all listed as “use caution,” though many of those streets are categorized as having bikeable sidewalks.

But on the periphery of Tysons proper, Nicole Wynands, Bicycle Program Manager for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, said there are several neighborhoods and trails that are perfect for biking.

“The Pimmit Hills area of Tysons is the most bikeable neighborhood with calm residential streets and good internal connectivity,” said Wynands. “The Jones Branch Connector will open shortly to pedestrians and cyclists, connecting Pimmit Hills and the McLean Metro with downtown Tysons via a shared-use path.”

Whether that bike-ability lasts as the northern edge of the neighborhood faces redevelopment remains to be seen.

Wynands had additional Tysons area cycling suggestions.

“Another great residential cycling area is Tysons Green, west of Route 7, with a good connection to the W&OD Trail and a beautiful stream/valley trail (Foxstone Park & Waverly Park),” said Wynands, via email. “The Vesper Trail is in the final stages of construction and will connect Tysons Green to downtown Tysons.”

Some caution is still urged at the eastern end of Old Courthouse Road in Tysons Green. Earlier this week a man died crossing the street.

For those willing to brave bicycling through downtown Tysons, Wynands said there are a few corridors cyclists can ride on more comfortably.

• Greensboro Drive — The street parallel to Leesburg Pike that runs along The Boro development.
• Park Run — A street that runs from the Tysons Galleria Shopping Center to the Freddie Mac headquarters.
• Westbranch Drive — A street east of Tysons Galleria along the planned The Mile development, right past the Tysons Republik Coffee.

Hot on the heels of Amazon announcing its new office campus in Arlington, eyes are turning towards Apple’s rumored interest in a new location in Northern Virginia — specifically, Tysons.

The Washington Post reported in May that Apple was considering the Scotts Run development in Tysons. Now, Tysons Reporter hears that the iPhone maker is “seriously” eying a Fairfax County office campus, potentially bringing up to 20,000 jobs to the area.

So what is Scotts Run and what is planned there, exactly?

Scotts Run is a proposed 8 million-square-foot mixed-use development near the McLean Metro station. The development, broken into Scotts Run North and South, straddles Dolley Madison Boulevard (Route 123).

Scotts Run had been mentioned as a potential location for Amazon but passed over by Fairfax County and the Commonwealth of Virginia as an official applicant in favor of the 26-acre CIT site in Loudoun, also Tysons’ competitor for Apple.

Scotts Run South is part of a rapidly growing network of new developments at the eastern end of Tysons spurred by the development of the Capital One headquarters. Approved in 2013, plans call for seven apartments, nine office buildings, an Archer Hotel and retail space. The 425-unit apartment complex The Haden and the 14-story office building Mitre 4 have already been completed.

Two new residential towers were approved in May 2018. The towers will have a maximum of 475 units combined, of which 20 percent will be dedicated to affordable housing.

The proposed Scotts Run North development north of Dolley Madison Boulevard would convert a surface parking lot, which currently serves as parking for the Metro station, into a high-density mix of residential and office buildings.

Whether Apple chooses to go the Amazon route and help inspire a new name for the neighborhood remains to be seen.

With the new Capital One headquarters as a central spine, a panel next week will examine how the Tysons East neighborhood will evolve over the next few years.

The panel will be hosted by the Tysons Partnership next Thursday (Nov. 15) from 7:30-10 a.m. at 1600 Capital One Tower Drive.

Tickets to the panel are $55 for Partnership members and $65 for non-members if ordered before Nov. 5, after which the price increases by $10.

Representatives from companies like Capital One and public organizations like the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning will discuss the latest projects underway in the area.

Tysons East is the neighborhood of Tysons bordering the Beltway to the west and the Dulles Toll Road to the east. The completion of the Capital One Tower earlier this year has kick-started development in the area. Professor Stephen Fuller, Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, said the still-growing Capital One complex is going to become an anchor for new development.

There are projects in development on every side of the McLean Metro station at the heart of Tysons East. The Highland District is planned to be a residential and retail hub just southwest, while to the east Scotts Run North and South are a planned pair of mixed-use developments to include offices and a 200-room hotel.

In addition to private development, a new Fairfax County Fire and Rescue station is scheduled to be built in Tysons East sometime over the next few years to relieve the overburdened Station 29.