Police Pursue Driver on Arlington Boulevard — A Centreville driver was arrested after driving through two red lights, one at Cedar Lane and another at Jaguar Trail, and hitting another vehicle. An officer was in pursuit of the driver after he drove through the first red light and refused to stop. Both drivers involved in the collision were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. [Fairfax County Police Department]
Young Renters Make Up One-Third of Tysons’ Population — “So, who are the 28,000 people living in Tysons? If Esri is right, it’s largely well-off professionals who value urban amenities. Whether that will remain the case as Tysons works toward its 100,000-resident target remains to be seen.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Tysons Augmented Reality Company Acquired — The German company TeamViewer, which “provides remote connectivity solutions,” acquired Upskill, an augmented reality software company founded in Tysons in 2010. Upskill’s software platform Skylight “enables organizations to deploy augmented reality applications across hardware like smart glasses and mobile devices.” [Technical.ly]
Virginia Set to Become First Southern State with Voting Rights Act — Now awaiting Gov. Ralph Northam’s signature after passing the General Assembly, the new law “will require local election officials to go through a review process before making election-related decisions like consolidating or closing polling places, changing district boundaries, creating at-large seats on local governing bodies or school boards or affecting the ability of non-English speakers to vote.” [Virginia Mercury]
Financial Expert Skeptical of MicroStrategy Bitcoin-Buying Spree — “MicroStrategy Inc.’s high-profile Bitcoin buying spree is “irresponsible” and makes the business intelligence software company vulnerable, according to a financial expert. The Tysons company has purchased about $2.186 billion in bitcoins, which amounts to 90,859 bitcoins at about $24,063 each, according to recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings.” [Washington Business Journal]
Vienna Police Provide Live Feed of Station Construction — The Vienna Police Department has set up a camera so that community members can watch the progress of construction on its new station in real time. People can also get weekly updates by subscribing to Vienna’s police highlights alerts. [Vienna Police/Twitter, Town of Vienna/Twitter]
Photo by Joanne Liebig
(Updated at 9:20 a.m.) Fairfax County Gets New General Registrar — “The Fairfax County Electoral Board appointed Scott O. Konopasek as the county’s new general registrar and director of elections at its March 11, 2020, meeting. He will lead the Fairfax County Office of Elections following the retirement of the current registrar Gary Scott who has worked in the office for the past 24 years. Konopasek’s tentative starting date is April 19.” [Fairfax County Government]
Metrobus to Expand Service Starting March 14 — Metro will increase bus service to 80% of pre-pandemic levels starting next week to accommodate increased ridership demand. Some routes, including Route 28A between the Tysons and King Street-Old Town Metro stations, will have service completely restored to pre-pandemic levels, while others will get supplemental buses or have weekend service restored. [WMATA]
Tysons One East Developer Joins Expansion of The Boro — The D.C. developer Akridge has partnered with The Meridian Group on its plans to expand The Boro in Tysons with additional mixed-use development. Akridge is also behind the Tysons One East tower that Fairfax County approved last year for Old Meadow Road near the McLean Metro station. [Bisnow]
House Fire in Vienna Extinguished — “Units on scene of a house fire in the 10400 block of Hunt Country Lane. First arriving reported smoke showing from two story home. Small fire located and extinguished. All occupants safe. Crews checking for extension.” [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department/Twitter]
McLean Student Wins State Journalism Competition — “McLean High School senior Marina Qu has been named the 2021 Virginia Journalist of the Year by the Virginia Association of Journalism Teachers and Advisers. Qu serves as editor-in-chief of The Highlander newsmagazine and The Tartan literary magazine; she has been on both publications’ staff for three years.” [FCPS]
FEMA Gives Virginia Funding for COVID-19 Vaccinations — “The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded $38.6 million in funding to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts in Virginia. A grant of $1,814,688 will be used to pay for staff needed to administer vaccines, while a grant of $36,750,003 has been made available to establish a number of mobile vaccine sites across the state.” [Patch]
Vienna Decks Out “Love” Sign for St. Patrick’s Day — “Friends of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail Trail Patrol volunteer was kind enough to pose for this. #LOVEViennaVA sign has been decorated for St. Patrick’s Day, so snap away #spring #March.” [Town of Vienna/Twitter]
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
A luxury townhome developer wants to supplant an office complex on Leesburg Pike in Tysons with more than 100 units of housing.
EYA Development has submitted a rezoning application and development plan to Fairfax County seeking to build 104 single-family, attached dwellings on a 6.7-acre site at 7700 Leesburg Pike that is now occupied by a 150,000 square-foot commercial building that was constructed in 1976. The property owner, S.C. Herman & Associates, is also listed as an applicant.
Existing tenants include the Ismaili Cultural Center, the weight loss service SimplySlim Medical, the accounting firm Gilliland & Associates, a telecommunications contractor called McEnroe Voice and Data, and the private Standard College of Nursing.
Submitted on Dec. 15 and accepted by the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning last Friday (March 5), the application proposes rezoning the commercial site to the planned development housing district.
Under a PDH-16 zoning, the site would have a maximum density of 16 dwelling units per acre and require 281 parking spaces, which EYA says would be provided with two garage spaces for each housing unit and 73 surface spaces.
According to the conceptual development plan, the development would exceed open space requirements with 93,688 square feet of open space, including 38,688 square feet of recreational open space.
The plan features three dedicated open spaces on the north end of the site: a central courtyard with a pergola and terraces called The Green, a fitness area, and a playspace with a cherry tree grove, rain gardens, and birdhouses.
In terms of infrastructure, the development will include internal private roads with an exit to the south onto Leesburg Pike, and the site plan envisions 10-foot crosswalks across George C. Marshall Drive and a future road to the property’s east side that is included in the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan.
EYA notes in the plan that illustrations showing the future road are to demonstrate that the proposed development can accommodate the road but “is not a commitment for the applicant to construct the future road or infrastructure.”
The developer also says its proposal would not preclude any potential widenings of Leesburg Pike, and it plans to dedicate a portion of the site area for future road improvements introduced by a Route 7 bus rapid transit system.
“To the best of our knowledge, the proposed development will not pose any adverse impacts on adjacent properties,” the applicants say in the development plan.
Photo via Google Maps
Bike lanes could soon connect Leesburg Pike and Idylwood Road via Pimmit Drive in Tysons.
The Fairfax County and Virginia transportation departments will hold a virtual public meeting at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) to gather input on that proposal, along with plans for additional bike lanes in Oakton, as part of the 2021 Providence District paving and restriping program.
According to the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, the proposed Pimmit Drive bike lanes would run from Leesburg Pike to Idyl Lane “where space permits.”
“This proposal will maintain most legal on-street parking on both sides of the road but will remove on-street parking along the Idylwood Plaza frontage to improve road safety,” FCDOT said.
The county is also looking to add bike lanes in both directions on Idyl Lane from Pimmit Drive to Idylwood Road, resulting in a half-mile stretch of bike lanes between Leesburg Pike and Idylwood. FCDOT says the Idyl Lane project would preserve existing on-street parking on the east side of the road but remove it on the west side.
In addition to passing by Idylwood Plaza, the bike lanes would be in fairly close proximity to the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library and several parks, including Ruckstahl Park, Idylwood Park, and Lemon Road Park, though the latter would still require crossing Route 7.
“The proposed bike lanes on Idyl Lane and the western section of Pimmit Drive will improve bicycle access to Tysons, the McLean Metro [station], and the W&OD [trail],” FCDOT’s active transportation team said in a statement to Tysons Reporter. “This improvement is in line with the recommendations put forward in the Fairfax County Bicycle Master Plan.”
For Providence District, FCDOT is also proposing adding bike lanes on Tobin Road in Annandale as well as Borge Street and Bushman Drive in Oakton.
Community members can register online to attend the meeting, which will be held through WebEx. A video of the meeting presentation will be available online afterwards, and comments can be submitted electronically to FCDOT through March 24.
The Virginia Department of Transportation repaves and stripes roads in Fairfax County every year from April to November as part of its annual maintenance work. The county says it routinely uses the occasion to implement road and crosswalk improvements intended to improve driver, bicycle, and pedestrian safety.
Public meetings on proposed changes in the Dranesville and Hunter Mill districts have been scheduled for March 25 and April 6, respectively.
Commercial office development will be essential to future economic recovery efforts in Tysons and Fairfax County, a new study says.
Released last Thursday (March 4) by the Tysons Partnership, an economic report and market study developed by the consulting firms HR&A Advisors, Toole Design, and Wells & Associates argues that Tysons will need at least 1.9 million square feet of new office space over the next 10 years — despite predictions that the COVID-19 pandemic could permanently alter white-collar workplaces.
“In early 2021, we remain in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with fallout still being measured,” the economic report says. “However, office investments to date are seeing a strong performance return and will certainly play a key role in County and regional pandemic economic recovery efforts.”
According to the report, Tysons saw a 40 to 75% drop in the use of office space after COVID-19 arrived, following regional and national trends, but prior to the pandemic, vacancy rates had been declining, dipping four percentage points between 2015 and 2019.
In addition, the study projects that office-based employment in Tysons will grow by 7%, or 7,500 jobs, by 2030.
Office work is already integral to Tysons’ economy. Office workers constitute 81% of the total 107,000-person workforce, with the largest sector — the professional services industry — employing two of every five workers in the area. Tysons accounts for 17% of Fairfax County’s office-using jobs.
Tysons outpaced the rest of the county with a 9% job growth between 2015 and 2020, and that faster growth is expected to continue over the next five years, albeit at a slower rate of 5%. Professional services will still be the largest sector, but the biggest area of growth will be in healthcare, which is projected to grow by 24% through 2025.
However, the projected office-using job market growth is far short of what developers would need to fill all of the office space that is in the works for the Tysons area.
If all projects in construction and 50% of all proposed projects in Tysons are completed, that would result in 4.5 million square feet of new office space that could accommodate an estimated 18,200 workers, according to the market study.
In comparison, driven by the opening of the Metro Silver Line in 2014, Tysons added 1.9 million square feet of office space between 2015 and 2020, a 7% growth in inventory that surpassed the rate for both Fairfax County overall (4.7%) and Arlington County (4%).
Though they anticipate future job growth, the economic report and market study acknowledge that “long-term trends remain uncertain” due to the pandemic, which triggered a 5% climb in office vacancy rates and sent the leasing market plummeting from 81 deals in the first quarter of 2019 to just five in the fourth quarter of 2020 so far.
“Tysons Partnership leaders understand much work remains to be done as recovery efforts begin post COVID-19 and in identified areas where continued investment and resources are essential, including housing affordability, mobility, and implementation,” the partnership said in a news release.
Outside the office market, the report says that Tysons has cemented its role as a regional retail hub over the past decade, generating $3.5 billion in annual retail spending, which represents 17% of Fairfax County’s total retail spending.
As reported at the Tysons Partnership’s “State of Tysons” event in December, Tysons’ residential population grew 39% from 2010 to 2018, a rate four times higher than the county’s average growth. Led by mid- and high-rise developments, Tysons has expanded its housing stock by 34% to 13,800 units since 2010, and it is projected to grow by 36% to nearly 19,000 units by 2025.
“The investment on behalf of the public and private sectors in smart, sustainable urbanization is working,” Tysons Partnership president and CEO Sol Glasner said.
The full report and market study can be found on the Tysons Partnership website. The nonprofit plans to use the collected data to develop a dashboard that “will serve as the go-to information hub for a wide range of stakeholders and promote the growth of Tysons,” according to the market study.
Staff photo by Jay Westcott, slide via Tysons Partnership
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) The Meridian Group is following up its mixed-use development, The Boro, with plans for an expansion along Westpark Drive.
Fairfax County recently accepted a rezoning application from Meridian that involves about 9.37 acres of land in the west quadrant of Westpark Drive and Greensboro Drive, the developer’s legal representative Elizabeth D. Baker told Tysons Reporter.
The application concerns two buildings in a larger conceptual development plan that calls for four buildings — Buildings I, J, K and L — that will be developed with residential, continuing care, health club, and retail and service uses, she said in an email.
“This development will be an extension of The Boro, which is a successful transit-oriented mixed-use development across Westpark Drive,” said Baker, who is the Senior Land Use Planner for Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh.
Fairfax County accepted plans for Buildings I and K on Feb. 25. It has also accepted and is evaluating a plan for a proposed continuing care facility in Building J by Silverstone Tysons.
Meridian is proposing the following specifications for Building I, which would be adjacent to Westpark Drive:
- Maximum of 200,000 square feet — up to 175,000 square feet for residential use and up to 25,000 for retail
- Maximum of 130 dwelling units, likely condominiums
- Approximately seven stories with a maximum height of 90 feet
- Underground and above-ground parking structures
“In addition to interior residential amenities, Building I includes an elevated outdoor terrace that looks out onto a central park,” Baker said.
Building K would be located west of Building I with frontages on Greensboro Drive. It has the following proposed specifications:
- Up to 430 residential units
- Up to 20,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail use
- Approximately seven stories with a maximum height of 90 feet
- Underground and above-ground parking structures
“Two interior courtyards providing amenities for the buildings’ residents are located atop the parking garage podium,” Baker said.
In addition to a central park, Meridian envisions creating a linear park along Westpark Drive. It would be a combined pedestrian and bicycle circuit designed to accommodate leisure bikers and walkers, according to Baker.
“Known as the Community Circuit, this park will include marked pavement, wayfinding signage, bike and pedestrian amenities, and focal elements such as public art, benches, and specialty landscaping,” she said.
The Meridian Group acquired the National Automobile Dealers Association headquarters building at 8400 Westpark Drive and an adjacent site in 2018, the Washington Business Journal reported. The developer paid $33.7 million to the NADA, which relocated to 8484 Westpark Drive that October.
A separate development is in the works at nearby Westpark Plaza.
The lot at 8401 Westpark Drive will be converted into an interim public “reading park” with new vehicle storage after the Fairfax County Planning Commission granted developer Dittmar’s request to amend its plans on Dec. 9. The amenities will occupy the site until Dittmar kicks off its idling plans for two residential buildings, a new hotel, and retail.
Image via Google Maps
Fairfax County Creates Tool to Get Off Vaccine Waitlist — People who registered for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment through the Fairfax County Health Department but ended up getting doses from another provider can now go online to take themselves off the waitlist. The county says canceling unnecessary registrations will speed up the queue and provide a more accurate picture of who’s waiting for an appointment. [Fairfax County Health Department]
Tysons Tech Company to Go Public With Merger — “Tysons analytics firm Qomplx Inc. is gearing up to go public through a merger with a blank-check company tied to the CEO of mattress juggernaut Casper Sleep Inc. (NYSE: CSPR). The local company, which provides an artificial intelligence-enabled risk management platform, among other products, has agreed to combine with Tailwind Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values Qomplx at $1.4 billion at $10 per share, the companies said Monday…The deal is expected to close in mid-2021.” [Washington Business Journal]
Garden Club of Fairfax Schedules 2021 Home and Garden Tour — “After last year’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Garden Club of Fairfax will hold its 2021 Home and Garden Tour in McLean. The tour is planned between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 20. Due to the pandemic, the tour will emphasize outdoor gardens to allow for social distancing. Masks will be required, and interiors of homes will not be available due to COVID-19 restrictions.” [Patch]
McLean High School Wins Press Freedom Award — “Two Fairfax County public schools — Chantilly High School and McLean High School — are among 14 schools nationwide selected as recipients of the 2021 First Amendment Press Freedom Award. This is the seventh consecutive award for Chantilly High, and the fourth award for McLean High. The award recognizes private and public high schools that actively support, teach, and protect First Amendment rights and responsibilities of students and teachers, with an emphasis on student-run media where students make all final decisions of content.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is aiming to formally update its Workforce Dwelling Unit (WDU) policy to provide more affordable rents for local workers as rents continue to increase across the region.
The proposal, which will come before the board for a public hearing and a vote today (Tuesday), offers greater flexibility to developers and has a particular focus on the Tysons Urban Center.
Under the proposed policy, developers in Tysons would have two options for meeting their workforce dwelling unit requirements:
- Make 13% of the units WDUs, with a breakdown of 2% at 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), 3% at 70% AMI, and 8% at 80% AMI
- Or make 10% of the units WDUs at 60% AMI
Adopted in 2010, Fairfax County’s current Tysons WDU policy gives developers a 20% density bonus if they commit to making 20% of their rental units affordable at various income levels for at least 50 years.
Fairfax County Housing and Development Director Tom Fleetwood says expectations for WDU commitments in Tysons are higher than in the rest of the county “because of the density available in the Tysons Urban Center.”
The Board of Supervisors initiated a review of the county’s workforce dwelling unit policy last July after a task force convened in March 2019 found that the policy was, in effect, allowing market-rate units to be considered WDUs by including units at 100 and 120% of the AMI, which is currently $126,000 for a family of four in the D.C. area.
The task force recommended amending the policy so that it can more effectively serve its purpose, which is to provide more affordable housing in the county’s urban and mixed-use centers, like Tysons.
“We conducted a housing strategic plan process over the last two or three years, which identified, sort of these lower incomes as being in the greatest need,” Fleetwood said. “While at the same time, the higher income tiers that were served under the original version of the WDU program really were closer to the prevailing market rents here in Fairfax County.”
About 1,600 WDUs have been introduced in Fairfax County under the current policy, according to Fleetwood.
Based on a county staff report released in Janaury, the proposed amendment lowers the household income levels included in the rental WDU program from a maximum of 120% AMI to 80%. It also now includes households at 70% and 60% of AMI in the program.
It also updates the policy to allow developers outside of Tysons to get a 12% density bonus by offering 8% of their rental units as WDUs, a drop from the current 12% threshold. 4% of the units should be at 80% AMI, 2% at 70% AMI, and 2% at 60% AMI.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the proposed policy changes be approved when it met on Feb. 3.
The amended policy that the Board of Supervisors is voting on today also includes revisions to update data, rework outdated terminology, and remove references to programs that no longer exist.
The Boro has joined with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive on Mar. 4, the third that the Tysons development has held over the past year.
The drive will take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the E and F conference rooms at Boro Station (1775 Greensboro Station Place) in McLean. The use of the conference center will “allow for proper social distancing,” according to a press release announcing the upcoming event.
“This will be an essential part of the life-saving network connecting donors to those in need of blood, platelets and plasma,” the press release said. “…Blood donations to support patients in hospitals are needed more than ever as surgical procedures and treatments that were temporarily paused due to the pandemic resume.”
In addition to potentially helping save another person’s life, donors will get the benefit of a free COVID-19 antibodies test, as the American Red Cross continues to test all blood, platelet, and plasma donations.
The Red Cross is providing the antibody testing service for a limited time. Donors will be able to see the results of their test within seven to 10 days by logging into the Red Cross blood donor app and online portal.
The Fairfax County Health Department says that antibody blood tests, or serology tests, can detect proteins that would indicate a past infection by the novel coronavirus, but they should not be used to diagnose COVID-19.
“Medical science has yet to determine what level of antibodies confirm immunity or how long immunity might last,” the FCHD says. “Until there is more definitive information, we should assume, even with positive antibodies, that a person may still be susceptible to the coronavirus.”
This will be the third blood drive that The Boro has hosted with the Red Cross. The previous two drives took place in July and October, and brought in enough donations to save 67 lives, according to The Boro.
Prospective donors should schedule an appointment online through American Red Cross Blood Services.
According to American Red Cross Blood Services, volunteer donors to the Red Cross contribute about 40% of the blood and blood components supply for the U.S., which needs approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells, 7,000 units of platelets, and 10,000 plasma units every day.
Photo courtesy Hilde Kahn
Pavement Could Be Icy After Overnight Refreeze — “If you are heading out this morning, watch for the potential of black ice. Temperatures are currently below freezing so sidewalks can be slippery especially if left untreated. Remember that bridges, ramps, & overpasses freeze first.” [Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management/Twitter]
Winter Weather Delays COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments — “The Virginia Department of Health anticipates the delay impacts this week’s shipment of approximately 106,800 doses to Virginia. The delay is attributed to distribution channels that are shut down in the Midwest and elsewhere.” [Patch]
Residential Trash Pickups Suspended — “Due to inclement weather, RESIDENTIAL TRASH COLLECTION HAS BEEN SUSPENDED TODAY.” [Fairfax County Public Works/Twitter]
Fairfax County Schools Are All-Virtual Today — All Fairfax County Public Schools students are learning virtually today as inclement weather continues. Activities on school grounds, including extracurricular activities and adult and community education classes, have been canceled for the day, and access to school facilities is limited. [FCPS]
Fairfax County Awarded Federal Funds for Homeless Assistance Programs — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded Fairfax County $9.5 million to support 20 ongoing projects, a 3% increase from the previous year. The funding will go to permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing projects, while helping providers pay for leasing and rent costs as well as services. [Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development]
Falls Church City School Renaming Process Begins — “The first organizing meetings, held through Zoom, one for the renaming of the high school and one for the renaming of the elementary school, were held last week as the two advisory committees to the F.C. School Board, each made up of about 20 citizen volunteers (out of a whopping total of 77 applicants), convened.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Tysons Tech Company Acquires Maryland Cybersecurity Firm — Applied Insight announced on Wednesday (Feb. 17) that it has acquired the Maryland-based company Bridges Inc., allowing it to complement its services with artificial intelligence and “deliver end-to-end cloud infrastructure and data analytics in a way that is unique to the industry.” [Applied Insight]
