The Pulte Home Company is looking for special exception to transform a section of land near Odricks Corner, just north of Tysons, into a cluster of independent living homes.
“The Applicant has consolidated four (4) residentially zoned and developed parcels that may be transformed into a community that will be limited to persons 60 years of age and older,” a law firm representing Plute said. “As shown on the special exception plat submitted with this application, the Applicant proposes a total of 59 dwelling units consisting of 36 multi-family dwelling units in a single building; 14 single-family attached dwelling units; and 9 affordable dwelling units. The affordable dwelling units comprise 15% of the total number of units.”
The proposal includes both multi-family buildings and single-family attached dwelling units. The project is located just across Spring Hill Road from Sunrise of McLean.
“The proposed multi-family building will be four (4) stories of residential units served by elevators,” the report said. “The building will be constructed on top of a parking podium, which will include resident parking and trash collection… The multi-family building will be comprised of 32 two-bedroom units and 4 one-bedroom units. The one-bedroom units will be approximately 950 square feet and the two-bedroom unit will range in size from approximately 1,300 to 1,700 square feet. The single-family attached dwelling units are designed as villas with a first floor master bedroom that allows one floor living. Each unit will have approximately 2,600 square feet of living area and a two-car garage.
The project also includes affordable dwelling units that are stacked, multi-family units with designated parking and designed to allow residents to age in place.
The proposed development is scheduled to go to the Planning Commission on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
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Staff photo by Jay Westcott
It’s been a long and bumpy road, but the 26-story mixed-use building replacing J.R.’s Stockyards Inn finally has its long-sought Board of Supervisors approval.
Attorney John McGranahan acknowledged the new development had been a challenge to push forward.
“This was a challenging case,” McGranahan said. “The big issue was consolidation.
The project had faced pushback after staff argued earlier iterations of the project didn’t meet goals for promoting the Tysons street grid or public park space, but ultimately the plan was altered and a street grid implemented to staff’s satisfaction.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting earlier this week, both the applicant and supervisors expressed optimism about what the new development could bring to the area.
“The idea is that this would be that building would be the first redeveloped site in sub-area 5 of Tysons and would spark other neighbors to come in with their own development proposals,” McGranahan said. “We saw this as the first piece of a puzzle.”
Supervisor Walter Alcorn, representing the Hunter Mill District, expressed similar hopes.
“This is a really interesting step in Tysons in terms of how, potentially, smaller properties can come forward and help achieve the broader goals,” Alcorn said. “I want to compliment both the applicant and staff, this looks pretty good.”
Palchik called it a keystone development that will act as a catalyst for future development in the area near the Tysons Corner Center.
“It is nice to see, while we’re losing a nostalgic landmark for a lot of us, it is nice to see the evolution in Tysons and some of the original owners who have seen a lot of the changes around them happen [are] able to participate in that,” Chair Jeff McKay said.
Image via KGD Architecture
Modifications to the Capital One Campus in Tysons are scheduled to continue next month as the financial institution heads back to the Planning Commission for more changes.
The changes planned for the Oct. 28 Planning Commission meeting mostly involve adjusting earlier sign plans to match the July approval of changing out the hotel portion of the site for more office space.
The new buildings will, like the existing headquarters, have a Capital One logo at the top with much of the body of the buildings occupied by offices while retail is located on the ground floor.
The Board of Supervisors had earlier been enthusiastic about the change, agreeing that the proposed change to office space rather than hotels could help boost economic activity in the area.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said that the change better fits the recommended percentage of office use in the Tysons Comprehensive Plan and that the area has other planned hotels.
Image via Fairfax County
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Tyson’s based startup HomeValet is gearing up to find a solution to the “last yard” of contactless delivery.
After the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for contactless delivery, HomeValet’s Co-Founder and COO Jack Simms said the company’s temperature-controlled “smart-box” is the future of delivery.
HomeValet’s Smart box which is slated to go to market “later this fall” Simms said. The product is a box where anything from groceries to gadgets purchased online can be delivered. People can make purchases and manage delivers with their app, having a contactless experience with their delivery
“The future of grocery was already getting interesting when we started HomeValet,” Simms said in a statement. “This crisis, however, has dramatically accelerated the need and demand for immediate ‘last-yard’ solutions. So, while our work has not necessarily changed, we believe it’s become more important.”
While Simms said his company was working on the box before the pandemic, the demand for such an item is there. Because of social distancing concerns, many food delivery services have offered “contactless delivery” where costumers pay in advance and the delivery driver drops the food off at the front door, rather than directly handing it to the customer.
Simms said the pandemic has created a sense of urgency within his company. While his co-founder John Simms, filed the original patent years ago, the pandemic has rapidly changed consumer habits and has sped-up their timeline, pushing them to go to market sooner.
“What has been interesting about the pandemic for us however is that we have seen consumer needs transform overnight at an accelerated pace,” Simms said. “The consumer habits we predicted when ideating HomeValet and expected to grow over time, are now firmly embedded in consumers’ daily lives from contactless delivery to grocery delivery and disinfection.
On Sept. 15 HomeValet announced the acquisition of Envolve Engineering LLC, an engineering firm based in Indiana. In a press release, HomeValet said the engineering company’s knowledge of the supply chain will allow the Tysons-based startup to better scale-up production.
Image via HomeValet
Ten years into the plan to transform Tysons from a suburban “edge city” mostly known for its malls into a downtown hub to over 100,000 people and 200,000 jobs, the man tasked with seeing it through said he is optimistic about the future.
“I’m very bullish about Tysons over the long term,” said Sol Glasner, president and CEO of Tysons Partnership. “I’m not going to be Pollyanna and say that we don’t have challenging times that we have to get through. We will get through them.”
Glasner spoke to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority; taking a measure of the ten-year benchmark of a plan that calls for transforming Tysons into an urban and economic hub by 2050. Even with the pandemic and economic downturn it caused, Glasner said he is optimistic about the future of Tysons.
In 2010, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors passed a “comprehensive plan” to bring more development to Tysons to transform it from a suburban “edge city” into a downtown hub.
But for Glasner, who’s group is charged with assisting to help develop and market Tysons, said branding a city, known mostly for its malls, is a challenge.
“So literally as we speak, we are in the process of identifying a visual image for Tysons that will become our brand,” Glasner said. “You’ll see a lot a lot of manifestations of that.”
A key part of changing Tysons is the four Silver Line Metro stations opened in 2014, which the county plans to serve as hubs as development. Glasner said he envisions that two neighborhoods will crop up around each of the four Metro stations each with “their own vibe and their own texture.”
But transforming the “edge city’ that is full of office parks, parking lots and large malls into a livable and walkable downtown for Fairfax County is still a work in progress. Ten years into the county’s plan, Tysons still faces numerous challenges, namely the cost of housing and finding a way to make the city more walkable, Glasner said.
The cost of housing is a county-wide problem with Fairfax County having the highest housing cost in Virginia, according to 24/7 Wall Street.
But even with the challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession it has caused, Glasner said he has high hopes for the future of Tysons.
“Our ticket to overcoming the transitory challenges we are facing is what I’ve seen among our Tysons stakeholders,” Glasner said. “People have stepped up to the plate in terms of pivoting to make as much lemonade as you can out of the lemons.”
Photo courtesy Ed Schudel
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As Han Palace, a new dim sum restaurant, makes its debut today in Tysons, the location announced it’ll be hosting a grand opening party this evening.
Those who want to celebrate are invited to do so from 5-9 p.m. at 7900 Westpark Drive tonight (Thursday), a flyer said, adding that complimentary wine and champagne will be available for those over 21.
As a type of traditional Chinese-style brunch, Dim Sum is typically enjoyed by a large group of family and friends.
“Unlike most Dim Sum restaurants, diners will not find any pushcarts at Han Palace,” a press release said. “All Dim Sum will be made to order and the menu will be overseen by Executive Chef Kenny Lei, whom Zhu (the owner) recruited from New York City.”
Specialty dishes at this location will include steamed shrimp dumplings, baked barbecue pork buns and sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, according to a press release.
“Dim Sum desserts include an intricate Purple Gold Yolk Bun and Almond Ball with Custard Yolk Heart, both filled with an oozy, soft egg custard and for the very adventurous, a Deep Fried Durian Cake,” the press release said.
The location will also offer cocktails, including Japanese whiskey and a variety of liquors.
Both indoor and outdoor seating will be available.
Going forward, the eatery will be open Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., the Facebook page said.
Photo via Han Palace/Facebook
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