Fairfax County staffers support new plans to revamp the Valo Park office complex in Tysons, opening it up to the public and adding retail and restaurants.
The newspaper giant Gannett and cloud computing company Appian are currently headquartered at the roughly 785,000 square-foot office park, which has a fitness center, conference facilities and a 300-seat auditorium.
London-based Tamares acquired 7950 Jones Branch Drive for $270 million four years ago. Now, Tamares wants to add shops, restaurants, a bocce court and a 5,000-square-foot craft beverage production establishment or restaurant on the roof on an existing parking garage.
“The conference center, auditorium and fitness center are existing uses within the building; however, these uses are currently accessory to the office building in that only the onsite office users may use them,” according to the staff report published today. “The applicant is converting the spaces into publicly accessible uses.”
Tamares says that the proposed changes would help it better fit in with nearby urbanization. The office park is located in the North Central neighborhood of Tysons, which is home to the Park Crest and Highgate residential buildings and the upcoming mixed-use development called The Mile.
Here’s what the county staffers said in their report:
The proposed conversion of existing office and accessory uses to secondary uses will activate the site and facilitate a vibrant, mixed-use development that the Comprehensive Plan envisions for the Tysons Urban Center. The development offers high-quality amenities that will turn the existing office park into a community asset.
Minimal site disturbance is required to implement the development, as most of the proposed modifications are located within the existing building. The applicant has proffered: contributions to the Tysons Road Fund; bicycle parking; and green building technology and strategies as part of the construction of the proposed commercial use on top of the existing parking garage.
In staff’s opinion, the development plan is in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan and meets the general and design standards for a Planned District.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission is set to hold a public hearing on the project this spring.
To check-in with local doctors to see how they are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tysons Reporter reached out to Kaiser Permanente, which has locations all over the mid-Atlantic region.
Dennis Truong is the regional telemedicine director and assistant physician in chief in Northern Virginia for Kaiser Permanente, who sees patients at the Tysons Corner Kaiser medical center, according to a KP spokesperson.
Truong told Tysons Reporter in a Q&A about his experience helping patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
How are you feeling emotionally during this time?
Each day is a crazy mix of emotions. To keep a balanced mind, I take time every morning to acknowledge each one, from worrying about loved ones and colleagues, near and far, to the stress of getting the necessary work things done in this race against time. But with these emotions also brings appreciation, for what I have and for the opportunity to serve others and transform health care during this pandemic.
Many of us health care workers have trained and prepared most of our lives to serve in a moment like this. So overall, I feel emotionally strong because I’m inspired by those around me and know that doing my part, while they do theirs, will get us through this.
Each day also bring elements of pleasant emotional surprises, from family texting jokes and spontaneous words of encouragement and appreciation, to dentist friends donating masks from their practices, to colleagues willing to pitch in to help when telehealth surges all hours of the day.
This leads to the most important emotion — a glimpse of happiness — as we’re seeing how so many people care about each other’s well-being and are willing to take personal responsibility to help “flatten the curve.”
For many of my health care colleagues around the world, hope and happiness fuels us to keep fighting the fight with a positive attitude against COVID-19.
What is the attitude of patients who come in for things other than COVID-19 concerns?
In three short weeks, we’ve dramatically transformed the care delivery system at Kaiser Permanente in the mid-Atlantic region to meet the needs of our members virtually.
More than 85% of our encounters are now virtual across urgent care, primary care, and specialty care departments. This paradigm shift was possible for three key reasons. First, at Kaiser Permanente we’ve been doing virtual care (aka telehealth) since 2013 so our providers were prepared.
Also, the Kaiser Permanente culture has always been patient-centric and extremely responsive to the needs of our members. The ability to quickly pivot and rapidly scale our telehealth offerings across all services was universal.
Last, we communicated with our members early and often, so they understood the significance of using our telehealth options before they came into a clinic to keep themselves and our communities safe.
Almost all of our patients use our telehealth options of the advice nurse, e-visits, phone visits and video visits to get personalized care and care coordination before coming in to one of our medical centers. We’ve had many patients express gratitude for being able to access care, for COVID and many other medical needs that are still arising, from the comfort of home.
Do you feel that there are enough medical supplies in the Reston, Tysons, McLean and Falls Church area to support the needs of patients and doctors? What are you running low on?
COVID is now spreading quickly through many communities including here in the D.C. area and our equipment and supply needs have increased significantly as a result. Yet, we have leveraged our national network and with the support of our supply teams and our staff, have increased our supply of personal protective equipment. Through diligent conservation efforts and ongoing procurement efforts, we have the appropriate PPE to protect our team today and in the days ahead.
What trends or changes to the medical system have surprised you the most during this pandemic?
Since early March at Kaiser Permanente, we have seen a total delivery system transformation to “virtual first.” This means that our first approach to an appointment is a virtual appointment through video, phone or secure email. We have evolved to providing more than 85% of all encounters virtually. Our priority has been keeping our members safe and educating and notifying them about care choices. It is amazing how many patients and providers are now using our system “virtual first.”
How prepared is the NoVA area compared to the rest of the country for the peak of the pandemic? When do you think the peak will happen?
The latest information indicates that we could see a surge of patients in our region over the next two to three weeks. However, these models are changing and this timing may change too. We are working diligently to make sure that we are ready to care for all our patients whether they come this week, next week or later. We are also set up to continue expanding our virtual care and pharmacy delivery options as the surge occurs.
How will the pandemic affect people who come into the ER with other (non-COVID-19) life-threatening emergencies?
We are using our robust telehealth services to have our physicians safely evaluate and follow members at their homes. If patients show up to our centers, we have created separate areas to triage COVID and non-COVID patients.
For COVID patients, we triage them to a special triage location with skilled emergency medicine physicians dedicated to that work. Therefore, other patients coming to us for urgent care are treated in separate area by a separate group of emergency physicians to assure continued delivery of highest quality care.
How do you feel that this pandemic will affect the rest of your career in healthcare?
The pandemic has already affected my career in extraordinary ways. As a board-certified emergency physician, I trained in Detroit hospital systems that only knew about dealing with emergencies or those that couldn’t afford preventative care. As an active-duty Air Force physician, I learned the importance of structure but lacked the right technology.
When I came to Kaiser Permanente, I learned the importance of proactive and integrated care alongside a provider and patient-friendly electronic medical records. As the director of Virtual Care for Kaiser Permanente, I am part of a team that has spent years preparing our technology and organizational culture to understand the important role virtual care has in safely extending our care delivery reach.
Every pandemic is an opportunity to learn, and when the dust settles on COVID-19, I believe the U.S. health care system and our citizens will have fully embraced telehealth as the leading approach in healthcare.
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
Turn Tysons Streets For Recreational Use? — “Select a few roads and open them to people by closing them to all but local traffic. By doing so, we’ll make space for people to get fresh air and exercise without risk of spreading the coronavirus or getting run over. The cost will only be a few traffic cones, temporary signs, and asking a handful of drivers to go a few minutes out of their way.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Mark Keam Hosting Virtual Town Hall Tonight — “As he returns to Richmond for the reconvene session on April 22, Mark will also answer questions about the Governor’s amendments to some of the bills that passed the legislature this year. Of particular interest to voters in the Town of Vienna, Mark will explain the Governor’s recommendation to move the Town Council elections from May to November.” [Facebook]
Locals Start T-Shirt Fundraiser — “Inspired by a friend’s philanthropic effort in Texas, two Falls Church residents have started their own fundraising campaign to help out during the pandemic, raising money by selling Little City-themed t-shirts. After barely a week in operation, more than 700 shirts have been sold and more than $12,000 has been raised.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Falls Church Cancels Memorial Day Festivities — “The City of Falls Church announced today the cancellation of its biggest event of the year, the annual Memorial Day Parade and Festival, set to take place next month, citing recent executive orders issued by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam urging localities to cancel large-scale events through June 10.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Dranesville School Rep to Host Virtual Town Hall — “Thursday, April 16, and next Monday, April 20, Dranesville School Board Representative Elaine Tholen will hold open town hall meetings with At-Large Representatives, Karen Keys-Gamarra and Rachna Sizemore Heizer, respectively. Leigh Burden, Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services at FCPS will participate in the April 16 town hall as well.” [John Foust newsletter, Blackboard, Blackboard]
New Virtual Exploration Center — The Fairfax County Park Authority created a new virtual exploration center for people who want to explore while staying home. [Fairfax County]
The coronavirus pandemic has forced local businesses to either shut down or add safety measures to stay open. For businesses that aren’t open yet, owners are facing new challenges to decide if or when to debut.
Tysons Reporter found out the new debut plans for three upcoming businesses, which were originally slated to open this spring.
Over in Vienna, plans are still in the works to turn the former home of Posh! (419B Maple Ave. E.) into a Virginia ABC store.
The store was originally expecting to open sometime in May or June.
Dawn Eischen, a Virginia ABC spokesperson, told Tysons Reporter that plans are still on track to relocate the ABC store at 436 Maple Ave. E. to the Maple Avenue Shopping Center space this spring.
“We’re still moving forward with this relocation, but don’t have a firm date,” Eischen said earlier this week. “We’re still looking at the June time frame.”
Eischen previously told Tysons Reporter that the relocation to the spot with roughly 1,400 more square feet “will allow us to provide a wider selection of products, meet market demands and better serve our customers.”
The Palladium’s owners were planning to move their now-closed Arlington nightclub to the Tysons spot.
Currently, The Palladium is closed after the owners canceled the last few concerts in March.
The Salsa Room, which closed in Arlington in March, was supposed to open in its new 15,000-square-foot, two-level home (1524 Spring Hill Road) in late March. Grand opening events were set for the new Tysons nightclub from March 25-29.
Now, Victor Villarreal, one of the owners behind the nightclubs, said that he’s refunded all of the grand opening tickets and he isn’t sure when The Salsa Room will open in Tysons.
“We will open at some point,” he said.
Right now, Villarreal and his brother are working to come up with plans for opening that include different numbers of people allowed inside — 50, 100, 250 — along with other possible safety measures like masks, hand sanitizing stations and cashless payment options.
“I think we’re really considering looking at temperature thermometer you scan on the forehead,” he said. “Our whole plan is trying to keep our staff and our clients safe.”
When state restrictions get lifted, Villarreal said nightclubs will be one of the last businesses to open. “I don’t expect our business to be open until there’s a vaccine or no cases for a couple of weeks at least or a treatment,” he said.
Even if there’s only one COVID-19 case in Virginia, he expects “it’s going to take a long time for people to feel comfortable.”
“We’re the last thing that people are going to want to try to do,” he said, adding that the close contact typical of clubs is completely different from guidelines now for people to stay 6 feet apart.
As for staff, he said that they are waiting for the nightclub to open.
“We can’t pay afford to pay them right,” he said. “A lot applied for unemployment. I know some of them have gotten jobs doing other stuff.”
Villarreal said that he has been negotiating successfully with his landlord in Tysons and utility companies.
“We try to keep a positive attitude but we know nothing is guaranteed,” he said.
The team behind the now-closed Tysons Biergarten aren’t delaying their plans too long to open The ShipGarten — a new pop-up concept near the McLean Metro station.
Originally slated to open this spring, The ShipGarten will now likely make its debut early summer, Matt Rofougaran, Tysons Biergarten’s CEO and managing partner, told Tysons Reporter.
The ShipGarten will consist of a number of themed 40-foot shipping containers, including:
- “The Biergarten” — German and Belgium beers and German food
- Roll Bär — Asian fusion cuisine and Japanese whiskey
- Chalkboard BBQ — a rotating menu of barbecue and international craft beer
- Tysons EuroBar — Mediterranean fare
The shipping containers will be outside, surrounded by a “quintessential biergarten area, family friendly kids area, a fenced in dog area, and entertainment venue,” according to The ShipGarten’s website.
Rofougaran said that patrons will be able to social distance — “Good thing about us is we will have a lot of space.”
He said staffing for The ShipGarten has not been impacted for the pandemic. “Staffing is going to be easy for me,” he said, noting that he’s been in the restaurant business since he was a teenager.
The only coronavirus-related obstacle Rofougaran said he’s noticed is the speed of the work — from architects to construction workers — on the new concept. “Everybody is working much slower,” he said.
Image (1) by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash, image (2) via Google Maps, image (3) via The ShipGarten/Facebook
A father-son pair living in Tysons decided to start a podcast several weeks ago to document their social distancing experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sam Lee and his 7-year-old son Logan launched the podcast on March 22 and produce weekly episodes, according to Lee’s website. So far, there are three episodes available online. Each are roughly 20 minutes long.
The family had been avid podcast listeners before the pandemic started. Sam told Tysons Reporter that he wanted to understand how his son views the pandemic.
“I hope it better helps him articulate his thoughts, become more aware of his surroundings and to just help him communicate,” Sam said.
Sam also said that the podcasts are essentially just a digitized form of the radio, so it turned out to be a great way for him and his son to connect over a generational divide.
Sam, who has a 9-year old son as well, said he gave both kids the option to join the podcast, but only Logan really showed interest.
Episodes typically begin with a jazzy intro and walk through events unfolding globally, noting real-world events and information about COVID-19.
“We’ve all been affected by the COVID-19 situation,” Sam said. “You reel a little bit, but have to quickly adjust.”
Dubbed “the Logan Podcast,” Logan often responds to queries posed by his dad and shares his thoughts on adjustments to daily life.
In the third podcast episode, Logan talks about how his classroom interactions are different online from in-person instruction and how he misses the typical interaction with his peers.
Current listeners include local teachers and family neighbors, according to Sam.
For people interested in upcoming episodes, the podcast will be released every Sunday evening, according to the website.
Image courtesy Sam Lee
Tysons is no stranger to people jumping off of its tall buildings. Now, a building under construction at Capital One’s campus seems to be the latest spot for parachuters.
Two videos posted by Reddit users on Sunday (April 5) each appear to show a person parachuting off of the building that will include a Wegmans store, rooftop park, residential units and parking.
One dash cam video recorded at the intersection of Colshire Drive and Dolley Madison Blvd appears to show a parachuter float down from near the future Wegmans building and land in the middle of Scotts Crossing Road.
The user who posted the video said that the incident happened around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The second video, which was taken in The Gates of McLean development, appears to show a parachuter jump off the building.
“Two people jumped,” the user who posted the second video said in the comments. “I saw the first jump out of the corner of my eye and was able to catch the second on my phone.”
Fairfax County police received a report of two people jumping from a building near Capital One Drive and Scotts Crossing Road around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sgt. Greg Bedor told Tysons Reporter.
Police checked the area around the building, but weren’t able to find the jumpers, Bedor said.
“We are aware of the situation and have been in contact with local authorities,” a Capital One spokesperson said when Tysons Reporter asked about the Reddit posts.
On Monday (April 6), police took a report of a trespassing complaint in the 1600 block of Capital One Drive that happened on Sunday, Bedor said.
“Officers are actively investigating to determine if the trespassing complaint is related to the event described on [April 5],” he said.
People have jumped off of Tysons buildings seemingly for fun in the past. Previously, police investigated a series of BASE jumping incidents at the 32-story Lumen building.
“Dangerous and illegal activities such as this, particularly during a time when emergency medical services are already operating under pressure, are irresponsible and put unnecessary strain on limited community resources,” the Capital One spokesperson said.
Image via u/tlis on Reddit
(Updated 4/8/2020) In addition to their regular menu items for delivery or carry out, some local restaurants are turning into grocers to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grocery kits and markets from restaurants save residents a trip to the grocery store and help financially support local eateries.
Here’s a few of the restaurants-turned-grocers Tysons Reporter has found:
Great American Restaurants, which operates three eateries in Tysons, debuted “The Great American Grocery Essentials” on March 25, according to a press release.
For $69, the kit includes milk, orange juice, butter, rice, eggs, ground beef, chicken breast, toilet paper, baked goods, spaghetti and paper towels.
The kit is available for pick-up or delivery.
Farmers Restaurant Group has started an online market and grocery at the Founding Farmers locations in Tysons and Potomac, Md., according to a press release.
“The market will sell over 300 items with various ‘departments’ including a prepared foods market, bakery and pastry, butcher and deli, produce, an ice cream shop, basic groceries and household staples, tins of specialty roasted coffee, and an alcohol section,” the press release said.
In addition to the restaurant’s a la carte menu, the Tysons location will also offer scheduled, contact-free curbside pick-up and delivery options for its groceries starting today (April 7).
Delivery orders cost an addition $6.99 and will be available within a 10-15 mile radius of the two locations.
“Restaurant access to bulk food and material suppliers and partners could help ease the burden for everyone, especially with shortages at area grocery stores,” the press release said.
Earls, a restaurant chain that has a location in Tysons, recently launched “Earls Grocer” to sell pre-packaged grocery kits, meals and individual items for delivery or pick-up.
The grocery packs offered in the U.S. include the “Produce Pack,” “Dairy + Egg Pack,” “Pantry Pack” and “Protein Pack.”
Shoppers can also by individual items — like toilet paper, hand soap, BBQ rack of ribs, ground coffee and cheesecake — and prepared meals to feed two to four people.
In the U.S., the groceries can be delivered through DoorDash, UberEats or GrubHub.
The Palm, a restaurant chain that has a location in Tysons, is offering take-home meal kits, according to Facebook posts.
People can create their own meals with The Palm’s “Steak Kits.”
“From 7-ounce Center-Cut Filets to 18-ounce Rib-Eye Steaks, place your order at your nearest Palm for pickup or curbside service,” according to a Facebook post.
Know of a local restaurant offering groceries? Email us at [email protected]
Tysons-based Gannett has created a new initiative to help connect people to local businesses seeking support during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Support Local website lets people search for businesses from a list to buy gift cards. The website prompts people to share the news of their gift card purchases on social media.
The website has businesses from hundreds of cities across the U.S. So far, Austin, Texas has the most small businesses on the site (260).
The Tysons-area businesses include:
- J. Gilbert’s in McLean
- Founding Farmers in Tysons
- Red Galanga in Vienna
- Bazin’s on Church in Vienna
- Jolie Hair Studio in Vienna
- 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church
- Koi Koi Sushi in Falls Church
- Malee Thai Massage in Falls Church
“We hope that our efforts will allow them to continue to serve their communities in the future,” according to the website.
Headquartered in Valo Park, the news media company includes USA TODAY and hundreds of daily local news brands.
Patrons or business owners can submit information about small businesses registered with Google to get added to the site.
Image via Support Local
Editor’s note: Tysons Reporter will temporarily have “Morning Notes” every weekday instead of twice a week to accommodate more news.
Reston Hospital Center Buys Tysons Eatery — “HCA Healthcare Inc. has acquired a former Korean BBQ restaurant in Tysons that its subsidiary, Reston Hospital Center, plans to retrofit into an emergency center.” [Washington Business Journal]
Giant Donates to Local Food Banks — “Giant announced the donation of $550,000 and 1,200 hams to the five Feeding America food banks within its region: Capital Area Food Bank, Maryland Food Bank, Food Bank of Delaware, Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Tysons Company Has Free Web Services — Appian is offering free web services to businesses so that they can better manage COVID-19. [Cheddar]
McLean Group Urges Tax Rate Freeze — “Fairfax County officials are revising the proposed fiscal 2021 budget following dismal economic projections related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the McLean Citizens Association has some ideas on what spending reductions they should be considering.” [Inside NoVa]
#Tysons-based @IDme and San Francisco-based @SlackHQ have partnered to create a secure workspace that healthcare providers can use to share real-time information about the coronavirus. https://t.co/AgiyGwizoz
— Fairfax County EDA (@FairfaxEDA) April 4, 2020
Fairfax-based @CustomInk is partnering with @FeedingAmerica to get essential supplies to communities and people facing hunger in this time of uncertainty. https://t.co/EMTOak6wfl
— Fairfax County EDA (@FairfaxEDA) April 2, 2020
The Sheraton Tysons Hotel reportedly plans to close for good on Friday (April 3).
The hotel (8661 Leesburg Pike) is a part of the Tysons West development near the Spring Hill Metro station.
Tysons Reporter obtained an email from the Townhomes at Westwood Village Owners Association, which is located behind the Tysons West development, to residents about the hotel’s planned closure:
We received notice today that the Sheraton is closing this Friday, April 3rd and will not be reopening. This came as a complete surprise to us as well as the company that operates the hotel. We’ve been told the reason they are closing is financial due to COVID-19 and the ability for the hotel to recover. At this time there isn’t any information as to what JBG Smith will do with the property.
Although parking is not permitted in their back lot, they wanted to give us a heads up that the lot will be secured and any cars in the lot will be towed.
An employee who works for the hotel and an employee at the hotel’s Budget car rental location both said they heard that the hotel is set to permanently close on Friday.
“This hotel is currently closed,” according to the hotel’s website. “Please search this site for another hotel.”
The Sheraton in Tysons ranks as the largest venue for conferences and events in Fairfax County, Barry Biggar, the CEO and president of Visit Fairfax, told Tysons Reporter earlier this year.
A spokesperson for Marriott International, which owns the Sheraton brand, declined to comment on the hotel specifically, instead sharing this statement:
As travel restrictions and social distancing efforts around the world become more widespread, we are experiencing significant drops in demand at properties globally with an uncertain duration. We are adjusting global operations accordingly.
We are working quickly to mitigate the impact to our business while also focusing on assisting our associates, our guests and our owners. While the ultimate impact is difficult to predict at this time given the fluidity of the situation, we remain confident in our long-term prospects.
In addition to the challenges from the pandemic, Marriott International announced on Tuesday (March 31) that a data breach might have compromised 5.2 million customers’ information.
Ashley Hopko contributed to this report
Image via Google Maps
