Poki DC will soon add another veg-friendly eatery option in Tysons Corner Center.

Inspired by Hawaiian cuisine, Poki DC offers build-your-own bowls and mochi at three locations in both D.C. and Maryland.

The website for the D.C.-based eatery says that it is “coming soon in 2019” to Tysons Corner Center. A recent building permit indicates that work is getting done on the new location.

The mall has another poke place — Pokéworks — on the first level next to the now-vacant Sweet Leaf spot.

In addition to Poki DC, the mall plans to welcome a new Falafel Inc. — a D.C. based restaurant that donates a percentage of its profits to support refugees — into Mixing Bowl’s former spot.

Photo via Facebook

Event technology company Cvent announced today (Thursday) plans to hire nearly 1,000 employees this year as the company continues to grow.

Based in Tysons by the Greensboro Metro station, Cvent offers software to event planners to help with online event registration, venue selection, event management and attendee engagement.

Many of the new jobs will be in the Tysons headquarters, according to the press release. Other locations around the U.S. and in Canada, England, Australia, Germany, Singapore and India also plan on adding new employees.

In addition to the hiring, Cvent also announced that it will open new office space in Austin, Texas and New Delhi, India and expand in Fredericton, Canada.

The expansion follows a busy year for the company. In 2018, Cvent added 1,000 net employees and more than 5,000 new customers, according to a press release. A few months ago, Cvent added 72,000 square feet of office space to its Tysons headquarters (1765 Greensboro Station Place).

“We hired almost 1,000 people last year and we’re doubling down on our recruiting efforts to ensure we can continue supporting our expanding customer base and delivering the innovations that will drive the industry forward,” Sophia MacDonald, the vice president of human resources for Cvent, said in a press release.

Image via Google Maps

(Updated 10 a.m.) There’s no shortage of luxury housing coming into Tysons, but what about affordable housing?

According to Brian Worthy, a spokesman for Fairfax County, the limited number of affordable units in Tysons are near max occupancy. But with new mid- and high-rise developments required to devote a portion of the new units to affordable housing, Worthy said there are more units on the way:

As of May 15, 2019, there are approximately 536 rental Affordable and Workforce Dwelling Units (ADUs and WDUs) that have been constructed in Tysons. The average occupancy rate is 94 percent.

Currently, there are approximately 3,919 rental ADUs and WDUs that have been committed by developers through Board of Supervisors approved rezoning actions. We don’t currently track the total number of these units that have been proposed as part of unapproved developments in Tysons, but to date, the major, approved rezonings have all committed to provide affordable or workforce dwelling units.

Worthy noted that ADUs serve households with incomes of 50-70 percent of Area Median Income (AMI). Fairfax County documents show that range as $38,600-$54,050 for single-family households, increasing proportionally to the size of the household.

Tysons’ WDUs serve incomes ranging from 60-120 percent of AMI, reflecting the higher cost of living in Tysons as compared to the rest of Fairfax. The WDU program is designed to help working households find housing close to employment centers and transportation options.

Creating housing affordable to locals at all ranges of the income spectrum has been a countywide problem. According to the FY 2020 Fairfax County budget, a total of 3,016 affordable units — privately-owned homes that are not bound by rent restrictions — have been preserved in Fairfax County between 2004 and 2018, but the county fell 82 units short of its affordable housing goals for last year.

The county projects a growth of 62,184 households over the next 15 years, of which 18,622 are expected to earn 80 percent of AMI and below.

Chart via Fairfax County Government

Seven out of the 10 Fairfax County-based companies on this year’s Fortune 500 list are located in or near Tysons.

Fortune released its annual list of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. earlier today (May 16). The rankings are based on 2018 revenue.

The Tysons-area companies represent one-third of the 21 companies from Virginia on the list, according to a Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) press release.

“Only a handful of communities can say they are home to 10 Fortune 500 companies,” Catherine Riley, the interim president of FCEDA, said in a press release. “It is an important milestone, a significant recognition of the county as a prime location for corporations from a wide variety of industries looking for the assets and talent they need to grow and succeed.”

The new list includes:

• #40 Freddie Mac (Tysons)
• #92 General Dynamics (Falls Church area)
• #98 Capital One Financial (Tysons)
• #108 Northrop Grumman (Falls Church area)
• #122 DXC Technology (Tysons)
• #345 Hilton Worldwide Holdings (Tysons)
• #475 Booz Allen Hamilton (Tysons)

Leidos Holdings, an information technology company, and home construction company NVR — both based in Reston — made the list, along with Herndon-based Beacon Roofing.

Last year, Fairfax County had nine companies on the list, according to FCEDA. The company that made the biggest leap from last year’s list was DXC Technology, which jumped up 252 spots.

“The wide diversity of the industry sectors represented here — everything from our traditional strengths in IT and aerospace to financial services, hospitality and, now, construction materials — shows the value of a Fairfax County headquarters to corporations of all kinds,” Riley said.

Bike to Work Day tomorrow (Friday) wants locals in the D.C. area to hop on a bike for their commute — even if it’s just for one day.

People interested in the free event can register online to access 115 pit stops throughout the region — seven are in the Tysons area — and link up to commuter convoys.

Participants can expect a warm and overcast Friday with the chance of stray rain or thunderstorms.

So what do you think? Is this something you would want to do or not?

Photo via Facebook and map via Bike to Work Day

The curved One Tysons East project has hit a roadblock that could stall the project.

Akridge — the project’s developer — has put a temporary hold on the entitlement process for the office building while it works out right-of-way negotiations with the Virginia Department of Transportation over the Route 123 frontage, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Leadership at Akridge said the process should only take a couple of months, but in the meantime, the Business Journal says the project is classified by Fairfax County as “indefinitely deferred.”

The last major change for the project was in April when the building went through a series of design changes, including an effort to mitigate the likelihood of bird impacts with the building.

The project is part of a series of new buildings planned for Tysons East — a neighborhood around the McLean Metro station seeing rapid growth spurred in part by the opening of the new Capital One headquarters.

Image via Akridge

Four years after BoConcept closed its doors in Tysons Galleria, the high-end furniture retailer is finally open again.

The store opened on Saturday (May 11) on the second floor of the mall.

Staff at the store said the core concept is “modular design.” If an item is too large or too small, or if the coverings aren’t the color or texture you like, aspects of the furniture are flexible and can be altered by store staff to meet specifications.

Started in Denmark in 1952, BoConcept has nearly 300 stores spanning 60 countries.

The new retailer is part of a broader series of changes planned for the northern wing of the mall, including a new fitness section and the redevelopment of the Macy’s into a series of smaller stores.

The Capital Bikeshare network soon could reach out to even more spots in the Tysons area.

At a Fairfax County Board Transportation Committee meeting today (Tuesday), staff went through plans to add new bike share stations throughout Tysons, Vienna and Merrifield, with potential to add them to McLean.

Currently, 30 Capital Bikeshare stations are located in Fairfax County, with 16 in Reston, 13 in Tysons, and one at the West Falls Church Metro station. The most recent Capital Bikeshare station in Tysons was installed in December at the McLean Metro station. On Friday (May 17) a new station is scheduled to activate at Hilton Headquarters (7930 Jones Branch Drive) on the other side of the Jones Branch Connector.

There are 17 proposed locations for new Capital Bikeshare docks in the Tysons area to be launched next year — including docks along the Route 7 corridor between Tysons and Falls Church and the Gallows Road corridor between Tysons and Merrifield.

In Merrifield, three new stations are planned to activate on May 22 at:

• Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station (2700 Gallows Road)
• Halstead Square Dunn Loring Metro Apartments (2729 Merrilee Drive)
• The Mosaic District (Merrifield Cinema Drive)

Six new stations are planned to launch in the area next spring.

A collaborative study for bike share expansion in Vienna was completed in March, and staff said the study recommended expanding the system throughout Vienna and considering a dockless bike share feature sometime in the future.

Along that route, Fairfax County recommends additional stations at:

• Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station (2700 Gallows Road)
• Vienna Metro station (9550 Saintsbury Drive)
• Gallows Road corridor
• Nottoway Park (9537 Courthouse Road)
• Circle Towers (9335 Lee Highway)

The Capital Bikeshare expansion in the study area is planned to be funded from the I-66 Commuter Choice program.

In the Town of Vienna, new bike share locations are proposed at:

• Town Green (144 Maple Avenue E.)
• Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street S.E.)
• Maple Avenue Shopping Center (180 Maple Avenue W.)
• Navy Federal Credit Union (820 Follins Lane)
• 444 Maple Avenue W. (currently a redevelopment project)

Yesterday (Monday), Capital Bikeshare also expanded into Falls Church with 11 stations.

There are few details, but the staff report indicates that future expansion could add the Capital Bikeshare to other areas like McLean.

Tysons’ 1st Stage Theatre won five Helen Hayes Awards at last night’s ceremony — scoring four of its wins for its “Fly by Night” production last spring.

The theater’s production of the rock-fable “Fly by Night” racked up nine nominations, while the father-son story “Swimming With Whales” and Aaron Sorkin’s “The Farnsworth Invention” each earned six nods. One nomination for “A Civil War Christmas” brought 1st Stage up to a total of 22 nominations — the second most for any theater, trailing Arena Stage’s 25.

Named after the “First Lady of American Theatre” Helen Hayes, the awards recognize excellence in professional theatre in the D.C. area and are split into two main categories: the “Hayes” for productions featuring a majority of theater union members and the “Helen” for productions with fewer union members.

Here is 1st Stage Theatre’s full list of wins:

• Outstanding Direction in a Musical (Helen): Kathryn Chase Bryer for “Fly by Night”
• Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical (Helen): “Fly by Night”
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical (Helen): Caroline Wolfson in “Fly by Night”
• Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play (Helen): Matthew Wilson in “Swimming With Whales” (also shared with Josh Adams in Theater Alliance’s “The Events”).
• Outstanding Production in a Musical (Helen): “Fly by Night”

Yesterday’s awards ceremony boosted the theater in nominations and wins from last year.

In 2018, 1st Stage won two of its 10 nominations. Frank Britton took home the Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play (Helen) for 1st Stage’s production of “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train.” Also, Jose Guzman received the James MacArthur Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play (Helen) for the same show.

Photo via Twitter

If you didn’t get your ice cream fill on Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s, you can stop by Häagen-Dazs tomorrow (Tuesday) for more.

The Häagen-Dazs on the second floor of Tysons Corner Center is set to participate in the chain’s Free Cone Day. From 4-8 p.m. tomorrow, one mini-cone per customer will be given away for free, according to the Tysons Corner Center website.

The event also serves as a promotion for the chain’s Häagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees Initiative, a fundraising effort to develop solutions for Colony Collapse Disorder, which is placing the future of the food chain at risk. Donations to the fundraiser can be made online.

Photo via Facebook