There is a lot happening over at Tysons Corner Center these days, and if you think the mall is popular now, prepare for more events and activities starting in July. After three years of construction, the concept and idea for One Tysons has come to fruition as developer Macerich and construction contractor Harvey Cleary knock out the final items prior to the grand opening. With VITA tower approaching a top out date for next week, Hyatt already there, and Tysons Tower opening for tenants next week, Macerich is preparing for a July 25th opening for the much anticipated One Tysons Plaza.
The connection to the Tysons Corner Silver Line station will lag a bit behind the rest of the plaza’s opening, with an interim access path being provided in the meanwhile. The rest of the plaza will be open with a concert series every Friday night throughout the summer beginning on opening day, and movies on the plaza every Saturday night as well. Although walking around the plaza makes one wonder how it could possibly be done in a month, in context the remaining items are minimal compared to the complete bare nature of the space only two months ago. Lighting has been installed, canopies are up, final paving bricks are being mortared in, and the whole space is getting finishing touches.
One of those finishing touches is an art installation being created by Workingman Collective artists Peter Winant and Tom Ashcraft called Early Bird. Over 50 bronze cast patina native bird figures will spread across the 1.5 acre elevated plaza. “Thinking about the entirety of the plaza, and the synthesis of activities that will occur here… with such as vast space, the way you can compete is taking a large sculpture and breaking it into bites” says Peter Winant , the creator of the exhibit. The works are cast bronze, and were poured by Baltimore based New Arts Foundry. While some birds will be easy to spot, others might be sneaking around under less overt occasion.
In restaurant news, the much awaited Shake Shack will be complete on July 25th as well, and later in the year will be joined by three additional restaurants on the plaza level. Earl’s, a Vancouver based restaurant with a northwest vibe will be opening at VITA, American Bistro in the Hyatt, and soon to open Eddie V’s Prime Seafood as well. Each restaurant has outdoor seating on the likely soon to be popular gathering space on the plaza, which can hold as many as 6,700 visitors, and is even traffic rated for snow removal. There will also be bike parking available at the plaza, which may become more utilized once Tysons Corner Center finalizes their trail project which wraps around the site and connects to three bike access points within Tysons.
In terms of musical acts, Macerich is proud to note that all acts will be well known and charted bands, starting with Virginia’s own Parachute on opening weekend, followed by Better Than Ezra and others. The space has the ability to relocate certain fixtures in order to create lawn seating, stages, and other event accommodations. The most impressive transformation might be the one that occurs each winter as the central plaza is converted into a 6,500 square foot ice rink, to be joined by a German Christmas market, and 50′ Christmas tree. I hope they have Gluhwein (please and thank you).
Overall, I was impressed and happy to see that the plaza is going to be complete soon; it signals the first permanent gathering space for residents and a huge milestone for the community. With Tysons Tower now 80% occupied, and the overall One Tysons project a likely success story, developer Macerich is already beginning to peak over the plaza fence to the next phase of Tysons redevelopment story, a two building/plaza project within a stones throw of One Tysons and adjacent to Macy’s.
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