There have been a lot of changes already to the Tysons East District, also known as the McLean Station region of Tysons. 2015 was a big year in construction in this corner of Tysons as several high rise tower cranes dotted the skyline, MITRE Building 4 topped out, and the new “Garfield” parcel apartments became a prominent gateway feature along Route 123.
If you think the changes have been impressive this year, 2016 is going to really shock you. In green are projects currently under construction. The big development everyone is sure to pay attention to will be Capital One’s new 470 foot headquarters tower which is just now starting to climb out of the ground, and by mid 2016 will be one of the tallest buildings in Tysons. There’s also the new apartments across the street from Cityline at the Commons of McLean site which will top out in 2016 at approximately the same height as the currently under construction Garfield parcel.
There are potentially two new construction sites (shown in yellow) that may begin sometime next year, the recently demolished Westgroup building parcel at the corner of Anderson and Route 123 seems to be the logical next step for Cityline partners once the Garfield parcel is complete. Then there is the recently announced project by Akridge to construct a new mid-rise office building at the existing GEICO building on the corner of Route 123 and Old Meadow Road. There are also plans to improve the site area of 1760 Old Meadow Road for better pedestrian access, inline with the goals of the Tysons Comprehensive Plan. Across Dolley Madison Boulevard the Capital One project may be joined by construction of the heavily anticipated Wegmans project which has not yet announced a date for beginning construction.
The majority of the land within Tysons East is currently under plans for redevelopment and at a higher percentage than any other district in Tysons. Part of the rationale for the change might be that Tysons East is the furthest inward district of Tysons and therefore a few minutes quicker to destinations in Arlington and DC. Another reason might be the relative lack of higher density office buildings such as those near Greensboro Park which make redevelopment and urbanizing fixes to suburban office park construction more difficult to implement. The area of Old Meadow Road and Anderson Road is more known for the low rise office and old apartments which, with land values at or above $10 million per acre, become investment opportunities.
Whatever the reasons for the ongoing changes, the momentum is fully behind Tysons East now and for the foreseeable future, and 2016 is going to be another iterative step towards creating a more habitable and cohesive place in this part of town.
* A prior version of this article has been corrected to note a Wegmans, not a Whole Foods, will be built on the Capital One campus.
