Residential towers approved for Tysons Corner

The Board of Supervisors of Fairfax County, Virginia, gave unanimous approval Sept. 27 to a rezoning that will permit a 26-story apartment tower and four 20-story residential high-rises to be built near a future Metro rail station in Tysons Corner. Twenty percent of the units are to be reserved for "workforce" housing.

The Washington Post said the high-rises are the first project approved under Fairfax’s urban building plan for Tysons. They will replace a parking lot and a one-story industrial park about a block from the station on Metro's future Silver Line.

To help meet the recreational needs of future residents, the Georgelas Group, which is developing the initial residential/mixed-use section of Tysons, agreed to buy 2.8 acres that could become athletic fields. Amenities such as basketballs courts and rooftop parks have been part of development proposals in Tysons, including Georgelas's project, for some time.

A May 8 Post story reported that Georgelas would sell land at an intersection of the heavily traveled Leesburg Pike and Spring Hill Road to Greystar, one of the largest apartment developers and managers in the nation. Greystar will build the first (and tallest) tower. Said Brandon B. Henry, a managing director of Greystar: “The Metro is coming and it’s going to be a big deal.”

Housing at Tysons is expected to appeal to many people who work in the big "edge city" and who now contend with severe traffic congestion during their daily commutes.

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