West Group, Tysons Corner’s largest landowner, has filed plans to build a mammoth redevelopment project envisioned for a new urban Tysons: 150-acre swath of offices, retail and living space closely tied to Metrorail.
If approved, the West Gate and West Park projects together would add millions of square feet of development to an unremarkable cluster of office parks, part of what West Group Senior Vice President Mark Lowham calls “the start of a long-term transformation in Tysons which is radically different from the one we know today.”
The developments sit close to the planned Tysons East Metro station, which will be built at the corner of Colshire Drive and Route 123 as part of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
The proximity to rail is integral to West Group’s hope of passing a rezoning application of such scope by — hopefully — encouraging people to walk or ride the train instead of clogging the area’s already congested roads.
The project’s timeline also is linked to the 11.6-mile Metro extension, with the largest parts contingent on the transit line’s funding and construction start. West Group says it first will build a smaller, initial portion on the West Gate property, comprised of 417,180 square feet of high-density residential buildings, 583,800 square feet of commercial mixed-use space, two office-retail buildings and a hotel, according to the June 23 rezoning proposal.
Assuming all the approved development and the Metro extension are built, the 53-acre West Gate would contain 5.5 million square feet of development, including 2.3 million square feet of new residential space. West Park, which spans 97 acres, would hold a total 3.9 million square feet of development.
“Looking ahead, Tysons must have, in our opinion, a balanced mix of commercial office space, residential units and retail space as well as efficient transit facilities, parks, open space, arts, community amenities, adequate public facilities and recreational opportunities,” Lowham wrote in an e-mail to The Examiner on Monday.
The likely flurry of analyses and criticisms of the proposal has not begun because it is so new. Some county supervisors and community activists had not heard of it.
One major question is how the proposal would fit into the overarching plan for redeveloping Tysons, the creation of which is in the hands of the Tysons Land Use Task Force. The task force plans to present its recommendations for reshaping Fairfax County’s “downtown” to the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 22.
Clark Tyler, the board’s chairman, said he wished West Group, which is represented on the task force, had waited until that work was finished to move forward.
“My preference would have been to wait, but I certainly understand,” he said. “They’ve waited long enough.”
