Tysons Corner Center Mall Fairfax County, Virginia
With more than 300 shops and restaurants, the Tysons Corner Center mall was one of the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping centers in the greater Washington area. Patton Harris Rust & Associates (PHR+A) is providing site feasibility, parking analyses, and infrastructure design for the expansion of approximately 345,000 GSF of commercial space at the existing regional center in Fairfax County, Virginia.
This expansion is the first of four planned phases and includes a new 23 story hotel, 26 story residential tower, an 18 story office tower, and a new Metro Pavilion – all clustered near the new Tyson’s Metro Station on Route 123 / Chain Bridge Road.
An extremely challenging project, Project Manager Robert Munse, PE explains the difficulty of undertaking such an expansion in this extremely populated location. “For this expansion, we have to employ innovative urban design in a jurisdiction that is not fluent in the implementation of this concept,” says Munse. “We have to also coordinate with concurrent and adjacent infrastructure projects and on-going mall activities, as well as maintain customer safety during on-site construction activities.”
The citizens and stakeholders in the Tyson’s area have been enthusiastic but concerned about the project. Through extensive outreach by the owners and development team, new environmental standards, pedestrian enhancements and a transportation demand management (TDM) program have addressed most concerns.
This expansion brings new and exciting features to local residents and visitors. An inter-connected second story plaza level will bring new retail stores and outdoor amenities to the mall complex. Initial improvements include a new shared use path for pedestrian and bicycles adjacent to I-495, road improvements, new bus bays widening to the Westpark Bridge over Route 123, and financial contributions to parks, schools, and shuttle buses. Additions also include turn lanes on the ring road, garage speed ramps, and bus access options to a future rail station.
