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Tag: tysons corner

231-unit affordable housing development coming to McLean

Construction will begin immediately on the 231-unit first phase of an affordable housing development in McLean backed by Amazon.com, SCG Development announced Wednesday.

Located at 1750 Old Meadow Road, Somos at McLean Metro will be developed in two phases. In the first phase, Tysons-based SCG Development will demolish an abandoned office building on the property and build 231 units, a mix of studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The units will be rented to households earning between 30% and 60% of the area’s median income.

The second phase of the development will include 225 units, according to Steve Wilson, SCG Development’s president. The total development cost is about $108 million for the first phase and about $107 million for the second phase, he said.

The property is located within a 10-minute walk to the McLean Metrorail station and less than 10 minutes from Tysons’ new pedestrian bridge.

“Somos at McLean Metro Phase A will bring high quality affordable housing options to families and individuals in a very high barrier to entry market,” Wilson said in a statement.

Amazon.com provided a $28.97 million low-rate loan to the project from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, a $2 billion commitment to create or preserve more than 20,000 affordable homes for low- to moderate-income families in the Arlington-Washington, D.C., area, Washington state’s Puget Sound region and the Nashville, Tennessee, region, locations where Amazon has offices.

HQ2, Amazon’s East Coast headquarters in Arlington County, began a phased opening in June 2023. Since January 2021, Amazon has committed over $1 billion in loans and grants to create or preserve 7,000 affordable homes in the region, according to the ecommerce giant’s website.

“We embrace opportunities to work in partnership with innovative organizations dedicated to creating much-needed affordable housing that connects individuals and families to transit, employment and other resources across the DMV,” Senthil Sankaran, managing principal of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, said in a statement.

Virginia Housing, Virginia’s state housing finance agency, committed over $54.5 million in financing and 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which the federal government uses to subsidize the acquisition and construction of affordable rental housing, to the project.

“Our investment towards Somos at McLean provides much needed increased affordable inventory in the Northern Virginia area,” Virginia Housing CEO Tammy Neale said in a statement.

In 2022, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved $33.3 million to acquire the property and support the development of Somos at McLean Metro. The Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority will own the land and lease the property to affiliates of SCG Development.

“Innovative partnership has enabled us to leverage private equity to convert an unused office building site into hundreds of affordable homes in the Providence District,” Dalia Palchik, a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement.

Tysons alliance replaces biz partnership

It’s been a decade since Tysons unofficially dropped “corner” from its name amid plans by Fairfax County to transform the area into an urban live-work-play mecca anchored by four Metro Silver Line stations.

As Tysons marches toward the county’s goal — laid out in its 2010 comprehensive plan — to grow to 100,000 residents and 200,000 workers by 2050, a new nonprofit community improvement district is taking the place of the business-oriented nonprofit booster group that helped spur the region’s earlier growth.

Announced in October, the Tysons Community Alliance has replaced the Tysons Partnership. The shift is part of a yearlong review to develop an organization more reflective of the community and its needs as it grows, says Fairfax County Supervisor Dalia Palchik, whose district includes Tysons. While the partnership’s board structure was largely business-oriented, the alliance’s board includes representation from Fairfax residents, the county and community organizations.

“It’s a forum for collaboration and working together to get to the future,” says Richard Bradley, the alliance’s acting CEO. “I think they’ve recognized that it’s time to bring everybody together.”

According to a 2021 economic report released by the partnership, Tysons’ residential population is about 28,000; a number that grew 39% between 2010 and 2018. Total households are projected to reach 36,000 to 57,000 by 2050.

Another reason for the shift was funding. The partnership was funded by member dues and had a budget of about $500,000, which limited its activities, says the alliance’s board chair, Josh White, who also chaired the partnership’s board. On Oct. 11,
Fairfax supervisors approved an initial $2.5 million budget for the alliance for the remainder of the fiscal year. White anticipates a $4 million budget for the alliance’s first full operating year.

As it gears up, the alliance will hire a permanent CEO to replace Bradley, who served as acting executive director for the partnership, in early 2023. It will also grow to 12 to 14 staffers — the partnership had five full-time staffers pre-pandemic — who will focus on initiatives including transportation, communication and placemaking. Chief among the alliance’s first priorities will be to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for Tysons, White says.

“There’s so many varying interests in Tysons, as there should be, [so] there’s a lot of different stakeholders,” he says. “How can we structure a strategic plan that helps us move forward, helps this organization and Tysons move forward?” 

Fairfax-based Guidehouse names chief technology officer

Fairfax-based Guidehouse has named Dan Hushon to lead its technology efforts.

As chief technology officer, Hushon will lead transformational activities as Guidehouse speeds delivery of digital solutions for its commercial and public sector clients. He will also lead the company’s next generation cloud computing solutions and bring a “Silicon Valley” approach to new client demands, Guidehouse said in a news release.

Hushon is “an experienced technologist and proven industry visionary who will be a valuable asset to Guidehouse and our clients,” said Guidehouse CEO Scott McIntyre. “Dan’s passion, technological savvy and excellent leadership capabilities will be instrumental in advancing our innovation efforts as we work together to propel Guidehouse into our next phase of growth.”

Hushon has most recently worked as a technical consultant for investment and technology firms as served as CTO for Tysons-based DXC Technology from April 2017 through October 2020. He has a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University and previously served as a member of the Forbes Technology Council as well as the World Economic Council’s Information and Communications Technology Forum, according to his LinkedIn account.

“My goal is to constantly challenge the horizons of technology, providing a potential for ongoing innovation and leadership that drives transformational change,” Hushon said. “I am thrilled to join Guidehouse at this exciting time, and am looking forward to playing a key role in supporting its continued growth.”

Guidehouse announced it would move its global headquarters to Tysons in May 2021, creating at least 900 jobs. Owned by Veritas Capital, Guidehouse employs more than 12,000 people in more than 50 locations around the world and works in public and commercial markets, providing advisory, consulting, outsourcing and digital services in management, technology and risk consulting.