McLean Citizens Association (MCA) board members on March 6 passed a resolution supporting a mixed-use development plan in eastern Tysons, but urged county officials to pay extra attention to growing pressures on schools, traffic and public services.
The application, dubbed “Westgate Block Hilton Hotel,” includes requests by developer KM Hotels LLC and managing agent Cityline Partners to change the approved use of a 1.78-acre parcel of the Scotts Run South development.
That “Westgate Block” currently is approved for 405,000 square feet of office space. The applicants now would like to build on Site A of the property a combination high-end and extended-stay Hilton hotel with 263 units. The 17-story building would be about 225 feet tall and feature ground-floor retail and a rooftop restaurant.
MCA leaders did not expect the hotel would affect the surrounding community more adversely than an office use would, but they did worry about it potential impacts on traffic.
The hotel’s proposed entrance off of Anderson Road would avoid worsening traffic backups on nearby Dolley Madison Boulevard (Route 123), but even with a second left-turn lane at that intersection, the crossing’s service level would keep its “F” rating, the resolution read.
MCA is asking county officials to evaluate cumulative traffic impacts from pending developments in the surrounding area to avoid exacerbating already overwhelming traffic congestion near the site. The resolution also calls on the county to address excessive wait times at intersections in the Scotts Run South vicinity.
MCA’s resolution did not take a stance on Site B of the parcel, which the applicants likely will request to convert from approved office space to residential use. MCA leaders acknowledged Tysons’ office-construction market has changed owning to pandemic-related stresses and the ongoing popularity of having employees work from home.
But if the applicants seek Site B’s conversion to residential use, the MCA board urged county officials to examine the proposal carefully in light of cumulative impacts of Tysons residential developments on traffic, schools and other public services. The MCA fully supported plans to build an interim park on Site B.
