Workers and visitors at Capital One Center can now take a more direct route to and from the McLean Metro station.
After years of planning and construction, a new entrance with bicycle parking has opened on the station’s north side facing Capital One Drive, providing easier access to the development on Capital One’s Tysons campus, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced last week (Nov. 17).
“The new entrance provides a more efficient and direct connection to Capital One Center that includes Capital One Hall, the Watermark Hotel, the Perch, and Capital One Park,” Metro said in a statement to FFXnow. “Plus [there’s] a connection to parking garages that will provide additional parking opportunities for Metro customers.”
Exciting news for customers using McLean station! A new north entrance has opened, providing a second access point to the station in a growing area of Fairfax County.
Thank you, Fairfax County Government, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, and Capital One for partnering with us!
— Metro (@wmata.com) November 17, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Urban park amenities start to open
Those “additional parking opportunities” will be provided by Capital One as part of the urban park that the banking giant has been constructing for more than a year right outside the new north entrance.
Authorized by the Fairfax County Planning Commission in October 2022, Metro Park features paved paths and boardwalks, an athletic court, outdoor seating, a play area and a seasonal ice skating rink — all built on top of five levels of underground parking.
When proposing the park, Capital One had indicated that the garage would provide additional parking for its growing development in the short term before serving an office building planned for the west side of the 3.4-acre site. A final site plan approved by the county in July showed 289 spaces in the garage.
It’s unclear if any parking spots will be reserved specifically for Metro users, but a sign posted above the garage — which isn’t yet open — says the first hour will be free. Rates will range from $2 for one to two hours to a maximum of $25 for six to 24 hours.
Capital One has also proposed adding interim parking at 1600 Scotts Crossing Road for Capital One Park, its baseball stadium, and the adjacent Capital One East Park, which opened in September with a variety of playground equipment. County staff are currently reviewing a site plan for a nine-level, above-grade garage that will include a four-floor practice facility for the stadium.
Meghan Trossen, Capital One’s senior manager of marketing and community affairs, stated that more details about the Metro Park garage and other amenities will be forthcoming.
According to Capital One Center’s website, the 8,000-square-foot ice skating rink in Metro Park will be available starting in early December through February 2026. Tickets for one-hour time slots can be reserved online through Eventbrite.
Capital One Center is “excited” to unveil the park on a block that has either been an active construction zone or a construction staging area for years, Trossen says:
We’re excited about Metro Park — Capital One Center’s newest outdoor plaza and recreational area — which is open for foot traffic! For several years, this area between the McLean Metro Station and Capital One Hall, the Perch and the Watermark was a construction zone while we built the new outdoor space.
With construction now complete, Metro commuters have the option of a new — and more pleasant — walking route between the McLean Metro stop and campus thanks to our partnership with WMATA, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority and Fairfax County to open a campus-facing set of doors at the McLean station.
New Metro entrance ‘shining example’ of partnership
Opened in 2014 with the first phase of Metro’s Silver Line, the McLean station has seen its average daily rail ridership surpass its pre-pandemic numbers, as of mid-November of this year, according to WMATA data.
Until now, however, the station was only accessible from the south side via ground-level doors and an elevated pedestrian bridge over Route 123 (Dolley Madison Blvd).
As Capital One’s plans for developing its headquarters campus took shape, promising more activity on the north side of the station, the company partnered with WMATA and Fairfax County to design and build a north entrance that could provide a more convenient connection for area residents and office workers.
With an estimated total cost of $1.3 million, the project was funded with a $300,000 proffer contribution from Capital One and $1 million in I-66 toll revenues awarded to Fairfax County by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) in 2020 as part of its Commuter Choice program.
Fairfax County Department of Transportation Deputy Director Martha Coello called the opening of the north entrance “another shining example” of what’s possible when the public and private sectors “come together to enhance transportation infrastructure in Fairfax County.”
“We’re very proud to have worked with WMATA, NVTC and Capital One to create this entrance which significantly improves access to Metrorail within the rapidly growing area at Capital One Center,” Coello said. “Creating easier and convenient access to public transportation plays a key role in encouraging travelers to take advantage of the incredible transit options to move around the region.”
Initially identified as Capital One’s marketing director, Meghan Trossen’s title has been corrected.
