In the future, residents of The Mile in Tysons might be able to grab a bite to eat, take their kids to a playground and watch a concert all within their own 5-acre neighborhood park.
A cafe with food trucks, a signature playground and a plaza with a stage are among the amenities being proposed by property owner and developer Link Logistics for The Mile’s “Signature Park,” according to a final development plan (FDP) recently submitted to Fairfax County.
The application offers a more detailed look at the current vision for the publicly accessible urban park, which has been a central element of The Mile since the overall development was initially approved by the county’s Board of Supervisors in July 2019.
“The Applicant has worked closely with staff to develop the new vision for Signature Park, and with this FDP application the Applicant intends to continue to collaborate with the County to refine this vision and advance the design of the park prior to its construction,” Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh land use attorney Robert Brant wrote in a July 17 statement supporting the application.
Replacing the 38-acre Westpark Business Campus bounded by Westbranch Drive, Jones Branch Drive and Westpark Drive in north central Tysons, The Mile was planned in 2019 as a 3-million-square-foot mixed-use development with five residential buildings, four buildings that could have housing, office or a hotel, and a 5,000-square-foot retail kiosk in Signature Park.
However, only one of the residential buildings — Brentford at the Mile — has been completed since then, while the remainder of the property continues to be dominated by office buildings and parking lots.
Link Logistics is currently seeking to revise the original master plan to allow townhouses as an alternative to multifamily residential buildings on three blocks of The Mile, including Block B, where a 400-unit apartment building with a Public Storage facility had been approved in 2022.
With that rezoning application still under review by county staff ahead of scheduled public hearings this fall, the developer’s submission of a final plan for Signature Park suggests it hopes to speed up delivery of the space.
According to the FDP, the park is expected to be completed in conjunction with a building on Block F that could be either office, hotel or multifamily residential space, but it’s designed so some elements can be implemented with “the first phase” of construction on the townhouse blocks, which surround it on three sides.
One of those elements would be a segment of the Tysons Community Circuit, a 10-foot-wide trail that Fairfax County hopes will eventually extend 4.75 miles looping through Tysons. A portion of the trail would be constructed on the southern edge of Signature Park’s block along a future Mile Avenue connecting Westbranch and Jones Branch drives.
Located at 7925 Jones Branch Drive on Block E of the development, the park would be built on a 6-acre site currently occupied by a seven-story office building constructed in 1981, per county property records.
Other proposed amenities include:
- A 36,000-square-foot lawn space large enough to accommodate a U-10 athletic field. The green space could be striped for athletic games and practices, or host community events and “general passive use like picnicking and play.”
- Two flexible “sports pitches” with hard-surface courts and a shade structure that could support futsal, basketball, floor hockey, soccer and other athletic activities
- A 4,250-square-foot Crossroads Plaza with a stage that could be used for concerts, farmers markets and other events
- An approximately 16,000-square-foot playground with “playful, interactive, and accessible play equipment designed to accommodate a variety of age groups”
- An approximately 1,040-square-foot cafe with public restrooms, accompanied by a food truck area, picnic gardens and pavilions
- Overlooks and terraced seating that partially encircles the lawn space to allow “amphitheater-style viewing”
Link Logistics is proposing to include over 10 acres of publicly accessible urban park space in The Mile, but Signature Park would be the main attraction.
“The Applicant looks forward to working with the County during the processing of this application to further refine its vision for Signature Park and delivering a public space that will be enjoyed by residents and visitors to Tysons for generations to come,” Brant wrote.
The FDP hasn’t been accepted for review yet by county planning staff, but the rezoning application proposing the shift to townhouses is slated to go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on Oct. 28, followed by a Board of Supervisors hearing on Nov. 17.
