Fairfax County planning commissioners are recommending approval of a three-tower continuing-care compound on a 5-acre Tysons site currently occupied by the Shipgarten dining and entertainment complex.
If approved by the Board of Supervisors, the parcel at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Colshire Drive will be transformed into Corso Tysons — a 427-unit assisted-living facility along with a theater, restaurants and retail outlets that will be open to the public.
There also will be about 2.5 acres of publicly accessible parkland at the site in the Scotts Run area.
“It’s beautiful,” Sully District Planning Commissioner Evelyn Spain said leading up to the Oct. 21 vote in support of the project.
Spain called the French-infused exterior design “stunning.”
“It looks so different from your standard assisted living,” she said.
The project is being planned by Galerie Development. It is acquiring the site from Cityline Partners, which has developed much of the Scotts Run area of Tysons.
If the proposal wins final approval, two towers with 14 stories and one with 17 stories will rise during two phases of development.
The project will total about 831,000 square feet of development, slightly less than currently approved for the site. The floor-area ratio — a measure of the total interior space divided by total land area — is 3.81, down from 4.67 in the original Scotts Run plan from 2013, which called for a mix of office and residential space.
Planned amenities in Corso Tysons also include a spa, two pools and shops for ice cream and candy.
The proposal’s lack of office uses initially gave some planning commission members pause, given the property’s proximity to the McLean Metro station. But in the end, all were won over.
“It’s a difficult site, and I think you all have done a great job in trying to address the grade and build it appropriately,” said Providence District Commissioner Jeremy Hancock.
The architecture is “striking,” said Hancock, who represents the Providence District, where the parcel sits.
Commission Chair Phillip Niedzielski-Eichner said the proposal marked a solid debut for Galerie Development in its first Fairfax County project.
“It’ll be a great addition to Tysons,” Niedzielski-Eichner predicted.
Though not a prime focus of the commission meeting, the future of Shipgarten came up. Opened in summer 2022, the pop-up venue is home to Tysons Biergarten and regularly hosts a variety of events, from sports watch parties to festivals.
“Is somebody going to find a place for that?” Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina asked.
An attorney representing Atlanta-based Galerie Development said discussions were ongoing to find the complex a new home.
“Everyone does love it,” said Jill Parks, a land-use attorney with Ballard Spahr. “There are talks … trying to find perhaps another location that would suit it.”
Cortina joined the chorus of praise for Corso Tysons’ architecture going far beyond typical institutional design.
“It’s so different. It’s really going to appeal to a lot of people,” she said.
Under Galerie Development’s plans, all units could be used for both independent and assisted living, as needed. That would eliminate the need for residents to move within the facility if their circumstances change.
There also would be a memory-care facility on site.
As part of the development proffers, plans for intersection improvements at Chain Bridge and Colshire would be sped up.
The Oct. 21 meeting drew no public speakers for or against the proposal. The request for a conceptual development plan amendment is scheduled to go before the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing on Nov. 17.
