A new company seeking to “preserve culture, stability and tradition” has set its sights on Tysons as a potential home for a mixed-use development anchored by a cultural research institute.
Keyserling Management Group (KMG) has hired the McLean-based commercial real estate firm SVN Providence Realty Advisors to scout out and evaluate possible sites in Tysons for the future 450,000-square-foot development.
According to a press release, the initial concept for the project calls for a 165-room hotel, up to 200 apartments, offices, retail, dining, a public atrium and a landscaped park in addition to the Kayden Institute, which is described on KMG’s website as a “research, development and cultural center for innovation in the sciences, technology, political theory, philosophy, economics and religion.”
The proposed institute would host a research library open to researchers with approved proposals as well as spaces available to the public and outside groups, including the atrium, a chapel and podcast rooms.
Potential programming in the atrium could include lectures, educational seminars, exhibitions, film screenings and theatrical performances.
Athletic facilities are also planned, including a dojo that will offer kendo and kenjutsu training, a rock climbing wall, and courts for basketball, badminton and pickleball, according to the website.
“We envision the cultural institute as an active part of everyday life, with the atrium functioning as a public square for leisure, work, and cultural exchange,” KMG Managing Member Joseph Michael said in the release. “Exhibitions and performances would bring together residents, hotel guests, researchers, and visitors.”
According to KMG’s website, it is a business management company founded by the late Keiko “Kay” Berg, who died in April after a 40-plus-year business career that included founding roles in the Centillion Corporation, a consulting firm, and HemoCue USA, which sells medical devices.
KMG was registered with Virginia’s State Corporation Commission on April 17. Its listed office address is in Fairfax City.
Michael says KMG emerged out of his and Berg’s collaborations over the years in business management and “civic engagement … in traditional conservative politics.”
“We have always been interested in finding ways to help solve some of modern civilization’s economic, social and political problems and at the same time move business forward to support people’s lives,” he told FFXnow by email. “We knew that education, innovation, ideas, inventiveness and investing for future generations has to be the way forward.”
In addition to working with Berg at the Centillion Corporation and other companies, Michael has worked more recently as a campaign manager for a Republican candidate for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District in 2024 and a consultant for the conservative political action group American Majority Action, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Michael’s profile also identifies him as an “advocate for America First policies” who campaigned with the Fairfax County Republican Committee to back Glenn Youngkin’s gubernatorial bid in 2021 and supported President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the 2024 election.
Accordingly, the vision for the research and education planned at the Kayden Institute appears to have a conservative bent. Its website extols the views of fascist Italian philosopher Julius Evola, noting that he saw women’s role in society as that of a “teacher and nurturer” whose duties included “aiding men in their spiritual transcendence” before stating that the institute will be “open to men and women, and people of all backgrounds.”
As part of the institute, KMG is planning to develop and produce educational films and books. Per its website, the first movie is expected to be released in January 2028 and will depict the Spanish Civil War with dictator Francisco Franco as a “devout religious man” who led a fight “to eradicate the dark forces of liberal internationalism and communism.”
However, Michael says KMG’s interests are more in “spiritual, intellectual and cultural conservativism rather than being exclusively politically partisan.”
“We find there is a lot of common ground on most of these issues with people,” Michael said.
According to Michael, the Kayden Institute will be open to the general public with no admissions requirement. At some point, accredited courses with transferable credits will be offered, but they won’t be available initially.
Estimating that the future development will cost $200 to $250 million to build, KMG has targeted Tysons as a potential location because of its proximity to D.C., the presence of four Metro stations, and concentration of corporate headquarters and technology and professional services businesses.
“The area’s continuing transformation into a walkable urban center complements KMG’s development vision,” the press release says.
Per the release, organizations and individuals interested in working with KMG on the development, research or cultural programming should contact that company, while property owners and brokers can reach out to SVN.
