Angela Woolsey | FFXnow

NEW: Man armed with gun sexually assaulted woman at hotel in Tysons, police say

Published October 17, 2022 at 4:30PM

Metro surveillance video showing a man police believe to be the suspect in a sexual assault at a Tysons hotel (via FCPD)

A woman was sexually assaulted by a man who brandished a firearm at a hotel in the Tysons West area earlier this month, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

The department’s Major Crimes Bureau Sex Abuse Squad is investigating a rape that reportedly occured on Oct. 1 at a hotel in the 8600 block of Westwood Center Drive — likely the Hawthorn Suites, according to a news release published today (Monday).

Countywide

Omicron booster vaccines for kids are here, as county prepares for potential winter Covid surge

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 17, 2022 at 3:00PM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 4:28PM

Fairfax Health District COVID-19 cases over the past 26 weeks, as of Oct. 17, 2022 (via VDH)

(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) Booster COVID-19 vaccinations for kids aged 5 to 11 were put on hold late last week, as the Fairfax County Health Department transitions to updated vaccines that target omicron variants of the disease.

Federal health officials expanded their recommendation for the bivalent booster vaccines to include that younger age group on Wednesday (Oct. 12), saying the updated shots will provide better protection against “more transmissible and immune-evading” variants.

News

Merrifield real estate agent and husband get prison time for stealing identities

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 17, 2022 at 2:15PM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 4:02PM

A model house with a magnifying glass and piggy bank in the background (via Photo by Tierra Mallorca/Unsplash)

A couple in Merrifield have been sentenced to prison for using the wife’s real estate job to steal people’s identities.

Caprice Foster, 51, and Marcus Foster, 33, took personal identifying information from at least nine people and used it to “buy a luxury vehicle, lease high-end residences, and obtain loans and credit,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said Friday (Oct. 14).

News

The Boro developer buys JCPenney stores in Fair Oaks, Springfield

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 17, 2022 at 11:45AM

Fair Oaks Mall sign (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Two of Fairfax County’s longstanding JCPenney stores recently changed hands, a move that could set the stage for their malls to transition to more mixed-use environments.

Announced in September, The Meridian Group — the Bethesda-based developer behind The Boro in Tysons — partnered with D.C. real estate firm Martin-Diamond Properties to acquire five JCPenneys, including the anchor stores at Fair Oaks Mall and Springfield Town Center.

News

NEW: Tysons Partnership will morph into the ‘Tysons Community Alliance’

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 17, 2022 at 11:00AM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 4:11PM

Welcome to Tysons sign (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) Tysons has its new anchor organization.

Tysons Partnership — the nonprofit charged with implementing Fairfax County’s vision for Tysons — will be phased out in favor of a newly created Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) that will advocate for local residents, businesses and nonprofits, the partnership announced today (Monday).

Countywide

Most-read Fairfax County stories of the week: Oct. 10-14

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 14, 2022 at 3:30PM | Updated October 21, 2022 at 8:12AM

Inside Vertical Rock's new Tysons gym (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The weekend is almost here. Before you check out the Richmond Highway corridor’s first parklet or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit the past week of news in Fairfax County.

Here are the 10 most-read stories on FFXnow this week:

Around Town

McLean church hosts benefit concert to fund medical supplies for Ukraine

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 14, 2022 at 3:00PM

A Ukraine love sign in Vienna (file photo)

A church in McLean and an orchestra based in Tysons have teamed up to do their part to assist humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.

The Virginia Chamber Orchestra will put on a free Benefit Concert for Ukraine in the McLean Baptist Church sanctuary (1367 Chain Bridge Road) at 4 p.m. this Sunday (Oct. 16).

Around Town

Halloween creeps up on Tysons early with mall trick-or-treating

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 14, 2022 at 2:15PM

Tysons Corner Center (file photo)

Halloween is showing up on Tysons Corner Center’s doorstep a couple weeks early this year.

The mall’s Fall Festival this weekend will include a full Halloween experience, with trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, and other activities.

News

County board OKs Somos project to speed up the creation of workforce housing in Tysons East

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 14, 2022 at 9:30AM

Developer SCG has revised its design for Somos to put the main entrance on Lincoln Street (via Fairfax County)

A development expected to significantly increase the availability of workforce housing in Tysons East won the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ approval on Tuesday (Oct. 11).

The board voted unanimously in support of SCG Development’s proposal to replace a six-story office building at 1750 Old Meadow Road with two connected, 8-story residential buildings with 453 workforce housing units.

Countywide

Fairfax County proposes developer incentives to encourage street trees

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 13, 2022 at 3:00PM

Trees line Avenir Place in Dunn Loring (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County planners want to cultivate more tree-lined streets, but to make that a reality, some more leeway for developers may be needed.

With a proposed pilot program, the county’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will let developers in more urbanized areas count street trees as part of their 10-year tree canopy requirements — an option already offered in Tysons.