Renovations are underway on Clark Construction’s massive new office at Tysons’ Silverline Center (7900 Westpark Drive).

The Bethesda-based construction firm announced today (Tuesday) that it will move into the center’s 12-story office tower this fall, the first public confirmation of an expansion plan that FFXnow previously reported in early March.

“Clark Construction has played an important role in infrastructure development for Fairfax County and the region,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in the news release. “Their projects have helped move our commuters along faster and strengthen our local businesses. We welcome them to Tysons and look forward to continuing this cooperative effort.”

Founded in 1906, Clark’s major projects in the county have included The Boro in Tysons, the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Merrifield, the first skyscrapers at the Reston Town Center expansion, and improvements in the Route 28 corridor.

The company’s Tysons office will be 128,000 square feet in size and serve more than 550 employees, according to a zoning application currently under review by Fairfax County.

The application concerns proposed signage to advertise Clark’s presence at the Silverline Center. It’s scheduled to go before the county’s planning commission for a public hearing on Sept. 14.

“The new space is designed to provide a modern and collaborative hub for Clark’s infrastructure, building, and asset solutions teams along with many of Clark’s corporate departments that serve the company’s projects nationwide,” the company said.

The Tysons office will be Clark’s second in Fairfax County, joining an office owned by affiliate Shirley Contracting Company in Lorton. The company also has an office in Sterling for afflilate Clark Water, and it’s planning to add a location in Central Virginia to support projects in the Richmond area.

Clark also announced that it will maintain its corporate headquarters in Bethesda and double the size of an office in downtown Baltimore.

After first setting its roots down in Falls Church, Settle Down Easy Brewing is planning to open a second location soon.

The brewery, which describes itself as a “nano brewing operation” on its website, plans to open up shop at 2952E Chain Bridge Road in Oakton.

A summer opening is anticipated, a business representative told FFXnow. The owner was not immediately available for comment.

Established in 2018, the brewery serves a variety of beer and food items. Its flagship beers include No. 1 Dry Hopped Kolsch, hop Was Phonic, and 2 Cloud 9.

The new location will be next to Oakton Chesapeake Cafe.

Photo via Settle Down Easy/Facebook

Bode Technology, which assists Fairfax County and Virginia with forensic services, will spend $2 million to hire more staff to meet its growing needs.

Announced today (Monday) by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, the investment will help the company hire “additional senior and entry-level laboratory technicians, information technology and engineering professionals and other business support roles,” the news releases said.

“For more than 25 years, Bode Technology has called Virginia our home, and today’s announcement is a testament to that bond,” Bode Technology CEO Mike Cariola said. “To help fight crime, we need to hire the most talented scientists in the world, and the universities in Virginia and surrounding areas have been essential to our success.”

Located at 10430 Furnace Road, the company will get support from the Commonwealth through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, where state funding helps businesses recoup costs of adding jobs.

“Bode Technology is eligible to receive up to $850 per job, for a total of up to $60,350 for 71 net new jobs, from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP),” Virginia Economic Development Partnership spokesperson Suzanne Clark told FFXnow in an email. “VJIP is a performance-based incentive. Once a designated funding amount is approved, companies do not receive reimbursement until they have created the minimum net new, full-time jobs to qualify for funding and the new hires have been on the company’s payroll for at least 90 days.”

The company currently has 250 employees.

The governor’s news release noted that the state’s economic development authority worked with the Fairfax County EDA through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, which provides consultative services and funding to companies creating new jobs to support employee recruitment and training activities.

Bode Technology uses DNA to help law enforcement agencies track criminals, and it also reduces backlogs by processing sexual assault kits, among other services. According to the company, it helped identify victims of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks and the remains of U.S. soldiers dating back to World War II.

“Demand for our services has increased, and today we are recruiting talented scientists from across the country to join us here in Fairfax County so that we can continue our mission,” Cariola’s statement said.

Photo via FCEDA

Mars, Inc., the company that owns both M&M’s and Pedigree Petfoods, is planning to expand its existing headquarters in McLean.

According to an application submitted to Fairfax County on March 30, the American multinational manufacturer of candy, pet food, and other food items says that its current corporate home no longer meets its needs.

Since it started calling McLean home in 1984, the company has seen the number of employees at its office grow from 55 to over 150, according to the application.

Mars purchased a neighboring parcel next door at 6867 Elm Street in July 2020. It plans to demolish the building on that parcel and expand the existing building at 6885 Elm Street.

According to the application, the company plans to renovate the interior and exterior of the building with a more modern look.

“The new Mars Building will also feature a myriad of green building features in keeping with the values of both Fairfax County and Mars,” the application states. “At the same time, the architecture will remain respectful of its surroundings and be a building of which all of McLean will be proud.”

The expansion would add a little under 50,000 square feet to the Mars headquarters.

Surface parking will be replaced with garage parking, accessed via Elm Street.

Two curb cuts on Elm Street will be narrowed and utilities on the street will move underground. An arrival plaza is also planned to serve visitors dropped off by Uber and Lyft.

The project is in early planning phases and has not yet been accepted for review by the county.

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority store in North Point Village Center is temporarily closed.

But customers need not worry for long. The ABC store, located at 1454 North Point Village, is undergoing renovations and will expand from 2,500 square feet to 3,700 square feet.

Dawn Eischen, public relations manager for the authority, said no reopening date has been set yet.

“In the meantime, we recommend customers shop at the nearest store at 378 Elden Street in Herndon,” Eischen told FFXnow.

The landlord of the property is currently conducting construction work to prepare the store for expansion.

The authority plans to install fixtures and shelving once that work is completed.

The store closed on Jan. 28.

All of the state’s ABC stores resumed normal operating hours at the end of February as COVID-19 case numbers continued to fall in the region.

The village center recently saw its Subway close and Matsutake Sushi & Sake Bar open, replacing a former Boston Market. Bb.q Chicken — a Korean fried chicken spot — opened last July, replacing Jerry’s Subs.

The construction company behind some of the biggest development projects in the D.C. region, including The Boro and Reston Town Center’s expansion, is opening a new office in Tysons.

Clark Construction Group has leased over half of a 12-story building in the Silverline Center at 7900 Westpark Drive for a new regional and corporate office that will host over 550 employees, according to a zoning application submitted to Fairfax County.

The company confirmed that the expansion is in the works but told FFXnow that it has no comment to make at this time.

Clark is seeking a special exception from the county so it can mount two 200-square-foot signs on the Silverline tower to “identify its corporate presence in Tysons,” an attorney for the firm wrote in a statement of justification for the application.

Filed with the county on Feb. 22, the application originally identified the Tysons office as a corporate headquarters, suggesting that Clark was planning a move from its base in Bethesda. The Washington Business Journal also speculated in October that a relocation could be in the works based on the property owner’s marketing materials.

However, an employee at the headquarters office confirmed to FFXnow that the Tysons office is an expansion, not a relocation, and a revised statement of justification dated March 7 reflects that.

The new office will host Clark’s national construction and asset creation services, according to the statement.

Founded in 1906, Clark Construction currently employs more than 4,200 people and has 10 offices around the country. In addition to The Boro and two office buildings in RTC Next, the company’s work includes the first phase of Amazon’s second headquarters in Arlington, a project dubbed Metropolitan Park.

Built in 1987 and renovated in 2015, the Silverline Center has approximately 536,182 square feet of rentable space, according to owner Brookfield Properties. Current tenants include consultant Chartis Federal, First Steps Academy daycare center, Han Palace and Bourbon Coffee.

According to Clark, the building will be over 85% leased once the firm’s new office opens.

Photo via Google Maps