In two recently-filed applications, subsidiaries of the Tysons-based financial company are proposing new permanent and temporary amenities for Capital One Center, as well as the parcel once known as “Scott’s Run North” across the street. A public plaza is planned for the (future) north entrance to the McLean Metro station, which will be complemented on a temporary basis by volleyball courts and pop-up retail. The proposal includes a new public park and a baseball field.
Capital One Center
Capital One Center has gone through numerous iterations over the past decade, as the bank has refined its vision for what the mixed-use neighborhood should look like. When fully built-out, the project will consist of six blocks—last year, development was completed on the third block, which contains a performing arts center, supermarket, hotel, and rooftop skypark. Construction on the fourth block is ongoing and expected to be completed in 2023.
The fifth block, “Block D,” is the subject of one of the recent applications. The ultimate condition for this block will feature an office tower and a residential highrise, both facing a recessed plaza. As construction of these towers is not anticipated until sometime in the future, Capital One is proposing to build the plaza (or urban park) first, and in the place of the towers, hosting a variety of amenities. The residential site to the northeast would be used for volleyball courts, and the office site to the southwest would be used by a third-party to provide retail facilities and other recreational uses, such as athletic courts. The underground parking for the future residential building would also be constructed—the plaza would exist directly above it and impede subsequent subterranean construction.
These new public amenities would join the already-built attractions throughout the development: public art and sculptures; as well as the amphitheater, beer garden, food court, and miniature golf course situated on the Perch, Capital One Center’s skypark on the roof of the performing arts center. In addition to the Wegmans supermarket, Capital One is actively seeking retail tenants for the ground floors of each of the newly-constructed buildings. Sisters Thai was recently announced as a new tenant on the same block as Wegmans.
Capital One East
The other application is for the Scott’s Run North property, purchased by Capital One in 2019. Before that point it had been managed by Cityline Partners LLC, the master planner of the neighboring Scotts Run and Arbor Row projects. This plot of land at the north corner of Scotts Crossing Road and Dolley Madison Boulevard—now referred to as “Capital One East” in the development plan’s statement of justification—was occupied by a low-rise office park until the land was cleared for a surface parking lot to serve the McLean Metro station that opened in 2014. The parking lot is used for commuter parking, and recently for community events hosted by Capital One, such as a drive-in movie theater.
In 2013, Cityline Partners obtained zoning approval from Fairfax County to improve the lot with up to 1.5 million square feet of development in as many as seven mixed-use highrise buildings over four blocks, pitched at the time as a part of the overall Scotts Run development. The conceptual development plan included a public park in one of the blocks, situated at the northwest corner of the property. This month’s application is a final development plan (FDP) for that park, with a baseball field proposed as an interim use on the site of the two northern blocks. The remainder of the parcel would remain as a parking lot to serve the park and ballfield.
The 0.69-acre public park is proposed to have several amenities, among which may be “water features, landscaping, a mix of hardscape and natural materials, a play area, a fitness zone, a plaza/seating area adjacent to food truck parking, [and] bathrooms,” according to the application. Other potential features on the development plan include a carousel and gardens. Like the urban park at Capital One Center, this proposed park would be built to its ultimate and final condition.
The baseball field would be privately owned and operated, although it will be made available to local groups. Prior to the development of Capital One Hall, the Capital One headquarters campus had a similar baseball field, and Capital One intends to use the new field in the same manner. This field would eventually be replaced by construction of the buildings that were approved in the 2013 rezoning. No development timeline was provided, but it would not be surprising to see the baseball field remain for many years while the company continues development of its main headquarters campus.
A massing rendering of Scotts Run North/Capital One East from the 2013 rezoning application. Image Credit: Cityline Partners, Smithgroup, and Fairfax County 
Landscape Plan of Scotts Run North/Capital One East from the 2013 rezoning application. Image Credit: Cityline Partners, Smithgroup JJR, and Fairfax County 
Landscape Plan for the public park and ball field. Image Credit: William H. Gordon Associates, Inc., Fairfax County, Capital One 
Plan for the Capital One East park. Image Credit: William H. Gordon Associates, Inc., Fairfax County, Capital One 
Plan for the Capital One East baseball field. Image Credit: William H. Gordon Associates, Inc., Fairfax County, Capital One
The applications are currently under review by Fairfax County staff. Final Development Plans require a public hearing and approval from the county Planning Commission, but do not go before the Board of Supervisors. Land use applications can typically take one or two years for review, but smaller projects like these might sometimes be approved in as few as six months, depending on a variety of factors. No public hearing has been scheduled at this point.