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Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) announces the grand opening of MIYU Beauty & Wellbeing located at Idylwood Plaza in Falls Church, Virginia.

Rooted in the Japanese language, MIYU translates to “you are beautiful.” This translation captures the essence of MIYU’s philosophy of highlighting the intrinsic connection between inner and outer beauty.

The 2,545 square-foot MIYU is located at 7505-P Leesburg Pike in Idylwood Plaza. Co-founded by partners Zeina Chouman El Eid and Karen Abouzeid, MIYU features affordable luxury services and self-care activities including non-toxic vegan friendly, cruelty free, and safe nail care, in addition to yoga, mat Pilates and reformer Pilates classes. Classes are designed for all levels of experience.

“We offer a tranquil haven and safe space to empower everyone,” said Karen Abouzeid, managing partner at MIYU. “MIYU’s skilled and experienced staff will guide our clients towards self-realization and unmatched confidence, while connecting them with like-minded individuals who share a passion for holistic living.”

“We enthusiastically welcome MIYU to the Idylwood Plaza,” said Deirdre Johnson, Senior Vice President, Asset Management at Federal. “The addition of this innovative concept to our community further emphasizes Idylwood Plaza as a popular dining, service, and shopping destination for Falls Church and the greater Northern Virginia community.”

A grand opening celebration is scheduled for Friday, February 2 at 4:30 p.m. City of Falls Church Vice Mayor Letty Hardi and Marybeth Conelly of the City of Falls Church City Council will attend.

MIYU is the first of several exciting openings coming to Idylwood in 2024. Later this year two restaurants will join MIYU and open at Idylwood:

About Idylwood Plaza:

Idylwood Plaza is a quaint, brick-faced center situated just inside DC’s Capital Beltway with close proximity to I-66. This conveniently located center is anchored by Whole Foods and features home furnishings retailer Bassett Furniture, as well as an assortment of dining options, including Starbucks, and services, from banking to spas.

About Federal Realty Investment Trust

Federal Realty is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation and redevelopment of high-quality retail-based properties located primarily in major coastal markets from Washington, D.C. to Boston as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Founded in 1962, Federal Realty’s mission is to deliver long-term, sustainable growth through investing in communities where retail demand exceeds supply. Its expertise includes creating urban, mixed-use neighborhoods like Santana Row in San Jose, California, Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, Maryland and Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts. These unique and vibrant environments that combine shopping, dining, living and working provide a destination experience valued by their respective communities. Federal Realty’s 102 properties include approximately 3,300 tenants, in 26 million square feet, and approximately 3,100 residential units.

Federal Realty has increased its quarterly dividends to its shareholders for 56 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty is an S&P 500 index member and its shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT. For additional information about Federal Realty and its properties, visit www.federalrealty.com.

First Watch is bringing its avocado toast and million dollar bacon to more spots around Fairfax County.

The fast-casual cafe, which serves made-to-order food and drinks for breakfast, brunch and lunch, will open at least two more locations in the county next year — with a third potentially also in the works.

First, a Franconia restaurant is on track to open next spring in Festival at Manchester Lakes (7027B Manchester Blvd), according to First Watch public relations manager Hunter Carpenter. It will occupy 4,500 square feet in a currently vacant corner building that once hosted Lucky’s Sports Theatre & Grill, per a site plan from property manager Regency Centers.

Carpenter also confirmed that First Watch will open at 12249 Fair Lakes Promenade Drive in fall 2024, replacing TGI Friday’s, as the Washington Business Journal reported this summer. The chain restaurant remains open for now, but its days are evidently numbered.

TGI Friday’s didn’t return a request for comment by press time.

“These restaurants will be our fourth and fifth locations in Fairfax County, respectively — and the newest additions to First Watch’s presence locally since its Bailey’s Crossroads opening in 2021,” Carpenter said.

With more than 500 restaurants nationwide, First Watch can also be found at Fair City Mall (9600 Main Street) in Fairfax and at Greenbriar Town Center (13027 Route 50) in Chantilly.

A permit currently under review by Fairfax County indicates that another cafe may be planned at Idylwood Plaza (7501 Leesburg Pike). The commercial alteration permit calls for a new storefront with interior and exterior wall demolition intended in part “to create a new covered patio area.”

Carpenter confirmed that First Watch has been “looking into new sites in the Falls Church area,” but no leases have been finalized yet. A public relations representative for Federal Realty, which manages Idylwood Plaza, said the company can’t provide any details until a lease is executed.

“[We] love the community and hope to grow there, but have not executed any recent leases yet and therefore have no new sites to announce at this time,” Carpenter told FFXnow. “We opened the doors to our first restaurant in Fairfax County nearly two decades ago, and we’re always looking for new ways to bring our take on breakfast, brunch and lunch to more of our neighbors.”

Started in Pacific Grove, California, in 1983, First Watch emphasizes its use of fresh ingredients and seasonal dishes that change five times a year based on “the position of the sun,” according to its website.

“This ever-evolving menu has included items like the Crab Avocado Toast, Barbacoa Quesadilla Benedict, Elote Mexican Street Corn Hash and Watermelon Wake-Up fresh juice, among many others,” Carpenter said.

The menu also includes classic breakfast foods like omelets, eggs benedict and pancakes, along with sandwiches, salads and quinoa bowls. Available drinks include a juice bar, iced coffee and cocktails for brunch.

According to Carpenter, some of the most popular menu items are avocado toast, lemon ricotta pancakes and the aforementioned Million Dollar Bacon, which is hardwood-smoked and baked with brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne and a maple syrup drizzle.

Both Franconia and Fair Lakes restaurants “are still in the construction and design phases,” he said. The dining rooms will have an “urban farm” style that combines “the rustic feel of a farmhouse with the modern elements of an urban loft.”

A major redevelopment has been suggested for Fallfax Center, a retail strip anchored by El Tio Tex-Mex Grill on the edge of Idylwood near Jefferson District Park.

Property owner Schupp Companies has put forward a proposal to replace the existing shopping center with a residential and retail “donut” building.

Schupp is asking Fairfax County to amend its comprehensive plan to allow multifamily residential uses and increased density on the 4.6-acre property at 7630 Lee Highway, one of 75 sites submitted to the county for a potential amendment in October.

“Leveraging its proximity to the bus/transit lines and depth/size of the subject property, this proposal will replace aging structures with attractive new development, that includes robust green space and modern stormwater management controls,” the developer said in a summary of its nomination.

The proposed 385,000-square-foot building would have 380 residential units with about 6,000 square feet of first-floor retail in a 6-story section facing Route 29 (Lee Highway). A section to the rear would start at five stories and drop to four next to the Lee Landing townhouses to the north and west of the property.

Both sections would have internal courtyards, according to a concept plan included with the nomination. They would be connected by a five-story residential structure with an internal parking garage and community swimming pool.

The development would “activate” Route 29 with a large adjacent patio and landscaped open space, and a “natural” buffer would be provided to separate the site from the adjacent townhomes, according to a statement of justification from Mark Viani, a land use agent representing Schupp.

“Collectively, these areas and the open space along Lee Highway, will greatly reduce the impervious nature of the Property and the proposed development will also include modern stormwater management controls,” Viani wrote.

Purchased by Schupp in 1989, the Fallfax shopping center dates back to 1955, per county land records, has evidently not been significantly renovated since it was constructed. The owner says the one-story buildings “are no longer efficient” and becoming “difficult to maintain.”

Current tenants include Settle Down Easy Brewing, Victor’s Grill, a Pizza Hut and Huqqa Lounge. The brewery could remain with the redevelopment, according to Viani.

The site also has two industrial buildings — Happy Tails dog day care and a vacant building once occupied by the commercial printer HBP — that are “an occasional source of concern” due to their proximity to the neighboring townhouses, the nomination says.

“The Nominator’s proposal will address Fairfax County’s need for housing and diversify the type of housing in the area,” Viani wrote, noting that a bus stop in front of the property provides access to Merrifield and the Dunn Loring Metro station.

The Fallfax redevelopment is one of dozens of proposals jockeying for inclusion in the county’s site-specific plan amendment program, which considers land use changes to the comprehensive plan for individual properties.

The process was revised this summer to have a shorter timeline, new submission criteria, and more frequent nominations countywide over two-year periods, as opposed to the previous four-year cycle that alternated between the north and south sides of the county.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to determine which site nominations to accept for review at its next meeting on Dec. 6. If the Fallfax proposal advances, Viani wrote that Schupp intends to file a rezoning application for review.

Photo via Google Maps

Less than two years after overhauling its plan for the West Falls Church Metro station area in Idylwood to allow more development, Fairfax County needs to make a relatively limited but critical revision.

During its meeting last Tuesday (March 21), the Board of Supervisors authorized a study of an amendment to the comprehensive plan for the West Falls Church Transit Station Area (TSA) that would allow more office on Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center at 7054 Haycock Road.

The amendment would also reduce the amount of institutional space proposed for the 7.5-acre property, reflecting changes to developer Rushmark Properties and the construction company HITT Contracting’s plan to expand the campus.

“The rezoning application by HITT Contracting and Rushmark Properties proposes a decrease in the planned institutional use by 120,000 square feet and an increase in general office use by approximately 62,000 square feet,” Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said in his motion asking the board to authorize the study.

Plans to redevelop Virginia Tech’s Idylwood campus have been percolating since 2018, when the university received an unsolicited bid from Rushmark. HITT got involved a year later, seeking to relocate its headquarters to the site.

That original pitch also called for a new academic building and a design and construction research center, along with an additional 250,000 square feet of office space, 500 residential units and 50,000 square feet of retail.

However, Virginia Tech announced on Feb. 28, 2021 that it and HITT had agreed not to move forward with the project. Despite that termination, the proposed development was still incorporated into the new West Falls Church TSA plan approved by the Board of Supervisors on July 12, 2021.

The plan allows 1,720 dwelling units, 301,000 square feet of office use, 48,000 square feet of retail, and 160,000 square feet of institutional use across the TSA, including on the adjacent Metro station property.

Rushmark and HITT put forward a new redevelopment plan last fall that would replace the existing Northern Virginia Center with a 283,000-square-foot office building, up to 440 residential units, and a 2,000-square-foot retail pavilion.

The newly requested plan amendment will be considered at the same time as that rezoning application, which is scheduled for a public hearing before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on June 7.

According to Foust, the use changes won’t affect the 2.5 floor area ratio now allowed on the Virginia Tech site or the overall development limits for the TSA.

Fairfax County’s plan to develop Ruckstahl Park in Idylwood with new amenities came into clearer focus this month.

Building off a 2015 master plan, the Fairfax County Park Authority board approved a scope for the approximately $2 million project at its final 2022 meeting on Dec. 14, the agency announced on Wednesday (Dec. 21).

Staff recommended that the 7.2-acre site at 2445 Idylwood Road get a picnic pavilion, an open play area, an accessible loop trail, a nature-themed playground, a “fitness cluster” and vehicle access and parking improvements. The project will also fund invasive species management efforts at the park.

“This is a valuable parcel inside the Beltway that came to us at an exceptional bargain,” Ken Quincy, the board’s Providence District representative, said. “The community has been very energetic and engaged throughout the process of defining the vision for the future. We’re very excited to move this project forward.”

Located just north of I-66, the parcels that make up Ruckstahl Park were previously occupied by a residential farm owned by Dr. Lillian Ruckstahl, who gave the land to the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust in her will when she died in 2008.

The park authority acquired the property from the NVCT for $250,000 in 2011. The transfer established a conservation easement that prohibits athletic fields, among other conditions, according to the master plan.

Noting that it’s “increasingly rare” to find land suitable for a public park in Idylwood, the master plan envisioned Ruckstahl as a mostly neighborhood-serving park designed to “preserve a sense of the open landscape” and provide “low impact community recreation opportunities.”

The conceptual development plan shows a trail looping around the park with exits onto Dunford Drive and Idylwood Road. Placed to accommodate a potential, future widening of Idylwood Road, the trail could be connected to nearby Idylwood Park and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail with additional pedestrian and bicycle facilities, the plan says.

The proposed vehicular amenities include a new parking lot with up to 20 spaces. Access would be provided off Idylwood Road in the same location as the former residential driveway.

The plan also calls for an existing field to be retained as an open space for recreation and community gatherings, an educational nature playground for kids, a picnic area or outdoor classroom, benches and other furnishings, and intepretive signs about the site’s environment or history.

Well before Ruckstahl moved in during the 1950s, the land had been part of a plantation called “The Mount” that lasted from the mid-1700s to around 1900, when it was broken up and sold off for smaller farms in the Civil War’s wake, according to the FCPA.

The property also became one of the county’s first formally recorded archaeological sites in the 1960s after archaeologists found artifacts dating back to the Archaic Period, though the master plan says “little can be gleaned from the records about how the site was used.”

Funded by the county’s 2020 park bond, developing Ruckstahl Park could produce $7,000 in annual revenue for the park authority, while costing $4,000 a year to maintain with an estimated lifetime cost of $1 million after 20 years.

The FCPA says permitting will begin in “the first part” of 2023, and construction could start in the first quarter of 2024.