WASHINGTON — Lingering construction cranes above the Tysons Corner station aren’t dimming expectations for massive changes as the Silver Line prepares to open Saturday.
“For a lot of our retailers … to be able to take public transportation right to their doorstep is a real benefit when they’re looking for prospective employees,” says Tysons Corner Center Director of Marketing Bob Maurer.
While the mall has long been a hub for buses, the direct connection to Metro’s new Tysons Corner Station opens the mall to shoppers who would otherwise head to Ballston or Pentagon City.
“Potentially those are shoppers, concertgoers that haven’t been Tysons’ shoppers before,” says Maurer.
But despite similarities to other transit-connected malls (there are plans for an ice rink in the winter and concerts in the summer on the open-air plaza that connects the mall to the Metro station) Maurer says people from all parts of the region will have a new reason to boost business in Fairfax County.
“This is very different than any of those places. I think when the public gets to know this plaza it’s going to be reminiscent of Rockefeller Center, it’s going to be reminiscent of Bryant Park in New York, that was really our vision in building this,” he says.
The Rockefeller Center inspiration will carry into the winter with fire pits and a giant tree for the holidays.
“All these trees are going to be illuminated, we’re going to have a 50 foot tree in the middle, and the public can come in and, from an iPad, say,
