Dr. G's Upcoming Tysons Corner Road Changes - 02/28/10 02:20 PM
The Washington Post's Dr. G's latest blog has a few road closings and other traffic changes due to the Silver Line Metro project in Tysons Corner.  The first is this Friday starting at 8:00 p.m. and running through Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. when "all northbound lanes of Route 123 near the Dulles Connector Road (Route 267) [will be shut] between McLean and Tysons Corner."  Traffic will be detoured as follows: "Northbound through traffic will be detoured: a right turn on Anderson Road, left on Chain Bridge Road, left on Great Falls Street, then right on northbound Route 123."
The next will … (0 comments)

February's Record Snow Fall Won't Affect Silver Line Metro Project Timeline - 02/26/10 05:13 PM
The four storms that hit the Washington, D.C.-area earlier this month certainly wreaked havoc on the area and disrupted nearly everything.  At a recent update meeting on the status of the Tysons Corner Metro Extension project, planners indicated that the heavy snow while disrupting work for a bit won't have any real impact on the budget or timing of the project. 
The meeting was covered by the Vienna Connection, which also provided other update on the project, including the fact that "that roughly 85 percent of the design work for the 23-mile rail and its 11 stations had been completed."  Construction … (0 comments)

Not Out of the Woods Yet - 02/25/10 07:36 PM
At least two news stories earlier this week indicate that this current housing slump is not showing signs of subsiding just yet.  Firstly, the government reported that January saw the lowest new-home sales on record, according to wire reports as covered in the Austin Statesman.  "The U.S. Department of Commerce reported Wednesday that new-home sales dropped 11.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 309,000 units, the lowest level on records going back nearly a half-century."
In the same Statesman business round-up, they covered the bad news out of Freddie Mac.  The mortgage giant "lost almost $26 billion … (1 comments)

Plans for McLean's Salona Park Underway - 02/23/10 04:12 PM
As the Commissioner of McLean's youth football program, I have been invited to attend planning meetings by Fairfax County for the creation of another park our town.  Named Salona, the area is located off of Dolley Madison Blvd. on the left hand side as you head from the GW Parkway, past the CIA, towards McLean Center.
According to the County's webpage dedicated to the new park, the piece of land "is a privately owned 51-acre historic property with significant natural and cultural features."  (See the photograph on the left courtesy of Fairfax County).  The County has a "perpetual easement" on 41-acres for park use, … (0 comments)

Even Senators Can Get Caught In A Market Correction - 02/22/10 01:23 PM

I ran across an interesting tidbit from the Dallas Morning News about Kay Bailey Hutchinson, the senior senator from Texas who is currently running for Governor of that state this fall. 
Coming in at Number 18 in their article, "50 things you need to know about Kay Bailey Hutchinson,"  is the following: "She and her husband, Ray, sold their house in McLean, Va., in October for $1.4 million. That's $170,000 less than they bought it for in 2006."  The home is pictured to the left (photo courtesy of MRIS).
When you've got to sell, you've got to sell I guess, particularly when … (0 comments)

Lack of Parking an Issue with the Tyson's 40 Year Plan - 02/20/10 02:09 PM
Since Fairfax County released it's revised 40 year plan for the development of Tysons Corner, people have been poring through the document and raising objections to what it contains.  According to the Washington Business Journal, parking, and potentially lack there of, is the latest concern.
At a public meeting to discuss the plan, held on Thursday night at the Fairfax County Government Center, planners had to address concerns about parking availability.  According to the Journal, under "the new plan, non-transit-oriented developments in Tysons will be defined as any residential or commercial development beyond a half-mile from any of the four incoming Metro stations. Office developments in … (1 comments)

McLean Community Center (MCC) Summer Camp Registration Open - 02/19/10 01:09 PM
It's hard to imagine with all this snow on the ground that summer will ever come.  However, the summer's just around the corner and registration is now open for several of the McLean Community Center's camps.  These are very popular, particular Camp McLean, so if you're interested jump on them soon.
Here's the list of camps with links per the MCC website:
MCC's Summer' Sensational Day Camps:Before you know it, it'll be summer again!  Here's a sneak peak at some of the 2010 camp programs we plan to offer.
Camp McLeanSummer Theatre CampCamp ShakespeareMcLean Project for the Arts' Art CampsCamp AbrakadoodleOld Firehouse … (0 comments)

Missed School Days Due to Snow...Now What? - 02/18/10 09:40 AM
As the Metropolitan, D.C.-area continues to dig out from the historic snow fall of the past few weeks (literally, there is a front-end loader widening my street as I type), children are finally making their way back to school.  Problem is they missed nearly 10 school days this month and this doesn't count the days they were out as a result of the pre-Christmas blizzard.
According to WJLA, the great debate has begun about how to make up the days.  By law, Virginia and Maryland, like many other states, require 180 days of "instruction."  There is the option to try to … (2 comments)

BofA Reporting Credit Card Late Payments are Down - 02/17/10 01:44 PM
One of the best indicators of where our over-leveraged economy stands is to look at credit card payments.  According to Business Week, the biggest U.S. lender, Bank of America, reported that "late payments on credit-card loans fell to 7.35 percent in January, the lowest in a year."  Last year, however, default rates for the industry were at an all time high.
According to the article, CapitalOne and Visa credit cards, however, reported that their delinquency rates rose in January.  So it seems like it's still a mixed bag.
What also needs to be factored is that many consumers settled with credit … (0 comments)

Revised Timeline for Tysons Corner Plan Adoption - 02/16/10 06:27 PM
After getting deluge with a series of snow storms, which shut everything down for a week or so, scheduled meetings and timelines have gotten blown to pieces.  I know my children will be in school until just about July 4th this year, a concept I tried to explain to them during their 6 school day layoff.
Last month, Fairfax County released a revised 40-year plan for the development of Tysons Corner and included a timeline for a series of open meetings to discuss the blueprint and to receive public comment.  Below is the revised meeting schedule post Blizzard 2010.
 

… (0 comments)

1st Stage Theatre: Tysons Corner's Very Own Troupe - 02/12/10 01:58 PM
If Tysons Corner is going to have its own Metro, it certainly deserves to have a theatre group as well.  Back in September 2008, 1st Stage Theatre, Tysons Corner's own theater group, opened its doors for business.
According to their website, "1st Stage was founded so that...young emerging talents could do what they were trained to do. Young professionals need to get experience, build a resume, and test their resolve to pursue this life. We want to be that 'first stage' in their careers: a place to struggle with the art, learn from their discoveries and their mistakes, and find pride in … (3 comments)

Fairfax County Seeks Federal Grant Money for Tysons Bus Service - 02/11/10 05:03 PM
Fairfax County has is seeking part of a new $130 million federal grant program to help pay for the shuttle bus lines planned for when the Silver Line is completed in 2013, according to the Washington Post's The Breaking News Blog.  According to the Blog, "Fairfax applied for $11.25 million of the competitive grant, which is open to state and local governments. The money would help pay for a proposed "Tysons Link" service, consisting of five routes that would usher riders among the Silver Line stations, office complexes and shopping malls."
Most of the money ($9 million) would go for new … (1 comments)

WSJ: "No Exit In Sight" For Mortgage Crisis - 02/10/10 02:41 PM
 
The Wall Street Journal paints a rather bleak picture for the current U.S. mortgage crisis and the health of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in particular.  According to the piece in yesterday's paper, nearly "a year and a half after the outbreak of the global economic crisis, many of the problems that contributed to it haven't yet been tamed."
The paper also disagrees with the Obama Administration's plans for allowing defaulted homeowners to hang onto their houses.  It added that derivatives "contracts of the kind that crippled American International Group Inc. still trade in the shadows. And investors remain heavily reliant on … (0 comments)

McLean's January 2010 Condo Sales A Mixed Bag - 02/08/10 08:30 AM
While the January 2010 single family and townhome sales activity show real positive signs for the local market, the condo sales last month didn't indicate much progress and was similar to the January 2009 numbers.
Seven condos changed hands in 2010, only one more than in January 2009.  This is significantly lower than numbers for January 2006 (17), January 2007 (13), and January 2008 (12).  The January 2010 median list ($375,000) and median sold ($355,000) were lower than January 2009 but not the lowest in the past 5 years.  Only January 2008 posted lower numbers in both median list and median … (1 comments)

Super Size Problem For Super Bowl Sunday - 02/07/10 12:30 PM
As the Metropolitan, D.C. area began the long digging out process, I had an even bigger problem than getting my driveway cleared.  The TV had lost signal at some point during the day yesterday as the snow continued to fall, and fall.  And, today is Super Bowl Sunday with the biggest football game of the year scheduled to begin in just a few hours.
Since we have DirecTV, I immediately thought of the dish.  After finally venturing outside only to find my evergreens on their side, I could only imagine what my dish looked like.  Sure enough, one glance up on … (13 comments)

VA Governor McDonnell Uses Tysons Corner Event To Outline Job Creation Initiatives - 02/05/10 10:00 AM

The recently inaugurated Governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, wasted no time in addressing the number 1 issue on everyone's mind these days: job creation.  On January 27, he addressed nearly 500 technology business leaders, who were attending the Northern Virginia Technology Council's (NVTC) Public Policy series, held at the Tysons Ritz, according to the Vienna Connection.
In his address, according to the news outlet, Governor McDonnell said his goal is to be the "jobs governor."  He also said we "need to create an environment where the private sector can thrive in order to promote entrepreneurship and attract new business to … (0 comments)

Last Month's McLean Townhouse Sales One of the Strongest Januaries in 5 Years - 02/04/10 01:50 PM
The market for townhouses last month was arguably the strongest of any of the past five Januaries.  Comparing January 2010 to the four previous Januaries, the 7 that sold was the most, edging out January 2006, when 6 changed hands.  The 60 Med. DOM-P was the least in January 2010, less than half the time townhouses remained on the market in January 2009.  Only January 2006 had a higher median list price ($925,000 compared to January 2010's $789,500) and a higher sold price ($850,000 compared to last month's $775,000).
It is important to remember that McLean doesn't have a huge number … (0 comments)

Another Snow Storm, What A Surprise! - 02/03/10 04:36 PM
Well, just as my children predicted, we got another dose of the white stuff over night in McLean.  The timing was perfect...for my kid's sake.  It started snowing in the late afternoon yesterday and didn't stop until the early morning.  This ensured yet another a snow day from school. 
According to Wikipedia, the average snowfall for the Washington, D.C. area is 16.6 inches.  We got that and then some in just the one storm that hit right before Christmas!  Add that to the snow last Saturday and the snowfall over night, and we've just about doubled the average.
Did I mention … (5 comments)

Developers and Community Leaders Grapple With Tysons' Proposed Growth - 02/02/10 03:06 PM
With the release of the revised 40 year plan for Tysons Corner last month and subsequent public meetings, clear differences are emerging regarding how to manage the expected growth of Tysons Corner.  According to the Fairfax Times, planners would "allow Tysons to grow to about 96,600 residents and 190,500 jobs in up to 116 million square feet of development over the next 40 years. Tysons current population is 18,500, with 112,600 jobs."
According to the news outlet, there seemed to something for everyone to complain about.  Developers "griped about some proposed conditions and residents of neighboring communities aired their lingering fears … (1 comments)

January 2010 McLean Single Family Home Sales Signal A Return to Normalcy - 02/01/10 06:06 PM
The most startling piece of information when examining the January sales for single family homes in McLean over the past 5 years is how low the January 2009 market fell.  In January 2009, only 15 single family homes sold, the fewest in the last five years, after staying on the market for 120 days, the longest DOM-P in the past five years.  More striking is that the median list price of $649,900 and median sold price of $648,500 was half the values versus January 2007, which saw prices at $1,310,000 and $1,300,000 respectively.
In January 2010, fortunately, the market rebounded and … (0 comments)

 
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Craig Richardson

McLean, VA

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National Realty

Address: 6226 Old Dominion Dr., McLean, VA, 22101

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