2022's Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: Tysons Corner Center is No. 2

Tysons Corner Mall, located in the affluent western suburbs of Washington, D.C., is a name familiar to everyone in retail real estate, like DiMaggio in baseball or Chamberlain in basketball. Opened in 1968, it was one of the prototypes of the Class A mega-malls with a selection of more than 300 stores and restaurants. Folks from all over the Capital region go there to shop classic retailers like Nordstrom and Bloomingdales and dine at Eddie V’s and The Capital Grille.

Beginning in 2015, Tysons Corner Mall began a transformation into Tysons Corner Center and became the prototype for malls in the post-COVID era seeking to change their business plans from shop-shop-shop to live-work-play.

In that year, Macerich, owner-operator of Tysons Corner undertook a 1.4 million-sq.-ft. expansion aimed at turning the property into a 24/7 urban hub. Soon encircling the original mall was an 18-story Hyatt Regency hotel, a 22-story Tysons Tower office building, and VITA Tysons Corner, a 429-unit luxury apartment tower connected to the Tysons Corner Silver Line Metro Station that transports commuters into D.C.

At its 1.5-acre Plaza, Tysons Corner Center is now rife with round-the-clock and round-the-calendar events. During the property’s Summerfest celebration, residents, shoppers, and office workers are treated to happy hours, movies, game nights, fitness classes, and a concert series. As the weather cools, the Plaza celebrates Oktoberfest and year-end holidays.

“Tysons Corner was always one of the dominant retail venues on the East Coast. Now it’s so much more. People live there, people work there, visitors stay at the hotel there and the Plaza is the center of activity in what’s become a community within the community,” said Macerich’s executive VP of asset management Cory Scott, who was the property lead at Tysons Corner during the renovation.

Macerich has long been a leading force in sustainability in retail real estate, and Tysons Corner is one of its great accomplishments in this area. The entire center is LEED Gold-designated and BREEAM-certified.

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