Edited to correct a significant error 3/23/2019. The front face of the building is nearly as tall as it will get (except for the largest tower, still to be built). They still need to add another 7′ to the front corners of the building.
I hate to keep re-using that title. I used that phrase here, and here.
But today, as I was driving into town from Oakton, I noticed a big HVAC unit installed on top of the Chick-fil-A car wash — in plain sight. This was as I was driving down the hill from Emanuel Lutheran church.
I didn’t understand that, because a) I thought those walls were as tall as they were going to get, and b) I doubt they would have made a mistake like that. So one of those two things must be wrong. Either the walls are going to get taller, or we will be treated to the sight of their HVAC every time we come into town.
Turns out, the walls are not yet as high as they are going to go. I was mistaken in thinking I was looking at the finished height of the building. The existing “masonry” walls are 43′ above the ground floor of the building. (Masonry in quotes, because those were some sort of pre-cast panel, not bricks.) The picture below is the back corner of the building, from what I believe are the most recent plans available on the Town of Vienna website. The yellow “masonry” wall is 43′ above the first floor. Top of Masonry, 43′.
But they are going to hang “masonry” panels at the front and front corners to bring the “masonry” up to 47′ And then they are going to add some sort of fencing on top of that, to bring that whole front corner up to 50′ or so above ground level. At the right is the 43′ wall, and as you can see at the left, the “masonry” on the front rises to 47′. With some type of screening fence on top of that.
And then the tallest tower — shown there, but not yet built — will rise to 62′.
Bottom line, what you’re looking at now, as you drive into Town from Oakton, is not yet the finished height of front of the building. They’ve got about another 7′ or so to go to finish off the front face and corners. Edit: It appears that the front face is now full height, except for the short fence-like object to be added to the top. And then the towers above that.
So, I believe that’s why I can see the HVAC now. When they are done, there will be another 7′ of wall/fence, above the existing structure EDIT: on the front corners. And that will sit between the sight line coming down 123 and that HVAC unit.
