Uncertainty About Casino In Tysons To Continue Into 2025: Alcorn

Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) issued the following statement in response to the Virginia Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee's decision to carry over Senate Bill 675 to the 2025 legislative session.

News from the General Assembly this morning (Feb. 6) – the casino bill SB 675 was officially carried over to 2025, killing it for this year. Unfortunately, the uncertainty about a casino in our community continues into next year. I want to thank Senator Jennifer Boysko (District 38) for her efforts today to try to kill the bill without carrying it over. I also want to thank community members who traveled to Richmond today and during recent weeks to make their opposition to a casino on the Silver Line abundantly clear.

As stated in the Chairman’s recent letter on the bill, Tysons is the economic engine of Fairfax County and the Commonwealth. It is home to four Fortune 500 headquarters. According to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority 1 out of every 5 jobs in Fairfax County is based in Tysons. The most recently calculated office vacancy rate in Tysons is less than 17%, and leasing renewals are some of the strongest in the DMV. And trophy office space near metro on the Silver Line is leasing at the highest rates in the DMV.

Tysons is not declining, it is growing. The casino bill is a distraction that should never impact the most valuable real estate in the Commonwealth. It also creates uncertainty that could make attracting additional major employers more challenging.

Fairfax County has an ambitious, community-supported comprehensive plan for transit station areas around all Silver Line stations. A casino is not in those plans, and brazen attempts by developers and casino operators to buy necessary government approvals is a fool’s errand at best, and unethical at worst.

Supervisor Walter Alcorn
Hunter Mill

Related:

• Tysons Casino Bill's Fate Decided In VA Senate
• 'Kill Casino Bill,' Hundreds Call On Lawmakers To Oppose SB 675
• Tysons Casino Bill May Still Be Alive In VA Legislature: Lawmakers
• Tysons Casino Bill On Hold After Subcommittee Vote; Opponents React

Read all of Patch's reporting on Comstock Companies' plan to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.