New Art Debuts at Tysons Walmart

Shoppers at the new Walmart in Tysons West will get to take in some local art while they buy their groceries.

Developers JBG Rosenfeld Retail unveiled Robert Cole’s “The Thought” at Tysons West on Monday evening to a crowd of stakeholders and local officials, offering tours of the first piece of its new building at Route 7 and Westwood Center Drive.

The public art piece is located directly in front of the entrance to Walmart. The artist, Robert Cole, makes metal sculptures and lives in Washington, DC with his wife, but attended high school in Falls Church.

“It’s very precious to me,” he said of “The Thought.” “It’s a real public sculpture, in the sense that everybody can enjoy it.”

The reception began on a somber note, with a moment of silence for the victims in Monday afternoon’s tragic bombing near the finish line at the Boston Marathon.

“I think it’s in moments like this that community matters most,” said JBG Principal Jay Klug. “Our thoughts are with those affected by the explosions.”

Both of the building’s key tenants, Walmart and 24 Hour Fitness, are currently constructing the interiors of their stores.

Klug told Patch in March while neither tenant has a firm opening date, he thought they could open their doors by September.

• See: Tysons Walmart Could Open by September

Work began on the new building in September 2011, on the former site of Moore Cadillac and Hummer. In addition to the Walmart and the gym, the development will house another 8,000 square feet of small-store retail and approximately 25,000 square feet of medical office space.

Officials announced Monday night that Noodles and Company and Smashburger had also signed leases for the development.

“This project is a good example of the long-term future of what we look forward to in Tysons Corner,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins said at the event.

This is the first phase of what JBG hopes to turn into another large-scale Tysons development. Rezoning applications are pending for an office building and a high-rise residential building with additional retail space. The finished development will comprise 1.6 million square feet over 16 acres.

It will be within walking distance from the Silver Line’s Tysons-Spring Hill Metro station, slated to open at the end of 2013.

“We’re really lucky that we have a rail project right here at our footsteps,” Hudgins said.