Fairfax County's plans to transform Tysons Corner from an old suburb to a new city took two steps forward this week.

Why does this matter for Reston? Reston will be unergoing a similar transformation from suburban outpost to transit -oriented development when the Metro Silver Line stations open in Tyson's and Wiehle (2013) and Reston Parkway (2016).

This week, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the area's first mixed-use and mixed-income development using the county's new zoning categories. The community, planned by the Georgelas Group, will begin to transform the area around Route 7 and Spring Hill Road into a community of high-rise apartments and condominiums, known as "Tysons West."

On the other side of Route 7, ground was broken for the first Walmart in Tysons Corner, an "urban" Walmart that will be built on the former site of Moore Cadillac and Hummer.

The new city of Tysons Corner built over the next 40 years will become the economic engine of the county. The community of barely 20,000 now will double in size as high-rise office buildings, apartments and condominiums, stores, shops restaurants, sidewalks rise around the four new metro stations of the Silver line. The subway acts as the spine of the new city.

Read more about plans for Tysons on Vienna Patch.

Meanwhile, the Fairfax County Planning Commission will be holding a public hearing about Reston's  Spectrum shopping center Thursday night. Redevelopment has been approved in principal by Reston Association Planning and Zoning. To read more about that project, click here.