What was hoped to be opening later this year, the Phase 2 extension of the Silver Line through western Fairfax and into Loudoun County has been delayed until mid- or late 2021. What was the holdup? Issues with the concrete framing panels, circuit boards and on top of that, add in the effects of Coronovirus.
As we wait for the construction to move along, let’s take a look at the development that will be popping up around the stations.
By Lynn Norusis
Reston Gateway is being added to the already residential dense area of Reston Town Center. The development will be done in two phases, with the first already under construction. Once finished Reston Gateway is expected to be a 4.8 million square foot mixed-use community with high-rise offices, 2.010 residences, two hotels, shops and restaurants. Thirty percent of the project will be open space with 7.23 acres of parks and will also include some athletic fields. It will sit on 33 acres between the station and Reston Town Center and will be built in two phases.
Halley Rise, formerly Reston Crescent, will hold the area’s first Wegmans (expected 2022), self-driving cars–in partnership with Optimus Ride–and 4.1 million square feet of more development that will be a combination of eight blocks that will have offices, 1,500 housing units, a hotel, retail and acres of open space.
RTC West will be taking over 1.3 million square feet. The first phase has already been completed, and the second phase will bring with it a 22-story office tower, eight-story office building, a 20-story apartment complex with 293 units and a 22-story residential tower with 283 units. There will also be a seven-story loft office building above a garage and a one-story retail pavilion with 5 acres of green space.
- Station facilities:
- Pedestrian bridges and station entrances from both sides of the Dulles Airport Access Highway/Dulles Toll Road
- Pedestrian bridge crossing
- Bus drop-off/pickup (both entrances)
- Kiss & Ride (both entrances)
- 28 bicycle racks, 6 lockers on north side; 10 racks and 5 lockers on south side
Woodland Park East will be 1.6 million square feet of office and residential that sits on 31.5 acres of land that will hold 678 housing units–74 townhomes, 90 two-over-two townhomes and 514 apartments–two office towers and 200,000 square feet of retail. There will also be a 6.1-acre public park and 2.8 acres of private open space.
The 555 Herndon Parkway development calls for 325,000 square feet of office space, two residential towers with ground-floor retail and plans for a public plaza.
The town is also in the stages of going through a redevelopment with plans to bring in an art center and other opportunities to revitalize the downtown area. The town is working with Comstock Herndon Venture LC on plans for residential, retail and an 18,000 square-foot art center but in June 2018 withdrew but stated they do have plans to continue discussions.
- Station facilities:
- Pedestrian bridges and station entrances from both sides of the Dulles Airport Access Highway/Dulles Toll Road
- Bus drop-off/pickup (south side only)
- Kiss & Ride (existing)
- Parking for approximately 3,500 cars (total including existing garage of 1,950 spaces)
- 35 bicycle racks on the north side; 5 lockers on the south side, 46 racks in garage
- garage with approximately 2,000 spaces to the east of the current park-and-ride.; will serve the Herndon-Monroe Park and Ride Garage
The glass inverted triangle building, known at Center for Innovative Technology is up for sale, but there is a lot happening at the surrounding planned station. Innovation Center Station South is a 1.6 million square foot mixed-use development that will house more than 1,000 multifamily units, more than 1 million square feet of office and retail space and a 190-room hotel.
Innovation Center Station North will have two major communities, one with DWC Holdings’ The Hub: 1,265 multifamily units, 400,000 square feet of retail, 350 hotels rooms and 3.5 million square feet of office space, with an expectation to open sometime this year. And the other with Waterside that will have 2,595 residential units, 350 hotel rooms, 500,000 square feet of retail and a 54-acre lake.
The Pomeroy Cos. is also laying some ground space near the metro stop with two mixed-use developments: Aurora Station at Dulles (1,031 residences made up of multifamily, townhomes and single family homes, recreation spaces, retail and commercial spaces) and 1 Sunrise Valley (1,114 residences, elementary school and commercial space). Both projects will take up 80 acres.
- Station facilities:
- Pedestrian bridges and station entrances from both sides of the Dulles Airport Access Highway/Dulles Toll Road
- Bus drop-off/pickup (both entrances)
- Kiss & Ride (both entrances)
- Parking for approximately 2,000 cars (south side)
- 7 bicycle racks and 5 lockers on the north side; 45 racks in the garage on south side and five lockers
The Dulles Airport Station will serve the airport and will be located in front of daily garage No. 1. Airport travelers will be able to access the existing underground moving walkways from the station to the terminal by escalator.
- Station facilities:
- One station entrance adjoined to the underground pedestrian tunnel with moving sidewalks that connects to the baggage claim level of main terminal
No major development is happening near this station; instead, 280-acres of it was sold to Digital Realty for a data center. Noise restrictions are also making it difficult for housing to be built. Also being developed is a rail yard and maintenance facility on 95 acres of airport property.
- Station facilities:
- 1 station entrance on north side of Dulles Greenway
- Pedestrian bridge crossing Dulles Greenway to north side
- Bus drop-off/pickup
- Kiss & Ride
- Parking for approximately 2,750 cars (includes existing 750 spaces at existing Dulles North Transit Center)
- 26 bike racks in the parking structure and 5 lockers
Ashburn is already a major player in the Northern Virginia real estate scene but with the addition of a metro stop the community continues to grow. Comstock is already moving forward on Phase 2 of Loudoun Station, which was approved for 1,159 residential units, 166,145 square feet of retail and garage parking for 3,741 spaces, 1,500 of which will be for Metro.
The 24-acre Gramercy District, which sits north of the station, will be home to a 2.8 million square foot development of 2,105 residential units and more and is being touted as a “smart city” that will be fully connected. Gramercy also has plans for hotel, office and business center space, 150,000 square feet of retail and two parking garages.
Moorefield rounds out the major development happening around Ashburn Station and this one has been on the books for quite a while. The 592-acre development is owned by The Claude-Moore Foundation and will house up to 6,000 homes and 10 million square feet of commercial and retail space.
- Station facilities:
- Pedestrian bridges and station entrances from both sides of Dulles Greenway
- Bus drop-off/pickup (both sides)
- Kiss & Ride (both sides)
- Parking for approximately 3,000 cars (1,500 on each side)
- 24 bicycle racks, including 11 in the parking structure) and 5 bike lockers on the north side; 27 bicycle racks on the south side
