Reston Gateway, the southward expansion of Reston Town Center (also called “RTC Next”), recently celebrated a milestone in construction with the topping out of 2000 Opportunity Way, the taller of the two office towers. The 28-story skyscraper, along with a connecting 20-story building (1950 Opportunity Way), has been under construction since late 2018 and is intended for occupancy sometime in 2022, with Fannie Mae as the principal tenant.
Volkswagen recently reached an agreement with owner Boston Properties to also relocate its U.S. headquarters to the development. Between Fannie Mae and Volkswagen, the buildings are already mostly leased ahead of completion. Although they are generally complete from a structural standpoint, interior construction and alterations will continue throughout next year and possibly into 2022.
The development plan for 2000 Opportunity Way was approved by the Fairfax County Board with a maximum height of 420 feet. The official finished architectural height of the building has not been released, but based on similar trophy-class slab-to-slab floor heights, the final height of the 28-story building is probably between 375 and 410 feet, which still makes it the tallest building in Reston by far, and the second-tallest building in Fairfax County after the Capital One M2 building in Tysons.
The two Gateway towers will include 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, but so far no tenants have been announced. The neighboring Marriott hotel, planned to begin construction soon and estimated deliver in 2023, will contain a much larger retail footprint of up to 45,000 square feet. The final building planned for Phase 1 of the development, a residential skyscraper, could feature an additional 40,000 square feet of retail uses. If built as planned, there will be a total of about 100,000 square feet of retail. The County Board of Supervisors approved up to a maximum of 133,200 square feet, so there is always an option to convert other ground-floor uses to retail in the future.
The development will bridge the existing geographical gap between the upcoming Reston Town Center Metro station and Reston’s urban core. With a full mix of uses, including a planned civic center to be built as part of the second phase, the goal is to create a vibrant and walkable neighborhood that will connect the Silver Line to the rest of Reston Town Center in a mode that is inviting and accessible for pedestrians. Assuming that the retail sector recovers in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that construction of the two remaining buildings goes as planned, this goal should be realized with the completion of these buildings over the next few years.