Digging has begun on the future site of Skanska’s new multifamily building near the McLean Metro station. The Heming, a 28-story apartment highrise, will be built at the corner of Colshire Drive and Chain Bridge Road and is expected to open in late 2022. Construction was announced around the beginning of the year, but no site work was visible until the fall.
The building will measure about 300 feet tall, with restaurants and retail stores starting on the first floor and extending through the four-level podium. Parking will be available in a three level underground garage, as well as on the podium levels beside the retail spaces. The podium will be topped with a private terrace for building residents, and an L-shaped tower that will have 410 apartment homes. The tower will be split into two elevations as shown below, each with rooftop penthouses and resident amenities.
The Heming is part of the larger planned Scotts Run development. While still largely conceptual, three buildings have been constructed since the 2013 rezoning approval: the two buildings that comprise Haden, an apartment complex that opened in 2017; and the MITRE 4 building, which opened in 2016. Construction is nearly completed on the Archer Hotel, which is scheduled to open in 2021. And earlier this year, Fairfax County approved the final development plan for another new 447-unit apartment building that Lennar plans to build on the property directly east of Skanska’s site.
Like much of Tysons, the property was previously occupied by a midrise office building with extensive surface parking, which was demolished in 2015. The block sat empty in the meantime as construction of the street grid commenced, including the realignment of Colshire Drive. A new street is planned to bisect the block and separate the two approved apartment buildings from two planned future office buildings that will front Route 123. Due to the current market conditions, there is no timeline for when these office buildings will be constructed.
The Heming will be directly across Colshire Drive from the entrance to the McLean Metro station, making it the most metro-accessible residential building in Tysons East. Along with the 38,000 square feet of shops and restaurants within the building, residents will also be a short walk from Capital One Center with its Wegmans supermarket, performing arts center, sky park, and other shops and restaurants. Although the Heming will include about 450 parking spaces to serve the residents, it is reasonable to believe that anyone who lives there could easily have most daily needs served without the use of a car, which is one of the goals championed by Tysons planners.
Reston Skylines will share additional updates and photos of the Heming as construction commences. Building management and retail tenants have not been announced yet, as the building will not open for two more years at least. Once it is completed, it figures to be one of the most notable and prominent buildings south of Route 123.