A low-rise office building formerly occupied by Carahsoft, an IT contractor, has been demolished. This 79,440 square foot building was built in 1967. The site, only a quarter mile east of the Wiehle-Reston East station, has been rezoned for a mixed-use neighborhood.
Reston Midline is an approved 1.8 million SF development, at least 1.3 million of which will be residential. JBG Smith and EYA are the primary developers. The development will be divided into four blocks, with an extension of Reston Station Boulevard dividing the property laterally. Block D is the site of the newly demolished building, and is planned to house a multifamily residential building and a number of urban-style townhomes.
Fairfax County approved the development in 2018. The two options approved are seen above. The development plan (“Plan 1”) includes 124 residential units and 31K square feet (SF) of north-facing retail along Reston Station Boulevard. The alternate plan (“Plan 2”) features 168 units and 7.6K SF of retail. Fairfax County staff indicated a preference for Plan 1 which activates the street with additional retail, but the developers were concerned that they may not be able to secure enough retail tenants, so Plan 2 remains an option.
The block is to be divided into two sub-blocks. Both options were approved with 54 rear-loading garage townhomes on the southern sub-block. Plan 1 would see a multifamily residential building—probably condos—consisting of vertical units separated by a courtyard, on top of a retail podium, with underground parking. From the courtyard level, the units will resemble townhomes or townhome-style condos. The back-side of the podium will contain two-story units.
Plan 2 replaces the single residential building with 24 additional townhomes and a nine-story multifamily building containing 90 units. However, the smaller footprint of the building in this plan allows for only a quarter of the total retail space (since townhomes by definition do not have any retail space beneath them).
While the county prefers Plan 1, both plans have their merits. Plan 1’s additional retail along the street fits more the vision of urban transit-oriented development near the metro station, and encourages pedestrian traffic up and down Reston Station Boulevard. However, Plan 2’s additional housing units will provide higher density within walking distance of metro, allowing more households an opportunity to live close to public transit options. The high-rise residential building will also help to give variety to the urban skyline in that area.
Ultimately, what ends up being built on this newly demolished block will depend on how confident EYA feels about their ability to attract retail to the development. Neighboring Faraday Park has managed to pre-lease a considerable amount of upcoming retail space. Unfortunately, with the future of the economy now uncertain, the safest option may yet be—if the decision isn’t already final—to construct housing in lieu of retail. The current pandemic may even delay the start of construction indefinitely.
Still, once construction does start, it should be readily apparent what they are building. Expect an update at that time.
March 23 update: It looks like we might have a clue in what EYA is building on this property. A January blog post from the CEO stated that they intend to build 115 townhomes and the image from their “Coming Soon” shows a background image that strongly resembles Plan 2. Considering the stated number of townhomes and that image, it appears much more likely that EYA will ditch the development plan in favor of the approved alternate.