Tetra Owner Agrees to $275K in Building Repairs

Tetra Partners has reached an agreement with Reston Association to perform $275,000 in repairs to the building on Lake Newport that RA seeks to purchase.

The two sides reached an agreement on Friday. The money will be held in escrow until Tetra repairs or replaces the HVAC system, roof, windows, paving and other items, according to the contract addendum. The items in disrepair were found during an inspection last month.

RA put in a conditional contract to purchase the 3,128-square-foot building for $2.65 million in late March. The purchase cannot go forward unless a quorum of RA homeowners approves it via referendum. The referendum runs through May 8.

RA said on Friday that the asking price remains $2.65 million. It also estimates it will cost an additional $260,000 to rehab the interior of the building. RA will get a $650,000 developer contribution from Comstock and will also get money from Tetra renting back the building from RA into 2016.

RA wants to repurpose the building — which formerly served as Reston’s Visitors Center and currently serves as Tetra offices — and its 3.48 acres for community space and a lakefront park. It also hopes to stave off commercial development and bring in income in event rentals and child care programs.

The property off of Baron Cameron Avenue sits in between Lake Newport Tennis and Brown’s Chapel Park and would give RA 98 acres of contiguous space.

Opponents of the purchase say the price for the property is too high as its most recent Fairfax County tax assessment was $1.2 million.

RA held a town hall meeting this week to address member concerns about the purchase.