New skyscrapers welcome Fannie Mae at Reston Next

The glass skyscrapers towering next to the Dulles Toll Road and over Sunset Hills Road have begun welcoming their largest tenant, according to Boston Properties President Doug Linde.

Formerly called Reston Gateway, the development has offices for Fannie Mae and Volkswagen Group of America next to the Reston Town Center Station. On Oct. 19, approximately 285,000 square feet of the project was placed in-service, according to property owner and developer Boston Properties.

Fannie Mae takes up most of the office space, 703,000 square feet, at the renamed Reston Next office complex, and the federally created corporation is consolidating its operations from three Reston locations to save $250 million.

Fannie Mae and Volkswagen fill up the vast majority of space with 15- and 20-year leases, respectively, but Linde told investors on an Oct. 27 earnings call that they’re still looking to lease 160,000 square feet.  According to Boston Properties, the development called for approximately 1.1 million square-feet available for offices.

The comments came as the company remarked on the benefits of office space as compared to remote work, even though businesses are reevaluating their office needs amid a pandemic-fueled shift in telecommuting.

Reston Next is 85% leased, and despite the significant vacancy in northern Virginia, parts of Reston are under 10% vacant and continue to “dramatically outperform,” according to the company.

Boston Properties refused to comment on the new buildings. Fannie Mae was unable to respond to questions before this article published.

Construction of the project began in 2018.