Boston Properties executives said on a recent earnings conference call that the new parking app — which will manage Reston Town Center customers’ paid parking — will be “a significant enhancement for customers.
Boston Properties, which owns Reston Town Center, is set to introduce the paid parking system on Aug. 1. Visitors and employees to RTC will be charged $2 a hour for parking, which has previously been free for most of the center’s 25-year history.
Parking will be free on weekends and for special events. Customers are encouraged to download an RTC Park app for automatic payment. They can also visit a kiosk to pay. Some stores and restaurants will validate, but a complete list has not yet been made available.
The change to paid parking has not been well-received by most store owners and RTC visitors, though Boston Properties Executive Vice President Ray Ritchey said on the call that retailers at other properties “actually noted an increase in sales of up to 10 percent … because the people who do come to the malls now find it way more convenient and, as a result, spend more time there and spend more dollars.” Read More
Paid parking at Reston Town Center is a done deal. Representatives of Boston Properties and the Reston Town Center Association explained why at a community meeting at the Hyatt Regency Reston on Thursday.
“We are an elite destination location,” RTCA Executive Director Robert Goudie said, reiterating that Boston Properties is “not a non profit location.”
As Reston Now has previously reported, Reston Town Center will go to a paid parking system this summer. Goudie and representatives of Boston Properties, which owns the town center, said the plan to install a paid system has been in the works since the town center opened 25 years ago.
Goudie told the crowd of merchants and citizens that in the original town center master plan, there was a proffer agreement that the developer would have to eventually do “transportation demand procedures.” Part of that control would be paid parking. That is a common element of transit-oriented design, he said. Read More
When Reston Town Center announced last week it would go to a paid parking system in August, many residents and merchants were shocked.
They should not have been.
There has been talk of instilling a paid system for at least five years — which was nearly 10 years out from a Metro station serving the town center. The Silver Line’s Reston Town Center station is expected to open in 2020.
But Reston Town Center officials say that the 7,000 spaces spread over seven garages are already seeing increased commuter parking as people leave their cars there all day, then jump on a bus to the Wiehle-Reston East station.
That’s why RTC says parking will be $2 an hour starting Aug. 1. Payments can be automatically made via an app, which will also help you locate your car and available parking spots. It is expected that merchants will validate to offset some of the costs. Employees will be able to purchase monthly passes.
Ray Ritchey, Executive Vice President of Boston Properties, which owns the town center, laid out the financial boost of paid parking in a 2011 shareholders call:
“We’ve still got 8,000 parking spaces out there that we have no value on. This is just free parking. So when Metro comes, guess what? We have to put in parking controls, so the commuters don’t come and take the parking spaces and use Metro. So if we just charge $4 a day per space, either in terms of the what that consumer pays directly to us or what we factor in on the renewal of these leases, because we now are going to pay parking. And on the 8,000 spaces, that’s $8 million a year.
And at a fixed cap rate, that’s $130 million of additional value just with paid parking. So you put the value we created in terms of the land and the value created just with the parking, that’s $300 million of value before we put a shovel in the ground and create value the way we normally do it, which is going vertical with office buildings. [It’s] $300 million of value for the Metro stop coming to Reston Town Center.
Another Boston Properties executive said in 2012 that paid parking would happen eventually.
“If you think about it logically, it really is an urban environment in a suburban setting, Peter Johnston, Boston Properties senior vice president and D.C. regional manager, said in 2012.
At least two petitions have been organized by Reston Town Center patrons in response to the news that the mixed-use area will go to a paid parking system this August.
There is a petition on Change.org, as well as on on StandUnited.org, reflecting the frustration of many RTC patrons. From the StandUnited petition:
To Boston Properties: Your paid parking plan is going to kill the Town Center, not help it. Instead of making RTC appealing to people who want to grab a bite to eat or stop at a few shops, you are penalizing them.
Part time and full time hourly employees should not be penalized because commuters have been taking advantage of your parking structure. You are stealing money from people who are trying to better themselves by charging employees monthly fees to park where they work. What other retail places charge employees to park?
Please reconsider your paid parking plan. Tyson’s Corner was able to cut down on commuter abuse without penalizing the store patrons and employees. It’s not right to make businesses who are already paying an exorbitant amount in rent have to subsidize their employees’ and customers’ parking.
A RTC spokeswoman said last week that an app-based system that will go into place in August. The app, RTC Park, will also help patrons locate their car and pay the parking charges by credit card.
Parking will cost $2 an hour. Store and office employees will have to pay for parking as well, but monthly passes (up to $70 for office workers; $50 for retail workers) are being offered. Many stores also say they will offer validation, but that exact plan has not yet been worked out.
Parking will still be free on weekends, holidays and during major community events such as the holiday parade, Oktoberfest Reston or the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. There will also be designated free parking for quick stops at stores such as FedEx, CVS and the dry cleaners.
There will be a community meeting on the topic at 6:30 p.m. on March 31 at The Avant (12025 Town Square St. at Reston Town Center).
“We have been discussing paid parking options since the Silver Line was approved,” said RTC spokeswoman Marion Myers. “Since last year’s opening of the Wiehle-Reston Metro Station, we have seen an increase in the already problematic use of RTC parking by commuters and non-patrons. The upcoming additional Reston station will only add to the problem.”
The Reston Town Center Metro station is scheduled to open in 2020.
The pedestrian bridge that links Reston Town Center’s Bluemont Way and the Discovery Square office buildings off Sunset Hills Road is finally reopen.
The bridge had been closed for months, prompting several Reston Now readers to ask if there was not some bigger development project at work.
The bridge’s troubles actually began last winter, when the bridge that crosses over the W&OD Trail suffered damage from ice melter over multiple winters, said a spokesman for Boston Properties, which owns the bridge.
Supplies to fix the bridge were ordered, but then sat in place for several months.
Pedestrian connectivity will continue to be an important issue as the Silver Line’s Reston Parkway station, and accompanying development, prepare to open in 2020.
The Reston Parkway station will be in the center of the Dulles Toll Road, about a half-mile from Reston Town Center. However, major mixed-use development is expected to take place on the 33 acres owned by Boston Properties linking pedestrians from public transit to the existing town center.
It was just a week ago that the 200-plus space surface parking lot at New Dominion and Fountain Drive was fenced off for construction on what will be known as Signature Site, a mostly residential Boston Properties project.
In a matter of days, crews have jackhammered the concrete, moved dirt, pulled up trees and are doing all the things necessary for construction prep.
In case you missed it, here is what is coming to the site, the last undeveloped parcel at Reston Town Center.
The Signature Site, formerly called Block 4, is Boston Properties’ project that will turn the parking lot — also formerly home to rides at Taste of Reston and the Athletes’ Village at last summer’s World Police and Fire Games — into two high-rise residential buildings with up to 549 units and nine levels of underground parking for residents.
The project will have about 1.85 acres (40 percent) of open space, its own pool and vegetated roof.
Boston Properties purchased the space in 2013 for a reported $27 million. At that time, the lot was zoned for offices. Boston Properties got a zoning change for residential development, though, and will move the office zoning to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located.
Plans call for turning that three-story retail/office building into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.
Preliminary construction is set to begin on Boston Properties’ “Signature Site,” the last undeveloped parcel of land at Reston Town Center.
That means the 251-space surface parking lot at Fountain Drive and New Dominion Parkway will close on Monday, Nov. 16. Plenty of parking is available in RTC’s parking garages, town center officials point out.
The Signature Site, formerly called Block 4, is Boston Properties’ project that will turn the parking lot — also formerly home to rides at Taste of Reston and the Athletes’ Village at last summer’s World Police and Fire Games — into two high-rise residential buildings with up to 549 units and nine levels of underground parking.
The plans also call for a park with a yoga area, public art and picnic areas.
The project will have about 1.85 acres (40 percent) of open space. There will also be an additional vegetated roof.
Boston Properties purchased the space in 2013 for a reported $27 million. At that time, the lot was zoned for offices. Boston Properties got a zoning change for residential development, though, and will move the office zoning to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located.
Plans call for turning that three-story retail/office building into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.
Boston Properties has completed the final part of a transaction that makes the company the sole owner of Reston Town Center.
The company recently completed the second part of a large land deal with Beacon Capital Partners, a process that began more than three years ago, the Washington Business Journal reported.
Boston Properties exercised its option to acquire Beacon Capital’s 50-percent stake in office/retail complex Fountain Square — the two large office buildings with ground-floor retail near RTC’s Mercury Fountain — for about $100.9 million in cash and about $105.6 million in assumed mortgage debt, the company disclosed in an earnings statement.
With the deal for the 759,000-square-foot Fountain Square, Boston Properties owns pretty much all the space at RTC.
In 2012, Boston Properties made a deal to buy Fountain Square up to $385 million (about$474 per square foot). It contributed $87 million for a 50-percent stake in the Beacon Capital affiliate that owned the property, with an option to acquire Beacon Capital’s remaining 50 percent stake as long as it did so before October 2016. The Washington Business Journal recognized the deal in 2013 as the best suburban office sale of the year.
Meanwhile, Boston Properties will begin work soon on Blocks 4 and 5, the last remaining undeveloped parcels at Reston Town Center. The new construction will add up to 549 residential units and nine levels of underground parking to the approximately 235,000 square feet of retail space, 524,000 square feet of office space, more than 1,000 residential units and 2,830 public parking spaces already at the town center.
The pedestrian bridge that links Reston Town Center’s Bluemont Way and the Discovery Square office buildings off Sunset Hills Road has been closed for several weeks and will likely be closed into the fall, representatives for Boston Properties said.
Pete Otteni, Boston Properties Vice President of Development, said the bridge, which takes pedestrians over the W&OD trail, suffered damage that needs to be repaired.
Boston Properties, which owns most of the buildings at Reston Town Center, also owns the bridge and the Discovery Square buildings.
“We discovered some damage to the bridge this summer that required repairs, and we believe that the damage was caused by ice-melting products used during the winters since the bridge was installed,” Otteni said in an email.
“We have already contracted to repair the bridge, materials have been ordered, and we expect the repairs to be complete at some point this fall, depending on delivery schedules and weather.”
A year after being approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the plan for a mixed-use development on Reston Town Center’s last undeveloped parcel is going back for revisions.
Boston Properties’ plan for Blocks 4, currently RTC’s 251-space surface parking lot, will go before the county planning commission on Sept. 30 and the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 6 for public hearings on small changes to the project.
Rich Ellis, Boston Properties’ Vice President of Development, says the application involves a minor design modification to one of the two residential towers planned for Block 4. The design change will not alter the total unit count or retail square footage, he said.
In summer 2014, the Supervisors approved Boston Properties’ plans, which include include two high-rise residential buildings with up to 549 units and nine levels of underground parking, for the surface lot at Fountain Drive and New Dominion Parkway.
Boston Properties purchased the six-acre site in 2013 and then changed the zoning from office space to residential.
Boston Properties will move the office part of the development to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located, with additional office space above.
The plan calls for turning that three-story retail/office building into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.
The residences will feature one tower standing 19 stories tall and the other 21 stories tall. There will be up to 25,100 square feet of ground-level retail space and an additional 20,000 square feet of retail that would be partially located underground.
At the base of the 21-story tower will be two-level townhouse units, stacked three high. Each ground-level unit will have a terrace along New Dominion Parkway. Five levels of residences will also wrap around the parking structure. The complex will have its own pool.
Along President’s Street, the developers plan open space with outdoor dining areas and a pedestrian connection from the buildings to a proposed park along Reston Parkway. The park will feature a yoga deck, lawn and public art space.
As one of the proffered conditions for construction, which is expected to begin late this year or early in 2016, the developers will have to meet Fairfax County requirements for tree preservation.
Boston Properties will also have to build road improvements such as left turn lanes from Reston Parkway, New Dominion Parkway and Fountain Drive. Sixteen percent of the housing units will be set aside as workforce housing.
The board also in 2014 approved a reduction in parking of 22 percent (up to 192 fewer spaces) because of its proximity to future mass transit. The planned Reston Parkway Silver Line Metro Station is a half-mile away.
Block 4 and 5 development will flow into other approved high-density development nearby.
The Spectrum, a low-rise strip mall located just across New Dominion Parkway, has been approved for redevelopment into 774,879 square feet of non-residential use and 1,422 multifamily residential units in seven new residential buildings. The new area will feature a hotel, and Harris Teeter is the only retailer expected to remain under the current plan.
Additionally, part of the Spectrum will wrap around the planned 23-story office tower at 1760 Reston Parkway. That building, which will contain retail and 18 stories of offices, was approved by the supervisors in 2012.
Photo: Block 4/5 Residential Development Proposal/Credit: Fairfax County
Boston Properties’ plans to build on Reston Town Center’s last remaining undeveloped parcel have been given the go-ahead by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
The Supervisors on Tuesday approved Boston Properties’ plans, which include include two high-rise residential buildings with up to 549 units and nine levels of underground parking.
The plans also call for a park with a yoga area, public art and picnic areas. The 6.35-acre site, called Block 4, is currently a 251-space surface parking lot zoned for office development.
Reston Citizens Group Reston 2020 expressed disapproval last spring when it was determined that the Presidents Park area near Blocks 4 and 5 could lose 60 feet of green space to the new development.
Boston Properties purchased the site at Fountain Drive and New Dominion parkway in 2013 for a reported $27 million. At that time, Boston Property executives said they planned to change the zoning from office space to residential
According to the county planning staff report, which recommended approval of the project, the 250,000 square feet of office density represents the last remaining non-residential density available under the proffered maximum 3.465 million square feet of non-residential development approved within Reston’s urban core.
Boston Properties will move the office part of the development to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located, with additional office space above.
The plan calls for turning that three-story retail/office building into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.
The board also approved a reduction in parking of 22 percent (up to 192 fewer spaces) because of its proximity to future mass transit. The planned Reston Parkway Silver Line Metro Station is a half-mile away.
Photo: Block 4/5 Residential Development Proposal/Credit: Fairfax County
Developer Boston Properties’ plans for the surface lot at Reston Town Center include two high-rise residential buildings as well as a park with a yoga area, public art and picnic areas.
The plans will be presented to the Fairfax County Planning Commission in a public hearing on June 11, marking another step forward in the transformation of Reston’s urban core.
The 6.35-acre site, called Block 4, is currently a 251-space surface parking lot, the only remaining surface lot at Reston Town Center. The lot is currently zoned for up for 250,000 square feet of office space.
According to the county planning staff report, the 250,000 square feet of office density represents the last remaining non-residential density available under the proffered maximum 3.465 million square feet of non-residential development approved within Reston’s urban core.
Boston Properties is seeking to move the office development to Block 5, where the current FedEx/Kinkos and Ann Taylor are now located, with additional office space above.
The plan calls for turning the three-story retail/office building, part of One Freedom Square, into a 17-story building with 276,788 square feet of office space and 7,800 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building would also have four levels of underground parking.
The residences will feature one tower standing 19 stories tall and the other 21 stories tall. There will also be a nine-level parking structure (with three levels below ground).
There will be up to 25,100 square feet of ground level retail space and an additional 20,000 square feet of retail that would be partially located underground.
At the base of the 21-story tower will be two-level townhouse units, stacked three high. Each ground-level unit will have a terrace along New Dominion Parkway. Five levels of residences will also wrap around the parking structure. The complex will have its own pool.
Along President’s Street, the developers plan open space with outdoor dining areas and a pedestrian connection from the buildings to a proposed park along Reston Parkway. The park will feature a yoga deck, lawn and public art space.
As one of the proffered conditions for construction, the developers will have to meet Fairfax County requirements for tree preservation. They will also have to build road improvements such as left turn lanes from Reston Parkway, New Dominion Parkway and Fountain Drive. Sixteen percent of the housing units will be set aside as workforce housing.
Block 4 and 5 development will flow into other approved high-density development nearby.
The Spectrum, a low-rise strip mall located just across New Dominion Parkway, has been approved for redevelopment into 774,879 square feet of non-residential use and 1,422 multifamily residential units in seven new residential buildings. The new area will feature a hotel, and Harris Teeter is the only retailer expected to remain under the current plan.
Additionally, part of the Spectrum will wrap around the planned 23-story office tower at Bowman Towne Drive and Reston Parkway. That building, which will contain retail and 18 stories of offices, was approved by the supervisors in 2012.
All 2.1 million square feet of office space at Reston Town Center is leased, with more being planned to accommodate prospective tenants. And with Metro’s Silver Line slated to open this summer, business around here is going to transform, Rep. Gerry Connolly said.
That was the takeaway from the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce’s annual Virtual Realty Tour at the Hyatt Regency Reston on Wednesday. The event brings together local developers and commercial real estate representatives for a look at what’s happening in the Dulles corridor.
“You look at Clarendon-Ballston,” Connolly (D-Va. 11th) said of the transit-oriented Arlington business hub. “That is three-miles long. The Dulles corridor is 23 miles long. When we are finished it is going to be a hub of employment.”
Gerald Gordon, President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said Reston has 20 million square feet of office space, and another 8.5 million square feet can still be built under the blueprint of the Reston Master Plan.
But that has an impact on the rest of the county, where there is 18 million square feet of vacant space, said Gordon. Businesses want to be on the Silver Line, which will have five stops from Tysons to Reston when Phase 1 opens.
“All laws of supply-and-demand have been suspended for the next few years,” said Gordon. “Businesses want to be on the Metro line. Tysons/Reston are healthy and drive the economy of the rest of the county.”
Pete Otteni, Vice President of Development for Boston Properties, which owns most of the space at town center, gave an update on what’s happening there:
- 100 percent of the retail space at Reston Town Center is leased.
- The Avant, Boston Properties new luxury residential building that opened last fall, is 40 percent leased.
- World of Beer, located in The Avant’s ground floor, will open Monday. Other Avant ground-level retail spaces on the way are CVS, which will open in mid-June, and Barcelona and Bar Taco, which will open in late summer.
- The plan for redevelopment of the Reston Town Center’s surface lot will go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission June 11. The plan calls for 250,000 square feet of office space, 500 new luxury residences and 25,000 square feet of retail. Included in the plan is removing the two-story space where FedEx/Kinkos now stands and building a 17-story office tower.
- Boston Properties also has plans for Reston Gateway. That development will be on the 22 acres between the future Reston Parkway Metro Station (slated to open as part of Phase 2 in 2018) and Reston Town Center. Gateway will feature 3-4 million square feet of mixed use space, said Otteni.
- Future development is also expected to happen at Town Center North, the adjacent area around the Fairfax County Police Reston District Station.
Photo: The Avant and office buildings at Reston Town Center
Plans are still in the works to turn Reston Town Center’s last remaining surface parking lot into a mixed-use development.
There has been little movement on the proposal since August, when developer Boston Properties filed plans to redevelop the six acre spot with a 21-story residential building with more than 500 units, up to 25,100 square feet of retail/restaurant uses and more than 275,00 square feet of office space.
However, a county staff report on the proposal is slated to be published in late May, and the Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the development June 11.
Boston Properties purchased the site at Fountain Drive and New Dominion parkway in 2013 for a reported $27 million. At that time, Boston Property executives said they planned to change the zoning from office space to residential
Boston Properties owns much of the Town Center, including the newer portion south of Market Street, the Fountain Square buildings, and Block 16, where it recently constructed the Avant Apartments (and ground floor retail).
Nearly adjacent to the surface lot are the blocks-long planned redevelopment of the Spectrum, as well as a 23-story tower at 1760 Reston Parkway. The board of supervisors gave approval to both of those projects in 2013, but there has been no movement on them. The Spectrum project may not get underway for many more years, developers have said.
Reston Town Center’s newest residence — The Avant at Reston Town Center — officially opens this weekend.
After 20 months of construction, Boston Properties and Bozzuto are finally ready to show off the 359-unit building, which will offer residents a luxury, urban feel, says property manager Carla Sloan.
The first residents began moving into the building last week, said Sloan. The pre-leasing center has been open since Aug. 23, but prospective tenants can really get a feel for life at the Avant now that the building is ready.
Common spaces that include a business center, lounge, and party room with catering kitchen and private dining area.
“I predict these will be very popular as many of our residents are moving from larger homes and will appreciate the entertaining spaces,” she said.
Other amenities:
- Outdoor pool and patio space, 24-hour fitness center, yoga studio and rooftop dog park
- A six-level parking garage
- Views of Reston Town Square Park and future retail on the first floor, including CVS, World of Beer and Bartaco and Barcelona Wine Bar
- High-end finishes in units including granite and stainless kitchens and engineered hardwood floors
- Walk-in closets
The Avant has studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Pricing ranges from at $1,977 (for the smallest studio) to $4,105 for the largest three-bedroom.
The leasing center in The Avant is now open at 12025 Town Square St. Visit The Avant’s website or call 866-624-7191.
