A year after breaking ground for Halley Rise, Brookfield Properties is still on schedule to finish the $1.4 billion project.

The 36-acre redevelopment project is set to open the first phase of its residential units in early 2022, and a Wegmans grocery store is expected to open before the end of 2022. Delivery of the first phase of offices for the project is expected in mid-2023, to align with market demand.

The mixed-use district in Reston is expected to be complete by 2026. Halley Rise will feature 1,500 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of office space, 250,000 square feet of retail, five acres of public open space and new public streets and infrastructure.

“At Halley Rise, we are creating a dynamic new destination for people to live and work in Reston,” Richard Fernicola, Brookfield Properties Senior Vice President, Development, wrote in an email.

“The new housing, jobs, retail and open space, activated with year-round arts and events and adjacent to the new Silver Line station, will provide significant benefits to the area for many years to come. It is an important project for Brookfield Properties, and we are excited to move it forward and play a role in Reston’s long-term development.”

According to Brookfield Properties, the company has been able to avoid any construction delays during the pandemic by tracking potential material disruptions on a daily basis. In the case of a procurement, fabrication or delivery risk, the company has secured alternate sources to avoid delays to the schedule.

The project at 12010 Sunrise Valley Drive will be located at the Reston Town Center stop on the Silver Line following the completion of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.

Halley Rise will feature a movie theater and a variety of restaurants. It will also have year-round art installations and Art Brookfield will curate concerts in the park.

Halley Rise, a major mixed-use development next to the Reston Town Center Metro Station, will be powered by renewable energy.

Brookfield Properties, the developer, announced today (Tuesday) that the company is shifting all six of its Northern Virginia office properties to renewable sources in order to “develop responsible and sustainable placemaking destinations’ in the area.

“Brookfield Properties is committed to developing great places for people to live and work while also bringing innovation and responsible practices to our projects and communities,” Greg Meyer, Executive Vice President, Brookfield Properties’ Washington, DC region. “We are proud to be powering our Northern Virginia office portfolio sustainably, reducing our impact on the environment and setting a new standard for green practices in the region.”

Halley Rise, which is located at the corner of Sunrise Valley Drive and Reston Parkway is seeking LEED Neighborhood Development status, which is awarded to neighborhoods that are built to be sustainable. Once complete, the development will bring 1,500 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of office space, and 250,000 square feet of retail space to the area. It’s also the site where self-driving vehicle company Optimus Ride is currently exploring energy-efficient options to transport commuters within the development.

Brookfield broke ground on the project in October. Wegmans plans to open in 2022 at the project.

Photo via handout/Fairfax County Government

The first phase of a massive, mixed-use project with a Wegmans, Pinstripes, and self-driving cars is underway.

Brookfield Properties broke ground on the project, called Halley Rise and formerly called. Reston Crescent, in October.

The first phase, which is set to be completed in 2022, includes 450,000 square feet of new office space, 640 residential units, 200,000 square feet of retail and two new parks, a company spokesperson told Reston Now.

Wegmans, which will anchor the retail space, is expected to be open in 2022. Pinstripes, a restaurant with a bowling alley and bocce court, is also planned.

Future phases will also include a movie theater — under a mile from Bow Tie Cinemas in Reston Town Center — and food and drink options.

When the 36-acre development is built out, it will include 1.5 million square feet of office space, 250,000 square feet of retail and 1,500 residential units, 15 percent of which are affordable.

Staff photos by Jay Westcott

Pinstripes, a bowling, bocce and bar venue, is coming to the Halley Rise development, following the first retail, tenant, Wegmans, confirmed its plans to anchor the new mixed use development.

According to the Washington Business Journal, which first reported the news, Pinstripes will open a 20,000-square-foot venue at the development. WBJ also that Brookfield Properties, the developer, is also in talks with high-end movie theater Cinépolis to sign a lease for the new project.

Once completed, Halley Rise — formerly known as Reston Crescent — will have a minimum of 640 residential units, 450,000 square feet of office space and two new parks.

Rendering via Brookfield Properties

Tenants in two buildings at Halley Rise will have the option to hop into self-driving vehicles as soon as June.

Optimus Rise, a self-driving technology company, unveiled today (Feb. 7) a partnership with Brookfield Properties that will bring the self-driving vehicle program to the tenants of One Reston Crescent and Two Reston Crescent.

“We will deploy our self-driving system at Brookfield’s Halley Rise location this summer to provide users with autonomous mobility access between office buildings as we continue to scale our business,” Ryan Chin, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Optimus Rid, said in the press release.

The program’s initial phase will roll out three self-driving vehicles, which will be completely contained within the development site, starting in June, according to the press release. Tenants will be able to use Optimus Ride’s reservation system and on-demand ride services to get from the two office buildings to the parking lots at the Halley Rise site.

An operations team on site will monitor, update, provide maintenance, clean and charge the fleet service, the press release says.

The self-driving vehicle program fits into the goals of Vision Zero, a road traffic safety initiative to eliminate fatalities or serious injuries, and also adheres to Vision Zero speeds, Optimus Ride claims.

Formerly known as Reston Crescent, Halley Rise is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive. The new $1.4 billion mixed-use development is transforming a 36-acre office park into:

• 1,500 residential units
• 1.5 million square feet of office space
• 250,000 square feet of retail
• an 80,000-square-foot Wegmans

The development is expected to be completed by 2026.

Rendering via Optimus Ride 

In a streak of votes on development proposals in Reston Tuesday evening, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved three projects totaling nearly 10 million square feet of development and up to 3,731 residential units at full development capacity.

The first approval by CoreSite brings nearly 943,000 square feet of space for data centers to Sunrise Technology Policy, a 21-acre office parking with four existing buildings.

David Gill, the applicant’s legal representative, said the project represents a significant investment in Fairfax County and would help serve current and future enterprises in Reston. Gill said CoreSite intentionally chose Reston instead of Loudoun County to serve as the premier data center provider for this reason.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins said the data center would also significantly reduce trip generation. “In some sense, that’s a good news piece,” she said.

Approvals for two other mixed-use projects, Reston Gateway and Reston Crescent, would open the door to a new phase of development in and around Reston Town Center. The board unanimously approved Brookfield Partners’ Reston Crescent proposal, which brings up to 1,721 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of office space, 380,00 square feet of retail and a 200-room hotel. The project is located on Sunrise Valley Drive between Edmund Halley Dive and Reston Parkway and will be the future home of a two-story Wegmans.

On the north side of the Reston Town Center Metro Station, Boston Properties’ Reston Gateway project, which brings 4.8 million square feet of development across 28 acres. The plan includes 2.2 million square feet of office, up to 2,010 residential units, a hotel, 93,900 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

The plan for Reston Gateway piqued concerns by Rob Whitfield, a Reston resident of 20 years, who said an immediate and detailed transportation plan was necessary for Reston Town Center, which he said is already congested during peak traffic hours.

Hudgins said that while projects on the drawing table are largely unfunded, each developer is offering transportation funding that will help fund future improvements that she said are necessary. Hudgins also noted that the arrival of the Silver Line over the next two years would reduce the number of drivers on the road.

“This is a large transition as we see it,” she said. 

Whitfield was the only individual to testify during the public hearings on all three projects Tuesday evening.

Brookfield Property’s 36-acre Reston Crescent project will head to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for final approval on July 31.

Despite attempts to improve the developer’s commitment to affordable housing, the project, located on northwest corner of the intersection of Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive, was given a green light by the Fairfax County Planning Commission on July 12. 

Brookfield’s plan for affordable housing would include 258 workforce housing at 70, 90, and 100 percent of the area median income — a rate lower than the county requirement of 80, 100 and 120 percent. In exchange, the developer wants to reduce its contribution to the county’s affordable housing fund. It plans to provide $2.6 million.

The four-million-square-foot project is the future home of Wegmans. Up to 1,721 residential units, 1.9 million square feet of office space, a hotel and 380,000 square feet of retail are planned on the site. Two existing office buildings will remain.

Brookfield contends it should not have to offer contributions to the housing fund for two existing office buildings on the site which were approved before the current project was filed with the county. Affordable housing contributions are calculated based on the square footage of the project’s non-residential elements.

Hunter Mill District Planning Commission John Carter said he supported the developer’s plan because increasing the level of affordability for residential units helps renters who may not otherwise be able to afford rents at higher percentages of the AMI.

However, staff from the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning said the AMI levels being proposed are similar to current rents of comparable projects in Reston’s Transit Station Area.

“We didn’t feel that the county was really benefitting from the levels being proposed,” said Mary Anne Tsai, a staff coordinator with the county’s Planning Division.

John Ulfelder, the planning commissioner for the Dranesville District, said the commission’s discussion about affordable housing warrants a closer look at the county’s policy. Ulfelder said a frequent concern cited by millennials entering the workforce is the lack of affordability areas in Reston’s Transit Station areas.

“Who are we trying to help with the policy?” Ulfelder said.

Carter also noted the developer has committed to meeting county requirements for the road fund and an athletic field, which will include a practice field and 50 parking spaces at the intersection of the Dulles Toll road and Hunter Mill Road.

The developer’s plan, as proposed, would not sufficiently meet Fairfax County standards at the intersection where the development is planned, according to staff from the Fairfax County Department of Transportation. 

Although Brookfield will alter the grid of streets and has committed to other road and traffic proffers, significant investment in other major improvements that will yield the greatest benefit — a more complex buildout of the grid of streets, the Soapstone Connector, and the Town Center Parkway underpass — is required to ensure the intersection has acceptable levels of service.

Handout via Brookfield Properties

Data centers with a fenced perimeter are inching closer to approval at Sunrise Technology Park, a 21-acre office park with four existing buildings slated for redevelopment. The Fairfax County Planning Commission approved the project by CoreSite Realty Corp. on June 28.

The proposal is part of a move by CoreSite to expand its footprint in Reston. The company selected the location on the south side of Sunrise Valley Drive in order to ensure the operation was near enterprises in Reston. The property was purchased for $60 million from Brookfield Office Properties in 2016.

“They had a choice of where they wanted to be,” said David Gill of McGuireWoods and the developer’s representative, adding that CoreSite was willing to “roll up their sleeves and a pay a premium to adaptively reuse [the] office park.”

The development is divided into four phases, one of which is currently in progress. When the first phase is complete, two existing buildings on the southern half of the property will be reconstructed and expanded with about 291,000 square feet of development. Two buildings will be demolished on the southeastern edge of the property to make way for a three-story building with 240,000 square feet in the second phase.

During phase three, one building and associated parking in the center of the property will give way to a three-story data center and another building. The fourth and final phase on the northern edge of the project will involve the demolition of existing buildings to make way for a three-story data center with 172,000 square feet. The number of stories on the buildings may vary, but will not exceed three stories.

Gill noted that the development will reduce traffic by 60 percent both during peak traffic hours and an overall reduction in trips. The data centers are expected to house a maximum of 45 employees. The development will also remove 700 parking spaces on the largely vacant site, Gill said.

However, planning officials said they were concerned buildings in phase two do not sufficiently meet environmental efficiency standards, namely LEED certification.

Gill noted CoreSite is using technologies like a cistern that uses rainwater to cool servers. CoreSite plans to address the county’s concerns about LEED certification and energy efficiency before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisor’s vote on the project, Gill said.

During the commission’s public hearing, Brian Carpenter, a resident from a nearby residential zone, said he wanted to ensure security cameras on the property would not compromise the privacy of nearby homes. The issue will be discussed with the developer.

Handout via Fairfax County Government

A decision on Brookfield Properties’ four million-square-foot redevelopment of the Reston Crescent site was deferred last week amid a disagreement regarding the developer’s contribution for the affordable housing fund. 

Brookfield has proposed roughly 4.2 million square feet of development across 36 acres, including up to 1,721 residential units, 1.9 million square feet of office space, a hotel and 380,000 square feet of retail. The property is divided into eight development blocks. Two existing office buildings on the site will remain untouched.

The first new building, which fronts Reston Parkway, includes a Wegmans with 380 apartment built on top of it. The project is located west of Reston Parkway, north of Sunrise Valley Drive, east of Edmund Halley Drive and south of the Dulles Toll Road.

At June 28 Fairfax County Planning Commission meeting, county staff indicated the developer needs to pitch in more toward the affordable housing fund. Brookfield plans to ensure 15 percent of all units are affordable at income tiers of up to 70, 90 and 100 percent of the Area Median Income — a lower income distribution than county requirements.

Even though the developer is offering units for individuals with lower incomes, county officials and the developer disagree on how much Brookfield should offer for the non-residential aspects of the property. The comprehensive plan indicates the developer should contribute $3 per non-residential square feet.

Because Brookfield is proposing a completely new redevelopment project, county officials contend the developer should contribute based on the total square footage of new development, roughly 1.6 million square feet. Brookfield, however, asserts they only have to contribute funds for 1.1 million square feet of development because other non-residential development was already approved under a previous plan.

In a report, staff said the latest proposal was entirely new and supersedes any previous approvals. “As a result, the proposed non-residential uses on affordable housing and such impact should be fully mitigated through the $3 per non-residential square feet contribution towards affordable housing,” according to the report.

An earlier clash over the developer’s commitment to providing an athletic field was resolved in recent discussions. According to the developer’s representative, Mark Looney of Cooley, Brookfield has an underdeveloped property under contract for a future full-size athletic field. Once the property is purchased, Cooley said the developer should dedicate it to the county’s park authority.

In remarks before the Planning Commission, John Carter, the commissioner for the Hunter Mill District, said the commission needed more time to discuss what could be a “precedent-making” decision. The commission will vote on the project on July 12.

Handout via Fairfax County Government

Brookfield Property Partners now owns two office buildings next to its future Reston Crescent project, a planned mixed used development with more than 2,000 residential units and the likely future home of Wegmans.

The company purchased Summit I, the home of Noblis, Inc., and Summit II on 2000 and 2002 Edmund Halley Drive from JBG Smith Properties for $95 million.

The acquisition expands Brookfield’s footprint in Reston. Although the offices have the potential of 290,000 rentable square feet, CBRE has marketed the property as a redevelopment project that could yield up to 1.2 million square feet of mixed-used development.

“The sale of Summit I and II is consistent with our strategy to take advantage of market conditions to recycle capital, deleverage our balance sheet and reinvest the proceeds in higher-yielding growth opportunities,” Matt Kelly JBG Smith’s Chief Executive Officer wrote in a statement.

JBG Smith bought the buildings for $51 million in 2012 and renovated them. The company maintains ownership of other major sites near Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station, VY at Reston Heights and RTC West.

Photos courtesy JBG Smith