Investment firms in New York and Canada spent hundreds of millions of dollars this year to acquire office and residential buildings near the Dulles International Airport in Fairfax County.
Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate company based in Montreal, acquired Ashton at Dulles Corner, a set of luxury apartment buildings along Sunrise Valley Drive in McNair, on Nov. 12 for over $149 million. A spokesperson, Véronique Désilets, suggested by email that the company increased an existing stake it has in the property but declined to say what its long-term plans are for the property.
It’s still being managed by global real estate developer and property manager Greystar, which is headquartered in Charleston, S.C.
Manhattan-based Innovatus Capital Partners acquired three office buildings located at 13530 and 13560 Dulles Technology Drive on May 28 for $113.5 million. According to its website, the investment firm seeks to “identify and capitalize on market distress, disruption, and growth.”
And the North American Islamic Foundation, which holds prayers and religious classes at its current location at 13515 Dulles Technology Drive, Suite 1, bought a building next door that currently houses the Little Oaks Montessori Academy and Oak Hill Christian School. The $6.8 million purchase happened on Aug. 30.
“An expansion plan is underway on the main campus to match the needs of the rapidly growing community,” NAIF says on its website.
Officials with Innovatus Capital Partners and NAIF declined to respond to messages seeking comment about their plans.
The properties are near the yet-to-open Innovation Center Station for the continued expansion of Metrorail’s Silver Line, which is still facing delays. It also comes as the pandemic has led businesses to rethink whether they’re using office space as efficiently as possible.
Developers are already there, constructing apartments, townhomes and condos, a senior facility, and more along with plans to further transform the office and residential park.
Photo via Google Maps
The first step of a development vision, sidetracked for years by legal action from a neighboring business group, is moving forward.
The extension of McNair Farms Road is being built near Arrowbrook Park. It’s what developers have sought to accomplish as early as 2017 to help connect a nearby wooded property originally eyed for apartments.
“Stanley Martin Homes is developing a residential neighborhood on Dulles Technology Drive and has contracted with William A. Hazel Inc. to construct the extension of McNair Farms Drive,” the county said in an online post on Oct. 20 after people asked about the park’s pond and trail being closed off.
Stanley Martin Homes got approval in 2018 to build 172 units in stacked townhomes that could be four stories tall. It also received the county’s OK to alternatively pursue a previously approved 2017 plan that would involve building two six-story buildings for 460 units.
But a neighboring business group sued in 2018, saying its property value diminished by $3.3 million, a court document said. The business group — an office condominium association consisting of Spectrum Innovative Properties, McWhorter and Mulpuri Properties — claimed a four-lane extension of McNair Farms Drive would take approximately 12% of its property.
The lawsuit and appeals involved Fairfax County Board of Supervisors as the primary defendant, and the case eventually went to the Virginia Supreme Court, which issued an order May 20, 2021, that found the business group had no additional injuries from the 2018 approval and had no standing for the case.
The Virginia Supreme Court’s order follows Stanley Martin Homes’ purchase of the property for nearly $20.4 million in December 2020 from JLB Dulles Tech LLC — an entity linked to Dallas-based multifamily developer JLB Partners — that had the previous approval in 2017.
The road extension has temporarily closed Arrowbrook Park, where heavy equipment gained access to the site along a pond. The county and Stanley Martin Homes suggested the park work could be completed this summer or be at the point where at least trail access would be restored.
Part of the Stanley Martin Homes property hugs another access point: Dulles Technology Drive, where construction crews are also accessing the site to build the McNair Farms Drive extension.
The Stanley Martin Homes executive said the company plans to submit an application to the Virginia Department of Transportation to connect a traffic light at Centreville Road with the soon-to-be-built McNair Farms Drive extension, which requires building a bridge.
The executive with Stanley Martin Homes, a subsidiary of the Japan-based Daiwa House Group, said the company will build stacked townhomes there.
