Honeygrow opens today — The Philadelphia import will celebrate its grand opening today at 10:30 a.m. today. The fast-casual restaurant offers stir-fries and salads, ordered via screen ordering stations. The restaurant, which is located at 12100 Sunset Hills Road, also plans to donate $5 of every stir-fry or salad sold to the nonprofit Back on My Feet today. The first 100 guests will get some honegrow swag and free draft lattes from La Colombe Coffee Roasters. [Facebook]
Light it up — Residents can receive up to five free LEDs at Reston Regional Library on Monday (May 14). The first LED is free and the remaining bulbs are available in exchange for an incandescent or Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb. [Fairfax County Government]
Loudoun competes with Reston, Tysons — “Loudoun County does not have the same business hubs as neighboring Fairfax County, with Tysons and Reston Town Center attracting large office tenants, but landlords and brokers in the county say Loudoun can use that to its advantage.” [Bisnow]
Two pools to open Saturday — “Two of Reston Association’s 15 pools are scheduled to open this weekend. Ridge Heights and North Shore heated pools will open Saturday at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. respectively. Weekday hours will be 1-7 p.m. and 1-8 p.m..” [Reston Association]
Photo by Ruth Sievers
Spot a helicopter? — Don’t be alarmed. Helicopters are flying low in the area as crews conduct maintenance on power lines and wires in the coming days. [Fairfax County Police Department]
Obsolete offices — Fairfax County’s oldest office buildings have some of the lowest vacancy rates — even though they’re considered obsolete. That’s despite the fact that trophy towers are going up in Tysons and Reston. [Washington Business Journal]
Ashburn Shooting Arrest — A Centreville man has been arrested in connected with the shooting of a Reston man on Sunday at an Ashburn home. [Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office]
A new age — Metro’s Silver Line brings in a new age for Reston. Some fear development will ruin the community’s character. Others say it will fulfill its vision. [The Washington Post]
Photo submitted by Wade Gilley
Wind advisory in effect from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. — “Strong winds will increase Wednesday morning ahead of a strong cold front and continue into early Wednesday evening. A line of showers will be associated with the frontal passage which could bring localized wind gusts to 50 mph or greater.” [National Weather Service]
The coming train –The Silver Line is bringing more of the D.C. region’s office submarkets into the Metro-accessible category. Northern Virginia accounted for more than half of all new commercial real estate construction last year. [WTOP]
Turning a page — After StoneTurn Group’s third-party review, Reston Association’s Board of Directors passed two actions that aim to bolster internal controls. [The Connection]
Hooked up — Free WiFi is available underground in several Metro stations. But Wiehle-Reston East isn’t on the list yet. [WMATA]
An eggspectacular hunt — At Restoration Church and the newly-planted Reston campus of Floris United Methodist Church, people “find community” and “growth in faith.” [The Connection]
Flickr pool photo by vantagehill
Campus at Sunrise, a three-building portfolio with nearly 254,000 square feet, is on the market for $61 million, according to recently released marketing information by Cushman & Wakefield.
The commercial real estate company is seeking buyers for the trio of buildings on 11130 Sunrise Valley Drive, 11190 Sunrise Valley Drive and 11180 Sunrise Valley Drive, which were built between 1987 and 1990 on nearly a dozen acres.
Jennifer Dietze, a senior property manager for Lincoln Property Company, said Cushman & Wakefield is currently preparing an offering memorandum. Dietze also declined to provide any other information on the sale, including why the company is seeking to shed the property.
BPG Properties, a private equity real estate company, sold Campus at Sunrise to Canada-based Grosvenor Americas, the current owner, for $63 million in 2011 — two million more than the current sale price. Soon after, the company renovated the buildings’ HVAC systems, which they said “greatly enhance the tenant experience.”
Promotional material cites the buildings’ close proximity to Wiehle-Metro East, indoor and outdoor terrace lounge areas, an on-site delicatessane and fitness center.
Eric Berkman, a representative for Cushman & Wakefield, declined to comment on the building portfolio due to a confidentiality agreement.
Photos via Cushman & Wakefield
Let your imagination run wild – Today is the last day an art proposal in response to the prompt, “If you could do anything, what would it be?” Greater Reston Arts Center will select five artists to participate in the Mary B. Howard invitational later this year. [GRACE]
Delays on Metro This Weekend — The Silver, Orange and Blue Lines are scheduled to run every 24 minutes, thanks to weekend track work. [WTOP]
A new home for OVHcloud – The global cloud provider opened its headquarters in Reston. The company’s CEO Russ Reeder said he’s glad to be back in the region. [OVHcloud]
Discussion on Russia’s foreign policy today —Â Watch a segment of the “Great Decisions” documentary and delve into a roundtable discussion at Reston Regional Library from 2-4:15 p.m. [Fairfax County Government]
Empty office space woes – Near Silver Line stations, millions of square feet of office space is available. Some developers and brokers are struggling to court good tenants. [Bisnow]
Body Found in Early February Outside Reston Town Center High Rise – On Feb. 2, a woman’s body was found in a driveway outside condominiums in Reston. Police investigated the incident as a possible suicide.
Flickr pool photo by vantagehill
A Philadelphia-based developer has bought up 180,000 square feet of office space in Reston with plans to renovate it and add high-end amenities, in hopes of attracting tech companies.
Rubenstein Partners announced last week it purchased the five-story building at 11493 Sunset Hills Road for $18.6 million. Unisys Corp. recently vacated the building after more than 10 years.
Built around 1988, the property is close to the Reston Station neighborhood, which is just a short walk from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station. It also is near the Dulles Toll Road, Reston Town Center and Plaza America.
“11493 Sunset Hills Road is exactly the kind of value-add opportunity Rubenstein Partners seeks out,” Mike Daugard, a Rubenstein Partners vice president, said in a statement. “The outstanding location speaks for itself.”
Rubenstein Partners soon will begin work on updating the building with new high-end amenities to create a more modern feel, Dugard said.
“The vision for the property is to convert it from a traditional office building to a high-tech magnet by refashioning the interiors to offer higher ceilings and a more open ‘industrial loft’ feel,” he said.
In addition to all-new HVAC systems and a modern building management system, the building will get a fitness center, conference center and food service areas, according to plans from Rubenstein Partners.
All renovations and additions are expected to be complete by the end of 2017. At that time, Rubenstein Partners will hand over operations to real estate firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, which will lease the space.
Photo courtesy of Rubenstein Partners
Fannie Mae is reportedly seeking a large amount of office space in Reston.
The mortgage giant, which recently made a deal to leave its upper Northwest D.C. location to build an new building at 1150 15th St., longtime site of The Washington Post headquarters.
Meanwhile, The Washington Business Journal reports that Fannie Mae is also planning to lease about 180,000 square feet at an undisclosed location in Reston to support a new commercialization platform it is developing in collaboration with Freddie Mac.
Fannie already owns and leases space at 11600 American Dream Way in Reston, as well as in Herndon, but company spokesman Andrew Wilson told WBJ it has maxed out its space in Reston and needs to expand to roll out the new platform for the mortgage industry.
Fannie Mae occupies nearly 1.5 million square feet of owned and leased space in the region, including a lease set to expire next year at Monument IV at Worldgate in Herndon.
Fannie plans to combine its operations there into the new space, which Fannie has identified says it cannot disclose yet.
Photo: Current Fannie Mae Reston space near Plaza America/file photo
