An approved plan for massive development of the Commerce Executive Park near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station may be at a fork in the road, the Washington Business Journal reports.
According to the WBJ, JBG Smith is marketing the 12-acre property Commerce Executive Park to prospective buyers. JBG Smith took ownership of the property — south of the Dulles Toll Road and at the northwest corner of the Sunrise Valley Drive/Wiehle Avenue intersection — from Vornado Realty Trust earlier this year as part of the recent merger of JBG Cos. and Vornado’s D.C. business unit, Charles E. Smith.
The three existing six-story office buildings would remain in the redevelopment plan, but the rest would be transformed into a live-work-dine-shop destination for those who want to be close to Metro and Reston’s busy business corridor. The new buildup would include towering buildings that would be among the tallest in Reston:
- a 22-story, 275-foot-tall office building
- a 24-story, 255-foot-tall residential building with up to 300 dwelling units
- a 14-story, 165-foot-tall hotel with 175 rooms
- a 7-story, 100-foot-tall residential building with up to 200Â dwelling units
The plans also include a total of 1.5 acres of open space, with small parks, bicycle tracks and a promenade along the businesses, and would feature public art including a water feature.
According to the WBJ report, the fact that CBRE is marketing the properties for JBG Smith doesn’t necessarily mean a sale is imminent or will even happen at all.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved the rezoning of nearly 12 acres of office space near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station along with Vornado Realty Trust’s plans for its transformation.
The area, adjacent to the Metro station at Wiehle Avenue and Sunrise Valley Drive, will be redeveloped by Vornado into 1.5 million square feet of residences, hotels, restaurants and retail. Washington Business Journal first reported on the approval yesterday.
The nearly 12 acres have long been zoned as industrial. With Vornado’s redevelopment plan, three existing six-story office buildings will remain, but the rest will be transformed into a live-work-dine-shop destination for those who want to be close to Metro and Reston’s busy business corridor.
The development will include a seven-story building that will fit up to 200 residences, another 24-story building that will fit up to 300 residences, a new 22-story office building of more than 350,000 square feet, and a new 14-story hotel that will feature around 175 rooms, according to Vornado’s application as reported by the county.
These new buildings will be among some of the tallest in Reston.
Occupants of the new development will have access to both the north and south sides of the Metro station, from Sunrise Valley Drive via Commerce Park Drive. Retail and dining businesses would be on ground floors of the buildings and would aim to minimize car use.
The plans also include a total of 1.5 acres of open space, with small parks, bicycle tracks and a promenade along the businesses, and will feature public art including a water feature.
Residents of the development will also be Reston Association members, and therefore would have access to the pools, tennis courts, event and recreation opportunities that come with membership.
Another plan to revamp a portion of Sunrise Valley Drive will go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission Sept. 28. This one asks for a giant-sized (1.5 million square feet) mixed-use development south of the Wiehle-Reston East Metro.
Vornado Realty Trust is seeking to rezone 12 acres at Wiehle Avenue, Sunrise Valley Drive and the Dulles Toll Road.
Vornado seeks to keep office buildings at the current Commerce Executive Park but replace open space and surface parking with a seven-story, 200-unit residential building; a 24-story, 300-unit residential building; a 22-story, 385,000-square-foot office building; and a 175-room hotel. There would also be retail in the first three floors of several buildings.
The 22- and 24-story towers will be about the same height as One Reston Town Center, the approved plan for redeveloping a five-story office building into Reston’s tallest building at 1760 Reston Parkway.
The staff report says the project would be developed in four phases, with the 200-unit largely brick residential building going up first along Sunrise Valley Drive and Wiehle Avenue. Next would be the residential tower at Wiehle and the Toll Road, followed by the office building adjacent to the Metro, and the hotel.
The plans also call for pedestrian paths to the Metro, bike lanes, pocket parks and a plaza. The staff report recommends approval.
Earlier this week, the planning commission approved rezoning an office building for 54 townhouses and began demolition of the 42-year-old former American Press Institute building. Both of those projects are on Sunrise Valley south of the Dulles Toll Road.
The second phase of JBG’s Reston Heights is also under construction, with a 385-unit apartment community and as well as 89,000 square feet of retail.
Renderings of Commerce Executive Park courtesy of Fairfax County.
