New high-rise construction is changing Northern Virginia’s skyline. Like tall firs in an apple orchard, the new buildings are impacting the nature of their surroundings, creating exceptional opportunities for Realtors® in both commercial and residential markets.

From its inception, Washington, D.C. was envisioned as a low-rise development—an “American Paris,” as Thomas Jefferson described it, with “low and convenient” buildings and “light and airy” streets. Among commercial buildings, the Old Post Office, newly refurbished as the Trump International Hotel, has been the tallest in the district – at 315 feet – since its completion in 1889. Congress soon put a stop to high rise commercial construction, however, with the passage of the “Height of Buildings Act” in 1910, capping the height of commercial buildings to the width of its “Facing Street” plus 20 feet, but never more than 130 feet.

“The explosive growth in high-rise construction is no accident.”

But if Washingtonians want to be part of the high-rise life, they can look across the Potomac. Starting with the river’s west bank in Rosslyn, and continuing west to Tysons – and soon even to Reston – high-rise construction projects are transforming Northern Virginia.

ROSSLYN
Arlington County pioneered the formula for economic growth in the late 1960s when it encouraged construction of high-density shops, offices and apartments clustered along the new Metro stops on the Orange and Blue lines.

“As the front door to Virginia, Rosslyn is critical to the business environment in our state,” Cynthia Richmond, deputy director of Arlington Economic Development observed. “The special zoning allowing for high-rise development in Rosslyn differentiates the area and provides an opportunity for us to diversify how we use office space throughout the county.”

Most notable among the newer developments has been 1812 North Moore, an office building construction by Monday Properties without benefit of pre-construction lease commitments. Completed in March 2013, its 384-foot height easily surpassed the nearby Rosslyn “twin towers” and is still the tallest building in the Metropolitan area. Its high-rise prominence for the following four years was exceeded only by its stark emptiness as it sat vacant waiting for its first tenant to sign a lease. Implementation of the federal government’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations, followed by federal budget cutbacks resulting from congressional budget sequestration and the lingering effects of the 2009 recession, all roiled the local commercial real estate markets, and vacancy rates in Rosslyn climbed above 30 percent.

This past February, Monday Properties inked a lease with Nestle, USA to relocate its American headquarters from California. “This is a trophy tenant for a trophy building,” Richmond said. “It was a perfect match between the corporate, community and building presence.”

Also in February, the 31-story residential portion of Rosslyn’s Central Place development opened, offering 377 apartments in a 387-foot tower. By next spring, developers JBG Smith plan to complete construction on the matching office tower, which will be occupied as CEB’s new headquarters. The building will feature an observation deck providing the public with unobstructed views across the Potomac at our nation’s capital.

TYSONS
As Metro’s Silver line turns the corner across Chain Bridge Road and slows down for its first Tysons stop at McLean station, a huge steel-framed skyscraper with curved glass panels can be seen under construction nearby. The main tower will be the new headquarters for Capital One, and is on its way to becoming the tallest commercial building in the area, projected at 470 feet with almost one million square feet of office space. Built to meet the specifications of Capital One, the 28-acre complex will also include residential towers for 826 units, additional office buildings, a community center and a Wegman’s grocery store.



At Metro’s nearby Greensboro station, Fairfax County Supervisors have approved an 18-acre development to be known as “the Boro,” which will include 14 new “mostly high-rise” buildings with more than 1.8 million square feet of office space, 1500 residential units, a new 19,000 square-foot public library, two hotels and retail shops, including the largest Whole Foods grocery store in the D.C. area. Developers will also create three new streets, four new “city blocks” and seven “urban parks.”  Located on the highest ground in Fairfax County, the buildings appear even higher, and developers boast, “future tenants will see West Virginia from the top floor!”

RESTON
Leaving Tysons, the Metro stops next in Reston, which will soon feature its own high-rise addition on land adjacent to the Reston Town Center. Located at 1760 Reston Parkway on land currently occupied by a five-story office building, the 23-story One Reston Town Center building recently has been approved by the Fairfax County Supervisors. It will rise 330 feet, to become the tallest building in Reston, looming 125 feet above the next tallest building at One Freedom Square. Developers Akridge and RTC Partnership anticipate beginning construction as soon as they lease the first 150,000 square feet in the 420,000 square-foot building.

“The explosive growth in high-rise construction is no accident,” according to Max Peker, market analyst at commercial real estate firm CoStar Group. “Northern Virginia’s local governments have been adopting new plans and zoning changes that encourage building dense, mixed-use, transit-oriented developments to attract more business and jobs, to locations where residents can work, shop and play.”