THE FINAL COUNTDOWN has begun on the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line extension. By this time next year, Metro should be providing service to Dulles International Airport and beyond.

The expansion of the Silver Line will extend the Phase 1 segment completed more than five years ago from Falls Church to Whiele-Reston by adding six additional stations heading west into Loudoun County: Reston Town Center, Herndon, Dulles International Airport, Innovation Center, Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn. Phase 2 construction is already roughly 95% complete and expected to be finished in February. With necessary inspections and corrections still needed to be completed, operations are not expected to begin before late July.

The completed Silver Line will stretch from the Largo Town Center in Maryland to Ashburn through a total of 34 Metro stations providing riders in Fairfax and Loudoun counties full access to the 118 miles of Metro rail service throughout the metropolitan area.

Northern Virginia Realtors® have already seen the impact of the Silver Line expansion on both commercial and residential properties. According to a report earlier this year from the Washington Council of Governments, 44% of new office buildings in the metropolitan area, accounting for 4.8 million square feet (or 82% of new office space under construction at the end of 2018), were within one-half mile of a Metro station.

“Getting Metro access to Dulles is key,” Fairfax County Economic Development Authority’s president and CEO, Victor Hoskins, explained. “But the completion of the Silver Line extension will also give employees from Loudoun and Fairfax counties f luid access to the major business centers throughout the region.”

Among the most notable new projects in Northern Virginia are:

CAPITAL ONE CENTER –

5.4 million square feet of development, including a 470-foot-tall headquarters, more than 3 million square feet of office space, a 1,600-seat performance center, a corporate hotel and ground floor retail, including a new Wegman’s market near the McLean Station.

THE BORO –

2.3 million square feet of office space, 680 residential units across three residential towers, a 15-screen ShowPlace Icon movie theater, and retail space including a Whole Foods Market in Tysons.

THE MILE –

A recently approved 10-building, 3 million-square-foot mixed use development including residential, retail, storage, office, a hotel and five-acre public park spread over a 38-acre site in Tysons. The plan also includes demolition of nine existing buildings at the site.

RESTON STATION –

Already under construction with 800,000 square feet of office space, 450 residential units and 120,000 square feet of retail at the Whiele-Reston Metro station.

CAMPUS COMMONS –

Also at the Whiele-Reston station, a nearly 12-acre development with a 14-story office building, including an additional 26,000 square feet of retail, two multi-family buildings totaling 629 residential units, the creation of a community playground and the redevelopment of two other office buildings built in the 1980s.

HALLEY RISE –

Approved for 1.5 million square feet of office space, 1,500 apartments and 380,000 square feet of retail near Reston Station, including a Wegman’s market and an entertainment center with bowling and bocce.

RESTON GATEWAY –

2.2 million square feet of office space, about 2,000 residential units, 162,000 square feet of retail and a 570-room hotel north of Reston Town Center.

The area around Dulles International Airport is more likely to attract new hotel and entertainment uses. Development plans west from Reston focus on enhancing Loudoun County’s existing infrastructure to allow further residential and commercial development over time as well as adding to Loudoun County’s status as the nation’s leading hub for data centers.

Loudoun County’s economic development director, Buddy Rizer, has defended the addition of more data centers, pointing out that they provide needed tax revenue to help the County pay for the Metro expansion.

The impact of regional cooperation and the completion of the Silver Line has already started to be felt, according to Hoskins, although it will probably be another 10 years before we see the full potential.

That spirit of cooperation has recently led to the formation of the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance, or NOVA EDA, composed of 10 jurisdictions in Northern Virginia including Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, Fauquier and Loudoun counties along with the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park. Learn more about the alliance on page 36 of this issue.

The new organization will allow the region to collaborate more effectively and work with the Virginia Economic Development Alliance to recruit additional new business opportunities.

“We have to take advantage of the entire (regional) workforce, the entire portfolio of housing, the entire transportation system,” Hoskins told the Washington Post in announcing its creation. “It’s such a great time in the history of this region,” Hoskins enthused.

Realtors® working in Northern Virginia should agree.