Reston Town Center’s newest phase, Reston Next, delivered its first two office towers—1950 and 2000 Opportunity Way—earlier this year. Work is now underway on the next block, which will house a residential-focused mixed-use building. Referred to as “Block D” in planning documents, this parcel will be built with a 39-story apartment skyscraper over a podium building that will contain ground-floor retail, loft-style residential units, and four floors of office space. Once completed, this new building will be the tallest residential tower in the Washington metropolitan area.
Reston Next, or “RTC Next” as it is also called, is the largest mixed-use project under construction right now in Reston. Four and a half million square feet of new development over nine blocks were approved in 2018, shortly after Boston Properties secured a whole-building lease with Fannie Mae for one of the first buildings. A couple years later, Volkswagen signed on as well. Construction began in 2019 on the first two blocks, which together total over a million square feet of office space.
The design for Block D has changed iteratively since the 2018 approval. The initial approval was for a residential mixed-use building up to 44 stories tall, with a second, smaller tower 12 stories tall. Last year, the county Board of Supervisors approved a transfer of 78,000 square feet of approved but unconstructed office space from the first two blocks to Block D. The office space will take up the first four stories on the western end of the building, and reduce the overall ground-floor retail.
Late last year, Boston Properties requested a zoning interpretation for a number of small changes to the design, which are still under review with the county. The eastern garage access point was removed, which will slightly decrease the footprint of the building and allow for more outdoor open space. The 12-story tower was also removed, with residential units instead wrapping around much of the parking garage, which has been reduced in size. The number of residential units are also reduced from the initial approval, from 600 total to just 508. The central tower will now be 39 stories tall and 432 feet in height.
With excavation work beginning just now, it will be quite some time before the building is completed. The building’s base is large, which will require a lot of dirt to be removed. Then, construction will begin on the large office, residential, and parking podium, and 39 story tower above it. It’s possible that first move-ins could happen in late 2024, but certainly no sooner than that.
Work is also scheduled to begin this summer on Reston Town Center’s dual-branded Marriott hotel. The hotel building will sit on top of the already-completed underground parking structure for the existing office towers. This hotel along with the new residential skyscraper will complete the first phase of the RTC Next development. A second phase could start development as early as 2025, when the existing lease at Reston Corporate Center ends. However, approval from the Board of Supervisors of the final development plans will be a prerequisite.