Retail giant Walmart is finally planning to move into Herndon, more than four years after it originally leased office space in the area.
According to Fairfax County records, the discount department and grocery store chain filed for permits last month to renovate the first four floors of the six-floor office building at 2245 Monroe Street, totaling approximately 83,300 square feet.
A spokesperson for Walmart told FFXnow the company is “in the process of preparing the space in Herndon to host associates” but declined to share more details.
Owned by the Massachusetts-based investment firm Barings Real Estate, the office building underwent “massive renovations” in 2019 that included an overhaul of the entire first floor, adding a new lobby, tenant lounge, fitness center, café, game room and outdoor patio, per a press release from the D.C.-based commercial real estate company Transwestern.
A year later, the retailer’s technology arm — then called Walmart Labs and now rebranded as Walmart Global Tech — signed an 11-year lease for 162,357 square feet of office space to establish a new technology center, according to the Washington Business Journal.
“Walmart Labs leverages the expertise of software engineering teams, designers, data scientists and product managers to create top solutions for Walmart’s future online and in-store shopping experiences,” Transwestern said in its announcement of the lease.
However, in light of the pandemic, the company backed out of plans to move into the building, instead allowing it to be sub-leased to other tenants. Transwestern officials told Bisnow at the time that Walmart Labs had determined it “no longer [had] need for the space” since the employees would be working remotely.
Walmart also leases office space at 10780 Parkridge Blvd in Reston.
As of press time, Walmart’s application for interior renovations hadn’t been approved and was still under county review.
Photo via Google Maps
