A new dog care business from a local couple has staked out territory in the developing expansion of Reston Town Center.
With construction expected to finish later this month, Molly’s Dog Care will officially open its doors at 11992 Inspiration Street on Dec. 8. The nearly 4,000-square-foot center will offer day care, boarding and grooming services to pups of all sizes and personalities, according to its website.
The facility is opening in time to greet an influx of new residents to the development, which recently began move-ins for the 40-story Skymark apartment tower at 12000 Inspiration Street. The building is on track for completion in 2025, along with a hotel from Marriott that will include rooms designed for extended stays.
“People have pets, and so, having a convenient doggy daycare option embedded right outside the doorstep of our new multi-family building is great,” Jake Stroman, co-head of Reston Town Center developer BXP’s D.C. regional office, told FFXnow. “It’s going to be a great amenity for the residents in that building, for sure, and then also the Reston community in general.”
Molly’s Dog Care operator Melody Roberts says she jumped at the opportunity to work with BXP on a new venture that will serve the same area where she and her family, including three kids and a dog named Cooper, have lived for over 15 years.
“My husband grew up in Fairfax County going to Reston Town Center as a kid and our family still loves to spend time there,” Roberts said by email. “As busy parents … we wanted to provide the RTC community with a best-in-class dog care service that was convenient and a place they felt great about bringing their pup for daycare, boarding and grooming.”
The Reston location is the first for Molly’s Dog Care, though it will be followed in early 2025 by a sister branch in Baltimore, Maryland.
According to Roberts, the center was conceived as “a one-stop shop” for dog care, with a play area, overnight and short-term accommodations, and a variety of grooming services provided by staff trained to recognize each pet’s unique needs.
Though she didn’t comment on the cost of the buildout, Roberts says the team “made a strategic decision to invest more in our real estate to provide maximum convenience to our customers.”
“Patrons can expect next-level dog care services in a state-of-the-art facility,” she said. “Our well-trained staff will prioritize quality care for both the patron and their pup for a seamless, friendly experience.”
With the opening less than a month away now, Roberts is excited to meet local pet owners and support the surrounding community through events and partnerships with area shelters.
“Once the facility opens, I’m most looking forward to creating a joyful, safe space where dogs can play, learn, and thrive every day,” Roberts said. “Seeing happy dogs form bonds with each other and our team will be incredibly rewarding.”
Molly’s Dog Care appears to be the first publicly confirmed retail tenant in the Reston Town Center expansion, which was approved for 4.4 million square feet of new development, including 162,600 square feet of retail space, in 2018.
A site plan suggests multiple restaurants, fitness and wellness centers, a brewery, a specialty market and a “vehicle experience center” are in the works, but BXP said it’s unable to comment on any other tenants at the moment.
“We have some retail coming, but we can’t [comment] until the ink is dry,” a BXP spokesperson said.
The expansion’s first phase will deliver about 67,000 square feet of retail. BXP filed a plan with Fairfax County in June that proposes another 22,000 square feet of retail, reducing the overall total to 89,900 square feet, among other revisions.
