A local homebuilder has answered the call to redevelop T-Mobile’s now-vacant campus in Reston.
Stanley Martin Homes, which is headquartered in Reston, is proposing to build more than 1,000 residences, including 174 income-restricted units, in place of the 36-acre office park adjacent to the Herndon Metro station.
The “East Link” project — as it’s named in a rezoning application submitted to Fairfax County on Dec. 11 — would feature a mix of multifamily and single-family attached homes accompanied by a one-story brick building repurposed as a community center.
“This application presents a unique opportunity to transform aging suburban office buildings and underutilized surface parking into a vibrant, transit-oriented community,” DLA Piper land-use attorney Brian Winterhalter wrote in a statement for the application. “The proposal delivers diverse housing options, including affordable units, consistent with the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan and Reston’s Transit Station Area principles.”
Located in the northwest quadrant of Sunrise Valley Drive and Fairfax County Parkway, the former T-Mobile campus consists of three office buildings constructed in 1983 and 1985 and served for a period as the headquarters for Nextel Communications.
When Nextel merged with Sprint in 2005, the combined company consolidated its corporate headquarters at Overland Park in Kansas. But Sprint — now T-Mobile after the telecommunications giants joined forces in 2020 — has maintained ownership of the Reston offices, even after relocating its own operations to 2340 Dulles Corner Blvd in Herndon in 2022.
While Sprint remains listed as the property owner in county records, the commercial real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield advertised the campus as a potential investment opportunity for either residential mixed-use development or a data center.
The first option appears to have won out.
In its application, Stanley Martin proposes demolishing the three existing office buildings at 12500, 12502 and 12504 Sunrise Valley Drive and constructing four multifamily residential buildings, ranging in density from 96 to 389 dwelling units. The application doesn’t indicate whether the units will be for-sale condominiums or rental apartments.
About 210 townhouses, including 110 stacked units, would also be constructed.
Though the developer appears to be leaning toward a full residential redevelopment, it offered an alternative option with up to 749 homes and more than 113,000 square feet of office space across two 75-foot-tall buildings joined by a podium.
In both cases, a one-story brick building on the southwest corner of the lot, right next to the Metro station’s parking garage, would be converted into a 16,421-square-foot community center, providing “a valuable amenity for residents and the public,” Winterhalter’s statement says.
A total of 1,245 to 1,582 parking spaces would be provided mostly in garages, depending on which development scenario is pursued, but some parking for the community center would be made available in the Herndon Metro garage.
As part of the development, Stanley Martin is proposing to replace an existing asphalt trail and sidewalk along Sunrise Valley Drive from the Metro property to Fairfax County Parkway with a 6.5-foot-wide, one-way cycle track, according to the development plan. In its “ultimate” condition, the road would have a 4-foot-wide buffer separating cyclists from a 7-foot-wide sidewalk for pedestrians.
A total of 2.92 acres of urban parkland is proposed. Almost half of it (1.42 acres) would be accessible to the general public, including seating areas and a pickleball court outside the community center, a playground area, a common green, and a pavilion park with an amphitheater.
More from the application:
“These parks will be strategically distributed throughout the development to foster community interaction and ensure convenient access to outdoor amenities. Enhancements to the wet pond and its perimeter will create additional opportunities for passive recreation. The one-story non-residential building will be repurposed into a community center that will further serve as a focal point for residents and neighbors, and it will provide for year-round active recreation opportunities.”
The application, which requests that the “outdated” office park site be rezoned from an industrial district to the county’s Planned Development Housing District, hasn’t been accepted for review yet by county staff.
