Construction is well underway on the first mixed-use development to emerge on the north side of the Herndon Metro station.
The Nell at 555 Apartments is on track to deliver 399 homes with over 14,000 square feet of private amenity space, approximately 5,000 square feet of retail and a parking garage in the next year, according to developer Fairfield Residential.
“We expect first resident move-ins in early 2027 and for construction to complete in late spring 2027,” Fairfield Vice President of Development Trey Kirby told FFXnow. “Residents will benefit from walkability to the Herndon Metro stop, easy access to the Toll Road and Dulles Airport, and short commutes to numerous job and retail centers.”
Replacing an office building on a 4.3-acre site at 555 Herndon Parkway, the complex will feature a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments, Kirby said. Approximately 5,000 square feet of the amenity space is expected to be devoted to retail or a restaurant under a final development plan approved by the Herndon Town Council in 2022.
The project was the first one approved in the Herndon Transit-Oriented Core (HTOC) since the town adopted a plan to guide the 38-acre area’s development in 2012.
Anticipating the Metro Silver Line station’s arrival, the plan called for a mixed-use, walkable neighborhood that would offer retail and public space amenities for residents as well as convenient commuting options for workers. It anticipated the area could support up to 4.1 million square feet of office, retail and hotel development and 2,357 homes by 2035.
That vision will likely be updated and refined over the next year, as Town of Herndon staff and their hired consultant craft a new comprehensive plan to shape future land use decisions until 2050.
Originally proposed in 2017 by the developer Penzance, the plan for 555 Herndon Parkway was gradually scaled down from two residential buildings to just one with a reduced amount of office and retail space. The final plan shows a 200,000-square-foot, 24-story office building intended to be constructed in a future phase.
A spokesperson for Fairfield confirmed that a future office building is permitted, but “we don’t currently have near-term intentions of developing” it.
Though Nell at 555 currently stands out in an area dominated by offices, town leaders hope it will soon be joined by more development in the HTOC. The town council unanimously approved plans on April 28 for a mixed-use redevelopment of the adjacent property at 575 Herndon Parkway.
In addition, a proposal was submitted last October for a 400-unit, seven-story apartment building with 5,000 square feet of retail at 535 Herndon Parkway. Under review by town staff and discussed by the Architectural Review Board at a work session on April 1, the project would take the place of a two-story office building on a site owned since 1985 by the Air Line Pilots Association, per Fairfax County property records.
The Parkview project at 593 Herndon Parkway, however, has been deemed “inactive” by town staff. A rezoning of the property for a mixed-use building with apartments, office and retail was approved in 2022, but developer Lerner Enterprises has yet to follow up with a site plan.
