Reston Station, a massive mixed-use project at the door of the Wiehle-Reston Metro Station, is poised to welcome another big restaurant this year.
Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse is slated to open this fall, according to signage at the front of the 11,000-square-foot restaurant at 1902 Reston Metro Plaza.
The anticipated opening comes nearly three years after news about the lease at Reston Station first broke.
The restaurant will include seating for 356 people in its dining room and 170 seats on large patios. A 30-seat bar is also planned.
Davio’s offers seafood towers, lobsters, oysters, steak, salmons and other items.
The steakhouse takes up ground-floor space in a building that is the headquarters of international consulting firm ICF.
The restaurant has 10 locations across the country. The company did not immediately return a request for comment from FFXnow.
Photo via Valerie Rose/Facebook
Reston Station’s newest district — Reston Row — will be home to a major fitness facility.
VIDA Fitness Brands plans to open a flagship facility at 1845 Reston Row Plaza, taking up roughly 50,000 square feet across three levels of the office tower. The office tower is the fourth in Reston Station and the first building that will be built at as part of Comstock’s mixed-use development.
“We are thrilled to have VIDA Fitness and its suite of signature brands join the Reston Row District,” said Timothy J. Steffan, Chief Operating Officer for Comstock. “The integrated combination of health, wellness and beauty represents another significant merchandising addition to the retail component of the Reston Station neighborhood and will provide an array of fitness and wellness opportunities to Reston residents and guests at the JW Marriott next door.
According to a press release from Tuesday (July 26), the fitness facility will include a spa penthouse pool club on the rooftop — the company’s first open to non-resident members in the Dulles corridor.
VIDA plans to offer outdoor fitness classes at Reston Row’s Central Park. It will also include SweatBox, a workout method that combines cardio and strength training at intervals. Other features of the facility include:
- An oxygen treatment and recovery center with IV treatments, compression therapy and cryotherapy
- Aura Spa, a day spa that offers facials, sports and Thai massages, waxing body scrubs, cupping and CBD oil treatments
- Bang Salon
- Fuel Bar, a full-service lobby bar and cafe that includes co-working spaces and meeting areas
The facility will also have locker rooms, steam and sauna rooms, and WiFi access throughout the building.
“We are beyond excited to launch our newest location at Reston Station,” said David von Storch, president and founder of Urban Adventures. “It is clear to me that Comstock is creating a world-class urban environment at Reston Station with a retail tenancy consisting of the best forward-thinking local and regional operators, and office tenants that provide thousands of potential VIDA customers. We look forward to bringing VIDA Fitness and its affiliated brands to Reston Station, the perfect retailing opportunity to expand our market reach.”
VIDA has six other locations in the D.C. area, including a facility in Arlington.
Reston Row is currently under construction and will also include a JW Marriott hotel.
The redevelopment of Downtown Herndon through a partnership between the Town of Herndon and Reston-based developer Comstock is temporarily on pause.
The project, which was expected to break ground nearly two years ago, could be on pause for up to two years, according to a statement in the town’s business community newsletter, published Wednesday afternoon (July 13). The town says the pause was the result of “increases in construction costs for the project.”
“Comstock continues working to ensure that they can quickly commence the project as soon as economic conditions allow,” the newsletter said.
That means the latest construction would begin is in April 2024. Town spokesperson Anne Curtis said no other information on the topic was available.
The plan would redevelop nearly five acres of land into a mixed-use project with 273 apartments and roughly 17,000-square-feet of retail. An arts center and a 726-space parking garage are also planned as part of the project.
The news comes after months of little to no information about the project being disclosed to the public. In May, town staff said they were working with Comstock to negotiate a new construction schedule and financing package.
The cost of the $101 million project increased by $25 million due to issues related to materials, labor, and workforce restrictions caused by the pandemic. It’s unclear what the current estimate is.
Comstock’s agreement with the town, which was passed in November of 2020, allows the developer to pause construction due to market conditions and other issues.
“The town will continue working with Comstock to move the project forward and will provide an update project schedule once available,” the newsletter said.
For now, the development site will continue being used as a site for shared parking.
A spokesperson for Comstock did not immediately return a request for comment.
The next new neighborhood at the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station is in for some big changes.
Comstock Companies, the Reston-based developer behind Reston Station, is seeking the county’s permission to change the mix of previously approved uses at Reston Row, which includes 1.4 million square feet of development west of Wiehle Avenue.
No density increase is proposed, but in a June 30 application submitted to the county, Comstock says it wants to shuffle some pieces of the development.
For example, the company hopes to drop a hotel planned in Reston Station’s Founding Farmers building, because it would interfere with the restaurant’s outdoor seating and pedestrians’ experience of the plaza. It also says “it no longer makes sense” to build a 28-foot tall residential building next to a 140-feet office building on Metro Center Drive because it’s further from the station.
Instead, Comstock hopes to shift the density to Reston Row’s Building D, a 320,000-square-foot building with a mix of hotel, office, residential and retail space.
Previously envisioned as a low-rise, 320,000-square-foot building, Building D will now be the tallest building in Reston Row at 350 feet. Comstock says that height is “necessary to support the increased density,” according to the application.
Under the new proposal, the building will have 500,000 square feet of development, with 425 residential units and retail.
Comstock is “concentrating its density to which it is already entitled closer to the Metro Station,” according to the application.
Comstock has reserved roughly 10,000 square feet for a roof deck on top of Building Five for Founding Farmers and 86,670 square feet for building seven, which is a mix of office, residential and retail.
Reston Row is currently under construction and is expected to wrap up in 2024. It will consist of four buildings with a mix of housing, offices, and a hotel as well as two urban parks.
A new “Commerce Center” is taking shape at the door of the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station.
Comstock, the Reston-based developer behind the massive, mixed-use Reston Station, plans to bring 1.3 million square feet of new office space, up to 469 residential units, a hotel, 30,000 square feet of retail, and a 12,000-square-foot childcare center on nearly 16 acres of land south of the Dulles Toll Road, west of Wiehle Avenue and north of Sunrise Valley Drive.
At a Reston Planning & Zoning Committee meeting on Monday (May 16), members encouraged the company to engage significantly with the community on the massive project.
“We encouraged the applicant to meet with all nearby community associations and individual homeowners who are not part of an association,” committee chairman Rob Walker wrote in a statement to FFXnow. “It was recommended those community meetings should take the form of a more charette-type format centered around key issues the community believes are important.”
Comstock plans to demolish Commerce Center IV offices on the property, even though it is fully leased and generates “significant revenue.” In application materials submitted to the Reston Planning & Zoning Committee, Comstock said the demolition will “provide a critically needed opportunity to enhance pedestrian circulation and create a substantial urban park.”
Comstock conceded that the demolition of the office building is “quite a substantial commitment” but is necessary to create space for an underground parking garage and a public space with ground-floor retail.
A trio of office buildings would remain on the site, housing roughly 456,000 square feet of office space. Overall, the space is intended to transition the Metro station area from more high-intensity, mixed-use development to the existing offices that flank the station.
Two residential buildings are proposed on the southern portion of the property, alongside three new office buildings closest to the toll road.
Committee member Katie McClain inquired about the extent of community engagement, particularly courting feedback from area residents. She said it was important to get feedback on the 16-story hotel proposed across residential buildings.
Brian Winterhalter, an attorney with DLA Piper, said Comstock is in the preliminary stages of community engagement and expects to launch several community meetings next month.
“We’re reaching out to each of the associations,” Winterhalter said, addressing concerns about lack of input in the plans.
“You really have a monopoly on the Metro there, but really the entire community need to be able to use that,” Michelle Kimmel said, lamenting what she sees as a lack of pedestrian walkability in the area and the absence of a Kiss and Ride.
The project has one of the highest development densities in Reston with a floor area ratio of 3.2, slightly higher than what is recommended by the county’s comprehensive plan.
Winterhalter said Comstock is seeking bonus density through the mid-block road on the property, the demolition of Commerce Center III and dedication of 16% of the total residential units as workforce housing.
Other committee members encouraged Comstock to ensure that the development activates Wiehle Avenue as much as possible.
“The streetscape along Wiehle looks a little thin to me,” committee member Mike Jennings cautioned.
Comstock is expected to continue engaging with the committee throughout the zoning process. The county has not yet officially accepted the application for review.
A groundbreaking date for downtown Herndon’s pending redevelopment has been as elusive as the regional transportation that’s intended to help activate it: the opening of phase two of the Silver Line.
Developer Comstock Companies is working with the town to transform 4.7 acres of land into a mixed-use town center with 273 residential apartments, 17,000 square feet of retail space, an arts center and a 726-space parking garage.
Comstock has submitted a new schedule for the project, which was expected to break ground this spring after being pushed further out from last year.
At a Herndon Town Council meeting on Tuesday (May 10), town manager Bill Ashton II said attorneys for Comstock and the town are negotiating the schedule and financing package.
“They are on the cusp of going to lending but there are some things they need to iron out before they can get there,” Ashton II said at the meeting.
The town is actively working on this issues, which were not publicly discussed. Comstock has also required some changes to a building permit based on site plan revisions that will be submitted to the town.
Comstock told FFXnow in a statement that no updates were available to share.
Ashton provided the update at a meeting following questions from Vice Mayor Cesar del Aguila.
“There’s a lot of rumor mill and conspiracies out there,” del Aguila said.
The cost of the $101 million project increased by $25 million due to issues related to materials, labor, and workforce restrictions caused by the pandemic.
When asked about the project, a spokesperson for the town deferred to the discussion at the meeting.
(Updated at 4:48 p.m. to clarify construction is currently underway)
Like other construction projects in the area, Virginia’s first JW Marriott is facing some delays.
The 26-story hotel, which plans to open at Comstock’s Reston Station, has been delayed by a year, according to a spokesperson for the Reston-based development company.
“Construction was delayed on this for a year due to the pandemic,” the spokesperson said, adding that work is currently underway on the site.
The hotel, which will be located at the intersection of Reston Station Boulevard and Wiehle Avenue, had planned to open in 2024 and will cost roughly $250 million to complete.
JW Marriott launched in 1984 as Marriott International’s luxury brand. There are more than 100 JW Marriott hotels in 36 countries.
Once completed, the building would complement the design of the Helmut Jahn office tower across the street.
Overall, the development is expected to have around 400 hotel units. The JW Marriott will include 250 guest rooms, 90 residents, roughly 15,000 square feet of meeting space, two restaurants and other amenities.
Marriott’s Extended Stay hotel is also planned for the site. CRS Hotel LC, a company managed by Comstock, finalized a franchise agreement in February 2021.
The project is expected to delivery in late 2024.
A major general contractor has set its eyes on Reston.
Winmar Construction plans to open offices at 2100 Reston Parkway.
A company representative tells FFXnow that the office space is expected to be ready for occupancy by June 1.
The company already has offices in the District, Baltimore and Miami.
According to county permits, an application for a mounted sign has been processed.
Winmar is behind a number of projects across the country, including Founding Farmers’ 13,400-square-foot-restaurant at Comstock’s Reston Station development at the door of the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station.
