A new future could be on the horizon for an office building on Dulles Technology Drive.
Aventon Holdings II is seeking Fairfax County’s permission to redevelop the ePlus headquarters at 13595 Dulles Technology Drive in McNair with a 348-unit apartment building, according to a Dec. 29 application.
The building would be up to 75 feet, or six stories, tall with a partial basement and include 41 workforce dwelling units.
“The Applicant’s proposal seeks to reinvigorate an underutilized property and increase the housing stock in Fairfax County,” the application says.
To move forward, the county would have to rezone the property from industrial uses to a planned residential mixed-use district designation.
A 418-space parking garage is planned on the site, most of which will be screened by the residential buildings. The developer wants to reduce the number of parking spaces required per dwelling unit to 1.2.
Based on the applicant’s analysis, the project would generate roughly 669 net new vehicles trips during a typical weekday, according to the application.
A 4-foot-wide pedestrian pathway is planned next to to the apartment building to connect Dulles Technology Drive to River Birch Road, along with an 8-foot-wide shared-use trail in the stream valley linked to Merry Brook Run.
An interior courtyard in the apartment building is planned with a pool, seating areas, grilling stations and entertainment areas. For the public, an observation overlook, pergola, play mounds, benches and grilling stations would be provided.
The property includes a Resource Protection Area (RPA) and is near a 100-year floodplain — which the applicants says the project will respect. Although the building doesn’t encroach on those areas, a trail, utilities and stormwater area would encroach on the RPA.
(Updated at 2 p.m.) It’s official: after years of rising costs and an ever-lengthening construction timeline, the second phase of Metro’s Silver Line has opened to the public.
A train pulled out of the new Dulles International Airport station for the first time shortly after noon following a celebration this morning, where local, state and regional leaders gathered to mark the opening of the 11.4-mile extension of the rail line into Loudoun County.
If everything went according to schedule, an express Silver Line train departed from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station at 1:15 p.m., carrying winning “Silver Ticket” holders straight to Ashburn. The first passenger train from Ashburn to Downtown Largo will leave a little before 2 p.m., making all stops along the way.
First Silver Line train carrying local leaders, officials leaves the Dulles Airport Station #wmata @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/S4fhh8fMSg
— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) November 15, 2022
At this morning’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, which started at 10:30 p.m. at the Dulles station, Rep. Don Beyer said the extension would usher a “once in a generation community infrastructure paradigm shift.”
Metro Board of Directors Chair Paul Smedberg lauded regional and local leaders for coming together to make what was a decades-log planning dream a reality.
“Today represents the best of what transit can do it,” Smedberg said.
Sen. Mark Warner said that the opening is the culmination of years of bi-partisan planning for decades.
“Every one of these speakers are going to come with partially silver hair at this point,” Warner said.
Others characterized the opening as an opening of new opportunities and possibilities.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11) said that the project will produce an “incalculable return on investment” despite cost overruns and delays.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who noted that today also marks the 60th anniversary of the airport, said she was confident that the Silver Line will offer a “comeback from Covid.”
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Board Chairman Jeff McKay said the extension provides a much-needed investment for the local economy, noting that the county is a significant economic engine for the commonwealth overall.
The long-anticipated project, which cost upwards of $3 billion, brings six new Metro stations to Virginia and activates the Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County with Metrorail service.
“This is the result of what many people before us have done,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
U.S. Department of Transportation @SecretaryPete sharing…
“What we see here with the ⚪️ Silver Line is democracy at work. Democracy 🇺🇸 in action can be a lot to bear. In the end, people have come together to make this work.” #SilverLineExtension #ridesilver #yourmetro #wmata pic.twitter.com/omKQPNp4Uz— Metro (@wmata) November 15, 2022
Another building is slated to go up as part of Dulles Station, a 63-acre, mixed-use project near the Innovation Center Metro Station.
Developer DSVO Dulles is seeking Fairfax County’s approval to build a 510-unit, 525,000-square-foot apartment building with ground-floor retail, according to a Feb. 22 application submitted to the county.
The company says the proposal provides for an “even more welcoming, connected and efficient building in the heart of the Innovation Center Transit Station Area” than originally planned.
Dulles Station is currently home to retail like Vietnamese restaurant Alo Vietnam and Kabobi by The Helmand, a bistro that serves Afghan cuisine. A dental practice, financial services firm, and small storefronts such as Nazareth Market also have opened at the site.
Existing apartment complexes, such as ICON, The Mark and Camden, already house hundreds of residents.
Makers Rise, a 356-unit apartment building built around an existing parking garage, is currently under construction. Completion is expected in July of next year.
In 2017, the county approved shifting Makers Rise and the newly proposed building from planned office space to residential with ground-floor retail or office space.
Parking will be accommodated through the existing nine-story parking structure along Carta Way. A pocket park, pool terrace, courtyard and new pedestrian mews are also planned along the site.
The application is in the first stages of the planning processes. Public hearings have not been scheduled, and the proposal has not been formally accepted for review by county staff.
