Two weeks ago, July 27, at the Reston Museum at Lake Anne Village Center Joe Ritchey, of commercial real estate firm Prospective Inc., presented “Reston: 2015,” which outlined tentative and current projects that will help shape the future of Reston over the next 10 years. Ritchey has been involved in real estate in Reston for more than 20 years.
Listed below are some of the major developments Ritchey said Restonians will either begin to see soon or will see in the coming years. By the year 2015, Ritchey predicted that Reston will become the “center of the future” because of its commercial capacity.
* Isaac Newton Square: With the Reston Association moving to new headquarters, the old building will be renovated. The new plans will double the size of the 40,000 square foot building.
* Wiehle Avenue Park and Ride: Contingent upon the arrival of Metrorail to Wiehle Avenue, this area will see a new parking garage that can house up to 2,300 cars.
* The International Center: This area will see lots of development. A residential tower will be going up as well as a future space for retail. A Reston Square Office Building will also be built which will sell for $35 per square foot, which is $15 above the average price outside of the Town Center. Finally, there is the strong possibility that a Westin Hotel will be moving in this spot, according to Ritchey. When all is said and done, this corridor will see 1,000 hotel rooms within the next 12 months. By the year 2015, 1 million square feet of office space will be present within the Dulles Corridor.
* Reston Town Center: One major development that will affect many residents is the building of a new movie theater. The pre-existing theater will be removed and a more modern version will be built closer to the pavilion.
* Prison Fellowship: This site will keep its historic housing, however 20 to 50 housing units will be added. These units will be priced at the highest-end housing to date in Reston.
* Nextel Building: With the merger of Sprint and Nextel, this building will see changes as well. Moving its executive headquarters to Reston, this office park will add two more office buildings: one 185,000 square feet and one 140,000 square feet.
According to Ritchey, by the year 2015 Reston will have 19 million square feet of office space, a very modest estimate he said, and an increase of 6 million from the current amount. With the increase of office space, Ritchie also estimated that the population of Reston will increase to 65,000 by the year 2015 from the current total of roughly 59,000 residents.
— Christopher M. Staten