Spotlight on Reston, VA
Reston, Virginia, located in Fairfax County, is world-renowned as the first master-planned community in America, having successfully balanced a strong employment base with a high quality of life and varied housing opportunities. Founded by Robert E. Simon in 1964, Reston lies in the Dulles Technology Corridor between Tysons and Dulles International Airport, offering convenient access to residents and workers with the Dulles Toll Road and Fairfax County Parkway. In addition to its status as one of the County’s largest business centers, Reston’s amenities include 1,300 acres of open space, more than 60 miles of trails, numerous recreational facilities, and two golf courses. Its affluent and highly educated residents, 66% of whom hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, benefit from a low unemployment rate of 3.6% and a median household income of $105,775. With the town organized around five villages, the population of Reston stands at 60,553.
The development and extension of the Washington D.C. Metro Silver Line has been a major impetus to the dynamic economic climate in Reston. Phase One of the Silver Line extension brought the opening of a Metro station at the Wiehle Avenue/Dulles Toll Road interchange in Reston East in 2014. Ridership during the first year exceeded projections with more than 14,000 daily weekday users. Presently there are eight developments underway or planned which would increase residential units by 3,000 near the station. Projects include the 1.5 million square foot mixed-use project at Comstock Partners’ Reston Station and the development by JBG Companies at Reston Heights, consisting of almost 600 apartments, 65,000 square feet of retail, a 191-room hotel, and a 140,000 square foot office building to be constructed in two phases. A second station at the Reston Parkway/Dulles Toll Road interchange is expected to open in 2018, while a third station is planned for the Herndon/Reston border slated for completion by 2020.
Reston is the second largest office market in Fairfax County with almost 19.7 million square feet of space and also one of the largest employment centers with the highest concentration of large firms employing more than 100. Reston is home to major companies such as BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, NII Holdings, Sprint, Northrup Grumman, Raytheon, Carahsoft, Leidos, VeriSign, Nextel Communications, Tier Technologies, and Oracle. General Dynamics Corporation has filed plans with the county for development of a 190,000 square foot headquarters building along with underground parking. In addition to its office market, Reston also boasts 1.7 million square feet of retail development and almost 500,000 square feet of industrial/flex space. Much of this is centered around the Reston Town Center, a mixed-use development of 360,000 square feet of retail and 2.1 million square feet of office space. Offering more than 50 shops,30 restaurants, and a multi-screen cinema, the Town Center has become one of the most popular shopping and entertainment centers in Northern Virginia.
This report features six shopping centers in Reston. The Suburban County submarket has seen asking rents rise for the past five consecutive months with an increase in December, 2015 of 0.8%, bringing the quarter total up to 1.7%. Average allowances offered to new tenants are $14.68 per square foot for improvements and 5.4 months of free rent. Asking rents for anchor tenants range from a low of $11.36 per square foot to a high of $44.44, with an average of $25.88. Inline asking rates per square foot range from a low of $30.00 per square foot to a high of $83.42, with an average of $44.52.