Office Conversions, New Transit Hubs And A Candy Utopia: The Latest In Tysons
1. Tysons-based software-as-a-service company Cvent has agreed to be acquired by Blackstone for $4.6B. Cvent was founded in 1999, and it has an estimated 22,000 customers in the corporate, nonprofit, higher education and hospitality industries. Cvent went public in 2022 and has 4,800 employees globally. The company’s headquarters are at 1765 Greensboro Station Place, and it expanded its footprint in the building by 72K to roughly 200K SF in 2019.
2. As the D.C.-area office market continues to experience high vacancies, some developers think the answer is to convert failing offices into residential buildings. However, that plan is proving easier said than done as many older buildings are poor candidates for conversion. TMG partner Gary Block, developer of The Boro in Tysons, told Bisnow that he is seeing properties where values today are 50% below what the owner had projected they could sell for before the pandemic began in Northern Virginia submarkets like Arlington and Tysons. This makes the land entitled for residential development more valuable than the office property on it.
3. Despite the slowdown in construction starts in the D.C. area, there are some major developments that are either on the rise in 2023, or have already been delivered, including two in Tysons. In January, Capital One began moving workers into an 843K SF building at its headquarters campus. Meanwhile, work is underway on Skanska’s Heming development, a 28-story tower, situated in Scott’s Run across Route 123. This project is expected to deliver 410 residential units and 38K SF of retail space in Q2 2023.
4. The second phase of the Silver Line launched in November, bringing six new stations across Fairfax and Loudoun counties. At the same time, a report released by CompStak showed that Phase 1 of the Silver Line had a significant impact on Tyson's office rents since its debut in 2014.
5. Macerich, the company behind Tysons Corner Center, filed plans in November to build a new addition in place of the shuttered Lord & Taylor department store at the center’s northern end, across from its eponymous Metro station. The plans include a new mixed-use building and several changes to the company’s initial proposal for the space in 2021.
6. Dittmar Co., the owner of an 88K SF low-rise office building at 8221 Old Courthouse Road LC in Tysons, has filed plans to rezone the 2-acre site to convert the building into residential homes. The plan is to create 55 one- and two-bedroom apartment units, six of which would be set aside as affordable and workforce apartments. The building is currently home to a handful of local businesses including an Atlantic Union Bank branch, accounting firm Patton & Braucht PC, IT company Armedia LLC, Northern Virginia Foot & Ankle Associates, Glow Skin Med Spa and Pruitt Title LLC and more.
7. Candytopia, a 16K SF interactive candy wonderland, will be opening in Tysons Corner in late March. It will feature sculptures, paintings and other forms of art made out of candy, along with 14 different interactive environments.
