From A New Tech Hub To Luxury Apartments, The Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor Is Taking Off
1. The lasting impact of the pandemic and the work-from-home trend are continuing to cause pain for owners of office buildings in Arlington and the surrounding areas. As a result, the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor’s office vacancy rate has risen to 23.3% in Q2, according to Colliers. Will more office buildings be converted into multifamily to address the housing shortage?
2. Martin "Art" Walsh helped reshape Arlington’s skyline as the co-founder of prominent land use law firm Walsh Colucci. He died from a heart ailment on June 6. He played a major role in Northern Virginia’s rise into a commercial hub that continues to experience massive economic growth.
3. Boeing announced plans last month to open a Veterans center with Virginia Tech to help vets transition out of the military, and the company in May announced plans to move its global headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia. Boeing already has a roughly 450K SF office in the Crystal City neighborhood, and the company said it plans to open a new research and technology hub in the county.
4. George Mason University broke ground in April on its new 345K SF tech hub, Mason Square, in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. The facility is scheduled to open in 2025. “We are not just breaking ground on a building — we are truly breaking ground on Virginia’s future,” GMU President Gregory Washington said in a release.
5. McLean-based Jefferson Apartment Group started work in April on a new boutique apartment complex at 1031 North Vermont St., four blocks from the Ballston-Marymount University Metro Station. It features 98 multifamily units with stainless steel appliances, a resident lounge, a rooftop terrace and resident storage. Construction is slated to finish in early 2024.
6. Chopt opened its new eco-conscious location on the bottom floor of the Ballston Exchange on July 13. The creative salad location focuses on a sustainability and contact-free store model.
7. On July 13, Penzance announced the sale of Evo, one of three multifamily properties at the Highlands development in Rosslyn, to Atlanta-based Cortland. Evo has over 30K SF of amenity space and 450 luxury units. “After the successful sale of Aubrey at The Highlands development to Cortland in May, we’re excited to announce another sale of our second apartment tower, Evo, to the same team,” Penzance Chief Development and Construction Officer John Kusturiss said.
