Tysons to get another skyscraper

Lerner Enterprises, one of the largest private real estate developers in the Washington, D.C., metro area, has started work on an 18-story office tower in The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II in Tysons. The company said in a news release that the 476,000-square foot, Class A tower at 1775 Tysons Boulevard will be completed in late 2015.

Lerner originally planned to build the project three years ago. However, the Rockville, Md.-based company delayed the start of construction as office leasing began to flatten in Northern Virginia.
Now it’s moving forward in part because of tenant interest.

“We are excited to begin construction of 1775 Tysons Boulevard, as the iconic building symbolizes the new urban landscape of Tysons, Virginia,” Mark D. Lerner, a principal, said in a statement.  “With the upcoming opening of the new Tysons Corner Silver Line Metro Station, we have received an elevated level of interest in our newest project within The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II,” he added.

Designed by the architectural firm of Kohn Pederson Fox Associates of New York, 1775 Tysons Boulevard will be a block from the new Tysons Corner Metro Station that’s scheduled to open this spring. The building will be connected, via a climate controlled skywalk bridge over Tysons Boulevard, to the Tysons II development including The Corporate Office Centre, Tysons Galleria shopping and dining area and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

According to Lerner, the new office tower is registered with the goal of building it to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum standards, which would make it the first building at Tysons with the highest sustainable building designation. The design includes a two-story lobby with a water feature and stairway leading to the enclosed skywalk.  A restaurant, first-floor retail, a café and a spa-inspired fitness center are among the amenities for tenants.

Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. of Chantilly will serve as the project’s general contractor.

The building site is near the Westpark Drive access point to the I-495 Express Lanes, I-495/Beltway and the Dulles Toll Road. It is one of several new projects planned for Tysons II, a master-planned development containing retail, office, hotel and residential projects.  It will be the fifth office tower within the Corporate Office Center at Tysons II.