News and notes from Reston (tm).

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Breaking: RA Selects Fancy New Headquarters Building, Child Labor Cubbies Were There All Along

floor plan.jpgThis falls into the category of "foregone conclusions," but the Reston Association has officially signed a lease to move its headquarters to Reston Corner off Sunrise Valley Drive.

After more than 35 years at the 1930 Isaac Newton Square location, the Reston Association will be moving to new headquarters in the late summer of 2010. On Thursday, Milton W. Matthews, Chief Executive Officer, announced that a 12-year lease had been signed for space located at 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, in the Reston Corner office complex.

The total square footage leased will be 29, 042, which includes 3,383 of common areas such as hallways, restrooms, elevators and stairwells. As part of the lease agreement, Reston Association will pay no rent for the first year. After that, the base rent will be approximately $27 per square foot. Reston Association will have the option to renew the lease for one additional ten year term.

The announcement ends months of searching throughout Reston for a headquarters facility. Cresa Partners of Bethesda, Md., a full service commercial estate firm, worked with Reston Association’s board and staff to find a location that would best meet the growing needs of the organization and provide more space for member activities and operations.

Currently, Reston Association occupies approximately 20,000 square feet of space at 1930 Isaac Newton Square location. The lease on this property expires in August, 2010.
For months, our awesome commenters have speculated that the "generic" floor plan (which includes the child labor cubbies in the detail above) that was circulated during earlier discussions about buying or leasing new headquarters space closely matched this building. So much for Bob Simon's idea of making the headquarters a key driver of the Lake Anne redevelopment... unless of course, it takes 12 years to get that little project off the ground.

(Hat tip to our Facebook BFFs at the Observer.)

7 comments:

  1. So Milton increased the size of the RA space by one third, 9,000, so it could fit both his and Robin's ego?

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  2. While I would have preferred to see the RAHQ at Lake Anne, I can't argue with it being right across the street from me. I'll be able to watch the Soviet-style queue for pool passes snake through the neighborhood.

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  3. Great, so as Reston is preparing to be a smart growth community RA moves it headquarters to a place not serviced by buses, and with no future transit stops planned.

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  4. The Convict in the GulagDecember 3, 2009 at 4:14 PM

    Today is a great day for all Comrades in the Gulag. Our Brothers in the struggle for collective architectural conformity and harmony at RA have secured a new base on the Southern Front. From our new positions, Comrade Smyers and Comrade Matthews will lead us onward to Victory, Comrades! Za Rodinu. Za Reston.

    (Okay, Boris, queue the Internationale now.)

    BTW, not wanting to be a pedant, but going from 20k sq ft to 29k would entail a 45% increase, not 33.3%. It's closer to half than to a third.

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  5. The Convict in the GulagDecember 3, 2009 at 4:19 PM

    That location is serviced by the 605, the 585, the RIBS 1 and the RIBS 3, all stops located within 100 yards of that location. If it's not too much of a burden, you can take the 551 or the RIBS 2, both of which pass to within a couple of hundred yards of the building.

    There are trails and sidewalks conveniently located in the area surrounding the building for those inclined to walk, jog or bike.

    Or, like most Restonians, you can take your car.

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  6. @The Convict

    You're right, for some reason I was thinking this was near where Sunrise Valley turns into Hunter Mill Road. This will be (is) well served by transit.

    However the 551 and 2 are about half a mile from there

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  7. Those RA file cabinets must be multiplying faster than wascally bunny wabbits!

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