Reston Town Center
.jpg)
.jpg)
Reston Town Center (also known as RTC and locally as simply, Town Center) is a mixed-use development featuring offices, retail stores, and restaurants in Reston, Virginia owned and managed primarily by Boston Properties.
Description
Reston Town Center is located six miles east of Washington Dulles International Airport and 21 miles west of Washington, D.C., just north of Exit 12 (Reston Parkway) of the Dulles Toll Road (VA-267). Construction of the second phase of the Silver Line of the Washington Metro is underway, with the Reston Town Center station planned to be operational in 2020.[1]
Reston Town Center is designed with open avenues and wide sidewalks. It is built around Fountain Square, a medium-sized open area between the surrounding shops. The main landmark in Fountain Square is Mercury Fountain, designed by Saint Clair Cemin. Directly in front of Mercury Fountain is Market Street, and across the street is the Pavilion. The Pavilion doubles as a covered open-air ice rink during the winter and as a concert and event venue throughout the rest of the year. Adjacent to the fountain are the One & Two Fountain Square buildings with the One & Two Freedom Square buildings located one block to the west. Street parking is available throughout, and seven public parking garages surround the center. As of 2019, Reston Town Center's "downtown" area has more than 50 retail shops and 30 restaurants. In addition, Reston Town Center has a 13-screen cinema which was renovated in 2012, and a Hyatt Regency hotel. Since the most recent major phase of construction in 2009, Reston Town Center, in the past known more so for its shopping, dining, and entertainment, has also developed into a location for businesses and residences. Among brand name companies who now have offices at Reston Town Center are Google and Rolls-Royce North America. High-rise condominiums have led to an influx of young professionals.[citation needed]
Readers of Northern Virginia Magazine chose Reston Town Center for its 2008 top ten list "Hip to be Where", and it was dubbed a "downtown for the 21st century."[2]
History
Reston Town Center was conceived and planned starting in the late 1970s by Mobil Land Development for approximately 460 acres of undeveloped land near Dulles International Airport.[3] Construction of the town center began in 1988, over 20 years after the founding of Reston in 1964 by Robert E. Simon.
Phase One of the development opened in October 1990 and was built between Reston Parkway and Library Street. This initial phase centered around Market Street with two 11-story office buildings, One Fountain Square and Two Fountain Square facing the north side of the street. The office buildings were bookended by low-rise office and retail space. Along the south side of the street, smaller office/retail buildings and the Hyatt Regency hotel were constructed. Two public parks were established at the east end of the center. Following the completion of the first phase, Town Center Parkway was built out to the west, allowing access to the neighborhood from nearby thoroughfares.
Nearly ten years later, Boston Properties commenced construction of Phase Two west of Library street, starting on the north side of Market with the erection of the 18-story One Freedom Square and 16-story Two Freedom Square (completed in 2000 and 2001, respectively).[4] Construction also began on the low-rise condominiums and townhomes surrounding Town Center Parkway. Development continued with the 2006 opening of three residential high-rises immediately west of Freedom Square, and the construction of the three South of Market buildings which were completed in 2008. Along the south side of Democracy Drive, a nine-level parking garage topped by Democracy Tower was completed in 2009.[5] The final portion of the second phase was completed in 2013 with the opening of The Avant, a 15-story apartment high-rise south of Reston Town Square Park.[6][7]
In late 2015, ground was broken for the redevelopment of the surface parking lot north of Fountain Square, into a pair of high rise residential towers.[8] The Signature apartments opened in February 2018, and soon thereafter construction began across President's Street for a glass-clad office tower dubbed 17Fifty. The 17-story building took the place of low-rise retail built during the initial phase and is expected to open in 2020.[9][10]
References
- ^ Smith, Max (June 13, 2019). "Construction on Silver Line extension hits a new snag". WTOP. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Ward, Alan (June 1, 2006). Reston Town Center: Downtown for the 21st Century (1st ed.). Academy Press. p. 218 pp. ISBN 0-9728575-1-6.
- ^ Michael P. Russell (7/17/2011), Reston Town Center—Soft Programming Makes Good Public Space Design Great, UrbDeZine
- ^ "Freedom Square". Boston Properties. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ "Democracy Tower". Boston Properties. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ "The Avant at Reston Town Center". Boston Properties. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ Anderson, Bendix (9 September 2019). "Reston Town Center: Heart of a Utopian Suburb Growing Ever More Urban". Urban Land Magazine. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ Goff, Karen (23 November 2015). "Crews Make Quick Work Preparing RTC Lot for Construction". Reston Now. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ Waseem, Fatima (5 March 2018). "Demolition Underway in Reston Town Center to Make Way for 17-Story Tower". Reston Now. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ "New projects raising the development ceiling in Reston". Fairfax County Times. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
External links
Media related to Reston Town Center at Wikimedia Commons- Reston Town Center
