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Introduction
- All aboard — Roanoke's
downtown renovation preserves its past
- Sensitive project tests broker's
deal-making skills
- Shipbuilding complex boosts
downtown Newport News
- Turning Basin project could
be turning point for Canal Walk
- Other Nominees
Developer
unsnarls traffic congestion as part of deal
Location:
7555-7575 Colshire Drive, McLean
Developer/Contractor:
Gerald T. Halpin, Robert Abt, WEST*GROUP, McLean
Tenant:
Northrop Grumman IT, McLean
Architects:
The Smith Group, Washington, D.C.,
Architectural Interiors, Washington, D.C.
Brokers:
Wayne Hallheimer, WEST*GROUP, Brian McVay, Cushman &
Wakefield, McLean.
by
Brett Lieberman
Click
to enlarge |
Build
a project in Northern Virginia and you'll have to consider
the region's most pressing problem: traffic jams. So
it was with construction of the McKinley-Pierce Office
Complex on a hill in McLean. To successfully market
570,000 square feet of space in two eight-story buildings
near Tysons Corner, the West*Group spent $750,000 to
redesign local roads. The improvements paid for by the
state included widening Route 123 from four lanes to
six lanes, adding turning lanes from Interstate 495
to the Interstate 66 connector and building an access
ramp to I-66-improvements that will ease traffic flow
in the area, especially during rush hour.
West*Group
officials lobbied the state's General Assembly, which
agreed to fund $7.2 million in road work. The improvements
were also essential to Capital One Financial Corp.,
which purchased land from West*Group and is building
a new global headquarters on the other side of Route
123. The traffic part of the project alone required
hours of work, but as Thomas D. Fleury, senior vice
president for development at West*Group points out,
"Quality tenants would not put up with the traffic."
Traffic
wasn't the only headache. The company committed to the
fastest construction schedule it had seen in a quarter
century, because of tenant demands from Northrop Grumman
IT. The more than half-a-million square feet of space
in the two towers and a 600,000-square-foot parking
garage capable of accommodating 2,000 cars was completed
in 14 months. During construction, the project employed
more than 200 workers. About 2,200 employees are expected
to move into the completed buildings, with Northrop
Grumman leasing all the space in one of the towers and
subletting the space in the second tower.
Originally
developed to be the international corporate headquarters
of shipbuilder Litton/PRC - a plan that fell through
after Northrop Grumman IT acquired Litton/PRC last year
- the office complex includes many flourishes in keeping
with a high-tech tenant. From the energy-efficient windows
to specialty light sconces and an impressive lobby with
floors done extensively in stone, the $150 million structure
is impressive. Like all West*Group buildings, the project
is named after former presidents.
A
new bus-transfer station funded by the federal government
is planned on nearby land donated by West*Group. A rail
station is also envisioned if Metro expands to Tysons
Corner and eventually Dulles International Airport-plans
that may not pan out for some time considering the shortfalls
in state and federal government budgets.
Return
to Virginia Business - April 2002
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