From the Washington Business Journal, (11/15/11):
Nonprofit information technology contractor Mitre Corp. is apparently moving ahead with a plan first reported here in June to demolish a building adjacent to its headquarters in Tysons Corner and build anew.
Though a spokeswoman said that the company is not yet ready to discuss the project's timeline, a source with knowledge of the project confirmed that Mitre is moving ahead cautiously with the expansion of its headquarters in Tysons. It's being handled by real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle, the source said.
"Unlike most defense contractors, [Mitre has] historically owned their facilities to keep cost down," the source told me, asking not to be named because he's not authorized to talk about the project. "They have leased only to pick up fringe requirements."
Construction Journal, which tracks information about active development projects, reported Sept. 22 about a Mitre project for new construction and demolition in McLean, Va. According to the listing, the project is expected to kick off during the fourth quarter of this year, and would include a 14-story office building and a three-story parking garage.
In June, we reported that Mitre was under contract with Cityline partners to buy the site at 7598 Colshire Road, which houses the Johnson 2 building. The plan was for Cityline to demolish the 50,000-square-foot building and deliver the site with entitlements for a 340,000-square-foot building with structured parking beneath. Mitre, whose main local headquarters building sits next door, confirmed its plan to expand into the new building and consolidate its headquarters, which is currently split between Tysons and Bedford, Mass.
Nearby, Cityline has put another obsolete building, the Garfield Building at 1575 Anderson Road, up for sale. The three-story, 61,000-square-foot office building, which was built in the late 1970s and fronts Route 123, has sat vacant for the past decade.
Cityline is currently reviewing bids with plans to pick a developer this summer. The company sent out a request for proposals to an exclusive list of about a dozen multifamily players.
The 2.6-acre site is expected to accommodate about 425 residential units. Real estate insiders expect the site to sell for about $25 million, or about $60,000 per developable unit. .
