BXP Inc. wants to expand and convert an office building it has long owned in Kingstowne Town Centre to an apartment tower, confident that adjacency to a big suburban retail center will add to a promising mixed-use vibe.
The Boston-based developer (NYSE: BXP) filed a plan Friday to create 286 multifamily units at 5971 Kingstowne Village Parkway in Fairfax County and an adjacent parking garage. BXP bought the property for $51.1 million in 2007.
The new proposal and a multifamily project from another landowner would add more than 1 million square feet of residential buildings — more than 900 units — to the double grocery story-anchored shopping center. They share the same goal: to complement existing retail, entertainment, restaurants and offices with new housing, making the sprawling, car-centric center a truly mixed-use place.
“We’ve looked at a lot of conversions over the years, and a lot of them don’t make sense, but this one does,” said Pete Otteni, who co-heads BXP’s Greater Washington office, citing its proximity to substantial existing retail.
The town center includes a patchwork of parcels totaling some 60 acres bounded by Kingtowne Boulevard, Kingstowne Village Parkway and Van Dorn Street. The retail center is home to a Safeway, Giant Food, Regal movie theater and a variety of other retailers and eateries.
Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) owns most of the retail center and parking lots. BXP owns two office buildings, including the one to be converted, and the retail building with the movie theater.
BXP would convert the existing nine-story office — six stories of office over three levels of parking — to 124 multifamily units. The building, constructed in 2001, totals about 162,000 square feet. It would also add 162 units in five new wood-frame stories atop an adjacent four-level parking garage, bringing the total size of the that structure to 315,000 square feet.
DLA Piper LLP is the proposal's land use attorney. Design Collective Inc. and Bohler Engineering are its architect and civil engineer, respectively.
Right next to BXP’s proposed conversion, Halle Cos. owns a big parking lot, where it wants to build 646 units across two buildings, about 757,000 square feet in all, per the most recent application filings.
The NRP Group had Halle's site under contract as of 2022; it's unclear whether that's still the case. Neither company could be reached immediately for comment.