Mauvescraper Mania: New Brutalist High-Rise Planned While Others Remain Unfilled

Reston's hellish, high-rise festooned future has had a mixed go of things in recent weeks.

First, Reston narrowly missed out on Virginia's economic development win of the year, when Nestle opted to move its U.S. headquarters from California to Rosslyn, not the Helmut Jahn-designed parallelogram rising atop the Wiehle-Reston Metro station (which was another one of the finalists). Guess those Swiss folks are partial to orderly right angles. Or maybe they couldn't find a way to stick a tiny fork and toothpick into the HVAC enclosure on the roof.

Meanwhile, there's still no flagship tenant for One Reston Town Center, the dealmaking mauvescraper on Reston Parkway that will (someday) become Reston's tallest building. All that STONE COLD DEALMAKING will remain a CGI dream for now.

So the overall commercial real estate market might be a little flat, despite Reston's growth. But have no fear, because the future of Reston is.... high-rise condos. Give us some good blockquote, BFFs at Washington Business Journal:

Developer Renaissance Centro is seeking to replace an office building it owns at 1801 Old Reston Ave. with Reston’s first new condos in more than a decade.

The property currently houses a three-story, 29,200-square-foot office building constructed in 1988. Bethesda-based Renaissance Centro wants to build in its place a 20-story, 150-unit condo building at Old Reston Avenue, Temporary Road and Reston Parkway, across from Reston Town Center and about a half mile from the future Metro stop.

The project would be the first for-sale units in or near the Reston Town Center since Midtown was completed in 2007. There has been a building boom associated with the Silver Line since then, but all of those new buildings — including Comstock’s BLVD at Reston Station, Boston Properties’ The Signature (under construction at town center) and Renaissance Centro’s The Harrison on Reston Parkway — have been rentals.

Other than imperiling more awesome 80s architecture, what could possibly go wrong?

So many high-rises, so little in the way of tenants. But maybe not! We know schools are one option. Also, Volkswagen has announced that the $2 billion electric vehicle subsidiary it is creating as part of a settlement for selling diesel vehicles whose emission system consisted of a can of Febreeze and a Komnami-style cheat code will be headquartered in Reston, so both of our awesome commercial highrises could be possibilities for that, though we have no super secret insider knowledge of what might happen there.

But what we do know about the newly proposed residential mauvescraper, which would rise across Reston Parkway from Reston Town Center, is v. v. exciting! Hit us up with some more awesome blockquote:

It also will “evoke connections to some of Reston’s earliest architecturally significant structures,” such as the Heron House tower at Lake Anne Plaza and the Marcel Breuer-designed American Press Institute headquarters, which was recently razed to make way for townhouses.

IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES:

Speaks for itself.

Been there, done that.

Appropriately enough for Reston, this building leans nicely to the left.

Of course, this last one is totally ridiculous. We'd never allow that garish red and blue near the bottom of this otherwise perfect structure.