Loudoun announces major mixed-use development along Silver Line

Rivana at Innovation Station will include apartments, office, retail, hotel

Published March 31, 2021 by Richard Foster

Aerial view of proposed Rivana at Innovation Station development. Rendering courtesy Loudoun Economic Development

Loudoun Economic Development unveiled plans Wednesday for Rivana at Innovation Station, a 4.4 million-square-foot mixed-use development adjacent to Metro’s Silver Line extension on a site Loudoun once proposed for Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters.

Rivana is the first phase of Innovation Station, a 103-acre development to be built on the border of Fairfax and Loudoun counties and connected to the planned Innovation Center Metro station, expected to open later this summer in Herndon on the Silver Line. Rivana include more than 1,950 apartments, 1.8 million square feet of office space, a 265-room hotel and an 11-acre park. It may also include a performing arts venue, according to a co-developer’s website. The property is bounded by Route 28, the Dulles Toll Road and Innovation Avenue.

Loudoun County first began planning the Innovation Station development in 2017 as part of an unsuccessful joint pitch with Fairfax County to land Amazon HQ2, which is now under construction in Arlington County.

The Innovation Station project is being developed by Novais Partners, a Loudoun-based joint venture co-owned by four real estate development and investment firms, mostly from Texas: Chicago-based Origami Capital Partners, Austin, Texas-based Timberline Real Estate Partners, Dallas-based Open Realty Advisors, and Dallas-based Rebees. Novais is partnering with Houston-based real estate company The Hanover Co. to develop Rivana.

“Unlike other developments on the East Coast, the vision for Rivana at Innovation Station is more than square feet and total units; it’s a chance to deliver a more humanized environment that reflects who Loudoun is now and where we are going,” Loudoun Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer said in a statement. “Innovation Station will position Loudoun as an attractive option for major corporate users looking for high-quality office space in a post-COVID environment. Highly walkable, adjacent to Metro and just one stop from Washington-Dulles International Airport, Rivana sets a new bar for mixed-use developments and creates a whole new level of what is #LoudounPossible.”

Groundbreaking is expected to take place in early 2022, with the first phase of 250,000 square feet of office space expected to open in 2024. According to Loudoun officials, the entire Innovation Station project could eventually hold 9 million square feet of development.

“Loudoun County’s vision in the 2019 Comprehensive Plan was to create walkable, urban environments around the upcoming Metro stations, and this project brings that vision to life. Innovation Station will allow generations of Loudoun County businesses, residents, students, and visitors to take advantage of world-class environments in which to live, work, learn, and play,” said Board of Supervisors Chair at Large Phyllis J. Randall. “The Novais plan for Rivana checks all the boxes for a world-class development that will create value and opportunity for everyone in our community for decades to come.”