SAIC will sell Tysons Corner property

Published May 6, 2013 by Paula C. Squires

Science Applications International Corp. in McLean said in a public filing Monday that it has agreed to sell 18 acres, including its headquarters campus, at Tysons Corner.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, first reported on by The Washington Post,  SAIC said it will lease back one of the buildings to use as its new headquarters.

According to the Post, an SAIC subsidiary has reached an agreement on a multi-year transaction to sell about 18 acres of land, including four office buildings. They include 900,000 square feet of office space, a parking garage and surface parking lots.The Washington Business Journal is reporting that the buyer is MRP-1 Acquisition 14, and that it will seek approval to develop a mixed-use project on a portion of the land currently under review by Fairfax County for a rezoning. The Journal said the purchase price is in the neighborhood of $225 million.

SAIC,  a Fortune 500 defense contractor, plans to split into two publicly traded companies later this year. A government services company will retain the SAIC name while other functions will be moved to a new technology company that will be called Leidos.

According to the Post, SAIC plans to lease back two of the buildings for about a year (until the split is completed) and a third for seven years.

The company’s Tysons Corner campus is located next to the Greensboro Metro station along the coming Silver Line, which is expected to open later this year. Last year SAIC submitted a rezoning application to Fairfax County that would allow development of a mixed-use project with residential, hotel, office and retail spaces.

The company has not yet announced a location for Leidos, the larger of the two businesses, although it is expected to remain in Northern Virginia. SAIC has 15,000 local employees and many satellite offices in the area ― some leased and some owned.