WORK IN PROGRESS | Behind the Scenes
It’s been a while since we opened the doors on everything underway at MV+A, and there’s a lot to show. Six multifamily buildings with nearly 1,500 dwelling units between them are in or starting construction. Three townhome communities have broken ground. And our work with Whole Foods Market has grown to ten active projects.
Multifamily | Six Buildings, 1,462 Homes
With apartment construction at its slowest pace in more than a decade, and plenty of projects on hold across the region, every building that makes it out of the ground matters. That’s especially true of our NoBE II project, where all 268 homes will be income-restricted at a time when affordable housing is harder than ever to finance and build.
We’re grateful to the clients and partners pushing these projects forward, and to be part of what they’re delivering.
The Elms at Mt. Vernon
With much of the exterior work in the advanced stages, interior fit-out and finishes are underway on the first phase of this Elm Street Communities site along Richmond Highway. The 280-unit building sets the stage for a full buildout of more than 400 multifamily and townhome residences organized around community green spaces.
Target Completion: Spring 2027
The Elms at Dunn Loring
Less than half a mile from the Dunn Loring–Merrifield Metro, our second project with Elm Street Communities redevelops a three-story office site on Merrilee Drive into a seven-story, 239-unit community with a pedestrian-scaled “Main Street” frontage. The podium slab is nearing completion.
Target Completion: Summer 2028
Top: The Elms at Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, VA | Bottom: The Elms at Dunn Loring, VA | Elm Street Communities
Apts @1021
Brick is going up on our latest collaboration with longtime client Berger Rental Communities. The seven-story, 130-unit building stacks five residential levels over two podium parking levels on a tight infill site in Wilmington’s Trolley Square neighborhood.
Target Completion: Spring 2027
Apts @1021, Wilmington, DE | Berger Rental Communities
NoBE II
With its precast garage nearly complete, SCG Development’s North Bethesda Market II is on track to deliver 268 homes, 100% affordable / income-restricted, adjacent to the North Bethesda Metro.
Target Completion: Spring 2028
NoBE II Affordable Multifamily in North Bethesda, MD | SCG Development
Westbard Square Multifamily
Foundation and podium work are underway on the final mixed-use building at Westbard Square for Greystar. Its 200 apartments over 23,000 SF of retail complete the neighborhood’s central open space and its Westbard Avenue frontage.
Target Completion: Summer 2028
Westbard Square Residential, Bethesda, MD | Greystar
Isaac Newton Square Residential
Construction tentatively kicks off in October on the 345-unit first phase of JLB Partners’ Reston redevelopment. The building fully wraps its cast-in-place garage, protects a stand of 100-foot-tall willow oaks, and connects to the new Nature’s Edge Park.
Isaac Newton Square in Reston, VA will break ground in the coming weeks | JLB Partners
Townhomes | Three Communities Move Ahead
Townhomes are having a moment, and this year MV+A broke ground on two projects: Langston Blvd Townhomes in Arlington, VA, and Lynden Row on D.C.’s Southwest Waterfront.
Additionally, we’ve started construction documents on a third project. The Townhomes at Loehmann’s Plaza reimagine a portion of North Bethesda’s iconic 1970s-era shopping center. Designed for families and young couples, this new residential neighborhood sets the stage for the center’s eventual buildout to as many as 680 residences and 40,000 square feet of retail.
Each of these townhome projects achieves a different strategic objective along the housing continuum, but more on that in our November Design Brief…
Top Left: Langston Blvd Townhomes in Arlington, VA | Dweck Properties | Top Right: Lynden Row in Washington, DC | Knutson Companies | Bottom: The Townhomes at Loehmann’s in North Bethesda, MD | Rob Rosenfield Real Estate + Knutson Companies
Whole Foods Market | Ten and Counting
Our long relationship with Whole Foods Market now includes ten active projects, stretching from Northern Virginia to Georgia, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. One of them is a refresh of the Old Town Alexandria store we first designed in 2004.
Two ground-up stores are included in the mix. In Avon, CO, construction began in July on the grocery anchor of a new mixed-use development, rising alongside a 117-unit condominium building. In Gilbert, AZ, the Signature at SanTan store, which anchors a retail development MV+A master-planned, wraps construction in October ahead of a mid-2027 opening.
Whole Foods Market Projects Top: Gilbert, AZ; Bottom: Avon, CO
Also In the Works
The Quartz District | Dale City, VA — We’re currently wrapping up drawings for a Whole Foods Market anchor grocery and in-line retail at the heart of Buchanan Partners’ 145-acre mixed-use development, with construction expected to start in 2027.
Villages at Shirlington | Arlington, VA — Our façade and streetscape refresh will be complete in time for the holiday season.
Lulah Hills | Atlanta, GA — Seven of MV+A’s nine in-line retail buildings are under construction at our master-planned redevelopment of North DeKalb Mall.
Fortuna Center Plaza — New spaces for Sprouts, Burlington and Ross are underway, with shell completion in early 2027.
2601 Columbia Pike | Arlington, VA — Now in permitting, this 271-unit mixed-use building for Kennedy Wilson will complete the public square at the heart of the Columbia Pike corridor. Construction start anticipated in Q1 2027.
DC’s Finest, Phase 2 | Washington, DC — Design begins this fall on the next phase of an indoor urban farm in a former postal warehouse.
More to come, so stay tuned!