ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9602020064
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS
A federal courts building, the first building in a new upscale commercial and residential development by a Norfolk Southern subsidiary in Alexandria, took in its first occupants in January.
The real estate venture by Carlyle Development Corp. covers 80 acres in the southern part of the Washington, D.C., suburb, and is close to Interstate 95 and the Capital Beltway. The development is the largest ever by NS, said Dick Parker, assistant vice president of real estate.
The total cost of developing the property is anticipated to top $1 billion eventually, according to the plans the city has approved for the site. But Norfolk Southern will not bear all those costs, Parker noted.
The plans for the property call for 3 million square feet of residential space, an equal amount of space for commercial purposes and land for a hotel and retail space, Parker said.
The federal building, the first to be completed in the development, is on land the railroad donated to the government.
An upscale high-rise condominium project is under construction and should be completed by April or May. The project is a joint venture of Carlyle and the IDI Group, which developed the Watergate complex in Washington. Additionally, Time-Life Books is building a new headquarters, which should be finished next year, on the property.
The bulk of the property was once occupied by a Southern Railway yard. Other previous occupants include a scrap yard, a lumber yard, warehouses, a landfill and a strip shopping center, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality.
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