How Kettler’s Luxury Community is Enticing Commuters

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

Tysons, Va.—Highgate at Metropolitan Mile, a luxury apartment development in Tysons, Va., has broken ground. Developed by Washington, D.C.-based Kettler and PS Business Parks Inc., one of the largest owners of real estate in Fairfax County, the mid-rise apartment community is aimed at residential commuters.

Highgate will offer a mix of residences, including studios and one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments, some of them two-level loft units with street access. Amenities will include a rooftop pool terrace, sprawling workout facility, Zen courtyard with reflecting pool, resident party room, entertainment kitchen and circular fire-hearth lounge overlooking the courtyard.

Kettler will seek LEED certification by incorporating in Highgate such features as high-efficiency mechanical systems, green roofs, cisterns for irrigation and sustainable materials benefiting the quality of indoor environmental air.

Residents will benefit from being within walking distance of employment centers, top-tier retail venues, dining and nightlife. Nearby, Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria offer shopping and eateries. Commuting ease is assured by the half-mile distance to two new Silver line Metrorail stations.

“The neighborhood has an incredible employment base,” Kettler chairman and CEO Robert C. Kettler told MHN. “In addition to the PS Business Parks campus, Hilton Worldwide, Tegna Media, Sunrise Senior Living and Freddie Mac all have their headquarters within walking distance. However, there are very few housing options for employees of these companies in the immediate area. Additionally, the Jones Branch/West Park/West Branch loop is relatively unique in Tysons in that it already offers walkable, tree-lined streets. Office workers in the area already enjoy walking and jogging the loop at lunchtime. The loop is exactly one-mile and hence Highgate at Metropolitan Mile. The development will offer an alternative to the high-rise projects being built at the new Metro stations in Tysons. It will be a mid-rise building and offer much more green space, with an interior courtyard, second floor pool terrace and a public park featuring a play area, lawn and dog park.”

“A walking trail will also link the property to the new development at Arbor Row and the Tysons Galleria mall and Metro station beyond,” Kettler continued. “Other features, such as two-story loft units that have street entrances further differentiate the development from the competition.”

The project’s contractor is Arlington, Va.-based CBG Building Company. Award-winning Baltimore-based architectural firm Design Collective Inc. is the project’s architect. The landscape architect is Parker Rodriguez Inc., while VIKA will serve as the civil engineer.

Tysons is undergoing a rapid transition from offices and shops into a community offering the opportunity to live and relax, Kettler observed. “Highgate will provide these new residents with luxury living, exquisite amenities and plenty of personal space in a vibrant urban setting. The Tysons market is perfect for this type of luxury offering and we are already generating strong interest,” he added.

Among other Kettler projects in Tysons is VITA Tysons Corner, a 30-story luxury apartment tower that opened this past May. In addition to developing the property in partnership with real estate investment trust Macerich, Kettler is managing the community. In June, Kettler announced a joint venture with the Meridian Group to develop the residential and retail space in The Boro, a mixed-use development to include 750 units in the heart of Tysons Corner.