Building the future of retail real estate
Word has gotten around among tenants and locals that something exciting is happening at our Fairfax Corner project in Fairfax, Va. That word is true.
In this year’s May-June Show Scoop in Chain Store Age, we told the story of a $110 million expansion that will include 36,000 sq. ft. of new retail space. Arhaus — which has long been in this center along with brands such as REI, Ikea, and Chico’s — will be moving into a larger 19,000-sq.-ft. space. It’s a new design for them that includes a 4,000-sq.-ft. terrace on which they will display outdoor furniture.
We were intent on filling space next to Arhaus with a singular brand, a name that would resonate, that would beckon to consumers and elate our other tenants. We searched our competitive retail real estate market intensely and, in the end, found what we were looking for just 500 yards from Fairfax Corner, across Interstate 66.
On Nov. 9, we were able to confirm the word that others had been quietly circulating: Apple.
Peterson Companies’ sizeable expansion investment created for us an opportunity to rethink Fairfax Corner. It’s only 20 years old, but much has changed in retail in those two decades. Consumers can sit at home, buy something on Amazon, have it delivered the next day, and then return it the day after for free if they don’t like it. Placer.ai can tell us exactly where a center’s customer bases are situated, and give us their demographic information. Once popular tenants fade and must be phased out. Rising food-and-beverage brands serve as anchors that can extend business hours and dwell time.
In the past year, we have opened 53,000 sq. ft. of new tenants, many of them trending food and beverage brands. Soon to open is Ruthie’s All Day, an eatery celebrated for its southern inspired comfort food that has a loyal local following. King Arthur Baking Company — which sells top quality baking ingredients and equipment and gives baking classes online — has opened its fourth physical location at Fairfax Corner. Sweetgreen will be opening at the property very soon.
All of these changes at Fairfax Corner have led us to initiate physical improvements around the 42-acre property. We are making it easier for guests to navigate.
One finicky limitation put upon us by our local county was that we could only use generic category names, and not brand names, on directional signs inside the project. So a sign pointing people in the direction of our Cinemark theater would only say “Theater.” After living with that limitation for years, we fought them on it given the much more competitive retail landscape, and they ultimately around to seeing it our way and are letting us use brand’s names.
Fairfax Corner is a project we have developed and planned for the long term. The project is getting the time, attention, and money that it needs to remain relevant on the long-term horizon in Fairfax County, one of the nation’s richest.
Tenants there are super-excited about the arrival of Apple. And we, by the way, at Peterson Companies are super-excited to be joining them. We will soon be leaving our headquarters at Fair Lakes, the suburban office park development we did decades ago and moving into the office component at Fairfax Corner, giving employees the opportunity to be part of a walkable and engaging environment filled with retail and dining options just steps from our new home.
