Construction begins on The Botanist, a 260‑unit apartment building at 10350 Eaton Place in Fairfax.
Fairfax, Virginia, August 15, 2025
Developers secured a $60 million construction loan to build The Botanist, a 260‑unit apartment building at 10350 Eaton Place on a roughly 3‑acre former surface parking lot in Fairfax. The project is being developed by Middleburg Communities and Capital City Real Estate with about $40 million of committed equity and a recent land purchase of $10.4 million. Construction will begin immediately with first move‑ins expected in the third quarter. Leaders cited limited new apartment supply in Northern Virginia and steady rent growth as key reasons to move forward despite regional market headwinds.
What happened first: Developers secured a $60 million construction loan to build a new apartment building called The Botanist on a 3‑acre surface parking lot at 10350 Eaton Place in Fairfax, Virginia. The project will contain 260 rental units and sits beside four 1980s office buildings at WillowWood Plaza. With the construction loan in hand, the development team plans to begin work right away and deliver the first units in the third quarter of 2027.
The construction mortgage was provided by CIBC Bank USA, the U.S. subsidiary of a Canadian bank. The developer group includes Middleburg Communities partnering with Capital City Real Estate. The partners closed on the land last week for $10.4 million. The project will be funded with the $60 million construction loan plus about $40 million of equity contributed by Middleburg Communities and a 90% limited partner. A Middleburg representative declined to identify the limited partner by name.
The development is the result of roughly four years of work. Entitlements were started nearly four years ago by Capital City, and Middleburg joined as a general partner last year. The team says the build responds to local demand tied to a regional push for people returning to offices and a relative shortage of apartment construction in Northern Virginia compared with other nearby markets.
The site is a rare ground‑up opportunity in Northern Virginia, an area that has seen heavy acquisition activity but a slower development pipeline. The new building will replace surface parking on a three‑acre parcel and add hundreds of new apartments to an office park neighborhood.
Northern Virginia has shown steady rent growth while some other markets are flat or declining, a trend developers cite as a reason to build here despite recent headwinds. Local tracking shows the region’s median rents rose year‑over‑year while the national median rent dipped slightly. Some Northern Virginia communities recorded double‑digit rent gains for two‑bedroom units year‑over‑year, while high‑cost submarkets like Arlington and Tysons continue to register among the region’s highest median rents.
At the same time, federal employment in the region contracted in the early months of the year. Data tracking federal jobs between December and May showed the largest percentage decline in Northern Virginia among the D.C. area suburbs. That drop, alongside national headlines about proposed federal staff cuts and new federal efficiency initiatives, made some investors cautious about the market for a period. Developers taking an on‑the‑ground look in the first half of the year found only a small number of renters directly affected by federal workforce moves; many of those received buyouts that allowed them to continue paying rent while seeking other work.
Developers and lenders backing the Fairfax project say they see solid rent performance in Northern Virginia and limited near‑term supply coming online here compared with other mid‑Atlantic and Southeast markets, which supports moving forward with new construction.
Separately, residents at an apartment complex in Fairfax County reported a pre‑dawn law enforcement visit that caused alarm among tenants. Several residents described loud knocking and agents in tactical gear; available video shows officers at doors and on stairwells. Residents said they did not believe anyone was detained during the visit. Earlier months at the same complex included an unrelated criminal case in which occupants faced charges and were out on bond pending hearings.
With site purchase and financing completed, the development team plans to start construction immediately. The schedule calls for the first apartments to be ready for occupancy in the third quarter of 2027, barring delays. The buildout of this site will add a sizable supply of modern apartments to a submarket that many developers and investors have watched closely for signs of recovery and growth.
The Botanist is a planned 260‑unit apartment building on a 3‑acre site at 10350 Eaton Place in Fairfax, Virginia.
The project is being developed by Middleburg Communities and Capital City Real Estate. The construction loan of $60 million was provided by CIBC Bank USA; about $40 million of equity is coming from Middleburg and a 90% limited partner.
Construction is planned to begin immediately, with the first units expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2027.
Developers cite limited recent apartment supply in Northern Virginia relative to nearby markets, ongoing rent growth in many submarkets, and expectations that private job growth and return‑to‑office trends will support demand.
The site is a 3‑acre surface parking lot and it was purchased for approximately $10.4 million.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Project name | The Botanist |
| Address | 10350 Eaton Place, Fairfax, VA |
| Site size | 3 acres (surface parking lot) |
| Units | 260 apartments |
| Construction loan | $60 million from CIBC Bank USA |
| Equity | Approximately $40 million from Middleburg Communities and a 90% limited partner |
| Land purchase price | $10.4 million |
| Developers | Middleburg Communities; Capital City Real Estate |
| Start of construction | Planned to start immediately |
| First unit delivery | Q3 2027 |
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