A year after purchasing two 1960s-era office buildings near the Rosslyn Metro station, Penzance has submitted plans to develop the site into a largely residential development with towers of up to 30 storeys.

Courtesy of Penzance

A rendering of the three residential buildings with ground floor retail planned at One Rosslyn

The DC-based developer plans to build 900,000 SF in three towers on the site Rosslyn Gate. The company has filed site plans with Arlington County for the project, under the One Rosslyn brand, the company announced in a news release Tuesday.

“This is a very special site,” said Penzance partner John Kusturiss Bisnowadding that his company has “been keeping an eye on it” since it had the right to redevelopment more than a decade ago.

Penzance is a partnership based in Boston Baupost Group on the project, which is designed by Hickok Cole and Studio architecture.

The towers are planned to total 862 units and 15,000 SF of retail, a Penzance spokesman said. Bisnow. Two rental towers, one with 461 units and the other with 319, and an 82-unit apartment building are planned.

“There’s definitely a housing shortage in the region, in Arlington and especially in Rosslyn,” Kusturiss said. “The Rosslyn Sector Plan calls for more housing and we think this is just a phenomenal location for more multi-family housing. So we’re proposing three residential towers that will be a mix of sizes and price points and ownership and opportunities, and we think they’ll do well.”

The towers are designed to reach 26, 27 and 30 floors. Kusturiss said the height should give residents access to “great views of the city,” the Potomac Gorge, cherry blossoms and fireworks.

“We think it’s such a visually spectacular place that we want to make sure everyone has access to it,” he said.

Courtesy of Penzance

A rendering of the Rosslyn skyline with Penzance’s planned development in the centre.

The design centers the towers around a 30K SF landscaped terrace overlooking the county’s planned Gateway Park, which CoStar helps finance as part of it Central Place offer with the county.

Penzance purchased the 255K SF Rosslyn Gateway last November from JBG Smith for $52 million, The Washington Business Journal reported at the time.

JBG had a site plan with office, retail, residential and a hotel, but that setting didn’t fit the needs of the market at the time Penzance acquired it, Kusturiss said. He said high vacancy in the D.C. region has made this type of property less feasible, and the new Dittmar Co. Hotel of over 300 keys next door delivery eliminated the need for this use.

Penzance envisioned a multifamily development when it purchased the property, Kusturiss said. After looking at different options, he said the final plan was something the company believed it could finance and that its lending partners would trust.

A Rosslyn could break ground as early as late 2026, according to the release.

Penzance was an active developer in Arlington. In 2021, developed a similarly sized residential development in Rosslyn called Highlands, also in collaboration with The Baupost Group and the same architects on this project.

Last September, she purchased a 240K SF office property in Ballston that it is plans to transform in 328 residential units.