The long-awaited groundbreaking of a uniquely designed 270,000 square foot building adjacent to the City of Falls Church is scheduled to happen today (Thursday, Jan. 23). The building will house the 40,000 square foot Virginia Tech “Coalition for Smart Construction” on its ground floor, as well as a new headquarters for the HITT Contracting.
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer will deliver the main remarks at the site at 11 a.m. today, with Falls Church Mayor Letty Hardi, Juan Segura, Virginia’s chief deputy secretary for commerce and trade, and Kim Roy, CEO of HITT also on the program.
A spokesman for HITT, a top national commercial construction firm, said the company “aspires to redefine the future of construction with the unveiling of plans for our innovative six-story, 270,000-square-foot headquarters next to Falls Church.”
The new HITT headquarters, slated for completion in late 2026, is, she said, “a testament to the company’s commitment to sustainable building practices.” The site will feature a remarkable 100,000-square-foot photovoltaic solar canopy, generating all energy needed for the building. “Sustainability and R&D are paramount to the development,” she said, “It reflects HITT’s dedication to the neighborhood, the building community, and the environment.”
The planned office relocation can be accessed from Haycock Road. It also provides more space within a lively community and better access to the West Falls Church Metro station for HITT’s more than 900 local team members.
“We’re ecstatic to continue growing in Fairfax County and aligning with the West Falls Church Metro station. We’re thankful to the City of Falls Church, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Fairfax County for supporting our plans to build this cutting-edge development. We’re deeply committed to being good stewards of the local community and the environment. I’m also thrilled that Virginia Tech is committed to maintaining their presence in Falls Church with the launch of its Coalition for Smart Construction – a research lab dedicated to the future of building,” said HITT CEO Roy.
Virginia Tech has leased ground floor space for a Coalition for Smart Construction. This partnership with HITT will enable the next generation of construction professionals and drive groundbreaking research and educational collaborations within the built community. Together, HITT and Virginia Tech will provide “a nationally recognized innovation hub that will advance building practices and ultimately shape the industry’s future,” a HITT statement noted.
Designed by Gensler, the headquarters reflects HITT’s commitment to the environment and the well-being of its team members. The office features collaborative work zones, wellness facilities, a sprawling one-acre outdoor terrace with lush landscaping, and other amenities.
The ground floor will feature a full-service conference center, café, and access to urban parks. An interconnecting stair leads to the second floor featuring team member amenities, collaboration spaces, and access to the roof deck.
Four additional floors of offices offer dynamic workspaces designed with neurodivergence in mind to support a variety of working styles. The greater development will include more than 55,000 square feet of urban parks, including a 1,400-square-foot interactive digital experience pavilion designed to be a nucleus of the community where locals can gather.
HITT’s R&D team will focus on innovation by carrying out more than 20 research projects through the new headquarters. Notable ventures already in progress include a newly patented prefabricated building skin that reduces weight, increases speed to market, and creates more efficient buildings.
HITT is pioneering the first use of the Caracol Heron AM robotic arm installed in the U.S. for 3D printing, aimed to augment traditional construction methods, and implementing robotics on-site to support an enhanced experience for HITT’s field team through technology-enabled workflows. HITT says it “seeks to explore new ways to build and share the findings with the industry.”
“Traditionally, less than one percent of the construction industry’s revenue is directed at advancing R&D. If we’re going to overcome future challenges, we need to start now and work together across the entire industry. HITT is deeply invested in R&D and the new headquarters offers us a real opportunity to test new ideas,” said Megan Lantz, HITT’s vice president of research and development. “In 2019, we built Co|Lab, our dedicated R&D hub, which was the first mass timber building in Virginia. It was truly cutting edge at the time, and we learned first-hand about the processes and material. Similarly, we will test emerging materials, methods, and technologies at this new headquarters and share what we learn with the industry.”
HITT’s longstanding partnership with Virginia Tech and the university’s commitment to advancing smart construction led to the vision for an innovation hub, constituting “a true investment in the future of the built environment.” The Virginia Tech Coalition for Smart Construction will lease and occupy 40,000 square feet on the building’s ground floor.
“As we continue to grow our presence in the greater D.C. metro area, creating innovative industry partnerships will enable the future of smart construction,” said Julie Ross, the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Engineering at Virginia Tech. “The partnership with HITT Contracting will provide our students and faculty with a state-of-the-art facility built for collaboration. We’re excited to see what we can do together.”
HITT Co-Chairman Brett Hitt said, “One of the last big innovations in construction was post-tension concrete more than 50 years ago. As an industry, we have to do better to tackle the challenges of rising costs, labor shortages, and our environmental footprint. I believe that Virginia Tech will push the boundaries of construction by bringing its students to a space where they can work alongside our industry’s brightest minds. Bringing industry and academia together under one roof will help us effect real change,”
HITT Contracting provides a wide range of construction services across the nation, from complex core and shell buildings and renovations to interior fit-outs and routine service work. With 2022 revenues of $5.41 billion and 1,600+ team members in 14 office locations nationwide, HITT is ranked as one of the top 20 largest general contractors in the U.S.
Nicholas F. Benton
Nicholas F. Benton is owner and Editor-In-Chief of the Falls Church News-Press.