The ball is slowly starting to roll on the Springfield Town Center development plans as a portion of the parking lot was cordoned off and filled with construction materials for the new development plans that include 460 apartments and a 165-room hotel on the parcel.

PREIT Development is spearheading the effort, taking advantage of the prime location transportation-wise. There are two major interstates, the Springfield-Franconia Parkway and the Metro station nearby.

"PREIT’s overall vision is to transform Springfield Town Center into a vibrant, multi-use hub and take advantage of its unrivaled location to create the preeminent family entertainment destination in the Washington, DC market," PREIT said. Included with the transformation is the LEGO Discovery Center that opened in the summer 2023, and traditional retail, top-tier full service dining destinations, entertainment, fitness and other value retail offerings, they said despite. the decline in some retail over the last 10 years.

According to Justin Roth, town center marketing director, the sale of the land went through on Dec. 18, 2023 and the buyer/developer is Hanover R.S. Limited Partnership. In addition to the apartments and hotel, there will be a public fitness/dog park, an expansion of the existing parking garage near JC Penney with a skybridge connecting to the residential building. Construction should be completed in 2025.