Groundbreaking is expected to occur in spring 2008 with the delivery of the first phase -- two buildings out of a total of five--expected in the Fall. All together, the commercial space will include a mix of 170,000 sf of two-and three-story buildings with ground floor retail and restaurant space. The residential component--the builder for this piece has not yet been selected--will consist of 25 singlefamily lots.

Appian expects to have a number of pre-leases signed for the project in place within a matter of weeks, Dan Gonzalez, managing partner tells GlobeSt.com. There has been enough interest from the market, he says, to support the development of 70,000 sf, or two buildings. Much of the interest in the office space, Tom Sandlin, managing partner tells GlobeSt.com, comes from local professional firms and the medical community. Pending retail deals include a health club, bank, and restaurants. Development costs for the phase 1 are expected to be $13 million.

This project is part of a hefty--for a newbie company that is--$350 million pipeline with which Appian launched. It began operations overseeing $150 million of projects under construction or about to go under construction, and another $200 million in future projects. Madison Square, Gonzalez says "is the first new development management and leasing project under the Appian name."

Other Appian projects underway include Westpark Corporate Center, a 100,000-sf office in Fredericksburg; Innovation Executive Center in Manassas, a 640,000-sf office /flex development; a 250,000 sf office/retail development called Village at Heathcote in Haymarket; Offices on Park Avenue, a 32,000-sf office condo development in Falls Church; Interstate Overlook, a 150,000-sf office/flex development in Woodbridge; Discovery Center 1, otherwise known as Mediatech, a 110,000-sf build to suit project, in Manassas; Discovery Center 2, a 80,000-sf office development in Manassas; and the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, also in Manassas.