CHANTILLY, VA-The recession laid waste to the suburbs on the outer ring of the Beltway, which is only now beginning to recover. The latest sign is the trade of Meadows I, a 104,003-square-foot office building here that was acquired Federal Partners.

This particular sale was understandable--the building is fully leased to the government through 2015, according to Cassidy Turley’s James Cassidy, who, along with Paul Collins, Bill Collins, Drew Flood and Jud Ryan, represented the seller, an institutional client represented by Hart Realty Advisors. 

Other signs, though, are beginning to mount that a real recovery is underway in these submarkets, which were dormant not that long ago. Last month Washington Property Co. closed on a 9.41-acre plot of site-plan approved land in Westfields--the same park in which Meadows I is located, with the intent of developing it into an office building in the medium term.

Also last month ING acquired 3150 Fairview Park, a class A, eight-story office building in Merrifield, VA, for $90 million from Franklin Street Properties. A little closer in to the District than Chantilly, Merrifield is also poised for growth, Jones Lang LaSalle’s Scott Homa tells GlobeSt.com.

Tricar’s planned move to 7700 Arlington Blvd. will bring fresh life to the market and have a material impact on market conditions in Fairview Park, “not only by immediately removing nearly 700,000 square feet of pending availability adjacent to the park, but also by generating an abundance of trailing contractor demand,” Homa relates. He expects Deloitte, Booz Allen and Lockheed Martin will reallocate portions of their real estate holdings to the vicinity of Fairview Park to better serve Tricare upon the agency’s relocation.