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The United Arab Emirates paid a staggering $55 million for 18 acres overlooking the Potomac River in McLean, where the government now plans to build three diplomatic residences and a nearly 11,500-square-foot “exercise structure.”
The UAE acquired 1019, 1049 and 1079 Crest Lane in September 2022 in a single off-market transaction that was never recorded with the area’s listing service, but does appear in public records. The lots were bought from a trust tied to Richard L. Adams Jr., the internet pioneering founder of UUNet Technologies.
There are no structures on the parcels besides perhaps an out building, making this more of a development site sale than a residential property sale. The largest estate to ever trade hands in Greater Washington remains Dan and Tanya Snyder’s $48 million acquisition of River View in 2021.
This week, John Manganello of Fairfax-based Land Development Consultants filed paperwork with Fairfax County seeking a determination that the UAE's proposed exercise structure and an adjacent, 2,000-square-foot paddle tennis court would be permitted on the 8.26-acre lot at 1049 Crest Lane. Both structures would be auxiliary to a new, 24,000-square-foot diplomatic residence on the same property.
Manganello was not immediately available for comment. The UAE embassy’s media relations office did not immediately return requests for comment.
The UAE maintains an existing diplomatic residence at 1005 Crest Lane, which it bought in August 2006 for $11 million. It can be seen in the map below just north of the three development sites.
Per the filing with Fairfax County’s Department of Planning and Zoning, “a single diplomatic residence shall be proposed for each parcel” that the UAE bought from Adams. The documents say Diplomatic Residence II on the 1049 parcel would span 23,947 square feet and include between 13 and 17 bedrooms. The site plan suggests Diplomatic Residence I at 1019 Crest would be the largest of the three, with two wings. Diplomatic Residence III would be the smallest. The entire diplomatic compound would be encircled by a cart path, while an arrival court would provide access to all three new homes.
The exercise house on the 1049 Crest lot, meanwhile, “will be designed as a professional-level gym, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and amenities that meet professional standards,” according to documents submitted to the county. The plans show separate rooms for weightlifting and cardio, a Japanese spa with cold plunge, cryo chamber, boxing and yoga studios, dry and wet saunas, juice bar, treatment room, and massage room.
According to the filing, the UAE “intends to host a significant number of family members and family friends, potentially twice a year.” No building permits have yet been filed for any of the proposed projects.
While the UAE has cornered a good chunk of Crest Lane, another likely foreign entity, 600 CBR LLC, has spent far more for a collection of lots and estates along Chain Bridge Road in McLean. At last count, that LLC had paid just shy of $95 million across multiple transactions for its assemblage of properties, which include the estate of the late AOL co-founder Jim Kimsey and property owned by former Sen. Chuck Robb and his wife Lynda.
There are currently at least three Crest Lane properties on the market — asking $17.5 million for 1169 Crest, $20 million for 1260 Crest and $19.9 million for 1175 Crest — while Monumental Sports & Entertainment co-owner Roger Mody’s The Cliffs at 700 Bulls Neck Road, a 32,000-square-foot behemoth of new construction, recently returned to market after a brief delisting for a new lower price of $33.9 million. Check out the listing in the gallery below.
A night view of The Cliffs at 700 Bulls Neck Road in McLean.
