JBG Buys Site Of Planned Potomac Nationals Baseball Stadium

The JBG Cos, just a week after buying its retail subsidiary, JBGR, bought Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center, a Wegmans-anchored, 482k SF shopping center in Woodbridge, VA, for an undisclosed price.

JBG bought the center from a JV of Roadside Development and Blackrock, which bought the land in 2006, delivered the center's first phase in 2008 and the second phase in 2012, Roadside's Richard Lake told us yesterday. Included in the purchase are 23.4 developable acres, which have long been targeted for a new stadium for the Potomac Nationals, the Washington Nationals' minor league affiliate.

The stadium—a planned 6,000- to 7,000-seat, $25M venue—would be built and owned by the club (owned by Art Silber), but Roadside had agreed to provide $13M in infrastructure improvements and build an office and a residential building. Those plans were announced in 2012, but haven't come to fruition as the P-Nats look for a naming rights sponsor.

"JBG is aware of the previous discussions regarding a Potomac Nationals stadium at Stonebridge," the developer told Bisnow in a statement, "and is working to get a better understanding of the facts and possibilities before we can comment."  

Richard told us the deal he signed years ago has since expired, meaning it's wholly up to JBG, the region's most prolific developer, what to do with the site. Discussions have been ongoing among Blackrock, Roadside and JBG for around a year, Richard says, as Blackrock was looking to recapitalize the asset for its next fund. 

"I think JBG is going to do a great job with it," Richard says. "When we do these projects, we’re kind of like their parents in a sense. We take them to a certain level, the ideas on paper get to reality. It's always good to put the property into the hands of people who understand that, and I think it's in good hands."

In addition to Wegmans, Stonebridge also counts Apple, REI and DSW as big-hitter, destination tenants. The shopping center was able to sign the tenant mix because the location is right off I-95 in what had been a hole in the marketplace and the design was attractive to this collection of retailers, Richard says.