This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
Federal Realty Investment Trust purchased a 410K SF retail property from The Halle Cos. in a $200M deal, the companies announced Thursday.
The REIT acquired Northern Virginia's Kingstowne Town Center, a 97%-leased property with 61 tenants anchored by grocery stores Safeway and Giant. The transaction will unfold in two phases, each with a price tag of $100M, according to Federal Realty.
The buyer said the property, part of a 1M SF retail district first developed by Halle in the mid-'80s, suited Federal Realty's expansion plans for its retail holdings in Northern Virginia.
More than 8.3 million people visit the property annually, according to Federal Realty, and it is surrounded by more than 5,000 homes, plus commercial office space and planned multifamily buildings.
Avison Young's capital markets team, led by Dean Sands and Chip Ryan, represented the seller in the deal.
SALES
Brandywine Realty Trust sold 25 M St. SE to Skanska USA in a $25.7M deal. The 32K SF site is about a block from Nationals Park and is home to The Bullpen, a well-known destination for Nats fans for over a decade. Brandywine and previous parcel owner Akridge had long planned to develop an office building on the site, and in a statement provided to Bisnow, Skanska said it wasn’t ruling out office either.
***
Jair Lynch and Nuveen acquired the 236-unit Jamison at Dakota Crossing in a $78M deal, the partners announced. The property was owned by a group that included Fort Lincoln New Town Corp., The Concordia Group and Buvermo Investments Inc. Eastdil Secured represented the group. This is Jair Lynch and Nuveen’s sixth acquisition as a joint venture in the D.C. area, a portfolio that the commercial property owners say is worth a collective $425M. The Jamison, located at 3750 Jamison St. NE, contains a mixture of affordable and market-rate housing. Its new owners plan to bring on Winn Residential to manage the three-year-old property.
LEASES
Law firm Barnes & Thornburg signed onto a 6K SF expansion when it relocated to District Center, agreeing to 35K SF with terms that allow for future growth. Represented by Jon Glass and Gary Stein of Savills, the firm will move into the office, located near Metro Center at 555 12th St. NW, in January 2023. The office owners, a joint venture of MetLife Investment Management and Norges Bank, were represented by Stream Realty Partners’ Matt Pacinelli, Andy Eichberg, John Klinke and Josh Kreider.
***
Cresset, an asset management firm, is moving its headquarters to Comstock’s Reston Station. The firm will take 11,500 SF at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza and is scheduled to open the office in the third quarter. The development has attracted several high-profile tenants in recent years, including Google, Neustar and ICF International, and is still in expansion mode.
***
A 215K SF office building in North Bethesda is now 96% leased, despite being totally vacant after a renovation that completed in January 2019. Goodstone LLC’s 6116 Executive Blvd. underwent a $12M renovation that yielded new conference facilities, a wellness space and other amenities. Since then, the leasing agents have completed 31 leases, 21 of which were completed since the pandemic began, according to a release from JLL.
MILESTONES
Renovations are complete at the Drug Enforcement Agency's 511K SF headquarters in Pentagon City’s Lincoln Place. FD Stonewater, which managed the renovations, negotiated a 15-year lease renewal for the two-building complex at 600-700 Army Navy Drive on behalf of the owner in 2018. It is the latest project to complete for FD Stonewater’s federal development and construction management platform, which also recently completed a 500K SF redevelopment of the National Institutes of Health.
***
Developer EYA is pressing forward with plans to demolish an office building in Reston as it moves forward with plans to build a multibuilding residential community near Reston Station. The Bethesda-based developer is seeking demolition permits for the office at 1840 Michael Faraday Drive. Once those are approved, the developer can begin construction on a 300-unit building on the site, part of EYA’s plans for more than 1.8M SF of development near the site, FFXNow reported.
***
A joint venture of four firms is moving forward with its Buzzard Point development after securing a $367M construction loan from Bank OZK. Akridge, National Real Estate Advisors, Blue Coast Capital and recently signed partner Bridge Investment Group are planning to complete the first phase of The Stacks in 2025. The project will deliver three mixed-use residential buildings with 1,100 units. At full build-out The Stacks is planned to include 2M SF of development with possible office and hotel space, more than 2,000 residential units and 80K SF of retail.
