This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
Southwest D.C.'s Buzzard Point neighborhood has another development under construction, with a Toll Brothers-led joint venture this week breaking ground on a 501-unit project.
The project, called Vermeer, will feature a range of unit types from studios to three-bedrooms and 38K SF of retail.
Toll Brothers is partnering with CrossHarbor Capital Partners on Vermeer, located at 113 Potomac Ave. SW. The joint venture announced in May it obtained a $162.7M construction loan from Bank OZK.
The property, located on a triangular lot next to Audi Field, was designed in a W shape. KTGY is the architecture firm on the project.
“Vermeer will elevate the level of luxury available among the residential rental offerings in the rapidly redeveloping Buzzard Point neighborhood,” said Michael Skena, Toll Brothers' mid-Atlantic regional director of acquisition and development in a release.
The project joins a host of others turning the formerly industrial neighborhood between Navy Yard and The Wharf into a mixed-use destination. MRP Realty and FRP Holdings announced a deal this month with Steuart Investment Co. to develop several Buzzard Point projects, including a parcel next to the newly built Verge. Hoffman & Associates landed a 38K SF lease from Brooklyn Bowl for its mixed-use development next to Audi Field, and an Akridge-led team closed on construction financing and broke ground in May on a 2M SF mixed-use project.
MILESTONES
Residential real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman is making a big splash in the D.C. market, opening a trio of offices in Bethesda, Arlington and the District, the firm announced this week, the latest in a series of expansion moves it has made this year. Douglas Elliman has hired Ruth Boyer O’Dea and Evan Lacopo, two longtime area brokers, as co-presidents overseeing the D.C.-area team.
FINANCING
FD Stonewater, a national investment and brokerage firm headquartered in Arlington, is launching an evergreen fund targeting single-tenant assets, the firm announced this week.
The STAR Evergreen Fund will target value-add properties across industrial, government, research and development, and office sectors in secondary and tertiary markets. FD Stonewater said it has already taken its active management approach to acquire, manage or develop 5.6M SF of assets totaling $1.3B. Andrew Schwartzman, a principal in the firm’s Arlington office, will join California-based principals Owen Burke, David Stade and Jeffrey Toporek in managing the fund.
LEASES
Law firm Allen & Overy renewed and restructured its lease at 1101 New York Ave. NW, taking up nearly 41K SF as part of its new agreement. The firm first moved into the Oxford Properties-owned building in 2013. Stream Realty Partners’ Matt Pacinelli, Kyle Luby and John Klinke represented Oxford, and Savills’ Tom Fulcher, Julie Rayfield and Adam Brecher represented the law firm.
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Life sciences firm MilliporeSigma announced plans to consolidate Maryland operations in new 250K SF facility and add 500 D.C.-area jobs, the Washington Business Journal reported this week. The firm, which goes by BioReliance Corp. locally, will consolidate most of its five Rockville sites into a new facility at 9820 Darnestown Road in Rockville, also maintaining a presence at 9630 Medical Center Drive in Rockville. Alexandria Real Estate Equities is the developer of the new facility.
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The restaurateur behind Le Diplomate has announced plans to open a new concept in the former Dean & DeLuca space in Georgetown Park. Stephen Starr, founder of Starr Restaurants, is partnering with Los Angeles chef Nancy Silverton to open Osteria Mozza in a 20K SF space late next year. The space will feature a market with specialty Italian products in addition to the restaurant, according to a press release.
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D.C.-based cybersecurity firm Virtru signed a lease to relocate its headquarters and more than double its footprint, agreeing to 17K SF at Pembroke’s 1801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The office building, located near the Farragut West Metro station, underwent renovations that were completed in 2019 and is now 70% leased. Virtru will move from its Dupont Circle space at at 1130 Connecticut Ave. NW next spring.
PERSONNEL
CBRE is bringing aboard a real estate veteran as its new Mid-Atlantic research director. Stephanie Jennings joins the firm’s D.C. office after serving as managing director for national research at Newmark, where she worked for eight years, per her LinkedIn profile. Prior to that, Jennings served as the vice president of economic development for the Alliance for Downtown New York and was a project director for Housing Opportunities Unlimited, where she worked in multifamily affordable housing in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
