This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
A prime NoMa parcel, which is less than a block from the redeveloped Uline Arena and sold at foreclosure auction last year, has been acquired by a new owner with plans for affordable housing, according to property records.
An affiliate of D.C.-based MED Developers acquired the 10K SF property at 1109 Congress St. NE for just under $8M, according to a deed transfer listed Tuesday.
Previously, J Street Cos. secured entitlements to construct a multifamily condo property on the site, including ground-floor retail. But the property was foreclosed on last year and sold at auction to an affiliate of Urban Edge for $3M.
MED Developers now appears poised to move forward with a development on the site, which is entitled for 62 residential units and just under 4K SF of retail, according to a listing from Avison Young.
The new owner applied for low-income housing tax credit financing backed by the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development that would keep units affordable at 60% of the area median income, records show.
MED Developers didn't respond to a request for comment about its plans for the site.
LEASES
Solar roofing company SmartRoof is moving from McLean to Reston, signing a 25K SF lease at 11091 Sunset Hills Road, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority announced Thursday. The move is an expansion for SmartRoof, which was founded in 2016 and serves locations throughout the Northeast and in Florida. Lincoln Property Co. owns the roughly 200K SF Reston Eastpointe office building, according to property records.
Data analytics firm Technomics announced on Tuesday that it would expand its Arlington headquarters by 10K SF. The expansion is part of a $1.7M investment by the employee-owned decision analysis company to bolster its presence at JBG Smith’s 1225 South Clark St. office.
***
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Granules India Ltd. announced plans to lease and open a 79K SF packaging facility in Manassas, the Washington Business Journal reported. The facility, located at 7413 Cushing Road, expands Granules’ Virginia presence. It is the company’s only U.S. location.
***
A longstanding Virginia tech company has signed a new lease in Leesburg as part of a pivot away from contract manufacturing begun earlier this year. EIT 2.0 has agreed to occupy nearly 11K SF at 900 Sycolin Road in Leesburg Tech Park, part of a 17-acre business park owned by St. John Properties. The flex/R&D space is about 35 miles from Washington, D.C., per the owner’s website.
PERSONNEL
Wesley Housing Board of Directors announced it is promoting Kamilah McAfee to be the nonprofit developer’s next president and CEO starting Jan. 2. McAfee has been with Wesley Housing for 14 years, most recently as senior vice president of real estate development. Prior to her tenure at Wesley, she also was director of public finance for the D.C. Housing Finance Agency and was a development associate at Forest City Washington, according to a release.
***
JLL hired longtime D.C.-area broker Lucia Hedke as a managing director in its healthcare-focused tenant representation practice, the firm announced this week. In her new role, Hedke will continue to represent clients in the area while also bolstering JLL’s Florida healthcare practice. Hedke previously worked at Cresa, where she had a variety of responsibilities in the firm’s tenant representation practice. Over her 20 years of experience in real estate, she has served clients like Alliance for American Manufacturing, UN’s World Food Programme, Medtronic and Smith+Nephew, according to a release.
