This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
Grocery chain Lidl has reportedly zeroed in on its latest location in the D.C. area.
The grocer is finalizing plans to open in the former Safeway space at Polinger Cos.’ Bethesda Place, local blogger Robert Dyer reported Tuesday.
A Lidl spokesperson confirmed to Bisnow it is planning to open a new location in Bethesda but declined to confirm the address of the location. The German grocer has several new or planned stores in the D.C. region: its Skyland Town Center location opened in September and work continues at its Columbia Heights location.
Safeway operated in the 42K SF space at Bethesda Place for 25 years, before closing in 2018 due to underwhelming sales, Bethesda Magazine reported at the time.
SALES
10Square sold a Cleveland Park site that it ushered through a rezoning process for $10M, Bisnow reported Tuesday. The property, located at 3427-3433 Wisconsin Ave. NW, sold to One Street Commercial Properties in a deal brokered by Feldman Ruel Urban Property Advisors.
The property currently hosts two protected single-family homes, but the rezoning allows the developer to move each home to face side streets on the northern and southern boundary of the property and build a roughly 50-unit multifamily development on Wisconsin Avenue. The site has a covenant for 20% inclusionary zoning as part of its map amendment deal.
LEASES
Cushman & Wakefield’s Mark Wooters, Michael Katcher and John Skolnik were selected by Rexmark to lead the leasing effort for the 130K SF of office space at D.C.’s Union Station, according to a press release.
Rexmark was originally a mezzanine lender to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., which secured the ground lease for the transit hub's commercial space in 2007. But Ashkenazy stopped paying its mortgage on the property in May 2020, citing the pandemic. In the legal dispute that followed, Rexmark secured control of the property from Ashkenazy in August, while an eminent domain filing from Amtrak works its way through the legal system.
This is the second move Rexmark has made to begin a revitalization of the station: The lender hired Matt Barry to serve as general manager of Union Station and help improve the retail there at the end of 2022. Barry previously served as assistant vice president of property management for Tysons Corner Center.
***
Capitol Crossing has secured leases for a total of 33K SF across seven tenants, Bisnow reported Wednesday. The group of tenants includes Strategic Marketing Initiatives, the Boys and Girls Club of America, the National Hydropower Association, the International Code Council and Sustainable Strategies DC. The 414K SF office building delivered in 2018, but its owners, which recently created a new business to oversee the mixed-use development, have yet to achieve full lease-up. The 9K SF food hall Love, Makoto is also expected to open this quarter.
***
Peterson Cos. signed a pair of leases to bring Uniqlo and Gold's Gym to downtown Silver Spring, the Washington Business Journal reported Monday. Uniqlo inked a deal for 10K SF at 914 Ellsworth St., its fifth location in the region. Gold’s Gym also agreed to lease 25K SF at 901 Wayne Ave. in a former Washington Sports Club location. Both are expected to open this year.
***
The General Services Administration is proposing to downsize two federal agencies in D.C., according to lease prospectuses reported by the Washington Business Journal. One agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, leases more than 250K SF across four locations, including three buildings in JBG Smith’s L’Enfant Plaza and one building owned by George Washington University at 45065 Bles Park Drive in Ashburn. The agency is proposing to consolidate to 145K SF in D.C., potentially in one of the JBG Smith buildings at 429, 470 and 490 L'Enfant Plaza SW.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission leases 288K SF at 3 Lafayette Centre, an office owned by Beacon Capital Partners. The agency proposes downsizing to 173K SF, and it may leave its home at 1155 21st St. NW as a result.
PERSONNEL
TEEL Construction hired its first-ever chief financial officer. Rich Goldberg joins the Fairfax-based firm from subcontractor Manganaro Building Group, where he served as CFO for two years. Goldberg has a long history in the accounting side of construction, including stints at Turner Construction, Sigal Construction and Gilbane.
TEEL also promoted Brian Abel to director of project management. Abel has nearly two decades of construction experience and has been with TEEL Construction for more than four years. Abel's new leadership role will see him provide more training and mentorship to employees while also overseeing some of the firm's larger, more-complex projects, per a press release.
