This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet

The first phase of Loudoun County’s Arcola Center development is underway. St. John Properties broke ground Wednesday on four of the 10 one-story speculative flex, research and development, and office buildings that will eventually make up a combined 450K SF business park spanning 34 acres.

Each of the first four buildings will range from 22K SF to 45K SF. The sites, which will feature free parking, would serve professional services and tech firms and light manufacturing, retail and logistics companies, according to the release.

The center was originally designed for residential, commercial and entertainment, but in January 2022, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors granted a zoning change to allow for the entire site to become flex warehouse and office space. 

Matt Holbrook, St. John Properties regional partner for Virginia and Central Maryland, explained the reasons for the change in the press release.

“With the struggles of retail development over the past decade, from the rise of e-commerce to the fallout of bricks and mortar retail from the pandemic, the highest and best use for this property isn’t pure retail, but rather a business park with a mix of uses," he said.

Ashburn District Supervisor Mike Turner pointed to the historical success of the decided-upon asset class in the area. 

“Loudoun County has more than three million square feet of flex and warehouse space, with a vacancy rate of under one percent,” he said. “This flex/R&D product is among the main pillars of economic activity in Loudoun County and it is gratifying to see Arcola Center moving forward.”

LEASES

Syracuse University intends to sign a lease in the next few days for 15K SF at 1333 New Hampshire Ave. NW in Dupont, and it plans to move into the space on the first and ninth floors of the building in early 2024, Bisnow reported Thursday. The new footprint is an attempt to create a “one-university” campus for the school, which has had programming in the District since the mid-1990s. 

The Dupont location will be a hub for graduate and undergraduate classrooms, events, alumni relations programming, and advancement, enrollment and government relations functions.

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The Environmental Defense Fund is relocating its D.C. office from Kalorama to Metro Center, brokerage firm Stream Realty announced Tuesday. The nonprofit is moving to District Center at 555 12th St. NW. The 12-story property is a joint venture between MetLife Investment Management and Norges Bank Investment Management. 

EDF expects to move this October into a 35K SF space, taking up half of the first floor of the 850K SF building. District Center also houses a Nordstrom Rack, Potbelly, Saks Off 5th and Ristorante Tosca. Stream Realty brokered the deal on behalf of the landlord, and Transwestern represented EDF. 

MILESTONES

The Capital Area Food Bank’s warehouse and office expansion in Lorton, Virginia, broke ground on Monday. MGAC is the consultant on the effort to expand the facility from 14K SF to 43K SF. Of that, 9K SF will be dedicated to administrative and volunteer training space.

The project is expected to be completed by summer 2024. Davis Construction is the general contractor, and Davis Carter Scott is the architecture firm.

"Food insecurity significantly increased in northern Virginia and the greater D.C. area during the pandemic," Capital Area Food Bank Senior Director Cynthia Singiser said in a press release. “To meet this challenge head on, we had to expand our space and align it with today and tomorrow’s needs. We are grateful to develop a facility that allows us to continue our mission on a scale that achieves an even greater impact.” 

PERSONNEL

Transwestern hired Drew Genova as a senior managing director of client services and development. Genova comes from a stint as president of Donohoe Real Estate Services and, before that, two years as Madison Marquette’s chief asset services officer. Genova spent three decades building Trammell Crow Co.’s mid-Atlantic practice before and after the firm was acquired by CBRE in 2006.

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JLL hired Dean Sands as a managing director of its retail investment sales and advisory team in D.C. Sands has spent two decades in the D.C. real estate sector. He was most recently a principal at Avison Young for nearly three years, and before that, he was a director at Eastdil Secured for nearly 18 years.