This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
Sycamore & Oak, a 22K SF retail village at the St. Elizabeths East campus in Congress Heights, opened Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Mayor Muriel Bowser was joined by community members to unveil 13 local businesses, all owned by residents of Wards 7 and 8.
Retailers include a Black Bella Spa & Wellness Center, The Museum DC, WeFitDC, Dionne’s Good Food, Buna Talk Café and The Fresh Food Factory Market.
“Sycamore & Oak will be more than just a retail space—it will serve as an anchor and commercial hub for Parcel 15 as we continue to add mixed-use commercial, retail, hospitality, open public space, and residential development to the neighborhood,” interim Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Keith Anderson said at the event, according to a press release.
The latest unveiling is part of the District’s project to redevelop the portion of the former psychiatric hospital east of the Anacostia River. The first delivery out of the plan was in 2018 with the Entertainment & Sports Arena. Since then, the District has opened 202 affordable housing units, 88 townhomes and a health facility. A George Washington University medical center is slated to open in 2025.
At the event, Bowser announced a request for proposals to develop Parcel 6. The Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development is looking for proposals that “promote economic activity along 13th Street while transforming the site into a multi-use development with homeownership opportunities,” according to the release.
Bowser also announced the District's selection of Perkins&Will and Turner Construction to design and build St. Elizabeths Congress Heights Library, expected to deliver in 2027. The new 20K SF library will replace the existing 5K SF Parklands-Turner Library.
D.C. chose The Menkiti Group to redevelop Parcels 7, 8 and 9 in December. Plans for those parcels include an office building for the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health, a 277-unit affordable residential development, 18 for-sale townhomes and community spaces.
LEASES
Dill Dinkers Pickleball, a court operator with two Maryland facilities, is expanding to Montgomery County, according to a Tuesday press release. The pickleball purveyor inked a 28.5K SF lease on Boiling Brook Parkway within the Randolph Hills Complex in North Bethesda and plans to open this summer. It launched its first location in Howard County, Maryland, last fall and its second in Carroll County, Maryland, last month. Lee & Associates’ Bill Harrison, Ned Brady and Eric Skogmo represented the tenant. Randolph Buildings LP is the landlord.
***
At a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, developers Stonebridge and Rockefeller Group announced they inked a lease for half the former WMATA headquarters redevelopment near Gallery Place.
A 15-year lease from law firm Crowell & Moring for 199K SF allowed construction on the $375M redevelopment to begin. The redevelopment will add three floors to the building’s eight and carve out 15K SF for ground-floor retail. The project was financed by Japanese investors Taisei USA LLC and Mitsubishi Estate New York. The developers secured a 99-year ground lease for the 381K SF building in 2020 after WMATA decided to search for a new headquarters in 2018.
SALES
Bernstein Management purchased a 245-unit Shaw apartment complex, The Shay, from Dweck Properties for $80.5M. The two-building development, at a busy retail and restaurant intersection, was developed in 2015 by The JBG Cos. before it went public as JBG Smith. The buildings were initially sold, minus the ground-floor retail, which was also not part of this deal, to Dweck Properties when they were still vacant for $125M that same year.
FINANCING
Tishman Speyer secured $150M from RBC Capital Markets to finance a mall-to-multifamily conversion in Friendship Heights. The developer purchased the now-obsolete Mazza Gallerie in 2021 for $52M. It plans to develop the property into a 320-unit apartment building with 90K SF of retail, 70K SF of which is concourse space that Tishman Speyer will maintain, plus it will add 20K SF of ground-floor retail. Demolition is underway, and the residential portion and first wave of retail are expected to deliver in 2025.
MILESTONES
Amazon officially unveiled the first phase of its HQ2 at National Landing in Arlington on Thursday with a grand opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting after employees began working in the offices last month. Metropolitan Park includes two 22-story towers with 2.1M SF of office, 50K SF of ground-floor retail, which 14 local businesses will soon be inhabiting, and a 2.5-acre public park.
Speakers at the event included Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey, and Amazon executives Brian Huseman, Holly Sullivan and John Schoettler.
The company announced an indefinite pause on its three-building Phase 2 in March. But Sullivan told Bisnow this month that given employees’ enthusiastic response to the new headquarters, the company is considering moving forward with the next phase early next year.
***
The NHP Foundation unveiled a 41-unit affordable housing development, 17 Mississippi Apartments, in Southeast D.C. The 22K SF project is NHP’s 13th affordable housing development in the District. Funding for the $22.9M project was provided in part by $9.1M from D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Production Trust Fund. Citi Community Capital provided $4.3M in permanent debt, and it received $8.8M in 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from WNC & Associates Inc.
Nine of the units are set aside for people experiencing homelessness or dealing with mental health concerns. The project was developed in partnership with Legacy Real Estate Development.
***
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development announced a request for proposals to redevelop a fire station into a mixed-use project. The project will span a 13,816 SF site at 427-439 New Jersey Ave. NW, which in addition to housing Engine Company 3, is also the location of the D.C. Fire and EMS Museum. The RFP requires the applicant to provide alternative plans for the station and adjacent museum.
