This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
Sun Belt-focused commercial real estate firm Foundry Commercial is moving into the D.C. market and has made two hires to lead the expansion.
Andrew Genova joined as managing director and Justin Barker is coming in as vice president, the firm announced in a press release. Both were with Donohoe Real Estate Services, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
“We have a long history of serving clients in the mid-Atlantic region, and we are excited to expand there in the years ahead,” Foundry Commercial President Gregg Ickes said in the release.
The firm has over 2,000 employees, $4.2B in development and investment transaction volume, and a 65M SF leasing and management portfolio, according to its website, with asset types including office, retail, residential, industrial and healthcare. It maintains 11 other offices across the U.S. from Nashville, Tennessee, to Miami and Dallas. Its D.C.-area office is at 8001 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda, according to its website.
LEASES
Scientific trade association American Chemistry Council is moving from Capitol Hill to Mount Vernon Triangle with a new 93K SF lease. ACC is taking two full floors at Brookfield Properties and Douglas Development's 655 New York Ave. NW. Delivered in 2019, the 762K SF building preserved 19 historic building facades and integrated them into a larger complex, along with a new 11-story office project.
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Leidos, an information technology, science and engineering company, renewed its 25K SF lease in Rockville, Maryland, a spokesperson for its landlord, Monday Properties, told Bisnow. The company has a full-floor lease in Park Plaza II at 2099 Gaither Road. Monday Properties purchased Park Plaza I and II, which total 266K SF, last year from Boston's Marcus Partners. Leidos is headquartered in BXP’s Reston Town Center.
JLL's Peter Briskman and Kyle Corsini represented the tenant. Cushman & Wakefield's Ben Powell and Gwen Dominguez represented the landlord, alongside Monday Properties' John Wharton.
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Legal Services Corp. inked a 38K SF lease at Tishman Speyer’s International Square. The nonprofit will take the entire eighth floor on a 15.5-year lease beginning in November, the landlord announced and the Washington Business Journal first reported Thursday. The International Square office complex, constructed in 1982, totals 1.1M SF across three buildings spanning nearly an entire block near the Farragut North Metro station. Tishman Speyer completed a renovation of the property, including the delivery of a 25K SF first-floor food hall, The Square, which opened last month.
Tishman Speyer was represented in-house, and LSC was represented by Cushman & Wakefield’s Sherry Cushman and Greg Culver.
SALES
JBG Smith sold land across from Nationals Park planned for mixed-use development to WC Smith after the publicly traded REIT couldn't obtain construction financing. JBG Smith sold the two lots along South Capitol Street for $29.5M, according to records filed with the D.C. Recorder of Deeds. WC Smith is set to carry out JBG’s plans for the development at 5 M St. SW, approved for three buildings with over 600 residential units. The local developer is asking the zoning commission for a two-year extension, which would push its building permit deadline to November 2025 and a construction start to a year after that.
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A four-building apartment complex next to the National Zoo sold for $66M, documents posted to the D.C. Recorder of Deeds show. StoneBridge Investments purchased the 1920s-era Connecticut Plaza Apartments from Boston-based National Development, which had held them since 1975, according to deed records. Eastdil Secured's Alan Davis and Brenden Flood represented the seller.
PERSONNEL
The federal government’s real estate head is moving to lead D.C.’s real estate footprint. Nina Albert is departing as Public Buildings Service commissioner and taking over as D.C.'s deputy mayor for planning and economic development, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Friday. Albert replaces Keith Anderson, who has been serving as D.C.’s interim deputy mayor since the spring. The General Services Administration announced Tuesday Albert will leave her role at the end of the week, and National Capital Region Administrator Elliot Doomes will take over as her successor.
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The D.C. Housing Finance Agency has hired Marcus Ervin as senior vice president of multifamily lending and neighborhood investments, the affordable housing finance agency announced Thursday. In his new role, Ervin will serve as chief underwriter, responsible for developing business opportunities and managing the agency’s pre-development construction pipelines. He was formerly director of development for the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission.
