This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
A 93-unit expansion and renovation of a senior affordable housing development in Upper Northwest broke ground this week.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, developer Urban Atlantic and other partners celebrated the groundbreaking for the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home in Friendship Heights on Wednesday.
The project will add 93 units to the 1940s-era property and revamp the existing residences, which have been uninhabitable since a flood in 2020. It is one of 10 affordable projects totaling nearly 800 units that the Bowser administration is helping to fund through a $135M investment from D.C.'s Housing Production Trust Fund. It is the first HPTF investment in Ward 3.
Urban Atlantic secured $69M last month to finance construction through a combination of funding from HPTF, federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and D.C. Housing Finance Agency bonds. Equity came from Boston Financial Investment Management and Rise Impact Capital, and debt was provided by Capital One Community Finance, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust and D.C. Green Bank. Wiencek + Associates is designing the project.
“We’re proud that through this historic investment from the Housing Production Trust Fund, we will be creating 93 new units of senior affordable housing in Ward 3,” Bowser said in a release. “We’re grateful to all the government and community partners who are making this project a reality and continuing the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hufrt Home’s legacy of serving DC seniors.”
LEASES
National Detroit-style pizza chain Jet’s Pizza is taking 1,600 SF at the Annandale Shopping Center, the Washington Business Journal reported. The location at 7026 Columbia Pike in the Aldi-anchored shopping center will be the second for local franchisee Dan Kosztowny, who is days away from opening his first at 6 East Glebe Road near Potomac Yard in Alexandria, the WBJ reported. He has a license to open up to 11 local operations. The Michigan-based chain has over 400 locations across 23 states.
McEnearney Associates’ Jamie Gallagher represented Kosztowny for the Annandale lease, and McGillicuddy Commercial Properties’ Greg McGillicuddy represented the landlord, the WBJ reported.
***
Marx Realty signed furniture company OFS for 7K SF at downtown office building The Herald, the New York-based firm announced in a press release Monday. OFS will take more than half of the fourth floor in the building at 1307 New York Ave. NW with an 11-year lease. The 114K SF building dates back to 1923. Marx acquired the property in the spring of 2020 and completed a $41.5M renovation in February 2021.
OFS was represented by CBRE’s Michael Shipley. Avison Young leases the building, with a team headed by Will Stern and Eli Barnes.
***
New York fast-casual taqueria Dos Toros is expanding for the first time outside of New York City, with three locations in D.C. The Mission-style burrito chain will open in Dupont Circle at 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, Chinatown at 700 Seventh St. NW and Capitol Hill at 215 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Papadopoulos Properties’ Tom Papadopoulos brokered the leases on behalf of the tenant. Dos Toros, founded in 2009, has 18 locations across New York City.
MILESTONES
ForBuild, the construction division of interior solutions firm Dancker, is expanding into the D.C. metro, the company announced in a press release. The modular construction firm has thus far focused its business in the New York City and New Jersey markets. The release cited ForBuild’s rapid growth within the past five years, during which it attained the status of a $20M unit, as well as the growth of its construction partner Dirtt for the expansion into the DMV.
Dancker is headquartered in Somerville, New Jersey, and already operates facilities in the D.C. area, including in Beltsville, Capitol Heights and Gaithersburg, Maryland, which it plans to expand to include Dirtt operations.
***
Global software company NetApp moved into its new public sector headquarters in Tysons, the company announced in a press release Friday. NetApp took 24K SF in the 20-story Boro Tower, owned by The Meridian Group and Rockefeller Group. It is moving from 1921 Gallows Road in Tysons. The new lease was first announced in 2022. The San Jose, California-based firm was founded in 1992 and opened its U.S. public sector office in Fairfax in 2000.
PERSONNEL
The Montgomery County Planning Board announced Thursday it appointed Jason Sartori as the county's planning director. Sartori will oversee a team of 150 employees in the Planning Department and report directly to the five-member board. He has been with the department for the past eight years, most recently serving as chief of the Countywide Planning and Policy Division since January 2019. Sartori will start Nov. 27, replacing Tanya Stern, who served as acting director and will resume her position as one of two deputy planning directors.
