This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet

Prologis purchased a 50-acre site in Prince George’s County with the intention of turning it into a 340K SF industrial park.

The logistics REIT bought the five-parcel assemblage at 3200 Flowers Road in Upper Marlboro from May Riegler Cos., which was represented by Newmark, the brokerage announced Wednesday. It didn't disclose the price. 

“The property offers a rare opportunity for Prologis to develop a modern and high-quality Class A industrial park in the heart of world-class demographics with minimal threat of competing development,” Newmark Managing Director Ben McCarty said in a release.

Newmark’s mid-Atlantic team, including McCarty, Cris Abramson and Nick Signor, represented seller May Riegler Cos.

“We firmly believe the property is the best industrial development site in the greater Washington, D.C. metro area, and we know Prologis will be immensely successful,” May Riegler Cos. co-founder and principal Eric May said in the release. 

LEASES

South Korean solar panel manufacturer Qcells is opening a new government affairs office in D.C., signing a 7K SF lease in the Lafayette Tower building at 801 17th St. NW.

The firm, owned by Seoul-based Hanwha Group, announced in January it would invest $2.5B to expand its factory in Georgia and build another one nearby. It is one of many clean energy firms looking to take advantage of tax credits introduced by the Biden administration, and in April, Vice President Kamala Harris visited its Georgia factory.

For its D.C. lease, it was represented by Newmark’s Doug Damron and Chris Lucey. Stream Realty’s Kyle Luby and Andy Eichberg represented the landlord, Morgan Stanley, which bought the building in 2014 for a then-record price per SF of $947.62.

“This is a really good example of the velocity we’re seeing at the trophy level, particularly for pre-built spaces that can accommodate high-end smaller tenants such as government affairs offices,” Luby told Bisnow. 

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Fairfax Public Schools leased 40K SF at a Herndon office complex to use as classroom, office and testing space. JLL brokered the deal at Penzance’s 420K SF campus at 450-485 Springpark Place. The facilities will be used to house programs geared toward adult literacy and education, English language learners, adult high school credentials programs and the school system’s short-term intervention program. 

JLL Managing Director for Tenant Representation John Gibb represented Fairfax County Public Schools in the deal, and the development team was led by JLL Project and Development Services Vice President Cheryl Russ. Avison Young leases the office park on behalf of the owner.  

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Interactive gaming venue Immersive Gamebox is taking 4,500 SF of ground-floor retail space at Marx Realty’s The Grogan office building in Chinatown. New York-based Marx is repositioning the 21K SF property at 819 Seventh St. NW. Immersive Gamebox has locations in 10 U.S. states — including a location at Arlington’s Ballston Quarter Mall — as well as venues in the United Arab Emirates, Germany and the United Kingdom. The rapidly expanding brand expects dozens of branches to open globally by 2024, according to its website, including 10 new locations in New York and 14 in California alone. 

Dochter & Alexander Retail Advisors’ Logan Chambers Powell represented Immersive Gamebox, and KLNB’s Lindsey St. Maxens and Jennifer Price represented Marx Realty.

MILESTONES 

Construction has topped out for George Mason University’s new digital innovation hub, The Fuse at Mason Square. Mason Innovation Partners, a public-private partnership led by Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate, celebrated the milestone on Friday. 

The 345K SF building is set to host spaces for robotic labs, virtual reality simulation, security and data visualization for researchers, students and industry partners. The project broke ground at the site of a former Kann Department store in Arlington in April 2022 and is expected to open next summer.

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Trammell Crow Co. has tapped CBRE to lease its 900K SF medical campus at the McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtration Site redevelopment, the developer announced in a press release Tuesday. The release detailed plans for The McMillan Center, which will consist of three towers. On the west side of the development, Tower 1 will hold primarily pediatrics and child healthcare services. On the east side, Tower 2 will house adult care, laboratory and research facilities. Tower 3 will focus on clinical research and medical practices.

CBRE's Chris Bodnar, John DiCamillo, Lara Nealon and Brett Schweitzer will partner with Trammell Crow's Eric Fischer and Sam Mitrani to market the facilities.

TCC is a partner with EYA and Jair Lynch on the 2.1M SF development, now branded The Reservoir District, planned across 25 acres near the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. At completion, the neighborhood is planned for 146 townhomes, at least 500 apartment units, a community center and retail, including a grocery store.

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The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority awarded Fraport Washington Partnership LLC a 10-year contract to lease and manage concessions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. 

The awardee is a partnership between concessions developer Fraport USA and community development organization Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures. Beginning in January, the partnership plans to take on day-to-day management of both airports’ combined 260K SF of concessions space, including planning, leasing and construction oversight. 

PERSONNEL 

The Washington DC Economic Partnership, the public-private organization focused on attracting business and development to the city, named a new leader this week. Derek Ford will take over as CEO and president of WDCEP, the nonprofit announced Thursday. 

Ford served as senior vice president of emerging/neighborhood development for the WDCEP. During his time there, Ford has been behind initiatives to increase retail and grocery stores east of the Anacostia River, according to the announcement, which also says Ford is an “expert in housing, bond financing, market review analysis, Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) compliance, HUD funding sources, and more.”

He succeeds WDCEP interim President and CEO Chad Shuskey, who had been in the role since Keith Sellars resigned in March after nearly two decades as the head of the organization.

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Edens has appointed Kelly Nagel as head of residential, the Bethesda-based developer and owner announced this week. Nagel moves to Edens after launching her own multifamily investment firm in early 2022. When Bisnow caught up with her that March, Nagel was in the market for smaller deals amid a competitive D.C. multifamily environment and looking at properties farther south in cities like Richmond and Virginia Beach. Nagel had previously worked for publicly traded REITs Aimco Apartment Homes and Regency Centers. In her new role, she will report to Edens Chief Development Officer Bill Caldwell.