This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet: Webster School Property Has New Owner
The Webster School, an 1880s-era schoolhouse across from CityCenter that was owned by the federal government, is officially in the hands of a private owner.
Hung Tran and Katie Dang, operating as Webster School LLC, purchased the property for $4.2M, according to D.C. deed records filed this week.
The new owners have yet to say what they plan to do with the property that has been boarded up and vacant for more than two decades.
Tran and Dang are executives of the Bethesda-based Tran Group, a mid-Atlantic-focused owner and developer specializing in hospitality, retail and multifamily, according to its website.
The pair have purchased two other vacant properties in the area in the past year: a 10K SF historic building assemblage at the corner of Eighth and H streets NW in May, and the vacant space that housed Bar Deco on Sixth Street NW last month, according to deed records.
The GSA had put the Webster School up for public auction in September, and bidding closed in December. There were three bidding parties in total.
LEASES
Shake Shack founder and restaurateur Danny Meyer leased the Dupont Circle space that previously housed upscale market Foxtrot. Danny Meyer, who owns Union Square Hospitality Group, leased the space at 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW, Axios reported. Meyer is planning to open his café and bakery concept Daily Provisions, which has several locations in New York City. The building at the corner of Connecticut and Q Streets Northwest is owned by an entity connected to Kain & Associates CEO Michael Kain, whose firm is headquartered there.
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Douglas Development inked two new leases for the 60K SF Chinatown retail space that formerly housed the Spy Museum, the Washington Business Journal reported. The Cigar Association is moving into 3,500 SF with an 11-year lease, relocating from 1310 G St. NW. ZDS Architecture & Interiors is taking 5,000 SF with a six-year lease, nearly twice its footprint at 1405 Rhode Island Ave. NW.
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ABA Centers of America signed a 6,600 SF lease at Skyland Town Center for a new clinic, the WBJ reported. The autism therapy provider is opening dozens of locations around the country. Rappaport and WC Smith’s Skyland Town Center in Ward 8 has 126K SF of retail anchored by a Lidl grocery store.
PERSONNEL
Newmark hired Doug Mueller as a vice chairman in its D.C. office. Mueller quietly left JLL in December after 12 years at the brokerage. He was most recently an executive managing director, partnering with Evan Behr to lease downtown D.C. office buildings. At Newmark, Mueller will “spearhead” agency leasing efforts in the city with a focus on office landlord representation, the firm said.
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Federal Realty Investment Trust, a North Bethesda-based REIT that owns retail and mixed-use properties, announced four promotions on Friday. It promoted Vanessa Mendoza to vice president of regional leasing. It named Sarah Forde Rogers as vice president of regional development. Bob Franz was promoted to vice president of West Coast acquisitions, while Porter Bellew was named senior vice president and chief information officer.
