Big Moves at the Riverfront
The Nats bats have competition for newsmakers on the Capitol Riverfront. One big local developer has made a move, after another local shop cashed out.
Jair Lynch Development Partners (here's Jair, middle, at our Mid-Year Multifamily Summit in June) has teamed with San Fran-based developer Victor MacFarlane to acquire two sites from Monument Realty and Lehman Brothers on Half Street in a deal that closed yesterday. MacFarlane already owned a piece of both sites and now brings in Jair Lynch to breathe new life into a project that's been stalled since before the recession. According to DC public records, the sites sold for $25M.
Before the recession, Monument had planned 340 residential units and a big chunk of retail on the sites, directly north of the center field gate of Nats Park. No word on whether those plans will stay, though it's safe to expect development to speed up. The sale of the two parcels is the second big deal Monument and Lehman have made in the area of late: last year, the firms sold the DDOT-anchored 55 M St office building (which you can see on the corner to the left) to Hines REIT for $141M.
The Half Street project isn't the only project stalled in Capitol Riverfront: Skanska, Grosvenor Americas, and McCaffery Interests are on hold with Ballpark Square, a proposed office, retail, residential, and hotel project adjacent to the Jair Lynch/MacFarlane sites. Skanska's handling the office component, while Grosvenor and McCaffery work on the rest; the firms haven't said much on the project since it was announced in late 2012. (Laying low for a while and then striking sounds more like a Chicago Cubs strategy.)
