Skanska's Huge Win
Developers far and wide battled for the rights to revamp one of DC's most coveted sites—George Washington's Square 75 in Foggy Bottom. (More proof everyone wishes they could go back to college.) And now that Skanska has edged out the competition for the ground lease, we caught up with its local development head to hear about the next steps.
The firm's Rob Ward (snapped this morning with colleague Marc Carroll) says Skanska will immediately begin the completion of design and commencement of marketing processes, as well as vacating the existing properties on the 25k SF Pennsylvania Avenue site. (The quick facts: it's approved for 250k SF of office and 7,000 SF of retail.) While no groundbreaking is set, Rob tells us the efficient Gensler design and Pennsylvania Avenue address should appeal to a wide range of tenants.
No word on the financial terms of the ground lease; Rob says GW will work closely with Skanska on the development. The university won't retain any office space in the new building either, he adds. "Quality" food and beverage as well as service tenants will be sought for the ground-floor retail.
