In The Works: Top Three National Landing Developments
Pen Place
Developer: JBG Smith
Details: Amazon is planning a 4M SF purpose-built office building on a plot of land dubbed Pen Place, next to the Marriott Residence Inn in Pentagon City. This is in addition to the 500K SF of office space it plans to lease throughout Crystal City.
The fate of Pen Place took several twists and turns before Amazon decided to buy it. In 2013, JBG Smith had the land zoned for a mixed-use development, then in 2018 pivoted to a plan for two seven-story residential towers with ground-floor retail space. Now, Amazon has asked JBG Smith for the land outright for an office, for which the REIT will serve as the developer.
Amazon’s new office will be a five-minute walk to the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, and is actually closer to the Pentagon City Metro station than to the Crystal City station.
Pentagon Centre
Developer: Kimco Realty
Details: Kimco is set to open the first phase of its mixed-use development at Pentagon Centre, where it has started to transform an existing 329K SF retail center into a 200-room hotel, 693 residential units and 705K SF of commercial space.
Phase 1 of the 1.9M SF development, which finds itself directly above the Pentagon City Metro Station, has allowed a current Costco and Marshalls to exist below while adding a 26-story residential tower with 440 luxury apartment units and 7K SF of retail on the ground floor.
The building should begin leasing in spring 2019. Phase 2, which could start construction as soon as this year, according to ARLnow, would include a 12-story apartment building and 15K SF of retail.
Central District Retail
Developer: JBG Smith
Details: JBG Smith is bringing 130K SF of retail space to Crystal Drive between 15th and 18th streets South. The property will be anchored by an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a Texas-based chain of theaters famous for serving food directly to moviegoers' seats and enforcing strict moviegoing etiquette. The development will also include a small-format grocery store and 44K SF of open space.
The project broke ground last year and is set to be followed by another retail development at 1900 Crystal Drive. When combined, the two projects will deliver over 750 apartments and almost 150K SF of new retail at street level, including restaurants, bars and local businesses.
