New Kids On The Block: NoMa/Union Market
Sentinel Square's Government Tenants
Trammell Crow's Sentinel Square development recently added three big names to its previously empty tenant roster. The Federal Communications Commission will relocate its HQ to 45 L St. at Sentinel Square III, signing a 473K SF lease with Trammell Crow and its co-developer, Cottonwood Partners. The agency is planning to move in by November 2019.
The FCC’s current landlord in Southwest DC filed a lawsuit to block the move, but the motion was dismissed in December. The FCC will exclusively occupy floors three through 10 of the 11-story building when construction is complete.
The District Government signed for 164K SF at Sentinel Square II on 1050 First St. NE, and will finish move-in by November. It will occupy the majority of the first eight floors of the 280K SF, LEED Silver building. It followed the Federal Election Commission to the building, which signed a 100K SF lease for the top four floors in October.
The building delivered vacant in 2013 and waited three years for a tenant. Within two months, it got commitments to bring it close to full.
Department of Justice
Representing the largest lease signed in the DC metro area in 2015, the Department of Justice made a deal to take 350K SF at Three Constitution Square at 175 N St. NE and fully occupy the 500K SF Four Constitution Square by the end of 2018.
This solidified it as the lead tenant in Maryland-based StonebridgeCarras’s 2.7M SF mixed-use Constitution Square. Build-to-suit Four Constitution Square, the last building left to be developed at the landmark NoMa project, is under construction. Three and Four will be connected on the first six floors to accommodate the DOJ.
After signing the lease, StonebridgeCarras, led by principal Doug Firstenberg, sold the two buildings to the partnership of MetLife and Norges Bank for $421.8M, or about $502/SF.
Trader Joe’s
The Edison will open in spring 2017
Claiming half of The Edison’s anticipated 30K SF of retail space, Trader Joe’s signed a 15K SF lease at the new 187-unit residential complex at 340 Florida Ave. NE. The Edison is a Union Market-area JV between LCOR and locally based retail developer EDENS.
Trader Joe’s plans to move in just after the building delivers in the second half of this year. This will be Trader Joe’s third DC store, with its first two locations in Foggy Bottom and 14th Street. It is the first store for the popular grocer in Northeast.
Jose Garces’ Latin Market
Adjacent to The Edison is 1270 Fourth St. NE, and celebrity chef Jose Garces has ambitious plans for his 20K SF Latin market. You may have seen Garces contending with a barrage of secret ingredients curated by the notoriously devious chairman on Iron Chef America.
His new Latin market concept will arrive on the ground floor of a 432-unit apartment building that will deliver in late 2018. Garces, who attended the groundbreaking in June, will fill the space with shops, food stalls and his own restaurants.
