Federal Realty Pays $215M For 110-Acre Virginia Retail Property
One of the biggest retail properties in Northern Virginia has traded hands for nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.
Bethesda-based Federal Realty Investment Trust acquired the 110-acre Virginia Gateway shopping center in Gainesville for $215M, it announced Tuesday. The 110-acre property sits just off the interchange of Interstate 66 and Route 29.
The seller, Crow Holdings, reportedly acquired it in 2016 for $208M from the Peterson Cos.
The property's 665K SF of retail space is split into five distinct centers, according to Federal Realty's release: one anchored by a Giant, one anchored by Total Wine & More, one anchored by Home Goods and Ulta Beauty, plus a "promenade" with specialty retail and dining options, and the pedestrian-friendly Atlas Walk town center.
Other anchors that aren't part of the property but help drive traffic to it include Target, Lowe's and BJ's Wholesale Club, according to Federal Realty.
Federal Realty President Jeff Berkes said in a statement that Virginia Gateway is "a dominant, irreplaceable regional shopping center" and it aligns perfectly with the REIT's buying strategy.
"A retail property of this size and scale, located in an affluent trade area at a heavily trafficked interchange, is not reproducible in today's market environment," Berkes said.
He added that the property brings Federal Realty's Northern Virginia portfolio to 3.6M SF. The REIT's Virginia holdings also include the Westpost property in Pentagon City — formerly called Pentagon Row — as well as the Village at Shirlington and the Pike 7 Plaza in Tysons. In suburban Maryland, it owns the Bethesda Row and Pike & Rose mixed-use complexes.
This latest acquisition represents Federal Realty expanding deeper into its primary sector of retail. In 2021, it began branching into the then-booming life sciences sector, but last month it said it was delaying construction on a Boston-area lab project due to oversaturation.
Retail properties nationally have gained momentum with investors as consumer spending has stayed strong and vacancy rates hit all-time lows. Federal Realty executives said on an earnings call that the REIT signed a record 567K SF of retail leases in the first quarter across its portfolio.
