Speaking of JBG: After initially being passed over by the District to redevelop the 965 Florida Ave site in Shaw, it has officially joined MRP Realty and Ellis Development Group as a partner on the project. MRP Residential's Matt Robinson (snapped this morning with colleague John Begert) tells us after his firm and Ellis were selected last summer, it brainstormed with JBG—owners of a site directly south of 965 Florida—to find ways to complement the two projects. (MRP/Ellis is slated to build a 370k SF apartment complex on the site.) The result was bringing on JBG as a development partner, and Matt says the firm will provide additional development capital, as well as offering its JBG Rosenfeld retail arm to find a grocer tenant for the ground floor. JBG will still proceed on its own with development of that site to the south, Matt tells us.

Total development costs will be in the $150M range, Matt says, and a Fundrise offering will provide additional capital. The next steps, he tells us, are working on a disposition agreement with the District and starting entitlement and design work all the while. An agreement should be shored up sometime this year, he says.