Repped by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's Brendan Owen (pictured) and colleague Scott Johnston, the Hoffman family has just secured the Department of Defense to a 606k SF renewal at Hoffman Tower II in Alexandria. It's the biggest deal, new or renewal, in the DC area this year, and follows the National Science Foundation's 704k SF pre-lease at Hoffman Town Center last year. (NSF's building, developed by Lowe Enterprises and owned by USAA Real Estate, is currently under construction, and will deliver by 2017.)

DoD has been located at 200 S Stovall Street (on the right) for 30 years, and GSA, which negotiated the lease on behalf of the department, decided to stay put since Hoffman Town Center "is becoming a better place to go to work every passing day," says Brendan. A vibrant retail base is already in place and a Harris Teeter-anchored apartment complex is on the way, along with the completely renovated Hoffman Tower I office building (on the left), the first new office product to come online in Alexandria in four years. CBRE represented the GSA and DoD in the deal.