The construction of the 2.4M SF US Patent and Trademark Office HQ in Alexandria didn't result in the big contractor demand his firm had hoped for, said LCOR's Bill Hard at our Future of Alexandria event on Friday. And that serves as a cautionary tale for developers targeting big GSA tenants, Bill says, since the government's shrinking footprint is putting the brakes on associated contractors looking for space—Bill says PTO contractors have accounted for only about 150k SF of additional absorption.

JM Zell CEO Jeff Zell looks to baseball when sizing up Alexandria, calling it a "single market" as opposed to a triple or home run market. Development tends to happen deliberately and methodically as opposed to other more explosive markets in the region, he adds. (We always thought Arlington would get the baseball analogy, since it literally has a neighborhood called Ballston.) Jeff also says the first two buildings of the Carlyle Plaza project his team helped put together should be underway within the next six months.

Alexandria's location has gotten more attractive and more central over the past 20 years, says Pinkard Group's Bob Pinkard. The growth of National Harbor just across the river (and the MGM resort to be built there), upgrades to the Wilson Bridge, and BRAC movements near the area have made Alexandria more in the center of things, without sacrificing the high quality of life that sets the city apart.