Safeway Extends Lease At Virginia Property Once Eyed For Redevelopment: The D.C. Deal Sheet
The anchor tenant of an Alexandria shopping center that a few years ago was pitched for redevelopment will be staying there for quite a bit longer.
Combined Properties announced Thursday it signed a long-term lease extension with Safeway at Rose Hill Plaza that will keep the grocer there for at least another decade. With the deal, the store is planning to undergo a “refresh,” during which it will remain operational.
The extension comes three years after Bethesda-based Combined Properties revealed redevelopment plans for the 147,600 SF shopping center in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County. In December 2022, Combined submitted a proposal with Fairfax County to build a six-story residential building on the lot, with a freestanding “jewel box” retail building fronting the property.
That proposal immediately met with opposition from community members who wanted it to remain retail. In April 2023, the county's Board of Supervisors voted to defer the project to give Combined the opportunity to “engage with the community.”
The developer was expected to submit a revised plan for the site. But it is unclear where that stands and what the long-term renewal with Safeway means for the project plans.
Combined didn't respond to Bisnow's request for comment.
The Safeway has 36,500 SF and is joined by a 10K SF Dollar Tree and 12K SF Gabe’s as the center's largest tenants. A leasing flyer for the shopping center dated this month shows nine available spaces totaling just under 22,500 SF.
KLNB’s Jake Levin represented Safeway in the transaction, and Combined’s David Paik leases Rose Hill Plaza.
LEASES
The National Science Foundation announced it would be moving its headquarters into a portion of an Alexandria office complex previously occupied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s headquarters on Dulaney Street. The new home is less than a mile from NSF's headquarters at 2451 Eisenhower Ave., where the agency is set to be replaced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. NSF didn’t reveal the size of the lease, but a presolicitation the government released in August sought a space between 240K SF and 280K SF.
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Booz Allen Hamilton is moving from Tysons to Reston, taking an entire building and part of an adjacent building at Comstock’s Reston Station. The government contracting giant inked 310K SF at 1870 Reston Row Plaza as well as multiple floors at neighboring 1800 Reston Row Plaza. It represents a 27% reduction from its 428K SF headquarters in Tysons, owned by The Meridian Group.
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Cisco has doubled its office at The Wharf in an expansion that includes a new interactive showroom. The tech giant grew from 12K SF to 24K SF at 1000 Maine Ave. SW, a Cisco spokesperson told Bisnow. Mayor Muriel Bower delivered remarks at the company's grand opening event Wednesday.
FINANCING
Enterprise Community Development announced it landed 9% low-income housing tax credits through Maryland's competitive funding process for a 135-unit church-to-multifamily redevelopment in Silver Spring. The affordable housing developer is adding residential to the Silver Spring United Methodist Church, reserved for residents making between 30% and 80% of the area median income. The collaboration between Montgomery County and SSUMC will also provide permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities and individuals transitioning from homelessness.
SALES
Finmarc Management purchased two movie theater properties in Fairfax and Prince George’s counties for $15M, the Bethesda-based company announced this week. Real estate investment trust EPR Properties sold Fairfax’s 6201 Multiplex Drive, leased by Cinemark Centerville, and 7710 Matapeake Business Drive, leased by Xscape Theatres. Cushman & Wakefield’s Paul Norman Jr. and John Owendoff represented EPR, and Kelley Drye & Warren’s Aaron Rosenfeld provided legal services to Finmarc.
MILESTONES
The first phase of a 1M SF mixed-use development at the West Falls Church Metro station broke ground Wednesday. The project, planned across 24 acres next to the station, is being developed by Rushmark Properties and EYA, in partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The first phase’s 305 multifamily units are slated to deliver in the second quarter of 2028, and its 82 townhouses are scheduled to start opening in Q3 2027.
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Developers joined D.C. housing officials this week for a ribbon-cutting of the Carl F. West Senior Estates, a 179-unit senior and grandfamily affordable housing community in Columbia Heights. The 208K SF project, developed by NCBA Housing Development Corp., adds to an existing affordable senior housing property, the Samuel J. Simmons NCBA Estates, on 14th Street between Harvard and Girard streets. Coakley Williams Construction was the general contractor, and Wiencek + Associates was the architect.
PERSONNEL
Montgomery County Economic Development Corp. has selected a new president and CEO. Jared Smith, who previously led economic development for Henderson, Nevada, is replacing Bill Tompkins, who stepped down when his contract was up in August. Tompkins had served in the role since 2022. Smith served as director of economic development and tourism for Henderson for the past three years.
