This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
Monday Properties signed indoor play place Scramble to its Shirlington Tower office building, replacing a shuttered The Energy Club.
Scramble will take 18.5K SF of ground-level and below-grade space in the eight-story office tower at 2900 South Quincy St. The location is expected to deliver late this year or early 2024, according to a Monday Properties spokesperson.
“Adding that type of use in an existing use that was a fitness facility that was not performing post-pandemic is a great use for that space,” Monday Properties Executive Vice President Jennifer Burns said at Bisnow’s Future of Arlington County event last month.
She added the new lease is a testament to the county’s recent changes to its zoning policies, in which it sought to expand uses for commercial buildings.
Long & Foster’s Bakh Safarov represented Scramble. Cushman & Wakefield’s Josh Masi, Ellison Cook and Paige Barger and Monday Properties Senior Vice President John Warton represented Monday Properties.
DEVELOPMENT
Cruz Development Corp. is hoping to start construction soon on a 51-unit affordable housing project in College Park. A press release sent out by the firm on Sept. 6 said it would build a 100% affordable development dubbed Branchville Crossing, starting construction in early 2024, in a partnership with nonprofit Housing Initiative Partnership.
In a retraction Cruz sent Sept. 15, the company said the Sept. 6 release was "premature" — the developer had not yet secured entitlements, hadn't yet determined the affordability levels, hasn't selected a management company and won't start construction in early 2024.
LEASES
The Air & Space Forces Association is moving its headquarters from Rosslyn to National Landing, its new landlord, Federal Realty Investment Trust, announced this week. The nonprofit military association will take 31K SF at Federal Realty's mixed-use Westpoint property, formerly known as Pentagon Row. The move to 1201 South Joyce St. is planned for 2024. Newmark’s Stephen Hoffeditz and Wesley Evans represented the landlord, and Cresa’s Mindy Saffer and Natalie Gosnell represented the tenant.
***
Marx Realty signed DispatchHealth to a Glover Park office building where it is wrapping up a repositioning project, the company announced Wednesday. The at-home medical provider will take 3,700 SF in One Glover at 2121 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The New York-based developer purchased the 110K SF property in 2022 and is repositioning it as a hospitality-focused commercial space. Cresa’s Ross Brannigan, Scott Churchley and Brit Lane represented DispatchHealth, and Cushman & Wakefield’s Mark Wooters represented Marx Realty.
A fitness concept and Thai restaurant signed leases at Chevy Chase Lake, development partners Bozzuto Development Co. and The Chevy Chase Land Co. announced Tuesday. National fitness chain StretchLab is set to open this fall with 1,700 SF at 8525 Chevy Chase Lake Terrace. Dok Khao leased 3,700 SF at 8551 Connecticut Ave. and is expected to open summer 2024. The Thai restaurant also has locations in Woodbridge, Virginia, and Columbia, Maryland.
Chevy Chase Lake is a 6-acre mixed-use neighborhood with three residential buildings and 100K SF of retail, including an AmazonFresh, ice cream shop The Charmery and Truist Bank. Fast-casual smoothie shop Playa Bowls is expected to open this fall and Elena James, a new restaurant from the team behind D.C.’s Nina May, plans to open in 2024. Chevy Chase Lake is approved for 1.5M SF of development over three phases, with the first phase nearing completion.
***
The Drug Enforcement Agency is combining multiple D.C.-area locations under one roof with a 175K SF lease in Chantilly. The General Services Administration announced Thursday that it had awarded a $113M lease contract to Unicom Global, which owns the 52-acre Unicom Technology Park Conference Center where the DEA is moving.
***
The Athletic 10 Conference is moving its headquarters to the District. The collegiate sports conference took 5K SF at 1 Dupont Circle, a building that's been owned by the American Council on Education since its construction in 1969. The 15-school organization's headquarters had been located in Newport News, Virginia, since 2009. The new facility will include a broadcast studio and media production facility, plus conference rooms and workstations.
CORRECTION, SEPT. 15, 5:55 P.M. ET: This story has been updated to show that Cruz Development Corp. retracted its earlier announcement of its affordable housing project in College Park. The developer admitted the release was "premature" and corrected several aspects of the initial announcement.
