CRE Sales, Defaulted Loans And Heavy Storms: The Latest In Alexandria
1. Last month, JLL brokered the sale of Courthouse Square at 510 King St. in Old Town Alexandria. The five-story, 120K SF property was sold by Brookfield Properties to Melrose Solomon Enterprises for $29.5M. The Washington Business Journal reported that this sale leaves Brookfield with only one property in Alexandria, the Cameron Court apartment complex off Eisenhower Avenue.
2. In April, Bisnow reported that a Brookfield real estate fund had defaulted on a loan it secured in 2018 for a dozen office buildings, the majority of which are located in the D.C. suburbs. Among these properties was Prince Street Plaza, a 53K SF building in Alexandria. A Brookfield spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Bisnow: “While the pandemic has posed challenges to traditional office in some parts of the US market, this represents a very small percentage of our portfolio.”
3. Real estate assessments increased more than expected in Arlington and Alexandria this year, The Washington Post reported in March, opening the door for both jurisdictions to put more funding toward affordable housing and environmental sustainability.
4. In February, Foulger-Pratt Vice President of Development Jay Kelly spoke at Bisnow's D.C. Major Projects event about the importance of Alexandria's public partnership with its Landmark Mall redevelopment. The 4M SF plan began six years ago when The Howard Hughes Corp. bought the former Macy's store, and in late 2020 it brought on Foulger-Pratt as a partner and signed a deal with Inova to build a $1B hospital on the site. “Alexandria showed real leadership in committing a sizable amount of public funding," Kelly said at the event.
5. Recent severe storms in Alexandria have plagued local business owners, leaving high-standing water on the streets outside of the city’s stores and eateries and risking infrastructure damage and a loss of revenue for owners. Teresa Keefer, owner of bar and grill Northside 10 near the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and East Glebe Road in Alexandria, told WTOP that her restaurant floods any time there is significant rainfall, essentially putting her business to a halt.
6. In February, AXLNow reported that the value of Alexandria’s total residential tax base has outpaced its commercial tax base. While the city’s residential tax base increased by 5.32%, or $1.24B, the commercial tax base increased by less than 2%, for a total of $355.5M. Additionally, the city’s multifamily rental market tax base increased by almost 5.4% for a total of $9.89B.
