Chipotle has 20 locations in D.C., but until now it has not had a presence in Wards 7 and 8, the lower-income areas east of the Anacostia River.

The fast-casual chain has just signed on for its first deal in that part of the city, leasing 2,430 SF a The Shops at Park Village in Congress Heights, the Washington Business Journal reports.

H&R Retail's Sean Harcourt represented Chipotle in the deal, while Rappaport's Bill Dickinson and Kyle Gamber represented the landlord, WC Smith.

When WC Smith built the project in 2007, the shopping center's Giant became the first full-service grocery store to be built in Ward 8 in over 40 years. The property also includes an IHOP, Subway, Pizza Boli's, a bank, a barbershop and a nail salon.

The property is about half a mile from the Congress Heights Metro station and the St. Elizabeths East campus, which is undergoing a major redevelopment. Given that location and its mixed-use zoning, the site appears to be ripe for a redevelopment like the one WC Smith launched with Rappaport at nearby Skyland Town Center, but the new lease signals that will likely not happen any time soon.