RESTON, Va. — Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) has unveiled plans for a $250 million luxury JW Marriott hotel in Reston, located between Washington, D.C. and Dulles International Airport. The building will rise 26 stories, featuring 250 guestrooms, 90 for-sale residential units, 15,000 square feet of meeting space, two restaurants, an executive lounge, swimming pool and fitness center. Marriott reached a franchise agreement with Comstock Holdings Cos. (NASDAQ: CHCI) to make the hotel the centerpiece for the next phase of Comstock’s Reston Station development. The hotel will anchor the Reston Row District, the newest section of the 60-acre, mixed-use, transit-oriented project. Reston Row District is located adjacent to Reston’s first Silver Line station, offering public transportation to D.C. via the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. When completed, Reston Row District will feature two office towers totaling approximately 500,000 square feet; a 350-unit multifamily building; 65,000 square feet of retail, service and fitness spaces; and a 2,500-space underground parking garage, all surrounding a 1.2-acre central park. The for-sale JW Marriott Residences Reston units will be served by a separate residential lobby entrance and located on the upper floors of the tower. This portion of the building will offer separate spaces and amenities …
Virginia
FAIRFAX, VA. — The DSF Group, an investment firm with offices in Boston and Washington, D.C., has acquired Wheelhouse of Fair Oaks, a 491-unit apartment community located about 20 miles outside of Washington, D.C. in Fairfax. The price of $134 million equates to roughly $273,000 per unit. The new ownership will rebrand the 13-acre community and operate it under its Halstead brand, which includes a number of Class A multifamily properties that are primarily located in New England. As part of the rebranding, DSF Group will implement a value-add program that will upgrade unit interiors. According to the property website, units are available in one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans and feature individual washers and dryers, walk-in closets and private balconies. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, dog park, package locker service by Luxer One and an outdoor amenity lawn with bocce ball courts and fire pits. In addition, the property is within walking distance of numerous retail and restaurant options, including the Fair Oaks Promenade shopping mall. The seller was not disclosed. — Taylor Williams
TYSONS, VA. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged a $50 million loan for Eastboro V, a 222,989-square-foot, Class A office building in Tysons. Paul Spellman, Dan McIntyre, Rob Carey and Drake Greer of JLL arranged the five-year, floating-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, The Meridian Group. The lender was an unnamed national bank. Eastboro V is located at 8251 Greensboro Drive, adjacent to the Greensboro Metrorail station in Northern Virginia. The property is fully leased to Booz Allen Hamilton, which uses the property as its global headquarters. The property was completed in 1996 as a build-to-suit for the tech consultant firm, whose clients include members of the defense industry and intelligence agencies. Eastboro V features a rooftop deck, fitness center, conference center, tenant-only outdoor sports court, electric bikeshare program, concierge service, tenant lounge, exterior patio and two onsite cafes. The property is positioned within walking distance of The Boro, a 4.3 million-square-foot mixed-use project that was developed by Meridian. The Meridian Group is an office, residential, hotel and mixed-use developer and investor based in Bethesda, Md.
ARLINGTON, VA. — Hana, a flexible office space provider and subsidiary of CBRE Group, has opened a 39,000-square-foot location in Arlington known as Hana at National Landing. JBG Smith is the owner and developer of the larger 11-story office building, which is located at 2451 Crystal Drive. The property includes private office suites dubbed “Hana Team,” a conference and events space called “Hana Meet” and a portion of the unit dedicated to traditional coworking known as “Hana Share.” Hana at National Landing is located in the center of the National Landing submarket, home to Amazon’s second headquarters. The area has dining options, cultural attractions, fitness studios, outdoor parks and bike trails. The property is situated 1.2 miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Hana at National Landing sits within Arlington’s Crystal City, part of Pentagon City and Potomac Yard. The property looks out over the Potomac River and Washington, D.C., skyline. A planned pedestrian bridge will connect Hana to Reagan National Airport. Some nearby bars and restaurants include Zen Bistro & Wine Bar, Legal Sea Foods and Highline RxR. Hana’s property at National Landing marks the company’s first East Coast location.
STAFFORD, VA. — Merritt Properties has purchased 28 acres in Stafford with plans to develop Merritt at Austin Ridge, an industrial campus featuring five light industrial buildings spanning 54,500 to 113,775 square feet each. The Ashburn, Va.-based developer expects to break ground on the project in the third quarter as site plans are still being finalized. The park is expected to offer clear heights from 18 to 32 feet, as well as rear-loaded docks, drive-in capabilities, Interstate 95 visibility and free surface parking. Preleasing is underway, and Merritt expects to deliver the property during the second quarter of 2022. Merritt Construction Services, the construction division of Merritt Cos., will manage the project’s construction. Merritt at Austin Ridge will be the developer’s second spec project in Stafford County, joining Merritt Business Park at Quantico Corporate Center that broke ground in October 2020.
RICHMOND, VA. — NorthMarq’s Richmond office has negotiated the $167 million sale of the Waverton Virginia Portfolio, a four-property multifamily portfolio in Richmond, Newport News and Norfolk. Mike Marshall, Wink Ewing, Keith Wells and Ryan Rilee of NorthMarq represented both the seller, Portsmouth, Va.-based Waverton Associates Inc., and the buyer, an undisclosed regional investor, in the transaction. The portfolio includes Meridian Watermark, a 300-unit property in Richmond. The community is situated at 6500 Caymus Way, 15 miles south of downtown Richmond. There were two properties in Newport News in the sold portfolio: the 244-unit Denbigh Village and the 414-unit Impressions I, II and III. Denbigh Village is located at 14332 Deloice Crescent, 31 miles north of downtown Norfolk. Impressions is situated at 501 Coral Key Place, 29 miles north of downtown Norfolk. Lastly, Marina Villa, a 105-unit asset in Norfolk, is located at 8150 Shore Drive, nine miles northeast of downtown Norfolk.
JBG Smith to Break Ground on Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Including Virginia Tech’s $1B Innovation Campus
by Alex Tostado
ALEXANDRIA, VA. — JBG Smith will break ground on Potomac Yard in Alexandria this month. Phase I of the project will span 1.7 million square feet and include four office towers and two residential buildings with ground-level retail space. Potomac Yard will be situated less than two miles from Amazon’s HQ2 future site. Bethesda, Md.-based JBG Smith is building the property on behalf of Virginia Tech and JPMorgan, which received approval in December from the City of Alexandria to move forward with development. A timeline for construction of Phase I was not disclosed. Virginia Tech’s $1 billion Innovation Campus will anchor the development. Virginia Tech’s portion of the project will include an 11-story, 300,000-square-foot academic building that is expected to deliver in 2024. The university expects to break ground in summer 2022 on the project that SmithGroup designed. Potomac Yard will be situated adjacent to the Potomac Yard Metro Station, which is expected to open in 2022. The project also includes more than 57,000 square feet of planned public and private open space.
LYNCHBURG, VA. — Liberty University will redevelop the west end of River Ridge, a regional mall in Lynchburg that the university owns. The enclosed shopping mall is located less than one mile from campus. The university will demolish the Macy’s building in the first quarter of this year and plans to turn the area into an open-air shopping center with a food hall. The renovated shopping area will feature higher store elevations and urban-esque storefront designs, as well as an outdoor venue for family-themed community events. Liberty University plans to deliver the food hall in late 2021 and the rest of the project in 2022. JLL manages the mall on behalf of the owner.
Capital Square, Greystar Acquire Land in Richmond to Develop 350-Unit Multifamily Community
by Alex Tostado
RICHMOND, VA. — Capital Square and Greystar have acquired 2.3 acres in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition neighborhood to develop a 350-unit multifamily community. The six-story complex will be situated within an opportunity zone and is expected to feature 380 parking spaces and 15,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Capital Square is raising capital through CSRA/GS Opportunity Zone V LLC, a $32.4 million project-specific opportunity zone fund. The property will be located at 1601 Roseneath Road, three miles northwest of downtown Richmond. A timeline for completion was not disclosed. This is Capital Square’s fourth project in the Scott’s Addition opportunity zone.
SEATTLE — Amazon has launched its Housing Equity Fund, a more than $2 billion commitment to preserve and create over 20,000 affordable housing units in Washington State’s Puget Sound region; Arlington, Va.; and Nashville, Tenn. — three metro areas where the company has or expects to have at least 5,000 employees each in the coming years. Amazon’s first investments include $381.9 million in below-market loans and grants to the nonprofit organization Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC) to preserve and create up to 1,300 affordable units at the Crystal House multifamily property in Arlington. WHC purchased Crystal House recently using Amazon’s capital. Rents at the property will be significantly lowered to target households earning less than 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). The conversion of existing apartments to affordable units began on Jan. 1 and will continue over the next five years. A 99-year covenant ensures that Crystal House will remain affordable for the long term. Arlington County has lost approximately 14,400 privately owned, affordably priced housing units since 2000, according to the county’s government. In addition, the Seattle-based online retail giant has committed $185.5 million in below-market loans and grants to King County Housing Authority (KCHA) to preserve up …