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NoMa BID Announces 288,255 SF GSA Lease at Constitution Square

Washington, D.C., December 2, 2009 – The General Services Administration (GSA) announced yet another lease in the NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood last week, for 288,255 square feet at One Constitution Square. GSA will be relocating over 1,200 workers to Constitution Square while their headquarters at 1800 F Street, NW, is upgraded to meet federal green design standards.

With this lease announcement, the NoMa Business Improvement District is ending the year with nearly 1 million square feet of leases signed in 2009. Statistics from CBRE Research show that NoMa has achieved more net new absorption than all other District submarkets combined.

At 1.6 million square feet, Constitution Square is currently the largest privately-owned mixed-use project under construction in the District. Constitution Square is under development by affiliates of StonebridgeCarras of Bethesda, Md., and Walton Street Capital of Chicago, Ill.

“We are extremely pleased to have been awarded another large lease at Constitution Square – especially bringing the GSA itself to NoMa,”said Doug Firstenberg of StonebridgeCarras. “This new lease combined with the opening of our building for the Department of Justice, our residential component and Harris Teeter, will transform this area of NoMa into an exciting, vibrant mixed-use neighborhood.”

Scheduled to deliver in 2010, the first phase of this seven-acre project includes One Constitution Square, a 330,000-square-foot office building now pre-leased to the GSA, Two Constitution Square, a 575,000-square-foot office building fully leased to the GSA for the U.S. Department of Justice; 79,200 square feet of retail space including a 50,000-square-foot Harris Teeter grocery store; 440 apartments; and a 204-room Hilton Garden Inn. With future phases planned to include additional office and residential space, Constitution Square covers an entire city block bounded by M Street, N.E., N Street, N.E., 1st Street, N.E., and the New York Avenue Metrorail Station.

This announcement marks one of the largest leases in the DC market this year, noted Stephen R. Leeds, GSA Senior Sustainability Officer, in a press release. Design work for the temporary headquarters will begin later this month with the actual move expected in spring 2011.

“GSA’s historic century-old limestone building will be transformed into an iconic national landmark of sustainable building design,” Leeds said. “We are very excited to award this lease and be a part of the North of Massachusetts Avenue (NoMa) community while our headquarters undergoes this much-needed modernization.”

NoMa is a mixed-use neighborhood north of Massachusetts Avenue and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Between 2007-2009, private developers have invested more than $1.5 billion in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID, and have plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space over the next 15 years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, visit the BID Web site at nomabid.wpengine.com.

 

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