Retail, Coming Soon to The Avenue in Foggy Bottom

The Avenue is the newly completed $250-million, retail-centered mixed-use project taking up 2.6 acres of George Washington University's property at 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.  The occupies the southeastern corner of Washington Circle, where the old GW Hospital once stood. Leased to Boston Properties as the developer, The Avenue, also known as Square 54, incorporates 80,000 s.f. of retail space, which will soon begin occupancy and create a new retail center in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood.

Incoming retail tenants will join three already in place at The Avenue: Devon & Blakely, a gourmet deli, opened in April; NIH Federal Credit Union, opened in May; and Citibank, which opened last week.

The soon-to-arrive retailers are as follows:

• Whole Foods Market – The high-end grocer with lowly, grassroots beginning in 1980 in Austin and world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods (redemption through $20 beer class offering every Thursday in Logan Circle) will occupy approximately 36,000 s.f. across two levels beginning September.

• Circa at Foggy Bottom (Late June/Early July) – American-style bistro, owned by The MHG Group of Falls Church. This location will be the third in the DC-area; behind Dupont in 2007, and later Clarendon. Circa offers over 20 wines by the glass and seasonal cocktails, including a blackberry margarita with a splash of Chambord.

• Roti (Early July) – Mediterranean-themed eatery out of Chicago. Pronounced “row-tee,” this location will join three already in the District; two more are to follow suit in the fall.

• Sweetgreen (Late June/Early July) – Fast-casual restaurant, menu-listed and mix-your-own salad/wrap options, big choices with small environmental footprint (i.e. biodegradable packaging), tart fro-yo offered in house and out of the Sweetflow food truck.

• CCLC (July/August) – day care provider

• District Commons and Burger, Tap & Shake (August/September) – two-in-one concept (sit-and-eat in restaurant or grab-and-go from the counter) from the Passion Foods group. District Commons and Burger, the restaurant portion of the dual combo, will offer boozed-up milkshakes for full-grown kids, and 20 American microbrews on tap.

Commercial tenants, occupying 440,000 s.f. of office space at The Avenue, are:

• Law firms: Bergeson & Campbell, Hunton & Williams, and Vinson & Elkins

• Financial institution: Ares Capital

• Manufacturing/Tech firm: Danaher Corporation

• Shared office space: Regus

Residential units at The Avenue are ready to be occupied as well, and to date approximately 130 out of the 335 have been leased.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Whole Foods in Foggy Bottom

Various real estate blogs are reporting that Whole Foods has signed a lease agreement with Boston Properties to occupy 37,000 s.f. in their Foggy Bottom development. The site on Washington Circle, known as Square 54, has long been rumored as a prospective house for the upscale grocer, but Boston Properties had declined to comment on the possible tenant, maintaining a Whole Foods policy of not commenting on leases and plans.

The grocery store will be the closest full-service supermarket to many Georgetowners, providing stiff competition for the newly opened Safeway just north of Georgetown. The former hospital site will provide 335 apartment units and 440,000 s.f. of office space, on a 60-year lease from George Washington University to Boston Properties. The residences are expected to open in early 2011, with Whole Foods thought to open in mid 2011.

Washington DC real estate development new

Whole Foods Opens Next Week in Chevy Chase

Whole Foods will open its latest area store next Tuesday. The neighborhood-transforming grocer is putting the finishing touches on its Chevy Chase store, located just over the DC border at Wisconsin Place, at 4420 Willard Avenue.

New England Development (NED), Archstone and Boston Properties jointly developed the Wisconsin Place shopping center, which also features a 432-unit apartment building designed by SK&I, 295,000 s.f. of office space, and 305,000 s.f. of Chevy Chase-style retail.

Turner Construction began working on the new Whole Foods back in August of 2004, interior work is being performed by L.F. Jennings. This will be the 296th Whole Foods to open in the U.S., Canada and U.K., according Liz Burkhart of Whole Foods.

Washington DC real estate development news

Whole Foods - Gentrification Comes Belatedly to Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase may get its first Whole Foods, the much-anticipated second "anchor" to the Shops at Wisconsin Place, by the spring of 2010. While the Bethesda-Chevy Chase corridor may seem like a scripted stage setting for the Whole Foods phenomenon, Chevy Chasers have until now had to drive all the way down to Tenley for their organic Gruyere, or eke by (gasp) on Giant or TJ's foodstuffs.

New England Development (NED), Archstone and Boston Properties are jointly developing the Wisconsin Place shopping center at the Chevy Chase-DC border. The entire development took five years to complete. Today, the shopping center features 432, SK&I-designed, upscale apartments, 295,000 s.f. of office space, and 305,000 s.f. of swanky shopping destinations including Cole Haan, White House/Black Market, and Bloomingdales—a.k.a. "Wisconsin Place Anchor Number One."

Turner Construction began working on the shell that would become the new Whole Foods back in August of 2004. Just this past July, Wisconsin Place General Manager, Christine Norris assured DCMud that work on the grocery's escalators had already begun.

Now, four months after that update, construction by L.F. Jennings is underway and Amanda Orr, Communications Rep for NED, told DCMud that Whole Foods is "slated for a spring opening, for sure," but she could offer no more detail because the Whole Foods powers-that-be "made it very clear that they don't want any outside media reps speaking on their behalf."

Unfortunately, when it comes to answering questions about the new store's square footage, its design, and even the estimated Spring 2010 grand opening date posted on the Wisconsin Place web site - Whole Foods PR rep, Katie Hunsberger is only willing to confirm that the store will open sometime in the first half of 2010. And yes, we know River Road has its own, in a bad strip mall.

We got it: What happens in Whole Foods, stays in Whole Foods.

Chevy Chase Real Estate News