Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Upcoming Event

Best Places to Work in Virginia

Hamburger Menu Hamburger Menu

byline: Paula C. Squires

Multi-tenant retail deal breaks net lease record in Leesburg


Edwards Ferry Crossing, a multi-tenant retail center located in Leesburg, has traded hands in what was described as a new record for a net-lease sale in Loudoun County.


The center at 1008 Edwards Ferry Road — fully leased to Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Great Clips and Panda Express — sold for $4.8 million, or about $925 per square foot of space, according to the Herndon office of Calkain, which specializes in net-lease sales. Calkain’s Jonathan Hipp and Natalia Nunno represented the seller in the transaction.


A net lease requires the tenant to pay a portion or all of the taxes, fees and maintenance costs for the property in addition to rent. It is most commonly used with commercial real estate.
Hipp, Calkain’s president and CEO, said the center’s strong location and new construction, coupled with long-term leases with investment grade tenants, allowed Calkain to market the asset as an opportunity to invest in one of the most affluent areas of the country.

Calkain said it received multiple offers. The company has office locations throughout the entire East Coast.

Richmond office building sells for $1.2 million

The Richmond House Co. LLC has purchased an 11,184-square-foot office building in Richmond for $1.2 million from Mayland Professional Building LC. The property is located at 8550 Mayland Drive. Matt Hamilton and Scott White of Colliers International | Richmond  handled the transaction on behalf of the seller.

In another transaction for Colliers, Jumpology Delaware LLC renewed 17,451 square feet of retail space at 10087 Brook Rd in Glen Allen.  Susan Jones represented the landlord.

1,078-acre development tract comes on the market in Stafford County


It’s the deal of a decade, according to the commercial real estate firm marketing George Washington Village, the largest development tract in the Washington, D.C., area to come on the market in the past 10 years.

The 1,078-acre tract is located off I-95 in Stafford County along the new Courthouse Road interchange. The interchange is undergoing about $189 million in improvements to widen the road and add lanes — an infrastructure bonus for the tract.

The site is close to Stafford Hospital, which is planning a 110,000-square-foot expansion, and is about 15 miles from Marine Corps Base Quantico, which employs 12,000 people.

“It’s a unique opportunity because it’s so large, and we don’t see many properties with the zoning potential of this one,” says Mark Anstine, executive managing director for land services in the Tysons office of ARA Newmark.

ARA, a Newmark company, is marketing the property for its owner, The Garrett Cos., a commercial real estate firm based in Stafford.

The property currently is zoned for 4.5 million square feet of light industrial commercial use (such as data centers, hotels, warehouses and wholesale distribution) 2 million square feet of urban commercial space and 500 residential lots.  

As part of Stafford’s comprehensive plan, the tract also has a pending rezoning application for 1,868 residential units and 758,000 square feet of commercial space. The zoning does not include the entirety of the property, leaving hundreds of acres in the southwest portion open for future phases of development.

According to Anstine, the property’s rezoning application is not subject to proffer legislation affecting residential development that passed the General Assembly in 2016. The law has proved to be a barrier to development in Northern Virginia, he adds, because there’s confusion over how it should be implemented.

“There’s no real definition of what is unreasonable” in terms of proffers under the new law, he explains.  “In Northern Virginia that’s been taken as,  ‘Okay, we don’t know what reasonable or unreasonable is, so we’re not going to do anything until you fix it. ‘”

ARA Newmark plans to set an offer date for bids for the property in the next two weeks. The property will be sold “as is,” meaning that it is not subject to specific entitlements. 


Asked about the list price, Anstine would say only that he expects the sale to command “more than $25 million and less than $100 million.  I’m reluctant to give you a number, because that will be perceived as what we are looking for.”

Aldrich Capital Partners closes $26 million investment in Paymerang


Aldrich Capital Partners said Monday that it has made a $26 million investment in Paymerang LLC, a Richmond-area provider of electronic payment solutions for businesses. 
According to Aldrich, an investment firm based in Bethesda, Md., the money will buy out company investors and help Paymerang grow in the procure-to-pay space with new jobs, products, sales channels and operational infrastructure.


Paymerang, located on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County, plans to expand operations in the Richmond area, adding more than 100 jobs during the next five years.
“From its inception, Paymerang has transformed the way businesses pay their suppliers electronically, enabling them to be more efficient, secure and profitable,” company CEO Nasser Chanda said in a statement.  “… Our market is ripe for innovation, and we intend to work fast to develop solutions to the complex problems businesses face today.”


Paymerang began opertion in 2010. Founder Steve Winston, along with company employees, developed a new way to help business automate supplier payments. With Paymerang’s system, clients can pay all vendors electronically with a single payment file. By handling the entire process — from secure vendor enrollment to payment processing, reconciliation and customer service — Paymerang says it can offer an efficiency that saves hundreds of hours of finance time, security to protect payments from fraud and financial rewards that turn accounts payable into a profit center.

With manual, paper-laden processes increasingly falling by the wayside, it expects business to grow.

“We are delighted to invest in an innovative company like Paymerang that is defining the future of business payments,” Mirza Baig, founding partner of Aldrich, said in a statement.
“We expect to provide significant operational support to rapidly grow Paymerang through organic and acquisition-based growth. This is a vast market that is still in early innings, and we look forward to proving out our investment thesis over the coming years.”

Gov. Ralph Northam was on hand for Monday’s announcement at Paymerang’s office. He greeted the company’s team and spoke on the impact of the financing. “Virginia is proud to call itself home to innovators like Paymerang, and I am pleased to join them in celebrating Aldrich Capital’s investment in their future,” said Northam. “This significant step means Paymerang can provide even more entrepreneurs and businesses with the solutions they need to be more efficient, effective, and successful and, as a result, have an even broader impact on the growth of 21st-century jobs and Virginia’s economy.”

According to CB Insights & CrunchBase,  data collection companies that track funding rounds, acquisitions and other business intelligence, Aldrich’s $26 million investment represents the single-largest investment in a financial technology company in Virginia.

Currently, Paymerang serves clients around the country in education, health care, media, manufacturing and other industries. Paymerang says it processes more than $1.5 billion in payments annually to a network of over 60,000 suppliers from coast to coast, with 75 percent receiving electronic payments.

Food Lion buys three Farm Fresh stores in greater Hampton Roads

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., said Thursday that it has made a deal to purchase three Farm Fresh stores in the greater Hampton Roads region from Supervalu. The stores are located at 1615 General Booth Blvd. in Virginia Beach, 608 Mercury Blvd. in Hampton and 683 South Hughes Blvd. in Elizabeth City, N.C.

Food Lion is among several buyers as Supervalu Inc. seeks to divest its Farm Fresh stores. Founded in 1957, Farm Fresh has served Virginia and North Carolina for 60 years and employs 3,300 workers.

Supervalu said Wednesday that it has entered into three separate definitive agreements for about $43 million in cash to sell 21 of its 38 Farm Fresh Food and Pharmacy stores to Harris Teeter, Kroger Mid-Atlantic Division and Food Lion. 

Ten stores are being sold to Harris Teeter, including six in-store pharmacies and three fuel centers. Eight stores are being sold to Kroger Mid-Atlantic Division, including eight in-store pharmacies and four fuel center.

Supervalu said it also is continuing discussions and exploring potential transactions to sell the remaining Farm Fresh stores to current and prospective wholesale customers and certain Farm Fresh employees.

“We are so excited to add these three new locations to our network of more than 100 stores serving the greater Norfolk area,” Food Lion President Meg Ham said in a statement.
All three of the locations will remain open as Farm Fresh stores until the Food Lion transaction is complete, which is expected in May. Pharmacies at all locations will also remain open through the transition and will be operated by Food Lion once the transaction is complete.


As part of today's announcement, Food Lion said it is donating 3,000 meals to local families for each new store to the food banks that support these communities – the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank, the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, and the Food Bank of the Albemarle.


Food Lion plans to assign new store with a feeding agency partner to receive weekly food donations through the company's food rescue program. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has made a commitment to provide 500 million meals to individuals and families in need by the

LifeSpire of Virginia begins major expansion in Richmond


 LifeSpire of Virginia, a provider of continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) for seniors throughout Virginia, has started construction on a 166,590-square -foot multi-phase expansion of its Lakewood Community in Richmond. This project, which the company said was made possible in part through a $24 million loan from SunTrust Bank, will include 64 new, independent living residences including two hybrid homes, a clubhouse, a maintenance building and a lake in the center of the community.

LifeSpire said the two hybrid homes offer an innovative, independent living option for seniors. Each home will include 10 individual residences, a large common area, outdoor patios, private garages and additional storage space.

The community center, originally opened in the late 1970’s, will be replaced by a four-story clubhouse with 44 apartments on the upper floors and underground parking. Outdoor features including walking paths, gardens, fire pits and scenic views of the community’s new lake and waterfall feature. The clubhouse also will offer a gym, pool, performing arts center, group exercise spaces and multiple dining venues.

“Delivering the highest level of care and accommodations for our residents is at the heart of our core mission, and we’re excited to introduce this new hybrid concept to seniors in Richmond,”  Barrett Way, executive director of Lakewood, said in a statement.

LifeSpire of Virginia, formerly Virginia Baptist Homes, has owned and operated continuing care retirement communities across the state for nearly 70 years, including The Chesapeake in Newport News, The Glebe in Daleville, Lakewood in Richmond and The Culpeper in Culpeper.

SunTrust said it currently has more than $3 billion in credit commitments for facilities that care for seniors as it continues to fuel the growth of the aging services community.

DoveHill Capital Management buys Sheraton Reston Hotel


The Sheraton Reston Hotel, a 298-room hotel, has a new owner. DoveHill Capital Management, based in Philadelphia, purchased the hotel unencumbered by an existing management agreement, according to Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP (HFF), which marketed the property on behalf the seller.

Wurzak Hotel Group, also of Philadelphia, will manage the hotel.

Originally opened in 1973, the six-story hotel in a growing submarket of Washington, D.C., was substantially renovated in 2014. Renovations included upgrades to guestrooms, 22,000 square feet of meeting space, the restaurant lounge and the lobby

Additional hotel amenities include the Syrah Restaurant and Cosmopolitan Lounge, fitness center, outdoor pool with sun deck, business center and views of the adjacent Reston National Golf Course.

The hotel, at 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, is located in the second-largest office market in Fairfax County, and within the Reston Master Plan. That plan consists of 22,000 new residential units, more than 8 million square feet of new office space and 700,000 square feet of retail. The hotel is off the Dulles Roll Road and is a mile away from the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail Station (Silver Line).

The HFF investment advisory team representing the seller included Senior Director Cyrus Vazifdar, a senior director for HFF. “Reston’s growth has been prolific over the past cycle, and we expect the market to continue to mature with the tremendous scale of current development,” Vazifdar said in a statement.

Mitsui, JBG, and EYA close financing for $185 million Robinson Landing project in Alexandria

 

EYA, based in Bethesda, Md., announced the financing Wednesday for Robinson Landing, a new $185 million waterfront community in historic Old Town Alexandria.

 

The Bethesda, Md.,-based company said the joint venture, among affiliates of EYA, JBG Fund IX — a private fund managed by JBG SMITH Properties — and Mitsui Fudosan America (MFA), will provide all the capital required to complete the project. HFF advised the joint venture on the transaction.

 

“We are thrilled to be working with a global leader like Mitsui to create a vibrant waterfront neighborhood with unique architecture that will be the southern anchor to the Old Town waterfront,” Bob Youngentob, President of EYA LLC said in a statement.

 

Construction began in mid-January with footing and foundation work on an initial phase of townhomes.  The first townhomes are scheduled to be completed by early fall.

 

Later this year, EYA says work will begin on the community’s underground parking garage followed by construction of two, five-story riverfront condominium buildings with ground floor retail, a third condominium building fronting on Wolfe Street, renovation of the existing pier and the creation of a public promenade along the waterfront. 

 

Phase two of townhome construction begins in 2019 with the entire development expected to be completed by early 2020.

 

 “Mitsui and EYA affiliates have been tremendous leaders and partners throughout the course of this deal, and we are all committed to making Robinson Landing a true landmark in Old Town Alexandria,” Kai Reynolds, JBG SMITH’s co-chief development office, said in a statement.  

 

When finished, the project will offer 26 neighborhood town homes, 70 condominiums and a market and restaurant with indoor/outdoor seating on the water.  The renovated Robinson Landing pier will include floating docks, areas for public seating and entertainment, and an outdoor lounge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Koes joins Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer as research manager in Richmond

Jonathan Koes has joined the Richmond office of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer as research manager. According to the commercial real estate firm, he will be responsible for leading Thalhimer’s research efforts with a focus on identifying market trends and projections.

Jonathan is a 2014 graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in urban planning and minor in architecture. He also holds a master’s degree in commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce at U.Va. Before joining Thalhimer, Koes worked for three years in Denver with a commercial real estate technology firm.

 

Big Lots signs a 55,000-square-foot lease in Williamsburg

A 55,000-square-foot Big Lots store will soon join the tenants at Victory Village shopping center in Williamsburg.

The center’s owner, Miami-based Lionheart Capital, announced the addition of Big Lots, which plans to open in July in the center on Mooretown Road. Lionheart purchased the 176,000-square foot retail center, formerly known as Williamsburg Marketcenter, in 2016 for a reported $6 million.  It includes six outparcels fronting Mooretown Road and is adjacent to Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center.

The space Big Lots leased previously housed Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods.   The retailer joins Home Depot and Ross Dress for Less as a co-anchor. In addition, four more tenants recently opened at Victory Village: Holloway Sports and Fitness, Buzz Picasso, Uniforms Plus, and music and novelty shop Retro Daddio.


“The center’s new name epitomizes its transformation over the last year with occupancy increasing from 35% to 75%.  The ‘victory’ of securing a replacement tenant for the 10-year vacant grocery box is undoubtedly a big step in making the center what we envisioned when purchasing it a year ago,” Lionheart’s founding partner, Ophir Sternberg, said in a statement.

The Shopping Center Group’s Virginia office represented Lionheart Capital in the lease transaction. “This area benefits from high household incomes as well as significant tourist traffic generated from area attractions,” said Debra Ramey, operating partner, The Shopping Center Group, Virginia Division.