Dive Brief:
- Developers have filed plans with the city of Rockville, MD, for a 31-acre, $650 million mixed-use development, according to Commercial Property Executive.
- A 12-acre portion of the Lantian Development's Shady Grove Neighborhood Center in the Washington, DC, suburbs will feature 100,000 square feet of retail, 200,000 square feet of office space, up to 1,600 apartments — 12.5% set aside for those with moderate incomes — and a 100,000-square-foot hotel. An 18-acre parcel will feature up to 300 townhomes.
- Lantian said the project, currently the site of older office buildings and surface parking lots, will capitalize on its proximity to Interstate 270 and a Metro station. Lantian said that once the city approves the project and site plan, they will begin demolition, although no financing is yet in place.
Dive Insight:
The new complex in Shady Grove is just the latest offering from developers of massive mixed-use projects in the DC area. The Wharf, a $2 billion DC development, will soon get underway with its second phase, which will include parks, retail, residential, office and a marina. The first phase will open this fall and provide 870 living units, 225,000 square feet of office space, 175,000 square feet of retail and three hotels. Developer Hoffman-Madison also announced late last year that it would build DC's first-ever pier-top office building at The Wharf. The Class A office building will offer up 28,000 square feet of space and shoot for LEED Gold certification.
More variety is popping up amid mixed-use developments, including elements of sustainability that exceed LEED. Last August, Property Group Partners, developers of the Capitol Crossing "eco district," announced that it had hired general contractor Balfour Beatty to build its first 960,000-square-foot phase. The $196 million construction contract is for two 12-story, mixed-use buildings connected by a glass bridge. The entire project is situated on a three-block elevated deck over Interstate 395 and will be LEED Platinum-certified.
