Washington, D.C., September 9, 2009 – Constitution Square, the 1.6 million-square-foot mixed-use project in the heart of Washington, D.C.’s NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood, has topped out. Scheduled to deliver in 2010, this first phase of the seven-acre project includes a 589,000 square foot building fully leased to the U.S. General Services Administration (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; a 204-room Hilton Garden Inn; and a second office building with 340,000 square feet. 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, 1st Street, and the New York Avenue Metrorail Station.

Constitution Square is under development by affiliates of StonebridgeCarras of Bethesda, MD and Walton Street Capital of Chicago. Remarked Doug Firstenberg of StonebridgeCarras: “The most exciting aspect of such a complex project is doing everything at once and transforming the neighborhood. It’s not just an office building; rather, it’s apartments, the hotel, and the neighborhood’s first grocery store.”

“The topping out of Constitution Square is really exciting for the NoMa neighborhood, as this is our first mixed-use project to come online,” said NoMa BID President Liz Price. “A year from now, we’ll have hundreds of residents moving into NoMa, which will jump-start the area’s next phase as a vibrant 24/7 neighborhood.”

Opening a grocery store in the first phase of such a large mixed-use project, added Ms. Price, is unique. “Harris Teeter will provide an important amenity for the growing residential and office population in NoMa, including employees of the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, YWCA, the Sierra Club, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,” she noted, adding that additional retail announcements are anticipated this fall.

NoMa is a rapidly developing mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. In 2007-2008, private developers invested over $1 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 ten years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Web site at nomabid.wpengine.com.