Washington, D.C., January 3, 2008… The rapidly emerging NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood in Washington, D.C. is ringing in the new year with the sounds of construction. J Street Development and its equity partner Westbrook Partners recently celebrated the groundbreaking for a 90,000 square foot office condominium building at 111 K Street, N.E. Just across First Street at 77 K Street, Brookfield Properties and ING Clarion topped out construction of a 326,000 square foot Class A office building that will feature a rooftop terrace with stunning views of the U.S. Capitol.Both buildings are located on prominent corners just steps from Union Station and a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers is leasing 77 K Street while CBRE and Randall Hagner Commercial are selling full-floor, approximately 9,000 square foot office condominiums to companies and associations that are interested in assuming greater control over their long-term facility costs.
Meanwhile, thousands of employees already working in NoMa will soon welcome the area’s first retail coffee shop. Local entrepreneur and Washington native Khalil Ghannam will open Pound Coffee during the first quarter of 2008, just outside the New York Avenue Metro station at 2nd and N Street, N.E. Pound Coffee will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, specializing in freshly roasted coffee and baked goods prepared on site. Capital Retail Group and LeDroit Park Development Company are leasing the 8,000 square foot building and expect to announce additional retail leases this quarter.
“The transformation of NoMa began in earnest in 2007 with over 1.5 million square feet under construction and more than 3 million planned in 2008,” said Elizabeth Price, President of the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID). “The new year will bring exciting new retail and residential opportunities to NoMa with 2,500 apartments, 300,000 square feet of retail and 400 hotel rooms planned.”
NoMa is an exciting emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington DC. Private developers are investing more than $1 billion this year alone with plans to develop over 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Website at http://nomabid.wpengine.com.