The Washington region has become one of the hottest areas for retailers in recent years, with new restaurants considered among the nation’s best, a slate of tony downtown shops at CityCenterDC and a glut of Whole Foods stores on the way.
Why then, are District officials — along with representatives of Prince George’s County and the state of Maryland — in Las Vegas this week pitching their jurisdictions to chain retailers?
Last week, we showed you how Douglas Development Corp. and its contractor, Davis Construction, moved the first of two historic structures to make way for the massive Square 450 project in Mount Vernon Square.
The gargantuan effort, moving the 880-ton New York Avenue building 34 feet, is an impressive feat. The goal is to “preserve, protect and enhance the historic built environment” in the District, said Joe Baker, a senior project manager with Davis.
The site of the Beatles’ first U.S. concert is about to become a destination for the District’s climbers, campers and cyclists.
REI, the specialty outdoors retailer, on Wednesday announced plans to open a sprawling store inside Uline Arena in the District’s NoMa neighborhood. The 51,000-square-foot location is scheduled to open in late 2016. It will be the company’s fifth flagship store and its first in the District.
[button url=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/digger/wp/2015/01/28/rei-to-open-flagship-store-at-uline-arena/” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”orange” icon=”” popup=”” title=””]Continue Reading →[/button]
A veteran Washington, D.C., developer has raised financing for a speculative office building project near Ford’s Theater with a $44.5 million construction loan and $9 million obtained through a federal program that allots visas to foreigners who invest in U.S. development projects.
Douglas Development Corp. has already started building the 93,000 square foot tower at 1000 F Street. The building is considered speculative because Douglas is moving ahead with very little preleasing.