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83-year-old D.C. office targeted for residential conversion
An 83-year-old office building a couple blocks south of Dupont Circle is the latest target for a conversion to residential.<\p> An affiliate of Rockville's Duball LLC has filed plans with D.C.'s Historic Preservation Office to renovate the 12-story office at 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, located at the southernmost end of the Dupont Circle Historic District, into 161 rental apartments over roughly 9,500 square feet of retail. <\p>
Miami craft doughnut and coffee chain to open first D.C.-area location
A Miami-based doughnut and coffee chain that started out of a camper and has since grown to 19 locations across five states will soon plant its flag in Greater Washington.<\p> The Salty Donut, or The Salty for short, has filed permits to build out space at Edens’ Mosaic District in Fairfax County, where it will replace the Loyal Companion pet grooming and food shop that closed in early 2023, along with all other Loyal Companion stores. <\p>
Kevin Mandia sold Mandiant to Google for $5.4B. Now he has a new job.
Kevin Mandia founded Reston cybersecurity company Mandiant and spent nearly two decades building it into a multibillion-dollar company. He sold it to Google LLC in 2022 for $5.4 billion but has continued to run it.<\p> Until now.<\p>
Inside a little-known Fortune 500 company making big moves from N. Va.
It's a fast-growing Fortune 500 company based in Greater Washington and a leader in its field — the focus of its work ubiquitous and likely over your head right now.<\p> Meet Herndon's Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. <\p>
JetBlue seeks to add more direct service to Caribbean island from DCA
JetBlue Airways Corp. said Wednesday it is seeking to add a second daily nonstop flight between Regan National Airport and Luis Muñoz Marín International in San Juan, Puerto Rico. <\p> The low-cost carrier said it will apply to the Department of Transportation for the additional route. President Joe Biden in May signed a bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration that included a measure to add five additional round-trip flights beyond DCA’s longstanding 1,250-mile perimeter rule. <\p>
Major law firm to relocate D.C. office into subleased space
A major law firm has inked a deal to relocate its District office a block away into space formerly occupied by another top firm.<\p> Cozen O'Connor, headquartered in Philadelphia, signed a 65,576-square-foot lease June 12 at Brookfield Properties' 2001 M St. NW where it will occupy the entire fourth and fifth floors, according to a news release. The firm has called 1200 19th St. NW, owned by an affiliate of Atlanta's Fosterlane Management Co., home since 2015.<\p>
Novavax’s outgoing R&D lead says future will be different for Md. firm
Dr. Filip Dubovsky was the first person to see the clinical results from Novavax’s initial Covid-19 vaccine study in 2020.<\p> The company’s chief medical officer looked at the data on his screen — just raw numbers. He didn’t need any graphs or charts to illustrate what he already knew. He charged down the hall to tell then-CEO Stan Erck and Dr. Greg Glenn, the company’s research and development lead at the time: “Guys, we have a vaccine.” <\p>
D.C. approves new incentives for conversions — but not to residential
The District's fiscal 2025 budget adopted Tuesday by the D.C. Council establishes a new incentive program to repurpose office buildings in and around downtown into commercial uses other than residential.<\p> The program, dubbed the Central Washington Activation Program, will provide a tax abatement for converting offices into the likes of hotels, retail and restaurants. The tax abatement could also be used to convert aging buildings into Class A or trophy office buildings.<\p>
Megabus shuttering Hyattsville bus warehouse, laying off dozens
A Hyattsville bus warehouse will be shuttered in August, costing 62 workers their jobs.<\p> Megabus Northeast LLC has notified the Maryland Department of Labor that it will be closing its plant at 2320 Beaver Road. The notification was filed June 20, less than two weeks after Megabus' parent company, Coach USA, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.<\p>
Visa, Mastercard 'swipe' fee settlement dealt a big blow
A nearly $30 billion settlement involving U.S. retailers and credit card giants Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. has been dealt a blow after a judge said it was unlikely she would approve the deal.<\p> During a June 13 hearing on preliminary approval of the proposed settlement involving “swipe” fees, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York Margo Brodie said she was unlikely to sign off on the deal. Brodie issued a written order on the case on June 25, and while the order itself was sealed, the accompanying memorandum on the court docket stated that the "court finds that it is not likely to grant final approval to the Settlement and accordingly denies Plaintiffs' motion for preliminary settlement approval."<\p>
A D.C. payroll tax will soon skyrocket by nearly 200%
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect when the new payroll tax rate will take effect. The D.C. Department of Employment Services had previously said the new rate would begin Oct. 1, but the agency later corrected the date after a spokesman for Mayor Muriel Bowser said it takes effect July 1. <\p> D.C.’s paid family leave program will soon levy a higher tax on employers that the business community fears could hinder its growth — exactly the opposite of what the program was intended to do.<\p>
Chinatown Row properties facing foreclosure
An affiliate of Douglas Development Corp. plans to hand over the deed to several prominently located Chinatown office-and-retail properties after losing a handful of tenants, including a coworking concept Douglas itself launched to replace a WeWork location that closed there in 2020. <\p> Its lender on the properties at 704-718 Seventh St. NW filed a complaint in D.C. Superior Court in late March, after the loan matured and the District-based developer failed to come up with the remaining balance of just over $27.3 million, per the lawsuit. <\p>
Luxe condos with hotel service slated for prime Arlington site
A relatively new entrant to the Greater Washington real estate world plans to redevelop the Air & Space Forces Association’s headquarters site in Arlington with luxury condos carrying an international hotel brand.<\p> Taicoon Property Partners LLC plans to tear down the existing building at 1501 Langston Blvd. and build a 94-unit residential building, branded by an unnamed “major, international top-tier hotel company,” according to a conceptual site plan application filed June 25 with Arlington’s planning department.<\p>
Texas rocket company to stage future launches in Virginia
Firefly Aerospace Inc., a Cedar Park, Texas rocket company, is expanding to Virginia while nearing its next big countdown.<\p> The company plans to send its next rocket into low Earth orbit as soon as Wednesday evening, launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base, which is about 65 miles north of Santa Barbara, California. The launch is currently scheduled for 11:03 p.m. CST, although launches are often delayed by weather or technical issues.<\p>
‘Lock-in effect’ restricts homeowners despite inventory improvements
A U.S. housing market that continues to see home-price appreciation, paired with higher-for-longer mortgage rates, may prolong the lock-in effect that's stymied inventory the past couple of years.<\p> Many housing economists predicted 2024 would see more relief for homebuyers by way of greater inventory and households more willing to sell their homes after being tethered to record-low mortgage rates obtained during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\p>
AI startup lands award from Google fund for Black, Latino founders
An Arlington startup that develops software to spot risks in artificial intelligence technology has landed a cash award from tech giant Google to help it expand operations.<\p> Trustible, founded in early 2023 by two alumni of D.C. legal and regulatory data software firm FiscalNote Holdings Inc., was one of 20 startups that recently received $150,000 from a fund Google created in 2020 to support Black and Latino entrepreneurs.<\p>
McLean estate that sold for $9.3M in 2013 hits the market for $40M
The two most expensive homes for sale in Greater Washington, totaling $100 million, hit the listing service within 24 hours of each other.<\p> Less than 24 hours after Dan and Tanya Snyder’s River View went up for $60 million, Piper and Penny Yerks of Washington Fine Properties listed Ballantrae Farm, a 6.27-acre McLean estate born before the Civil War and later visited by Amelia Earhart (the pilot landed there in the 1930s), for $39.995 million.<\p>
Skanska nears debut of second NoMa apartment tower. Here's a look.
A 275-unit apartment building in NoMa on a site formerly designated for office is nearing its debut.<\p> Skanska USA Commercial Development announced Tuesday it is now leasing OZMA, a 13-story apartment building over retail about three-tenths of a mile west of the NoMa-Gallaudet Metro station. The U.S.-based subsidiary of Sweden's Skanska invested $128 million in OZMA, located at 44 M St. NE, breaking ground in October 2021.<\p>
Richmond gym company lands private equity investment
Richmond’s JF Fitness of North America, a Crunch Fitness franchisee, is getting an injection from private equity. <\p> Dallas private equity firm Trive Capital and Maui, Hawaii’s 808 Capital Partners said Friday they have made an undisclosed investment in JF. The investment will spur JF’s expansion in the Southeast via new gym openings and potential future acquisitions, the companies said. <\p>
D.C. office loan shifted to special servicer as agency readies exit
A $243 million loan on a downtown D.C. office building was transferred into special servicing earlier this month after a federal agency anchor tenant announces plans to vacate.<\p> The loan for the Beacon Capital Partners' property at 1120 20th St. NW, known as Lafayette Centre, was shifted to Miami-based Rialto Capital Advisors for “imminent monetary default,” according to a note shared with bondholders. The special servicer will be charged with working out a resolution to the debt issue between Beacon and investors in the commercial mortgage-backed security.<\p>
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