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Washington Business Journal
Wharf developer announces second major leadership shakeup this summer
Shawn Seaman, the president of Hoffman & Associates who played a pivotal role in development of The Wharf, has left the company to “pursue other opportunities,” the developer said Friday. <\p> Maria Thompson, founder and Chairman Monty Hoffman’s handpicked successor, took over as president Thursday. It was the second major leadership shift at the firm since June.<\p>
This D.C. landlord wants you to book your next party on its rooftops
Carr Properties has always been a real estate company. Think offices, cubicles, elevators, front desk people. <\p> But lately, it’s taken on a new realm. The D.C. company has ventured into the event space, making some of its conference rooms, penthouses and rooftops available to the public for private events. <\p>
MicroStrategy's bitcoin purchases hit 3-year high in Q2
Business intelligence software company MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) continued to load up on bitcoin in the second quarter even as it took a sizable impairment charge on its current holdings.<\p> The Tysons company purchased 2,222 bitcoins for $794 million, an average of $65,882 per bitcoin, in the period, it said in its earnings report Thursday. It's the most MicroStrategy has spent on crypto in a single quarter since the first three months of 2021, when it shelled out $1.1 billion, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. <\p>
Builder pitches new piece of Eisenhower Metro development puzzle
The Red Fox Development Co. has pitched a concept for a big residential-over-retail building in Hoffman Town Center, the next big piece of the development puzzle slowly coming together around the Eisenhower Metro station in Alexandria.<\p> The D.C. developer filed an early-stage concept plan with the city's planning department Aug. 2. While the application documents aren’t publicly available yet, Red Fox President Adam Peters told me in an interview the proposed building at 2425 Mill Road in anticipated to weigh in at some 700,000 square feet, including 750 residential units and 40,000 square feet of retail. Including parking, the project would comprise about 1.1 million square feet.<\p>
Office building near Dupont Circle sold to multifamily developer
A 12-story office building between Dupont Circle and the Farragut West Metro station was sold Thursday to the developer with plans to convert it into apartments over retail.<\p> Duball 1201 NW LLC, an affiliate Rockville-based Duball LLC, bought the 193,400-square-foot building at 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW for $21.5 million from an affiliate of BrightSpire Capital, according to D.C.'s Recorder of Deeds.<\p>
New legal snag in proposed Ward 7 Giant-anchored redevelopment
The District's efforts to bring another grocer to D.C.'s Ward 7 have encountered yet another complication, more than two years after the city moved to acquire by eminent domain the site of a failed mixed-use project known as Capitol Gateway Marketplace.<\p> The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development successfully moved on July 16 to have the District's condemnation suit transferred from D.C. Superior Court to the U.S. District Court for D.C., asserting the federal government's financial stake in what was to be a $120 million, 11-acre, Walmart-anchored project at 5800-5804 E. Capitol St. NE in Capitol Heights. HUD, which previously provided grant money to support Capitol Gateway, wants to ensure it's not cut out of any proposed settlement the Bowser administration reaches with Capitol Gateway's development team over fair market value for the property. <\p>
2U shares will stop trading this month as bankruptcy moves forward
It’s been 10 years since Lanham online learning company 2U Inc. went public after signing on big clients like Georgetown University and the University of Southern California.<\p> But in a few days, its time as a Nasdaq-listed company will end.<\p>
One of N. Va.'s largest companies is moving its HQ to South Florida
Northern Virginia is on the verge of losing one of its largest and oldest public companies.<\p> VSE Corp (NASDAQ: VSEC), which provides repair, maintenance and parts distribution services for aircraft and transportation fleets, said this week that it has moved out of its longtime headquarters in Fairfax County and intends to relocate its corporate office to South Florida later this year. <\p>
The job market just hit a level not seen in a decade
The job market is slowing to levels not seen in more than a decade, and a weaker-than-expected jobs report Friday morning is fueling anxiety on Wall Street and beyond. <\p> Employers and investors in search of a silver lining can perhaps find it in the form of newly available data on job cuts.<\p>
Alexandria waterfront’s Robinson Terminal North nears redevelopment
Rooney Properties is moving its proposal for mixed-use redevelopment of Old Town Alexandria’s Robinson Terminal North into the final phase of the city’s land use approval process.<\p> The Arlington-based company filed a development special use permit application on July 26 with the city’s planning department. If approved, it’d clear the way for two residential buildings with ground-floor restaurant spaces to replace an existing warehouse and staging area for a major city sewer infrastructure project at 500 and 501 N. Union St., respectively.<\p>
Macaron chain buys Union Market property, plans cookies and cocktails
The owners of D.C.-based Olivia Macaron have acquired a Union Market-area property they plan to convert into a macaron shop and a separate cocktail bar.<\p> The two-story building at 405 Morse St. NE sold July 24 to Oak at Morse Street LLC, whose organizer is listed in public records as House of Macarons LLC, for $1.55 million. Ian Ruel, Josh Feldman, Roman Degliantoni and Adam Costanzo of Feldman Ruel marketed the property on behalf of the seller, the proprietors of a wholesale meat business that no longer needed the space.<\p>
33 taken to hospitals after ammonia leak at Cuisine Solutions facility
Thirty-three workers at Cuisine Solutions’ Sterling culinary facility were taken to area hospitals Wednesday evening following an ammonia leak, according to Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. <\p> The fire and rescue department said five workers were in serious condition when they were transported. The cause of the incident was a faulty valve, according to the department. <\p>
Senate committee approves FBI headquarters funding
A key Senate committee on Thursday approved an appropriations bill that includes funding for a new FBI headquarters.<\p> The proposed fiscal year 2025 appropriations measure, which emerged from the financial services and general government subcommittee, if adopted into law, would provide $375 million for the FBI’s planned move from the decrepit Hoover Building in downtown D.C. to a 61-acre, $4 billion campus by the Greenbelt Metro station.<\p>
Emergent sells business line for $75M in ongoing restructuring
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) has offloaded another business unit as part of its ongoing effort to pay down debt and streamline operations.<\p> The Gaithersburg company has sold a skin decontamination product it supplies to the U.S. military to Belgium’s Serb Pharmaceuticals for $75 million. Serb will pay also pay Emergent $5 million when it hits a milestone linked to sourcing of one of the product's components, under terms of the deal that closed Wednesday morning. <\p>
One of D.C.'s oldest veterinary hospitals is expanding
One of the region's oldest veterinary hospitals is spreading out.<\p> Friendship Hospital for Animals, which dates to 1936, has leased 30,000 square feet in Friendship Heights for a new, 24-hour facility to house its specialty and emergency services. The office building at 5025 Wisconsin Ave. NW is about a half mile from its main location at 4105 Brandywine St., a roughly 17,000-square-foot space it plans to maintain for primary care, rehab and behavioral services.<\p>
Maryland car dealer accused of deceptive trade practices
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown filed civil charges against Darcars of Bowie Inc. and its owners, accusing the car dealer of unfair trade practices. <\p> The company, which does business as Darcars Honda, and its parent company, Mariam Inc., were named in the charges, along with the owners of both, John Rahmangholi Darvish and Jamshyd Darvish. John Darvish lives in Miami, while Jamshyd Darvish, who goes by Jamie, lives in D.C., per the statement of charges.<\p>
New D.C. government contractor doubling workforce with acquisition
One of D.C.'s newest government contractors is preparing to effectively double its workforce and revenue with its planned acquisition of a peer company.<\p> Astrion, a D.C. government cybersecurity and IT contractor, plans to buy Axient Corp., a Huntsville, Alabama, provider of specialized engineering services for government agencies, in what would be its first acquisition since the company was formed late last year.<\p>
Fairfax County is going all in to attract space companies
Space: the next frontier in commercial real estate. <\p> That’s the goal of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, which is hoping to leverage a wave of space-related company moves in the county to put Greater Washington at the forefront of the industry. Of 125 aerospace companies with space operations that call Fairfax home — 70 of which operate solely in the space sector — 60 have relocated or expanded in the county within just the last three years, according to the agency. <\p>
Meet our 2024 Women Who Mean Business honorees
The Washington Business Journal is proud to introduce this year's class of 25 Women Who Mean Business honorees. <\p> Now in its 21st year, this annual celebration of the region's top female executives is one of our most prestigious awards and receives hundreds of nominations. <\p>
Appian eliminates jobs, consolidates some facilities
Tysons low-code software company Appian Corp. says it has realigned its resources in the past few months — including eliminating jobs — in a push for profitability.<\p> In a call with analysts Thursday, Appian revealed it reduced its workforce by 150 employees and consolidated some facilities at its leased headquarters building at the Valo Park campus in Tysons. Those moves, it said, allowed it to speed up its path to profitability; previously Appian had planned to break-even for the full-year 2025, a point it’s now accelerated to full-year 2024.<\p>
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