The World Edition - Economy - Big Plans for the DC Area

Big Plans for the DC Area

By Alexander H. Johnstone
SEPTEMBER 4, 2007

The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area hosts one of the nation's largest and most diverse economies. It is one of the world leaders in global real estate investment. During the past couple of decades, the district's surrounding suburbs of Maryland and Northern Virginia have emerged as a couple of the fastest growing areas in the nation. Currently, the District itself is undergoing a major makeover along its waterfront, highlighted by the construction of a new baseball stadium. Despite the extensive amount of growth the area has experienced, plans are underway to expand even further.

Well-known local developer JBG Companies will collaborate with San Francisco based MacFarlane Partners to form a joint venture, called JBG Urban LLC. Together they plan to redevelop 93 Properties across the DC metro area with an investment of 2.5 billion dollars. The development will include offices, hotels, retail and residences, mostly near Metrorail stations. These projects will be part of a movement toward high-density developments near Metro stops to encourage residents to use the Metro system as a primary means of transportation.

In total, these projects will include 8.5 million square feet of office space, 2.2 million square feet of retail space, 13,200 apartments and condominiums and 2,500 hotel rooms. The local government would like to see this undertaking help revitalize distressed areas of the metropolitan area.

The Chevy-Chase firm JBG Cos. already owns the land and buildings of the 93 properties that will be redeveloped. MacFarlane Partners, the San Francisco real estate investment firm, is providing much of the capital. When the developments are completed by a scheduled date of 2013, the projection is to have a combined value of about $10 billion.

With only 61 square miles, land is quite scarce in the District itself. As a result, redevelopment is increasingly occurring and the city is becoming more and more dense. As time progresses, property will continue to become more valuable within close proximity to the district and density will continue to expand outward in Maryland and Virginia.