Retail investor demand leads to $168.3M portfolio trade in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 23, 2021 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the $168.3 million sale of a portfolio of eight infill neighborhood retail assets totaling 695,991 square feet in Washington, D.C., northern Virginia and southern and northern Maryland.

JLL marketed the portfolio on behalf of the seller, WashREIT.

The portfolio, which is 82 percent leased, consists of two assets in Washington, D.C., two in Northern Virginia and four retail properties in Maryland. The properties in Washington D.C. include Chevy Chase Metro Center and Spring Valley Village, with 800 S. Washington St. in Alexandria and Concord Centre in Springfield comprising the Virginia assets. Montrose Shopping Center and Randolph Shopping Center in Rockville; Takoma Park Shopping Center in Takoma; and Westminster Shopping Center in Westminster are all in Maryland.

The properties house a variety of grocery anchors, including Food Lion, ALDI, Giant and Mom’s Organic Market, in addition to national retailers such as Michaels, Mattress Firm, Planet Fitness, Crate & Barrel, Dollar Tree, Rite Aid Liquors and Chick-fil-A. The properties are in dense, affluent suburbs within the metro Washington, D.C. region where annual household incomes within a three-mile radius average $152,705, and the population within the same range is more than 148,700 residents.

The JLL Capital Markets team that represented the seller was led by Executive Managing Director Stephen Conley, Senior Managing Director Danny Finkle, Senior Director Jordan Lex and Vice President Kim Flores. 

“JLL continues to see strong investor demand for opportunities to acquire retail, especially at-scale,” Finkle said. “The asset class has proven resilient and offers investors appealing risk-adjusted returns in today’s low-yield environment.”  

“The D.C. Metro area has long been a recession-resistant gateway market,” Lex added. “However, booming tech and life science sectors in Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, respectively, have made well-positioned suburban retail in more demand than ever.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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