MERRIFIELD, VA - Streetsense of Bethesda, MD, the exclusive retail leasing broker for the new mixed-use Halstead Square development adjacent to the Dunn Loring Metro station in Merrifield, VA, has just inked the project’s first retail tenant, BlackFinn American Grille.
This popular restaurant, with numerous East Coast locations and more planned, will occupy the key 9,000 square foot corner location fronting on Gallows Road, and is scheduled to open in summer of 2012. Streetsense’s architectural team, led by Herb Heiserman, is designing the store fronts for BlackFinn and the project’s other retail tenants.
Streetsense’s Kelly Silverman represented the developer, The DSF Group of Boston, MA, in the lease transaction. Dave Dochter of Cushman & Wakefield represented BlackFinn.
“There are more than 5,000 new multifamily residential units within a half mile of the Dunn Loring Metro station, and Halstead Square will bring that number to 6,000, but there are few dining options in the immediate area,” said Jeff Pollak, Managing Principal of Streetsense. “BlackFinn will be a welcome addition, and we are pleased to represent DSF in leasing the new retail space at Halstead Square.” Added Kelly Silverman of Streetsense: “Halstead Square is the only project in development with Gallows Road frontage in the market, so Blackfinn and its neighbors will enjoy an excellent location.”
Added Streetsense Managing Principal Herb Heiserman: “The store front design challenge was unique because the developer hired Streetsense to design the retail store fronts in a way that maintains the integrity of the base building design. This is a very atypical arrangement that recognizes Streetsense’s retail space design expertise.”
Halstead Square is a new mixed-use development located just steps from the Dunn Loring Metro station, which serves 2.8 million passengers per year, and just north of Lee Highway (Route 29). When completed, it will have 854 luxury apartment units, a 150-room Kimpton Hotel, and 50,000 square feet of retail space. The first building of the multi-phase project, The Rockwell at Halstead Square, which will house the BlackFinn restaurant, is now open and consists of 242 apartments,10,500 square feet of amenity space and 27,000 square feet of retail space. Two additional apartment buildings are now under construction.
Founded in Boston in 2000, The DSF Group concentrates on value-added opportunities in the traditionally high-growth markets of the Northeast Corridor, between the metropolitan areas of Boston and Washington, D.C. In the Washington area, The DSF Group developed the 4 ½ star Lorien Hotel & Spa on King Street in historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia just two blocks from the King Street Metro. Designed by world-renowned designer Vicente Wolf, the Lorien Hotel & Spa is a 107- room luxury boutique hotel with two restaurants headed by critically acclaimed chef Robert Wiedmaier, BRABO by Robert Wiedmaier and the BRABO Tasting Room. Also in the Washington metropolitan area, DSF developed the 173-unit Halstead Tower in Alexandria and the 269-unit Halstead Arlington.
Streetsense is an integrated brokerage, design, branding, and development company specializing in retail and real estate. Established in 2001, Streetsense is the premiere and only truly full-service, retail-centric company in the real estate market today. Its powerful platform provides clients with an extremely wide range of services, including master planning, architecture, retail design, retail brokerage, development, and a full-service marketing studio that includes branding, graphic design, publicity, social media outreach, and more. Clients include well-known brands such as Chipotle, Starbucks, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Plow & Hearth, and Limited Brands, as well as real estate developers that include the The JBG Companies, Vornado/Charles E. Smith, and Akridge. Recent projects include interiors for Matchbox in Rockville, MD (plus a ground-up building pad site), Pi Pizzeria in Washington, D.C., Chipotle’s new concept Shophouse in Washington, D.C., and Café Caturra in Arlington, VA; office space design for Living Social in Washington, D.C.; and development of The Shoppes at Arts District, a 36,000 square foot specialty center will be the focal point of Arts District Hyattsville (MD).