RPAI acquires the retail portion of Downtown Crown

Washington, D.C. -- Retail Properties of America, Inc., has it closed on its $162.8-million acquisition of the retail portion of Downtown Crown, a class A mixed-use project located in Gaithersburg, Maryland (Washington, D.C. MSA). RPAI acquired the project from The JBG Companies and JBGR Retail.



Downtown Crown contains 258,000 sq. ft. of retail space, including a neighborhood center component anchored by Harris Teeter and a lifestyle center component anchored by a variety of national and regional restaurant concepts such as Coastal Flats, Ted’s Montana Grill, Old Town Pour House and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.



The property opened in phases beginning in the fourth quarter of 2013 and is currently 62.7% occupied and 77.5% leased.



Downtown Crown represents the commercial core of the 180-acre Crown community, which is expected to include more than 2,200 residential units upon completion. The property is located within a “super-zip”, one of the most affluent and well-educated ZIP codes in the country and boasts average household income of $129,000 and population of 137,000 within a three-mile radius.



The acquisition is particularly significant for RPAI because the Washington, D.C./Baltimore MSAs are part of the company’s long-term strategic plan to refocus the asset base on high quality, multi-tenant assets in 10-15 strategic markets. This acquisition will be a focal point in RPAI’s Washington, D.C./Baltimore portfolio and will increase the company’s presence in these markets by more than 10% to 2.6 million sq. ft.

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