TJ Maxx was the last retailer standing when Mazza Gallerie in Friendship Heights closed in December. It is also the first retailer announced for the D.C. property’s redevelopment.
Developer Tishman Speyer, which began demolishing the property at 5300 Wisconsin Avenue NW earlier this year, has secured $150 million in construction financing from RBC Capital Markets — as well as all the building permits it needs to continue the Mazza Gallerie redevelopment project.
The redeveloped property is currently expected to open sometime in 2025.
The existing three-story structure is currently being razed and will be replaced by a seven-story building designed by Danish architects 3XN, with an undulating masonry facade. Plans currently include 320 apartments, 40 of which will be designated affordable. It will also include two-story town houses and penthouses with private terraces.
Retail space will include 70,000-square-feet of existing below grade retail concourse, plus 20,000-square-feet of new street-level retail along Wisconsin Avenue, including a new TJ Maxx. Tishman Speyer said it is aiming for a mix of boutique stores, neighborhood services and a mix of fast-casual and full-service restaurants.
Redevelopment will retain 800 underground parking spaces.
Davis Construction and Smoot Construction are co-general contractors and 3XN has partnered with the project’s architect-of-record Colbert & Associates.
Mazza Gallerie was built in 1979 and was once a bustling retail and dining destination, but became a ghost town during the coronavirus pandemic. Lenders took possession of the property in August 2020 at a foreclosure auction.
New York-based Tishman Speyer’s other projects in the D.C. area include Reston Crossing, International Square and more than a half dozen trophy office buildings in the District.
