Marymount University is expanding its footprint in Ballston as it prepares to tear down and redevelop one of the area’s most recognizable buildings.
The university has signed a lease for up to 87,101 square feet at 4040 N. Fairfax Drive, which it will use for swing space tied to the “Blue Goose” office building redevelopment as well as its physical therapy doctorate program. Marymount signed the lease with Federal Capital Partners and RESI Management, which completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of the 10-story building in the wake of the Pentagon’s 2005 BRAC plan.
While it’s working with The Shooshan Co. to redevelop the Blue Goose, Marymount decided to separate the location of its physical therapy program. The school plans to set aside 27,000 square feet of its 13-year lease for the program, according to Ralph Kidder, the university’s vice president of financial affairs. The university hopes to have that space ready in time for its fall semester.
Marymount will use the rest of the space as temporary offices once the Blue Goose redevelopment starts, which could begin as early as Jan. 2015, Kidder said.
The lease is part of a larger picture for D.C. area landlords trying to fill office space vacated by BRAC, which hit the Rosslyn-Ballston office market hard and led to a wave of building renovation and redevelopment projects.
Federal Capital Partners bought an equity stake in 4040 N. Fairfax in August 2012 for $21.2 million with the expectation that leasing activity in Ballston would pick up even with a spike in short-term vacancy rates.
Avison Young brokers Josh Peyton, Peter Berk and Dave Millard represented Marymount while Avison Young brokers Mike Shuler and Nate Krill represented the building’s owners.
