DC’s Largest Aldi to Open in 25K SF at Art Place
By Christina sturdivant-Sani February 11, 2019 9:15 am
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German discount grocer Aldi has signed a lease for a 25,000-square-foot store at the under-construction development Art Place in the Fort Totten neighborhood of Washington, D.C., according to a press release from The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, commonly referred to as Cafritz Foundation. The late Morris Cafritz was a prominent commercial and residential developer from the early 1920’s to the mid-60’s.
Located on the corner of South Dakota Avenue NE and Kennedy Street NE, it will be the largest—and second only—Aldi in D.C., per the release. It’s slated to open in 2022 (the other Aldi is located at 901 17th Street NE).
Jake DiPiazza, the director of real estate at Aldi, said in a prepared statement that the store “is one of our most innovative and cutting-edge real estate ventures to date.” Terms of the deal were not immediately available. It’s unclear if brokers were involved in the transaction.
“Aldi is known for providing customers with quality and value while ensuring a shopping experience that works with people’s busy lives. We welcome this transformative retailer to the area as we continue to enhance Fort Totten with innovative and art-focused partners,” Jane Cafritz, a board member at Cafritz Foundation, said in a prepared statement.
Aldi is part of the development’s second, and final phase, which will also include renowned art collective Meow Wolf with a 75,000-square-foot exhibition, opening in 2022.
The first phase of Art Place, which opened in fall 2017, includes a 520-unit apartment building called The Modern at Art Place, DMV Urgent Care location, a pharmacy store and a dentistry. At full build out, Art Place will include nearly 2 million square feet of multi-family residential, retail, cultural, art, public and entertainment spaces, per the release.