Rebecca Cooper, Washington Business Journal
Rappaport officially signed booming German supermarket chain, Lidl, to join Skyland Town Center, the 18.5-acre mixed-use development underway in Southeast Washington, D.C. Joining CVS and other restaurants and retailers, Lidl will occupy 29,089 square feet within the development, located in the Hillcrest neighborhood at the intersection of Alabama Avenue, Naylor Road, and Good Hope Road. Rappaport’s Jim Farrell, Thomas Bolen III and Michael Leon represented Skyland Town Center in the transaction.
As reported in Washington Business Journal, this is a momentous occasion for Wards 7 and 8 which have not seen a new nationally recognized full-service supermarket come east of the Anacostia River since Giant in 2007. Lidl’s unique and thriving supermarket concept offers a variety of household goods in addition to traditional grocery fare, delivering a diversified product assortment to Anacostia residents who have grappled with a lack of retail and grocery options for decades. Lidl U.S. is headquartered in Arlington, opening over 60 stores in eight states along the East Coast from Georgia to New York since their U.S. grand opening in June 2017.
Upon completion, Skyland Town Center will have up to 135,000 square feet of retail and 450 to 500 residential apartments in a vibrant town square setting. “I have dedicated myself to this project and built treasured relationships within this community, so success at Skyland Town Center is more important to me than any other project,” says Gary D. Rappaport, CEO of Rappaport. “The Skyland Development Team is pleased to welcome Lidl to Skyland Town Center and thrilled to bring an innovative, modern retailer with fresh options to this deserving neighborhood.”
Skyland Town Center’s first phase of 84,500 square feet of retail includes CVS, which has been operating in a temporary trailer during construction, and 263 apartments to open in the fourth quarter of 2020. Lidl will be in a standalone building next door with nearly 200 dedicated surface parking spaces, a rarity for urban retail opportunities. The standalone building site’s construction will be managed by Lidl directly through a multimillion-dollar investment in the development. Deemed the largest retail development in Southeast Washington, D.C., Skyland Town Center will provide services and amenities to an underserved market east of the Anacostia River.
For more information regarding Skyland Town Center, please visit the property’s website here.
