Cassidy Turley Wins 895 KSF Management Contract

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Chevy Chase Pavilion

It’s been a busy few days for Cassidy Turley. Clarion Partners L.L.C. just awarded the firm a property management services contract for Chevy Chase Pavilion, an 894,900-square-foot mixed-use project in northwest Washington, D.C. The assignment marks Cassidy Turley’s second outsourcing announcement this week.

Clarion Partners has owned Chevy Chase Pavilion since 2005 when the company, in its previous incarnation as ING Clarion, acquired the asset for approximately $212.7 million, according to District of Columbia property records.

In its role as property manager, Cassidy Turley will operate across real estate sectors, as the mixed-use destination offers a little bit of everything. Developed in 1990 and located a mere stone’s throw from a Metro station in D.C.’s  Friendship Heights neighborhood, Chevy Chase Pavilion features roughly 155,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a 205,000-square-foot, nine-story office building. The property is also home to a 198-room Embassy Suites hotel. And more offerings are on the way.

“There are many exciting things taking place at Chevy Chase Pavilion, including a $32 million renovation of the retail atrium, the addition of several new retail tenants and the complete renovation of the parking garage,” Bill Grillo, senior managing director with Cassidy Turley, said.

Commercial real estate, be it office or retail, is thriving in Washington. D.C.  Of the country’s major metropolitan locations, the D.C. retail market boasted the second lowest vacancy at just 3.8 percent, according to a first quarter Cassidy Turley report. The office sector is also performing well with a vacancy rate of 10.4 percent, compared to the national average of 15.9 percent.

Chevy Chase Pavilion marks Cassidy Turley’s second contract with Clarion Partners this year. Earlier in 2012, the firm secured a property management services contract for the real estate investment manager’s approximately 239,200-square-foot office building at 901 15th St.

But Clarion is hardly alone in its fondness for Cassidy Turley as a third-party services provider. On June 15 the firm announced that it had been selected by ITOCHU Corp. to provide management services for a portfolio of 136 office and industrial properties across North America. Additionally, in May, the firm walked away with a project management services contract with DEB Shops for the fashion retailer’s new and remodeled stores across the U.S.