The city’s decision on a development team to rebuild the Walter Reed site has left at least one party disappointed: the supermarket Wegmans.
The city selected a partnership of Hines and Urban Atlantic to redevelop the 67-acre site, choosing them over a pair of competing bids that included one from Roadside Development with a commitment from the Rochester-based supermarket to build its first D.C. store there. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor Hoskins told me he expects Hines and Urban Atlantic to land a quality grocery retailer for the site, and the team’s presentation to the public in July featured a rendering with a supermarket whose logo looks very much like the Wegmans “W.”
But Wegmans spokesman Jo Natale says the company isn’t ready to jump into a Hines- and Urban Atlantic-led Walter Reed site.
“We are disappointed in the decision, because we have a good partnership with Roadside and thought they developed a great plan,” Natale says in a statement. “We will take some time to consider our next steps, if any.”
Rendering from the Hines-Urban Atlantic presentation