Army Approves Office Park for Aberdeen

Opus East's business park is one of two outside developments going up at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The other project on the site is a $300 million training facility where law enforcement officers get anti-terrorism training. That part of the base used to be where soldiers trained for chemical warfare during the Cold War.

At times of heightened national security, the government could buy out the lease from the developer, according to Corps of Engineers documents. Because of missile testing on the site, there are still traces of hazardous materials. The Army is responsible for disposing of any contamination, according to Corps documents.

Shopping Center's Face-Lift

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The Loehmann's shopping center in Falls Church will get a Giant Food grocery store next summer as part of a $12 million renovation to the 30-year-old plaza. The supermarket will replace the old Loehmann's dress shop which was demolished to accommodate the larger, 58,000-square-foot grocery store.

The Loehmann's shop moved to the location formerly occupied by Linens 'n Things, which closed at the end of last year.

Emily Groome, a development manager with Federal Realty Investment Trust, which owns the shopping center, said the Giant Food store will bring more traffic to the shopping center and boost business for other tenants.

The renovation, excluding the Giant Food store, is to be complete before Thanksgiving.

Closings

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· BPG Properties Ltd. of Philadelphia bought a 275,000-square-foot office building in Merrifield. Terms were not disclosed. The six-story building, 8111 Gatehouse Rd., was purchased from the American Red Cross, which had used it since 1991 as an emergency response center and administrative office.

Staff writer Dana Hedgpeth, who covers commercial real estate and economic development, contributed to this report. Her e-mail address ishedgpethd@washpost.com.