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Lerner puts former FBI HQ short-list site up for sale

October 30, 2018 | Daniel J. Sernovitz, The Washington Business Journal

Lerner Enterprises is marketing the former Landover Mall site in Prince George’s County for sale as the 80-acre property’s prospects to become the FBI’s next headquarters remain unlikely.

The former mall property by Landover Road and the Capital Beltway was one of three in contention for the nation’s chief law enforcement agency, along with sites in Greenbelt and Springfield, before that search was called off in July 2017. Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate continue to push for a suburban option, while the Trump administration remains set on keeping the FBI in downtown D.C.

Representatives for Rockville-based Lerner were not immediately available for comment. The sale was advertised in the Washington Business Journal.

County officials were not alerted to Lerner’s interest in selling the real estate, said David S. Iannucci, an economic development official for Prince George’s. Iannucci said he believes interest in the property will be strong given its proximity to sites including FedEx Field and the University of Maryland Medical System’s planned teaching hospital at Largo town Center.

“We continue to believe the site has incredible development potential, whether it’s for the FBI or some other, urbanized, mixed-use development, and I believe it will be an attractive site for the development community,” Iannucci said. “It’s got to be one of the largest development parcels along the Beltway.”

Iannucci said he believes market forces will dictate the property’s future use but the county is open to providing support for infrastructure upgrades in the area, just as it had contemplated for the property as an FBI headquarters.

Lerner, in marketing materials, touts the property’s mixed use-transportation oriented, or MXT, zoning. The designation could allow for a range of uses including data center. The site had been in the running for a new regional hospital, but after losing out to Largo, Lerner Chief Operating Officer Alan Gottlieb said he continued to believe the property has “bright” future.

 

The Washington Business Journal