Brixton Capital, a vertically integrated operator of retail and multifamily properties, acquired the Cascades Marketplace shopping center in Sterling, Virginia for an undisclosed sum from Bethesda, Maryland-based Willard Retail and its institutional partners.
The acquisition is Brixton’s first retail investment on the East Coast and establishes the firm in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Brixton is already one of the top retail investors on the West Coast, with approximately $400 million invested in retail properties in just the last 12 months.
The Cascades Marketplace acquisition is part of Brixton’s $125 million programmatic joint venture with Cigna Realty Investors to grow Brixton’s portfolio of grocery-anchored and necessity-based shopping centers throughout the U.S.
“Cascades Marketplace is the first step in a deliberate expansion of our retail platform across the Sun Belt and Mid-Atlantic,” said Brixton’s President & Chief Investment Officer Rob Taylor. “With an established West Coast portfolio and a growing multifamily presence in Texas, we are targeting grocery-anchored and necessity-based shopping centers in high-growth markets from Northern Virginia south through Florida and west through Texas.”
Markets such as Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta, South Florida, Nashville and Dallas share the characteristics that drew Brixton to Loudoun County: Strong population and job growth, affluent and expanding trade areas and limited new retail supply. Brixton is actively pursuing additional acquisitions across this footprint.
Cascades Marketplace
Located at 21000 Southbank St., the 218,000-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center spans 11 buildings on 22.8 acres and is 96% leased. It is anchored by a 60,811-square-foot Giant Food, which has served the center for 32 years and recently extended its lease through 2037, and a 50,500-square-foot OneLife Fitness.
The center is served by nearly 1,000 parking spaces. Its dining and service lineup includes Shake Shack, Starbucks, Taco Bamba, Paris Baguette, Dons’ Wood Fired Pizza, Robeks, Lil’ Cakes & Creamery, Hair Cuttery, Parcel Plus and more. Chicken Salad Chick and Mezeh Mediterranean Grill have signed leases and are slated to open in 2027.
Built in 1994, with additions in 1996 and 2026, Cascades Marketplace was extensively renovated. Capital improvements included new storefronts, a full repaint, a new monument signage program, site improvements and a new building for Shake Shack. A new Starbucks drive-through building is planned.
“Giant has been this neighborhood’s grocery store for more than three decades, and that kind of loyalty is hard to find and impossible to manufacture,” said Brixton’s Director of Retail Investments Nick Hsieh. “It is part of the weekly routine for thousands of households here, and the rest of the center keeps them on site longer. The property is laid out as a walkable street of everyday retail with ample parking, so the grocery run, the workout and the dinner out can all happen in one place, and the green spaces and community events turn an errand into time with family and friends. You could not build this today in Loudoun County, and that is exactly the kind of real estate we want to own as we open our East Coast platform.”
Brixton’s Plans for Cascades Marketplace
With the seller’s repositioning complete, Brixton acquired a stabilized center and will focus on embedded growth.
Brixton plans to lease the remaining approximately 8,000 square feet of shop space and develop approximately 6,000 square feet of new inline shop space on an entitled portion of the site. The company will also add 12 electric vehicle charging stalls, complete a roof replacement program and continue to upgrade the dining and service lineup.
Northern Virginia Market Dynamics
Cascades Marketplace sits on the Route 7 corridor, which carries more than 120,000 vehicles per day, and has frontage on Palisade Parkway, which carries 42,000. The center is minutes from Washington Dulles International Airport and the Dulles Toll Road and about 45 minutes from Washington, D.C. Nearby destinations include Northern Virginia Community College and the Potomac River.
The center is also at the front door of Data Center Alley, the largest data center market in the world, which handles roughly 70% of global internet traffic, according to the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development. Data center-eligible parcels here trade at $2 million to $6 million per acre. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, Meta and Equinix all operate campuses minutes away, driving strong midweek daytime traffic to Cascades Marketplace.
Retail supply in Loudoun County is highly constrained. Countywide retail vacancy is under 4%, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Additionally, new residential rooftops are on the way. The blocks surrounding Cascades Marketplace are entitled for up to 755 homes, and Stanley Martin townhomes are currently under construction.
Loudoun County has the highest median household income of any U.S. county at $181,765, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and has consistently ranked among the nation’s wealthiest counties. Its population has grown 44% since 2010 to 450,000 residents. The 176,000 residents within five miles of Cascades Marketplace have an average household income above $209,000.
Mat Adler, Conor Lalor and Andrei Larion of Newmark represented the seller, while Brixton represented itself in this transaction. Andrew Asbill and Joe Donato of Newmark arranged acquisition financing on behalf of Brixton.
