Indeed, retailers--specifically day restaurants--have been targeting the submarket precisely because of its growing government presence. Pound Coffee, for instance, was one of the first retailers to ink a deal in the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives headquarters located at New York and Florida avenues in NoMA.

The Justice Department is serving a similar role in the Constitution Square project-- essentially anchoring the development and attracting additional tenants--with its full building lease of Two Constitution, a 590,000-square-foot building that topped out last week. Originally, the DoJ was planning to occupy only 521,000 square feet in the building--but it was enough for the StonebridgeCarras to move forward with ground breaking last year.

One Constitution, which topped out in March, has not signed any office pre-leases yet--but it has inked a 50,000-square-foot Harris Teeter lease, NoMa's first grocery store. All together, phase one of the Constitution Square development will include the two office buildings, 440 apartment units and a stand-alone hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn. The final phases of Constitution Square will include an additional 400,000-square-foot office building and another residential building with approximately 500 units. The seven-acre complex will cover an entire city block bounded by M Street, N Street, 1st Street, and the New York Avenue Metro Station. Both office buildings are being designed by HOK Architects. Clark Construction Group is the general contractor.