WASHINGTON, DC-The $90-million modernization of the Lafayette Building, an historic 500,000-sf office structure near the White House, moves forward with the US General Services Administration's selection of an architectural team consisting of DMJM Design/McClier and Flack + Kurtz to head up the design duties.

CALIFORNIA, MD-San Souci Plaza adds Maximum Health and Fitness to its tenant roster in a recent lease agreement. The exercise center will move into a 15,600-sf space at the 247,000-sf grocery-anchored retail destination, which sits in the well-traveled St. Mary's retail corridor.

DULLES, VA-America Online commits to a total of 150,000 sf at Loudoun Gateway Corporate Center, a 38-acre, multi-structure office park just off the Dulles Toll Rd, and only a few miles away from the Internet service provider's main headquarters. The new leases leave room for future expansion.

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD-Hollywood meets Suburban Maryland as former "The Apprentice" star Kwame Jackson reveals plans to develop a gargantuan mixed-use development on a 500-acre parcel in the county. The project will feature residential, office and retail offerings, and will cost an estimated $3 billion to realize.

GAITHERSBURG, MD-Liberty Travel makes progress in its plan to blanket the Metropolitan Washington, DC market with the signing of a lease at Gaithersburg Square. The travel agency will occupy a 1,500-sf space at the 204,000-sf shopping center beginning in October.

GAITHERSBURG, MD-Liberty Travel makes progress in its plan to blanket the Metropolitan Washington, DC market with the signing of a lease at Gaithersburg Square. The travel agency will occupy a 1,500-sf space at the 204,000-sf shopping center beginning in October.

WASHINGTON, DC-Mortgage lender Freddie Mac and the US Department of Agriculture join forces on a new program that will provide assistance to property owners for the rehabilitation and maintenance of affordable rental properties in rural areas.

WASHINGTON, DC-Big money changes hands as a partnership involving Shorenstein Co. and real estate investor David Warner takes over ownership of the 330,000-sf trophy office building at 1111 Pennsylvania. It is rumored that the transaction is valued at approximately $156 million.