From Office Building by Day to Innovative Event Venue by Night, Old Town Alexandria’s Canal Center Plaza Reimagines Office Park Model

‍Alexandria, Va., May 16, 2022–Situated on the scenic Potomac River waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, Canal Center Plaza (44 Canal Center) is the reimagining of the traditional business park office model. Known for its visionary approach to commercial developments, real estate investment firm Opal Holdings and innovative operating partner American Real Estate Partners (AREP) together have created a place where people prosper, leveraging the property’s incredible environmental assets, including the Mt. Vernon Trail, expansive waterfront, and spacious outdoor plaza, to host community gatherings, foster public wellness and support the local arts scene.

“Community is our keystone,” said Paul Schulman, Principal and Chief Operating Officer, AREP. “Rather than keep this treasure of a property to ourselves and our tenants, we want the public to visit and connect with each other in a way that’s engaging and valuable, no matter their interests.”

Several free experiential placemaking activities will be programmed throughout the summer. Recurring public events like Tuesday’s “Yoga on the Plaza” at 6:30 p.m. are in full swing and feature the area’s top yoga instructors offering a free community session for all skill levels; and the monthly “Third Thursday Networking Series (first topic: Arts & Culture)” begins June 16.

In celebration of Armed Forces Day Weekend, the first of the Plaza Happy Hour series “Pints for a Purpose” will take place May 20 (5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) and May 21 (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.), benefitting the One Family Gives Foundation. The weekend of entertainment will feature a pop-up with live music (Desert Shade on May 20, and Never Ending Fall on May 21), food trucks, lawn games, and panoramic waterfront views. A portion of the proceeds support the construction of the Gold Star Family Memorial Monument in Virginia.

Later this summer, Canal Center Plaza will launch “Bike Club,” an indoor-outdoor entertainment space that embraces its access to the Mt. Vernon Trail and Alexandria’s active residential communities. It will offer food, beverages, and a great place to gather before and after a ride, run, or just to relax with friends enjoying time in Old Town North.

“Placemaking is personal for us. By amplifying Old Town’s rich arts and culture communities in our Canal Center programming Opal and AREP have created something really unique. This type of wellness-centric outdoor activation and hyper local programming creates meaningful connections and activities which we all value,” Schulman added.

About Canal Center Plaza

Situated on the scenic Potomac River waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, Canal Center Plaza, is a four-building, 536,820 -sq-ft mixed-use campus featuring abundant parking, private terraces, new bike rooms, updated fitness centers, a tenant-only Metro shuttle, and onsite dining. The property is walkable to the Old Town district and sits along the Mt. Vernon Bike and Jogging Trails and offers public programming and experiential placemaking events. Stay connected and get up to the minute updates on Instagram, Facebook, and find out more online at www.canalcenterevents.com.

About Opal Holdings

Founded in 2012 by a team of successful entrepreneurs with extensive real estate backgrounds, Opal Holdings is a prominent real estate investment firm based in New York City. Our long-lasting relationships with the brokerage and investment communities and a collective 50+ years of real estate experience, makes Opal Holdings the go-to investment firm.

About American Real Estate Partners

Headquartered in the greater Washington metropolitan area, American Real Estate Partners (AREP) is an institutional fund manager and operating partner focused on office, data center and residential/mixed-use repositioning and development throughout the East Coast. Since our founding in 2003, we have deployed over $5.1B across targeted geographies and acquired more than 20M SQFT of class-A real estate.

For each asset, our approach is to create a distinctive sense of place, one that authentically reflects the character of its surroundings and the people who work there. As such, everything we do is in the service of elevating the experience. It’s not what we do that is different, it’s how we do it that makes all the difference.