A joint venture of USAA Real Estate Co. and LCOR will break ground in March on a 14-story, 362,000-square-foot office building at North Bethesda Center. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will occupy the space in the largest new office lease signed in Maryland so far this year, according to CoStar information.

The LCOR-USAA joint venture, North Bethesda Center Office One LLC, will develop and own the building, according to a joint release. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) signed a 15-year lease for the property at the mixed-use development near White Flint Metro Rail station. The GSA leases and/or owns 8,300 properties on behalf of the federal government.

The current NRC headquarters is across the street on Rockville Pike and about 1,200 NRC employees will occupy the new building when it's completed by July 2012. Architectural firm HOK designed the building to meet LEED Silver certification standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Master developer LCOR is building North Bethesda Center in phases on a 32-acre site about halfway between downtown Bethesda and downtown Rockville. The development is planned to include 930,000 square feet of office space, 202,000 square feet of retail, four apartment buildings and a hotel. All buildings will be linked to to the Metro station.

The first phase of the project, including Wentworth House apartments and a Harris Teeter supermarket, opened last year.

Turner Construction is the general contractor for the office building. The Washington, D.C. office of Eastdil Secured served as capital markets adviser to LCOR in the transaction.

CB Richard Ellis Government Services Group, headed by Tim Hutchens, and Transwestern, with Phil McCarthy and Keith Foery, represented the JV in the lease transaction. Studley represented the GSA.

For more information about this property, please see CoStar Property ID #625906.