Under Armour Buys Former Nathans Building for $12.25 Million

Already part of the Georgetown scene, Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank got a little more involved a few weeks ago by purchasing 3150 M St., NW.

The trophy retail space at Wisconsin Avenue and M Street which once housed Nathans Restaurant was purchased, according to the Washington Business Journal, by “War Horse LLC, a real estate development firm started by Scott Plank, a former Under Armour executive and brother of founder Kevin Plank.”

The purchase of the property was first reported by The Georgetowner Feb. 27: “One of the most recognized properties at Georgetown’s most famous intersection was sold Feb. 21 for $12.25 million by the Heon family to 3150 M Street, LLC.”

Interestingly, the Heon and Plank families are acquainted. Some members of the Heon family live in Kensington, Md., where Kevin Plank’s mother Jayne served as mayor. Both families have a Georgetown connection. The Heons in Maryland were the ones contacted by the Planks, and they helped set up the deal, according to one Heon family member.

The identity of the new owner was learned last week. “Scott Plank’s firm plans to lease the building to the Baltimore-based performance athletic clothing company to open a signature Under Armour Brand House retail shop,” the Business Journal previously reported. “Under Armour spokeswoman Diane Pelkey said the company has not signed a lease at the Georgetown location.” Pelkey later told the Washington Post: “Kevin’s personal real estate entity did buy it, but has not yet made plans for the use of the building.”

The future of Serendipity 3 restaurant, which occupies the 6,662 square-foot building at 3150 M St., NW, is unclear. The Washington location of the famed New York-based ice cream and hamburger joint has one year left on its lease.

The Heon family – which sold the former Georgetown Theater property to Georgetown architect Robert Bell for redevelopment in October 2013 – had owned the corner property for 100 years. During the middle of the 20th century, the family lived in the upper floors of 3150 M St., NW. For the present generation, this was where parents and grandparents lived.

For the Planks, a home on 35th Street near O Street is often cited. It was where Kevin Plank started Under Armour in his grandmother’s basement. It is even mentioned in a TV commercial for a computer company. Also, it was Kevin Plank who purchased the Ambassador David Bruce House at 34th and O Streets from Deborah Winsor, widow of Bank of Georgetown cofounder Curtin Winsor, in July 2013 for $7.85 million. Plank attended Georgetown Prep and St. John’s College High School and graduated from the University of Maryland.