Don Holmes achieves efficient, result-driven outcomes for his clients. A seasoned practitioner in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. real estate market, Don pairs deep local insight with a congenial, solutions-oriented dealmaking style, working with precision and attention to detail to close transactions quickly on favorable terms.
Since 1996, Don has negotiated hundreds of lease deals across the Washington, D.C. region on behalf of corporate, national, and institutional property owners and developers, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and middle-market real estate investors.
His experience spans a broad range of real estate matters, including:
- Commercial and office leasing and subleasing, including bio-chemical, defense industry, and medical office leasing
- Restaurant, retail, co-working, warehouse, and flex space leasing
- Parking facility and operation agreements
- Lease default workouts and settlements
- Telecommunications and antennae leasing for rooftop and vertical real estate, including solar array agreements
- Digital media, LCD display, and building signage agreements
- Building cabling, in-building radio distribution, and distributed antenna equipment agreements
- Government relations
Don approaches negotiations with a big-picture perspective, prioritizing client value while maintaining momentum throughout the deal process.
Beyond his client work, Don is a well-known figure in the Washington, D.C. real estate community. He serves as co-chair of the Virginia Government Relations Committee for the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA). He also co-chairs the AOBA Virginia PAC Fundraiser Committee.
Don regularly educates real estate professionals on legal issues, including advising brokers on commercial lease terms and negotiation strategies through the Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Association of Greater Washington, D.C. (CREBA) Classroom program. Outside of his practice, he is an active youth sports coach and volunteer.
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Representative Matters
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Noteworthy
- Represented the landlord in 2023 lease deal for a 32-acre site in Hanover, Maryland including a 140,000 square foot building for a major defense industry contractor installation.
- Represented the landlord leasing space to the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, including multiple floors for offices, classroom space and event spaces, lease assignments, extensions of terms, surrender of space, and other complicated delivery condition and work agreement terms, as well as special use of common area amenity spaces and building signage rights.
- Represented in the landlord for the World Bank’s 220,000 square foot full-building lease in the Central Business District of Washington, D.C.
- Represented the landlord in the leasing for the 250,000 square foot Verizon call center facility in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
- Representation of landlords in countless retail lease deals with national and regional retailers.
- Provides tenant representation for trade associations, breweries, distilleries, restaurants, and multiple dental office practices in Washington, D.C.
- Represented property owners to facilitate beyond ordinary outdoor special events, including the Cavalia big-top tent show in Pentagon City, Smorgasburg DC beer garden and market, and the Laser Cat multimedia art installation at Navy Yard.
- Represented D.C.’s premier craft brewery in its production facility, tasting room, and solar power generation agreements.
- Represented the landlord in leasing to Aslin Beer Company for a new brewery and tasting room with food truck service at a warehouse/flex property in Alexandria. The deal included complicated land use issues involving multiple 35-foot-tall grain silos, as well as parking and signage matters.
- Represented the landlord in leasing to Silver Branch Lager house & Biergarten on multiple levels of a high-quality office tower adjacent to a residential area next to the Silver Spring Metro station.
Prior to joining GDL, Mr. Holmes worked as a leasing consultant at the Cafritz Company, then one of the region’s most prominent property management companies. Mr. Holmes is honored to be included as an instructor in the CREBA Classroom programs, providing guidance to brokers on commercial lease terms and negotiation strategies. He has also served as an instructor on office and retail lease provisions and implementation best-practices with the BOMI Institute Property Manager’s Course on Commercial Law. Mr. Holmes has extensive experience in the food and beverage industry (he grew-up in a restaurant family – dishwasher, busboy, coat-check kid, valet parker and graduated to bartending, which he did for 20 years – Mr. Holmes quips that he peaked professionally at age 20 as head bartender of The Playpen nightclub in Wildwood, NJ). He resides in Arlington with his wife Courtney and their three boys. Mr. Holmes coaches multiple youth sports teams, serves on the Board of Directors for Arlington Senior Babe Ruth (teenage rec baseball), and is an active fundraiser for cystic fibrosis and organ donation charities as well as charitable organizations serving Arlington, his home town of Scranton and his wife’s home town, South Boston, MA.
