The Avenue nabbed the “deal of the year” title Friday from the Washington Business Journal list of 2011’s top real estate projects.

The commercial investment property that drives revenue into the University’s pockets was lauded on the list for leasing out 95 percent of its office space, according to the Journal.

“Now the site has taken on another moniker, The Avenue, and what stands there has burst onto downtown D.C.’s landscape as one of the most successful mixed-use developments in recent history,” the Journal wrote.

Square 54 – the lot where The Avenue resides – sat vacant for about six years after GW Hospital moved to its location next to the Foggy Bottom Metro in 2002. Boston Properties signed onto a 60-year lease in 2008, closing on a $220 million deal after initially agreeing to redevelop the site in 2004.

Whole Foods Market landed a lease in 2010 to open its doors at the about 500,000 square foot property that also includes two 12-story residential towers with more than 300 apartments, as well as six restaurants and a Citibank.