This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
Brookfield Asset Management sold the office building at 1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW for $41.5M to 1901 Pennsylvania Venture LLC, an entity managed by Marc Allon Pultuskier of Terrania AG, according to documents posted Wednesday in the D.C. Recorder of Deeds.
Terrania AG is based in Munich. Cambridge Holdings will handle property management and leasing, Pultuskier told Bisnow.
The buyer obtained a $29M loan for the acquisition from American Equity Investment Life Insurance Co., according to deed records. Brookfield declined to comment on the sale.
The 101K SF building was part of the office portfolio Brookfield acquired from WashREIT last summer, when it paid $40.3M for the building. The building, sitting three blocks west of the White House, was 81% leased as of Q2 2021.
The 12-building portfolio included five offices and sold for $766M in total. WashREIT sold the buildings as part of a strategic pivot to becoming a multifamily-only REIT. Last summer, CEO Paul McDermott said WashREIT was facing significant headwinds in the office sector that warranted the transition.
DEALS
Developers Madison Marquette and Highland Square Holdings are partnering to create Madison Highland Live/Work Lofts, a new investment and development platform, the companies announced Thursday. The new joint venture has already made its first move in the area already, acquiring Skyline 4 and 5 at Fairfax County's Skyline Center, where Highland Square has previously planned to bring its live-work concept. The two vacant Class-A office towers totaling 572K SF will be converted to live/work lofts, according to a release. Robert Seldin, managing principal of the new partnership and CEO of Highland, previously led the conversion of the 173K SF Mission Lofts building in Falls Church to live/work loft units.
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PRP acquired 22.4 acres in Manassas from Allan Myers Construction in a $20M deal, the company announced Wednesday. The developer plans to begin construction immediately on three powered shell buildings, and it said it could eventually construct up to 1M SF of data center space at full build-out. The site is located within Prince William County’s Data Center Overlay district, one of the largest data center markets in the world.
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Nome Capital Partners, a Milpitas, California-based real estate investor, acquired the office building at 2550 M St. NW entered into a ground lease with the seller in deals totaling $132M. This is Nome’s first acquisition in the market. The seller, Menlo Equities, was represented by Andrew Weir and David Baker in the deal. The 206K SF property is fully leased to law firm Squire Patton Boggs, which will remain in the building. Nome told Bisnow it would continue to operate 2550 M St. in “Class-A condition.”
FINANCING
Bank of America announced it invested $39M in the MDL Flats Apartments, a mixed-use affordable housing development in Buzzard Point. The investment was the lion’s share of a $43M commitment the bank made to economic development initiatives and nonprofits centered around the 11th Street Bridge Park. Additional funding will go to Building Bridges Across the River, the Washington Area Community Investment Fund and Bread For The City, the Washington Business Journal reported.
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Dwellwell Analytics Inc., a proptech company based in Bethesda, officially launched on Wednesday with $12M in seed funding. Maryland's government invested through the state's tech investment fund, TEDCO. Other investors include Bernstein Management and Tim Naughton, the executive chairman and former CEO of AvalonBay Communities. Dwellwell developed what it calls the first “check engine light” for smart home systems, offering diagnostic information across HVAC, electrical, plumbing, structural and air quality for residential owner/operators with large portfolios.
OPENINGS
StarKist Co. completed its move to Northern Virginia this week, opening its new corporate headquarters in Reston. West, Lane & Schlager Realty Advisors assisted StarKist in securing 24K SF at 1875 Explorer St. in Reston, a Boston Properties-owned office building. The company invested $3.6M in its move from Pittsburgh, bringing approximately 80 employees to the new space, according to a release.
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Ulta Beauty has opened a new 10K SF store at Pike 7 Plaza in Tysons, a shopping center owned by Federal Realty Investment Trust. The plaza is a strip center near the Greensboro Metro station, and it is one of several retail properties owned by the Rockville-based REIT, which has focused its efforts on Northern Virginia in recent years. Ulta operates several locations in the D.C. region, including in Bailey’s Crossroads and at Federal Realty’s Pentagon Row development.
UPDATE, APRIL 13, 5:35 P.M. ET: This story has been updated with additional details on the buyer of the 1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW building.
