This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet
JBG Smith has sold off another downtown D.C. office building, this time to a German investor making its Washington debut.
Commerz Real AG purchased the 269K SF building at 1900 N St. NW, near Dupont Circle, for an undisclosed price. CBRE’s Tommy Cleaver, Stuart Kenny and Dan Grimes represented JBG in the deal.
JBG Smith, which developed the building in a joint venture with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is staying on as property manager and leasing agent for the property. It is 82% leased to tenants including Goodwin Proctor, Beverage & Diamond and CBRE’s D.C. office.
The purchase is the first in D.C. for Commerz Real, which is bullishly acquiring offices in U.S. gateway cities with its open-ended fund, Hausinvest. Commerz executives lauded the architecture of the KPF-designed building, making particular note of its red steel girders and sight lines from the corner offices.
SALES
Two Prince George's County office buildings have changed hands for $16.875M, according to a press release. The buildings, which total 140K SF, are located at 7404 and 7375 Executive Place in Lanham, Maryland. The mid-rise office buildings are 87% leased to 35 tenants, according to KLNB. KLNB Senior Vice President Don Schile, principal Chris Kubler and Vice President Jeff Groves represented the seller, MCF Capital, in the transaction. The buyer wasn't disclosed.
LEASES
CBRE is moving its Northern Virginia offices to Boro Tower at the beginning of next year, the brokerage announced. It signed a 24K SF lease to occupy the 11th floor of the tower, located at 8350 Broad St. in Tysons. The lease is a downsize from its current space at 1861 International Drive, where the brokerage giant occupies 30K SF. In its new space, CBRE will be implementing its Workplace360 office design, which supports hybrid work and doesn’t have assigned seating. Rob Faktorow, Meredith LaPier and Meghan Walters from CBRE represented their own firm in securing the lease. Boro Tower landlord and ownership The Meridian Group and Rockefeller Group were represented by Terry Reilly of CBRE.
MILESTONES
The first residential building in City Ridge has opened its doors to tenants. Move-in began this week at the 157-unit The Branches, a property managed by Bozzuto and developed by Roadside Development and North America Sekisui House. The building has units ranging from one to three bedrooms. Once the 1.1M SF development is complete, residents from any of the four residential buildings will be able to use any of the amenities at City Ridge, which include a rooftop greenhouse, makerspaces, coworking spaces and D.C.'s first Wegmans, which is scheduled to open next month.
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Less than a month after a deal officially closed, the new operators of the Old Post Office Building have reopened the luxury hotel as a Waldorf Astoria, the Washington Business Journal reports. The property at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW was developed as the Trump International Hotel before the former president’s term and received intense scrutiny from lawmakers over profits The Trump Organization and Donald Trump himself accrued. That scrutiny continues, but the General Services Administration approved Trump’s sale of the lease earlier this year, effectively clearing the way for Miami-based CGI Merchant Group to acquire and convert the property.
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Selina Union Market opened its doors in the former Union Arts building at 411 New York Ave. NE this week. The hotel features some unique amenities, including a full-time DJ, dancing cellar, cinema room and concierge IV service. The 106-key hotel also features a variety of room types, including beds in shared rooms, standard rooms and private lofts. Rates start at $50 per night.
PERSONNEL
The Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission has named Chelsea Andrews its new executive director. Andrews, who currently serves as the interim executive director of San Francisco-based EveryOne Home, will assume her new role July 11. Locally, she was appointed to the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee in 2018 and was its chair for the 2020-2021 term. She also spent eight years at the D.C. Housing Authority in various roles, culminating in a yearlong stint as senior executive vice president and general counsel from 2019 to 2020. HOC Board Chair Roy Priest said Andrews would lead the commission through a "new era" of financial and community programs in a statement announcing her appointment. She takes over from Stacy Spann, who left the HOC last summer to lead MidCity.
FINANCING
D.C.-based proptech firm cove has completed a $10M funding round led by Blackstone Innovation Investments. Kastle Systems also invested, joining Second Century Ventures in backing the firm. While the firm was founded as an operator of neighborhood coworking spaces, cove now describes its service as an intergrated tenant experience and building operating system platform and has implemented the system at select Blackstone properties, including Willis Tower in Chicago.
