This Week’s D.C. Deal Sheet: Another Office Building Sells At Steep Discount
The weeks before and after the New Year's ball dropped have seen a plunge in D.C. office values, with a series of older properties trading hands at steep discounts. The latest deal comes in at less than a third of its 2017 sale price.
TA Realty sold a 13-story office building near the McPherson Square Metro station to Melrose Solomon for $18.2M, according to documents posted Thursday to the D.C. Recorder of Deeds. TA Realty declined to comment.
Boston-based TA Realty had purchased the property at 1101 14th St. NW for $61.75M from American Realty Advisors at the end of 2017.
The 1980s-era building is home to ground-floor retailers Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and Orangetheory Fitness. American Rivers, law firm Cullen and Dykman, and the Jewish Institute for National Security of America are among the office tenants, according to their websites.
It is Melrose’s second D.C.-area office building purchase in less than six months. In August, the firm purchased a 120K SF office property in Alexandria, Courthouse Square, from Brookfield Properties.
SALES
A 16-story office property in Bethesda, formerly the headquarters for Clark Construction, sold for $29.9M, more than $100M less than its last sale price in 2019. Stonebridge and Rockwood Capital sold 7500 Old Georgetown Road to In-Rel Properties. It is the South Florida-based developer’s first acquisition in the D.C. area.
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A principal of Cambridge Development Group and the CEO of Management Concepts partnered to purchase a 106K SF building near Farragut Square for a steep discount. This week, T. Michael Scott and Thomas Dungan III paid $16.25M for the 10-story building at 919 18th St. NW, the Washington Business Journal reported. The price amounts to $153 per SF. London-based Epic Ltd. was the seller. It acquired the 1981-built property in 2013 for $52.7M.
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An eight-story 1980s-era Fairfax office building sold for nearly 70% less than what it went for in 2020. WTHHWD LLC purchased the 195K SF building at 4035 Ridge Top Road for $9.5M, the Washington Business Journal reported. The seller, Crown Ridge HQ7 LLC, in 2020 paid $31.1M for the property, which sits on 6.8 acres. Meanwhile, the 2020 price was half of what it went for in 2007, the WBJ reported. Cushman & Wakefield’s Jamie Scully and David Scully represented the buyer.
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Enterprise Community Development purchased a 106-unit affordable community in Falls Church with rehabilitation plans. The nonprofit owner and developer paid $21.7M for Coralain Gardens Apartments at 7435 Arlington Blvd., it announced this week. The 1960s-era community consists of 10 three-story garden-style buildings, with 22 units reserved for residents at or below 50% of the area median income and 84 at 60% AMI.
The sale was through Fairfax County’s Right of First Refusal assignment process. The seller was Coralain Apartments LP, according to Fairfax property records. Enterprise plans to start a “full-scale” rehabilitation effort by the first quarter of 2025, with 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
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JBG Smith unloaded the last of its hotel properties this week with its sale of the Crystal City Marriott for $65.8M, the Washington Business Journal reported. The 343-room hotel was part of the properties the REIT picked up when it acquired Vornado Realty Trust’s D.C. area business in 2017. JBG sold the property at 1999 Richmond Highway to 1999 Richmond LP, WBJ reported, citing Arlington County land records. The buyer appears to be an affiliate of Houston-based Dauntless Capital Partners.
LEASES
Silver Spring's White Oak Town Center has inked eight tenants amounting to 20K SF, developers Bernstein Management Corp. and Finmarc Management announced in a press release Tuesday. AT&T, Dave’s Hot Chicken, European Wax, First Watch, Inspire Nail Bar, Jersey Mike’s, Oak Barrel & Vine and Starbucks are set to open in the 100K SF grocery-anchored center in the first half of the year.
