Carr To Sell Stake In Fannie Mae HQ, Valuing Building At Nearly $1B
Carr Properties has reportedly found a buyer for a minority stake in Midtown Center in a deal that would put the development's value near the billion-dollar mark.
A South Korean syndicate has agreed to buy a 49% stake in the property in a sale that would value Midtown Center at $980M, Real Estate Alert reports.
The developer retained JLL in October to market the 49% stake at a $490M price tag. A JLL spokesperson confirmed the assignment in October, but representatives of JLL and Carr declined to comment on the reported deal Wednesday.
With the property spanning 869K SF, the deal would pencil out to $1,128 per SF, making it one of the priciest office transactions in D.C. history. The development, anchored by Fannie Mae, delivered in 2018. The mortgage financier inked a 752K SF pre-lease in 2015, the city's largest-ever private sector office lease.
WeWork took the remainder of the space in April 2019 with a 110K SF lease. The coworking space remains open as WeWork has closed seven other D.C. locations.
Fannie Mae's lease runs until 2033, and the development has an average weighted remaining lease term of more than 13 years, according to Real Estate Alert. It also has 45K SF of retail, where the developer has signed deals for at least five restaurant concepts.
Designed by SHoP Architects and WDG Architecture, the development is split into two buildings connected by three elevated walkways above a public plaza. It was built on the site of the former Washington Post headquarters at 1100 15th St. NW, two blocks from McPherson Square.
The equity deal would be the largest in D.C.'s scuffling office market since the coronavirus pandemic began and a boost in confidence to owners of new office buildings with long-term leases about how investors still value their properties.
