Downtown D.C. Office Building With Redevelopment Potential Hits The Market

An association is looking to sell its Downtown D.C. office building, and the buyer could tear it down and build a taller replacement. 

The National Association for the Education of Young Children retained HFF to market its six-story office building at 1313 L St. NW. The 84K SF office building, constructed in 1984, includes two levels of below-grade parking.

It sits next door to the headquarters of CoStar Group, two blocks from the new Fannie Mae headquarters at Midtown Center, and about four blocks from the McPherson Square Metro station.  

HFF's team of Dek Potts, Susan Carras, Walter Coker and Brian Crivella are marketing it either as an existing office building or a redevelopment play. Potts said the team has already received interest from parties considering both avenues.

As an existing office building, he said the Class-B property would appeal to associations, universities and foreign governments seeking embassy space.

As a redevelopment play, Potts said a buyer would likely tear it down and rebuild a new project. The zoning allows a building on the site to reach up to 110 feet, roughly 40 feet taller than the existing property. HFF has been working with Hickok Cole to design preliminary concepts for a residential building on the site that could accommodate 170K SF. 

NAEYC, which occupies about half the building, aims to execute a short-term sale-leaseback deal to give it time to find another office location. Another tenant in the building, WMATA, occupies 14K SF in a lease that expires in November 2021, at which point the property would become fully available. Potts said the team plans to put out an official call for offers later this month.  

"It's a little early to be overly cocky, but we should get a lot of interest," Potts said.