This Week’s D.C. Deal Sheet: 9 Sales That Closed In The Final Days Of 2024
The end of the year often comes with a wave of commercial property sales in D.C., as sellers, buyers and brokers push to finalize transactions before turning the page on the calendar.
While 2024 was a slow year for commercial real estate investment amid high interest rates and election uncertainty, the end-of-year rush appears to have still occurred in D.C. The final weeks of the year saw a series of major deals close, including BXP acquiring a Metro Center office building previously eyed for a conversion, Finmarc buying a Herndon office portfolio, The Republic of Poland buying a Johns Hopkins office building downtown and JBG Smith selling one of its last remaining D.C. office properties.
Here are nine big deals that closed as 2025 was fast approaching.
BXP purchased a 302K SF Metro Center office property that was pitched and abandoned as a conversion project. The REIT paid $34M for 725 12th St. NW, a 12-story property built in 1992, according to filings with the D.C. Recorder of Deeds. Hines sold the building that was under contract with Madison Marquette and Highland Square Holdings for a Live/Work venture conversion until the end of 2023 when it abandoned the plans.
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In-Rel purchased Ballston Gateway, a 146K SF Northern Virginia office building, for $25.7M. Burke & Herbert Bank, which provided financing for the acquisition, announced the deal. The Washington Business Journal reported that the seller is listed in Arlington records as Ballston Gateway AP LLC, an entity which shares a Los Angeles address with American Realty Advisors. Ballston Gateway at 3865 Wilson Blvd. is 71% leased. The building, developed in 2002, sold in 2003 for $35.2M and is assessed at $42M, per the WBJ.
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Colorado-based Real Capital Solutions purchased a 179K SF office building near Thomas Circle for $29.4M, according to D.C. deeds records. JPMorgan Chase offloaded 1501 M St. NW, an 11-story property built in 1991 and renovated in 2020. The property’s tenants include One Medical, coworking operator Navigate, Kaiser Associates and law firm NT Lakis, according to their websites.
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Brandywine Realty Trust and Shooshan Co. sold a 405K SF mixed-use property in Arlington that the joint venture developed for $190.4M. Brandywine announced in a Christmas Eve release that it sold 4040 Wilson Blvd., a building delivered in 2020 with retail, 250 units of residential, and 225K SF of office. It didn't name the buyer, and the transaction hasn't been recorded in Arlington property records as of Friday afternoon. The residential portion was 96% leased and the commercial portion was 94% leased at the time of sale.
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Finmarc Management acquired a 620K SF office park in Herndon for $51M, it announced Thursday. The 1980s and 1990s properties that make up Dulles Corner were previously owned by Brandywine, according to Fairfax property records. The buildings sit adjacent to Dulles International Airport at 2411 Dulles Corner Park, 13880 Dulles Corner Lane, 2355 Dulles Corner Blvd. and 13825 Sunrise Valley Drive. The buildings’ tenants include Peraton, SAP National Security Services, DLT Solutions, Mission Essential, Valiant Integrated Services, Synopsys, and BlackSky DC.
Eastdil Secured represented the seller. Kelley Drye & Warren’s Aaron Rosenfeld provided legal services to Finmarc, while Metropolis Capital Advisors’ Cliff Mendelson assisted the company with debt placement.
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The Republic of Poland purchased a downtown office property from Johns Hopkins University for $20.1M, according to D.C. deed records. The 59K SF building at 1740 Massachusetts Ave. NW was built in 1963.
The Republic of Poland has since applied with the Board of Zoning Adjustment to convert the eight-story property to an embassy. The office building was used for Johns Hopkins’ School for Advanced International Studies until 2023 when it moved into the former Newseum building on Pennsylvania Avenue.
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Norges Bank Investment Management became the 100% owner of four D.C. properties after purchasing the remaining 50.1% share of a nearly $1B office portfolio from partner TIAA. The D.C. properties — 800 17th St. NW, the Evening Star building at 1101 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Franklin Square at 1300 I St. NW and 25 Massachusetts Ave. NW — are part of a 3.7M SF portfolio that also includes two Boston and two San Francisco assets.
Norges announced late last month that the transaction was completed on Dec. 20. The D.C. sales hadn't been posted in deed records as of Friday afternoon.
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JBG Smith sold one of its last remaining office buildings in the District for $110M. The REIT offloaded 2101 L St. NW, a 375K SF building near Washington Circle, to BG Ventures, Bisnow first reported on Dec. 20. ELV Associates was BG’s capital partner. The property was built in the 1970s and renovated in 2007. JBG acquired it as part of the Vornado portfolio it merged with to form JBG Smith in 2017.
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Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s sale of the Capital One Arena to D.C. closed for $87.5M. The city had previously just owned the land under the arena, but part of the $515M deal it reached last spring to renovate the 20,000-person venue and keep the Capitals and Wizards in D.C. came with the agreement that the city would acquire the building and lease it back to Monumental.
Monumental is also taking up 200K SF at Gallery Place next door, largely for back-of-house operations. A 120K SF office lease with Monumental at 616 H St. NW was one of the largest leases of the fourth quarter, according to CBRE’s fourth-quarter report. The property was acquired last year by MRP Realty and Global Fund Investments.
