District of Columbia

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Office Properties Income Trust (OPI), a REIT, has sold a 129,035-square-foot office building located at 500 First St. NW in downtown Washington, D.C. The Bureau of Prisons is expected to leave the office by the end of April, leaving the property vacant. According to OPI CEO David Blackman, OPI planned to renovate the asset, “but at a sales price of more than $540 per square foot for a to-be vacant building, we decided to be opportunistic and focus our capital elsewhere.” Proceeds from the sale will go toward repaying a portion of OPI’s unsecured term loans. The buyer was not disclosed, although Washington Business Journal reports Georgetown University bought the property. The university plans to relocate many Georgetown Law centers and institutes and some McCourt School of Public Policy centers and institutes into the building, according to the report.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — WashREIT has signed EIG Global, which provides institutional capital to the global energy sector, to a two-floor, 51,000-square-foot office lease at Watergate 600 in Washington, D.C. EIG Glboal is expected to move into the space in January 2020 and remain there for 17 years and eight months. WashREIT recently renovated the 12-story building, upgrading the entry way, lobby, elevators and common areas. The asset is situated at 600 New Hampshire Ave. NW, adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and about two miles from downtown.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Los Angeles-based Saban Real Estate has purchased One Independence Square, a 334,000-square-foot office building located at 250 E. St. in Washington, D.C.’s Southwest submarket. Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE: PDM) sold the nine-story office asset to Saban for approximately $170 million. Built in 1991 near the National Mall and the Smithsonian, One Independence was 94 percent leased at the time of sale to multiple government tenants. The property’s average weighted lease term is 10 years, according to Brent Smith, president and chief investment officer of Piedmont. “The sale of One Independence reduces Piedmont’s exposure to the Southwest D.C. submarket and disposes of a fully stabilized asset,” explains Smith. “The net sales proceeds will be used in the short-term to pay down our line of credit as we evaluate our pipeline of acquisition candidates.” After undergoing a major renovation in 2013, One Independence now features a rooftop terrace, modern fitness center, café and an updated lobby. Saban Real Estate and its affiliates own real estate assets in three sectors: student housing, government office and self-storage. The company owns a portfolio of 30 student housing properties containing 20,000 beds, seven office buildings spanning 1.4 million square feet and 34 …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) has closed on the sale of Hotel Palomar Washington DC, a 335-room hotel located at 2121 P St. N.W. in Washington, D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. An undisclosed buyer purchased the hotel for $141.5 million. According to Pebblebrook, the sales price reflects a cap rate of 5.9 percent based on the hotel’s 2018 net operating income. The Bethesda, Md.-based hotel REIT will use proceeds from the sale for general business purposes, which may include reducing the company’s outstanding debt. San Francisco-based Kimpton manages Hotel Palomar, which features an outdoor pool and sundeck, spa services, 24-hour fitness center, business center, bike sharing services and Urbana, an onsite Italian restaurant. Pebblebrook has been on a selling spree for its Washington, D.C., hotels. Last week, the company sold The Liaison Capitol Hill, a 343-room hotel, to REIT Bldg Management Co. Inc. for $111 million. According to Washington Business Journal, Pebblebrook is currently marketing three Kimpton-managed hotels it owns near Dupont Circle. In an investor presentation posted yesterday, Pebblebrook disclosed that its Washington, D.C., hotels comprise 7 percent of the company’s 2018 EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization). Pebblebrook announced last year its intent to …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Akridge and Stars REI have delivered a 102,000-square-foot office complex at the corner of 16th and L streets in Washington, D.C. The site at 1101 Sixteenth St. was formerly two obsolete office buildings that housed the American Association of University Women and the American Beverage Association. HOK was the architect on the project, Clark Construction Group was the general contractor and EagleBank provided construction financing. Amenities include a fitness facility, penthouse lounge and a rooftop terrace with White House views.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — CBRE has arranged a lease for Target to occupy 46,016 square feet of space at CityLine, a historic retail destination located at 4500 Wisconsin Ave. N.W. in Washington, D.C. The asset is the site of the first Sears in the city, is on top of Tenleytown Metro Station and is about five miles north of downtown Washington, D.C. Target is expected to open in 2020. Michael Zacharia of CBRE represented Target in the lease transaction. CityLine at Tenley Center Inc., an affiliate of Invesco Real Estate, is the landlord.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Mortgage Banker Association (MBA) has released its 2018 ranking of commercial and multifamily mortgage servicers, which is calculated by deal volume. Wells Fargo Bank led the way with $675.3 billion in master and primary servicing, followed by PNC Real Estate/Midland Loan Services ($612.4 billion), KeyBank National Association ($256.6 billion), Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC ($235.9 billion) and CBRE Loan Services ($189.4 billion). Wells Fargo, MetLife and PGIM Real Estate Finance were the top servicers for loans held in own portfolio, U.S. mortgaged, income-producing properties. PNC and Berkadia are the top fee-for-service primary and master servicers of U.S. mortgaged, income producing properties. The Washington, D.C.-based association released the rankings at the 2019 Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo, held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego. The four-day conference concludes today.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Akridge has delivered 1701 Rhode Island, a seven-story, 104,000-square-foot building in Washington, D.C., that is fully leased to WeWork. Hickok Cole Architects designed the building, which features floor-to-ceiling windows, a landscaped entry plaza, two-story lobby, fitness center and a rooftop terrace. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. was the general contractor.  Zach Boroson, Andy O’Brien and Greg Lubar of JLL represented WeWork in the lease transaction.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Led by surges in financing for healthcare, multifamily and industrial transactions, commercial real estate loan originations increased by 14 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The Washington, D.C.-based firm released the preliminary findings in its Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations, which was showcased at the 2019 Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo, held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego. The four-day conference concludes tomorrow. The fourth quarter saw a 61 percent year-over-year increase in the dollar volume of loans for healthcare properties, 32 percent jump for multifamily properties, 28 percent hike for industrial properties and a slight increase (1 percent) for retail properties. Originations decreased for hotel property loans by 4 percent and office property loans by 3 percent.   With the fourth-quarter estimates, the MBA predicts that origination volumes in 2018 were 3 percent higher than 2017. By property type, originations rose 22 percent for multifamily properties, 12 percent for industrial assets and 5 percent for hotels. Office property originations were down 7 percent, retail properties declined 13 percent and healthcare properties decreased by 16 percent. In late March, MBA will release its …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) expects to see steady commercial real estate markets keep commercial and multifamily mortgage originations on par with the last two years. In its 2019 Commercial/Multifamily Real Estate Finance Forecast, MBA projects commercial and multifamily mortgage originations to total $530 billion in 2019, matching 2017’s total, and slightly up from 2018’s mark of $526 billion. MBA believes that multifamily mortgage originations will increase 1 percent to $264 billion, with total multifamily lending at $315 billion. The Washington, D.C.-based organization expects these originations totals to continue through 2020. Additionally, outstanding debt from multifamily and commercial mortgages are expected to finish 5 percent higher in 2019 than 2018.  MBA released its 2019 forecast Sunday, Feb. 10 at the 2019 Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo in San Diego. The four-day conference will conclude Wednesday, Feb. 13.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail