District of Columbia

WASHINGTON, D.C. — ASB Real Estate Investments has sold 900 G Street N.W., a 112,635-square-foot office building in Washington, D.C.’s East End submarket, for $144 million. The firm completed the transaction on behalf of the Allegiance Fund, its $7.4 billion core investment vehicle. Eastdil Secured LLC arranged the transaction on behalf of ASB, and DLA Piper LLC served as ASB’s counsel. An affiliate of Masaveu Real Estate US, advised by EXAN Capital, acquired the building. Masaveu is a subsidiary of Corporacion Masaveu of Spain. ASB developed 900 G Street in partnership with MRP Realty, and subsequently acquired MRP’s interest after the project reached stabilization in 2016. The Gensler-designed building was 95 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Simpson Thacher, Swiss RE, Rin Tinto, Herman Miller, Truth Initiative and BMW.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fannie Mae generated more than $67 billion in multifamily financing in 2017, the highest volume ever recorded for its Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS) program, which is in its 30th year of operation. The agency financed more than 750,000 multifamily units last year, breaking records in several segments including green financing, seniors housing, structured transactions and affordable housing. Fannie Mae’s biggest gains came in its seniors housing and green products. The agency generated $5.5 billion in seniors housing loans last year, up 267 percent from 2016. For its green product — loans on properties with Green Building Certification or those targeting a 20 percent reduction in energy/water consumption — Fannie Mae closed $27.6 billion in financing last year, a 667 percent jump from its 2016 volume. Walker & Dunlop closed approximately $9.1 billion of Fannie Mae financing last year, making the firm the No. 1 DUS lender of 2017. The company also produced the most green loans last year for the agency. The top affordable housing DUS lender was Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, the top small loan DUS lender was Arbor Commercial Funding I LLC and the top DUS lender in the seniors housing space was KeyBank NA.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Stroock has arranged the sale of 1255 23rd St. N.W., a 341,0000-square-foot office building in Washington, D.C. An affiliate of DivcoWest acquired the property for $166.2 million, according to the Washington Business Journal. Jeff Keitelman, Steven Moskowitz, Joseph Miller, Kelly Booker and Logan Wyman of Stroock arranged the transaction on behalf of the seller, D.C.-based Carr Properties. The office building is located in the city’s West End district and is home to tenants including the Humane Society of the United States. Carr originally acquired the building in a joint venture in 2011 and invested in renovations including a new tenant amenity space, outdoor plaza and other common area improvements. During its ownership, Carr signed more than 269,000 square feet of leases at the property. Stroock also represented Carr Properties in the acquisition of 350 Morse St. N.E., a soon-to-be-developed office and retail building in D.C.’s Union Market area. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed. The building will be part of the Market Terminal project, a mixed-use development that will feature a community gathering space, terraced public gardens, parks, a water feature and a retail-anchored pedestrian plaza linking Market Terminal with the Union Market neighborhood. The Washington …

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — PCCP LLC has provided a $44.9 million loan for the acquisition of Embassy Suites at Chevy Chase Pavilion, a 198-room hotel in Washington D.C.’s Friendship Heights neighborhood. Arden Group acquired the asset from Clarion Partners. The hotel is located at 4300 Military Road N.W., on the border of northwest Washington, D.C. and Chevy Chase, Md., and within Chevy Chase Pavilion, a mixed-use complex. In addition to the hotel, the development includes a 205,000-square-foot office building and 155,000 square feet of retail. The hotel features an indoor swimming pool, health club and four meeting rooms. In addition, the hotel has access to Chevy Chase Pavilion’s 675-space underground parking garage and direct underground access to the Red Line Metro Station.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Gateway Investment Partners and RISE: A Real Estate Co., will soon deliver Trellis House, a 319-unit apartment community located in Washington D.C.’s North Shaw neighborhood. The joint venture broke ground on the property in 2016. The community is designed to meet LEED Platinum-certification, and will feature electric car charging stations, a rooftop hydroponic garden and close proximity to public transportation — three blocks from the U Street/Cardoza Metro Station. Trellis House will offer a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units and two-level townhome-style units, ranging from 425 to 1,218 square feet. Community amenities will include a 12,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard, two-level fitness center, pool, subzero test kitchen with video broadcast cooking demonstrations, outdoor fireplaces with grilling stations and an observation deck with downtown and Capitol views. In addition, the community will include 11,500 square feet of ground-floor retail. Preleasing for Trellis House will begin in April, with residents expected to move in by summer.

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1401 New York Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A joint venture between Paris-based AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets and Stewart Investment Partners has acquired 1401 New York Avenue NW, a 210,000-square-foot office property located in Washington, D.C.’s East End, for $165 million. AXA holds the majority interest in the partnership. The sellers, Heitman and Minshall Stewart Properties, originally acquired the property in December 2013 from Lone Star Funds for $95 million. Stewart Investment Partners is a successor firm spun out from Minshall Stewart Properties. The 12-story building is LEED Gold certified and features ground-level retail and a below-grade parking garage. The property was originally built in 1983, and recently underwent renovations that included a redesigned lobby, retail frontage, the addition of new tenant amenities and the replacement of the building’s original masonry façade with a glass curtain wall system. This property is AXA’s second investment in the Washington, D.C., metro over the past few months. The company acquired Montgomery Tower, a 366,800-square-foot office tower located in Bethesda, Md., in October of last year for $132.8 million. Paris, France-based AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets operates offices in 20 countries throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America. The company has 74 billion euros in assets under …

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On the surface, the Washington, D.C., metropolitan office market has shown little change over the past five years. But dig a little deeper, and some interesting trends emerge. Metro D.C.’s office market totaled 377 million square feet as of the third quarter of 2017 and recorded a vacancy rate of just under 15 percent — inclusive of sublease space — and cumulative net absorption of 600,000 square feet year-to-date. The market has demonstrated little change in major market indicators over the last five years. Notably, three of the last five years (2012 to 2016) recorded negative absorption on a regionwide basis — averaging 82,000 square feet annually. Overall vacancy levels have thus far been held in check in part due to vacant buildings being removed from inventory for renovation and retrofitting or for conversion from office to other uses such as schools and residential. Nevertheless, core submarkets and micro-markets are benefitting from occupancy growth and rental rate increases, with tenants demonstrating a decided preference for amenity-rich areas. Tenant Preferences Regionally, the office segment is characterized by flight to quality and tenant-leaning leasing conditions. Tenants continue to favor efficient space design. They’re relying more heavily on building amenities such as conference …

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) has hired Jim Hirt as CEO. Hirt comes to SIOR as a Certified Association Executive (CAE) with 22 years of experience managing staff and volunteer leaders representing global organizations in multiple industries. “As the organization continues to grow as an international thought leader and industry expert, we look forward to leveraging Jim’s ability to foster creativity and build successful relationships to promote the success of SIOR and its members,” said Del Markward, SIOR global president, in an official release. Prior to joining SIOR, Hirt served as CEO of the American Society of Appraisers, and has held positions with the American Association of Poison Control Centers, Public Risk Management Association, National Association of Mortgage Brokers and AmeriCorps. In addition, Hirt serves on the California State University — Fuller DC Scholars Advisory Board and is a member of the American Society of Association Executives. “As we continue to look toward the future of this organization, my goal is to further solidify SIOR’s status not only as an industry leader, but also as an active global community by fostering engagement and innovation through every level of our organization,” said Hirt in a release. …

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NORFOLK, VA. — An affiliate of Harbor Group International (HGI) has acquired a portfolio of 25 multifamily properties totaling 9,677 units across five major metropolitan areas for $1.8 billion. The sellers were affiliates of Lone Star Funds. The transaction, which closed on Nov. 30, is HGI’s largest to date and increases the value of its investment portfolio from approximately $5.2 billion to $7.1 billion. The properties, which boast a collective occupancy rate of 95 percent, are located in the metro areas of Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. HGI plans to invest roughly $80 million in capital improvements to the unit interiors and communal amenities of the properties. Berkadia and New York-based Meridian Capital Group secured approximately $1.4 billion in acquisition financing for the deal. Berkadia secured roughly $927 million in fixed- and floating-rate debt through Freddie Mac, while Meridian Capital secured approximately $512 million in fixed-rate debt through New York Community Bank. Among the portion of the financing arranged by Berkadia, 11 of the properties totaling $789 million were financed at a fixed interest rate. The remaining five assets totaling $138 million were financed with a floating-rate vehicle. Laura Cathlina and Sharon Plattner of Berkadia led the loan …

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — ING Capital LLC has led the $110 million refinancing of Atlantic Plumbing, a 310-unit multifamily and retail property located at the intersection of 8th and V streets in Washington, D.C. BMO Harris Bank joined ING as a co-lender in the financing on behalf of the borrower, JBG Smith, a publicly traded REIT based in Chevy Chase, Md. Architect Morris Adjmi designed the 10-story, Class A building. The retail portion of the property is leased to tenants including Landmark Theaters, Tasty Burger, Declaration Pizza, Bazaar Spices and Hazel.

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