D.C. Sees 2011’s Largest Private Sector Lease

April 25, 2011
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Washington, D.C., continues to sizzle as one of the hottest office markets in the country. In the biggest private sector office lease in, D.C., so far this year, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom L.L.P. recommits to its digs in the Commercial National Bank Building and expands its occupancy to 213,674 square feet at the 224,873-square-foot property with a new 15-year lease agreement.

Owned by Tishman Speyer, the Class A Commercial National Bank Building property encompasses the 1920s-era structure at 724 14th St., which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the 22-year-old building at 1420 New York Ave. All told, Skadden added 50,000 square feet of elbowroom at the property, but the law firm did not stop there.

In conjunction with the Commercial National Bank Building lease agreement with Tishman, Skadden renewed and expanded its space to the tune of an aggregate 200,957 square feet at 1440 New York Ave., a 220,000-square-foot building that is owned by ING Clarion and physically linked to the 724 14th St., structure.

Skadden relied on commercial real estate services firm Axis Realty Advisors LLC and Jones Lang LaSalle for representation in the transactions. Together, the two lease deals total 414,631 square feet and comprise one of the largest such deals in the city in recent memory, according to Tishman.

The decision to stay put, and to expand in some cases, at a current location has been a popular one in the District this year, particularly among government agencies. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Housing Finance Agency recommitted to 650,000 square feet and 350,000 square feet, respectively, at 400 7th St., and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration decided to stick with its 597,300 square-foot occupancy at 300 E St.