Carr Properties Lands 120 KSF Tenant at DC Trophy Asset

ArentFox Schiff has signed an office lease for roughly 120,000 square feet at Carr Properties’ Midtown Center, an 867,000-square-foot trophy office property in Washington, D.C. Savills led the negotiations on behalf of the tenant while the landlord had in-house representation.

The law firm will relocate its headquarters starting in early 2028 and will occupy three full floors. Architectural firm Gensler will handle the design of the new space.

In August, Fannie Mae signed a long-term lease for 340,000 square feet at Midtown Center, less than half of the initial agreement of the 713,500 square feet inked in 2018. ArentFox Schiff will occupy the space previously used by the mortgage association, Washington Business Journal reported.

ArentFox Schiff is the result of the merger between Arent Fox and Schiff Hardin in 2022. The legal company’s current head office is at Chesapeake Management’s 1717 K St. NW, a 379,000-square-foot building also located in D.C. In 2013, Arent Fox—prior to the merger—agreed to occupy two-thirds of the property.

Inside the DC office asset

Midtown Center came online in 2017, as Carr Properties took out a construction loan of $525 million issued by Wells Fargo Bank a year prior, CommercialEdge data shows. In 2019, the asset became subject to a $525 million, 3.08 percent fixed-rate, CMBS loan with Wilmington Trust as lender and Wells Fargo Bank as master servicer, according to the same source. The note is set to mature in 2033.

SHoP Architects and WDG Architecture designed the 14-story, two-tower property, which has LEED Gold certification. The building duo is interconnected by three pedestrian bridges extending 100 feet across the 45,000-square-foot retail plaza below. The high-rise features 75,500-square-foot floorplates and 16 passenger elevators.

Midtown Center includes a gym, yoga room, bike room and rooftop terrace. Additionally, Carr Properties plans to expand the amenity package with a new conference center and a penthouse on the 14th floor of the West Tower.

Carrying the address 1100 15th St. NW, the office property rose on the site of The Washington Post’s former headquarters.

Savills Vice Chairmen Arthur Greenberg and Thomas Fulcher, alongside Managing Director Adam Brecher, led the leasing negotiations on behalf of ArentFox Schiff. Carr Properties Senior Vice President Kaitlyn Rausse provided self-representation for the landlord.

Trophy office buildings outclassing peers in DC

Flight-to-quality intensifies in Washington, D.C., as vacancy in the prime office space of trophy assets clocked in at 12.1 percent in September, according to a third-quarter report by Avison Young. Meanwhile, regular Class A, as well as B and C peers, continue to underperform, with availability rates converging toward the 20 percent mark.

Back in August, another deal closed in D.C. at one of Carr Properties’ assets. KIPP DC, a public school system, inked a lease for 16,000 square feet at Signal House, a 10-story, Class A office property.