All-Foreign Trade in DC

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Michael Blunt, CBRE

CBRE, acting on behalf of Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, has facilitated the sale of the 166,000-square-foot office tower at 1750 K St., NW, in Washington, D.C. The commercial real estate services firm’s Capital Markets team fielded more than a few offers, but it was Mirae Asset Global Investments that emerged victorious in the competition, shelling out $115 million for the property, which last traded in 2008 for $76 million.

There was plenty to catch the eye of the investment community. The 12-story building at 1750 K St. sits in a coveted location just one block from not one, but two metro stations, and is 95 percent leased, with law firm Wiley Rein L.L.P. serving as the 144,000-square-foot anchor.

“The attractiveness of this unique investment opportunity was evidenced by the extremely diverse profile of capital sources choosing to pursue the offering, which included domestic and cross-border investors, as well as public and private equity capital,” Michael Blunt, senior vice president with CBRE told Commercial Property Executive. No less than one dozen hopeful buyers submitted offers.

The players in the 1750 K transaction serve as evidence of D.C.’s ongoing popularity among foreign investors; Sumitomo is based in Tokyo and Mirae is the U.S. subsidiary of a firm based in Seoul. While the city has slipped a few slots over the last several years, it is still on the list of the top five U.S. cities for cross-border investment, according to the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate’s 2015 survey.

“Capital seeking cross-border office investments continue to target Washington, D.C., as a key market and the trend is growing in terms of number of capital sources and geographic representation,” Blunt added. “Eight of the 10 last major office trades in the District of Columbia consisted of cross-border purchasers.”