Velocis Expands DC-Area Portfolio With $71M Buy

1530 Wilson Blvd. Image courtesy of Velocis

Velocis has closed the first acquisition for its newly launched Velocis Fund III. The private equity management firm purchased an office building in Rosslyn, Va., for $71.4 million, according to public records. The seller was an institutional client that was represented by Invesco Real Estate in the off-market transaction.

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Located at 1530 Wilson Blvd., Velocis’ new 171,373-square-foot office building is 81 percent leased. The property’s tenants include SAS Institute, Trammell Crow Residential and Lincoln Property Company, a real estate firm that will continue to lease and manage 1530 Wilson. Gateway Monterey LLC last purchased the property for $40.3 million in May 2000, according to public records.

The building’s new owner is looking to attract more tenants and plans to conduct a multimillion-dollar improvement program that will begin later this year. The upgrades will include renovations to the lobby and exterior facade, refreshing the common areas, improvements to the fitness center and conference room and a fully capitalized leasing program.

Looking for non-gateway markets

Paul Smith, partner at Velocis, said in prepared remarks that the company targets select non-gateway markets that are seeing rapid population migration and significant job growth. Smith added in his prepared statement that the high-quality 1530 Wilson had credit-worthy cash flow already in place and matched its strategy.

1530 Wilson is also Velocis’ first acquisition in its Velocis Fund III but the company’s portfolio in the Washington, D.C.-area includes four other office properties and a 230,925-square-foot retail location called Brandywine Crossing.

Smith told Commercial Property Executive that Velocis looks for value-add properties in many markets, including Northern Virginia and major metro areas in the southwest and the southeast U.S. Outside the Washington, D.C.-area area, Velocis also purchased a four-story office building in Phoenix for $52.5 million, marking its third investment in the southwestern U.S. metro.