Washington REIT Buys One, Sells One in Metro DC

By Scott Baltic

Arlington Tower

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Arlington Tower, a 19-story, 398,000-square-foot, Class A office building the Rosslyn submarket in Arlington, Va., for about $250 million.

The building is at 1300 N. 17th St., two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro station, and has a Walk Score of 95. The location offers convenient access to Interstate 66, Route 50 and the George Washington Parkway. Near the Potomac River, the property also boasts panoramic river and monument views.

Arlington Tower was completed in 1980 and within the past five years received capital improvements totaling about $16 million, including a new plaza, lobby, destination dispatch elevators, a rooftop deck, a new fitness center and updated onsite retail amenities. The building’s tenants include B. Riley FBR, Raytheon/BBN Technologies, Promontory Interfinancial Network, Graham Holdings, Pepco and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

Washington REIT expects to close the acquisition in the first quarter.

Capital Moves

In other recent activity, Washington REIT has executed a non-binding letter of intent to sell 2445 M St. NW,  a 292,000-square-foot office building in Washington, D.C. The property’s sole tenant, the Advisory Board Co., is expected to vacate at the end of May 2019. The proposed sale to an institutional investor reportedly is subject to negotiation of definitive transaction documents. Washington REIT expects to announce the anticipated proceeds and closing date after it has entered into a contract with the buyer.

“We are strategically allocating capital out of 2445 M Street and into Arlington Tower to improve our long-term growth prospects in a resurging Rosslyn, while de-risking the portfolio through increased cash flow stability and reduced exposure to single-tenant assets,” said Paul McDermott, Washington REIT’s president & CEO, in a prepared statement.

“Our research indicates that Rosslyn is at an inflection point with rising rents and declining vacancy as it transitions from a 9 to 5 Federal Government and contractor hub into a 24-hour urban destination with the demographics, amenities and infrastructure to attract top-tier corporations.”

Washington REIT stated that it has also entered into a definitive agreement for the previously announced sale of the four-building, 356,000-square-foot Braddock Metro Center in Alexandria, Va., which was disclosed in late October. The REIT expects to complete this transaction later this month.

Last March, Washington REIT announced plans to buy 600 New Hampshire Ave. NW, (Watergate 600), a 12-story, 309,000-square-foot Class A office that’s one of two office buildings in the Watergate complex. That deal evidently was financed, at least in part, by the sale of Braddock Metro Center.

Photo courtesy of Washington REIT