WashREIT Sells 2 in DC for $107M

Monument II

WashREIT has closed the $106.5 million disposition of two office properties in metro Washington, D.C. The buildings—one in Washington’s West End, the other in Herndon, Va.—total 344,346 square feet. Westbrook Partners acquired Monument II, the asset in Herndon. JLL negotiated both transactions on behalf of the seller.

The eight-story, 208,871-square-foot Monument II, located at 12950 Worldgate Drive, was developed by Monument Realty in 2000. WashREIT had acquired the asset from DWS in early 2007, according to CommercialEdge data. An offering memorandum from JLL shows the building was 92 percent leased in late September, with a weighted average lease term of approximately six years. Major tenants include Forcepoint, BSI Group America and Expel.

1227 25th St.

The West End asset, located at 1227 25th St. NW, dates back to 1988. Vornado Realty Trust sold the 135,475-square-foot building to WashREIT in March 2011 for $47 million. At the beginning of this year, the U.S. Green Building Council awarded LEED Gold certification to the property following capital improvements. The structure features 16,500-square-foot floorplates, three elevators and a parking garage. Tenants include McKinley Advisors, Epstein Becker Green and The Institute for Responsible Citizenship.

Changing tack

The sales are one component of WashREIT’s shift away from office holdings amidst national economic uncertainty. In April, the investor traded a 223,000-square-foot office asset in McLean, Va., to The Meridian Group for $57 million.

Office transactions in the market have fallen this year, totaling $3.3 billion year-to-date through November, CommercialEdge data shows. While a far cry from the previous year’s $8.6 billion in transactions, deals are still closing. Earlier this week, Douglas Development closed a $106 million disposition of a fully leased, 95,000-square-foot asset close to downtown.