Regions Midatlantic
D.C. Office Building Fetches Steep $837 Per SF
April 15, 2008
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

The office building at 2099 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in Washington, D.C., has come under new ownership, courtesy of a transaction valued at $172.5 million. Dublin-headquartered Vico Capital snapped up the 206,000-square-foot Class A property from Germany's Wealth Capital Investments, in what is being touted as the largest office transaction in D.C. this year.

Developed by the Kaempfer Co. seven years ago, 2099 Pennsylvania sits on a corner lot about four blocks from the White House, and features 12 above grade floors atop one level of finished below grade space and a three-level parking facility. Wealth Capital subsidiary Blue Capital had acquired the property in 2002 in a joint venture transaction valued at approximately $83.3 million.

The company relied on real estate services firm Jones Lange LaSalle to orchestrate the recent disposition. Today the building's tenant roster includes law firm Holland & Knight L.L.P., Perseus L.L.C. and Danahar Corp. For Vico, the deal marks the company's debut in the thriving Washington, D.C. office market. According to a first quarter report by real estate services firm Grubb & Ellis Inc., Washington, D.C. remains one of the most competitive office markets in the country. Ongoing demand for space by the federal government, government contractors, lobbyists and special interest groups has left the city with a relatively low vacancy rate of 8.4 percent.

It is quite plausible that Vico, like many international investors, had somewhat of an advantage in the bid to acquire what is a choice property in a premier market, given that the company was not faced with the currently inhospitable lending environment in the U.S. "From a debt standpoint, liquidity is an issue everywhere in the world," Jon Kevill, managing director with real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle, told CPN today. "But the banks foreign investors are using are balance sheet lenders, so if the investors have good relationships with those lenders, it is easier to secure financing."

 
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