St. Joe bought the 118,300-sf, 99%-leased 1133-20th St. NW building from Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. for an undisclosed price.

Area brokers familiar with the DC office market tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity a comparable, fully leased central business district property in Washington would go for at least $150 per sf or an estimated $18 million.

"From a risk-adjusted return standpoint, we believe the District of Columbia offers investors a strong real estate market," Scott Kaufmann, director, real estate investments, St. Joe Commercial, says in a prepared statement.

Anchor tenants at the 16-year-old building are the Brattle Group and Chemonics. The property was renovated in 1995.

"The 1133 building represents an excellent platform from which to build a DC ownership presence," Herring says in the same statement.

Advantis Real Estate Services Co., a St. Joe Co. subsidiary, will lease and manage the property.

Advantis brokers Dek Potts, Jim Meisel and Petch Gibbons represented St. Joe Commercial. Margaret Hirl and Bill Prudding Jr. of the DC office of CB Richard Ellis Inc. negotiated for Northwestern Mutual.