Woodmark Commercial Services' Geoffrey Kieffer represented the building owner. The American Society of Hematology was represented by Paul Ehrenreich of Cresa Partners.
2021 L Street Investors acquired the building from the NFL Players Association in June 2007 for $24.3-million in a JV with Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group-East. The intent was to redevelop the then-53,925-sf headquarters into office condos. The new owners went through the rehab, adding two additional floors, new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and a new façade on the North and South facing walls. Plans to sell the building as office condos, though, were put aside when the owner got an offer from the association, Kieffer tells GlobeSt.com. No contracts had been signed at that point.
The association is beginning tenant improvements with a goal of occupying the space in the latter half of 2009. It will occupy the top five floors and lease the bottom five.
There are only a handful of buildings in the District that offer condo space. Yet demand appears to be mixed for these products. Kieffer, for instance, reports little demand for office condos, given the scarcity of supply. His observation is bolstered with some anecdotal evidence: the American College of Surgeons, for instance, had toyed with the idea of selling the remaining space of a building it purchased last year at 20 F St. as condos. By the time it broke ground, though, those plans had apparently been abandoned.
But there is a case for office condos in the District. Home to many non-profits and associations that do not require huge amounts of space, office condos often are more cost effective. "I have seen some demand for office condos in recent months for this reason," Tonya Ginter, director of research and marketing for GVA Advantis, tells GlobeSt.com. One example is J Street Development's 111 K St. office building in NoMa, where sales are proceeding well, the company recently reported. So far, five floors have been sold--one to the Sierra Club--and two more are under contract.
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Erika Morphy
Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.
