Office condos are a relative rarity in the DC market, although a case for them revived around the same time the economy went south. Over time, it is estimated an office condo saves money, especially when taking DC's still escalating rental rates into account. Non-profits--a ubiquitous type of tenant in the DC market--are particularly interested in the savings. For instance, the Sierra Club recently acquired a condo at 111 K St., reportedly for these reasons. The asking price for space at 111 K St. ranges between $550 per square foot to $650 per square foot, according to an earlier interview with J Street president Bruce Baschuk.

Despite the business case, though, there is not a wide supply of office condos in the DC area, for various reasons. In some cases, buildings that started out as office condos were sold when an interested single buyer came along. That happened last month with 75,457-square-foot, 10-story 2021 L St.--which was sold to the American Society of Hematology by 2021 L Street Investors, a private ownership group led by Mark Rivers of Potomac Development Partners.

111 K Street is an 11-story, approximately 90,000-square-foot building located just north of Capitol Hill-–another plus for non-profits that want to be close to Congress. It is an all-glass Gensler-designed structure with several green elements, including a rooftop terrace--that also contributes to the building's storm water management system--an energy-efficient building system and locally-sourced and recycled building materials.