The facility, called Cloverleaf Center, was built in 2000 and consists of four one- and two-story office buildings. It's 97% leased with the first major lease expiration scheduled in August 2012. Tenants are government contractors and tech companies that want to be close to the Department of Energy. First Potomac did not return a call to GlobeSt.com in time for publication.

The company obtained a five-year, $17.5 million mortgage at 6.75% -- a loan term that includes two one-year extension options. First Potomac expects the property to generate a first-year unleveraged return of approximately 10.7% on a cash basis and 11.5% on an accrual basis.

The cash portion of the purchase was funded through the company's recent equity offerings and Exchangeable Senior Note repurchases. Earlier this year, First Potomac sold 1.63 million common shares at $10.68 per share, generating net proceeds of $17 million. It used $8.8 million of that to fund the Cloverleaf acquisition. Another $7.5 million was deployed to retire $8.5 million of the outstanding balance on the notes.

At roughly $143 per square foot, the Cloverleaf deal represents a highly competitive trade for the DC area market--a fact to which CEO Doug Donatelli alluded in his prepared comments about the sale. "This transaction is unique in that it was sourced during the extreme dislocation of the economy in early 2009."

During the company's Q2 earnings call at the end of July Donatelli noted there was still a bid-ask gap in the market when asked about potential acquisitions from a listener. "We've been looking at acquisition opportunities as they come long, yes…[but] there is still a bid-ask gap, at least from our standpoint, so nothing has come to pass yet."