CRYSTAL CITY, VA-One and Two Potomac Yard have traded for roughly a quarter of a billion dollars. USAA Real Estate Co. acquired the trophy office project, located at 2733 and 2777 South Crystal Dr., from institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

CBRE’s Bill Prutting, Jr., William E. Kaye, Randall Heilig, Jonathan Hull, Nick Hendy, Tim Hutchens, Tim Lenahan, Erik McLaughlin and Malcolm Schweiker helped broker the sale of the 622,000 square foot complex.

It was an all-cash purchase, one of many cash offers the company received, Prutting tells GlobeSt.com. “The composition of the bidders included domestic and overseas companies.” Pricing, he says, was very competitive and the seller received an aggregate of $3 billion in offers.

Besides a notable transaction for the area, CBRE says it is the second largest for 2010 following Two Constitution Square’s trade of $305 million, the deal is a very positive one for the Crystal City submarket, which up until a few years was worrying how it would survive the changes brought about by BRAC.

That concern has since been muted, Prutting says, especially as the market has since rebounded to single digit vacancies. “There is a belief that the tenancy in Crystal City is becoming more diversified and supplemented by the private sector.”

Ironically, Potomac Yard is largely occupied by government tenants, but Prutting notes they are both agencies that decamped from the District to nearby Crystal City – another strength of the submarket.

At the same time, the resulting yield on the transaction is competitive with sales in Washington’s Downtown, Prutting says, which he places in the range of “the 6's.”

Potomac Yard is 99% leased, anchored by the United States Environmental Projection Agency, which occupies 75% of the project. It was constructed in 2006 and is LEED-Gold certified.

CBRE says the sale is the largest suburban transaction, the second largest transaction for the area, and the only trophy office acquisition in Arlington County this year.

The Washington, DC-area has seen a handful of high-priced trades, although most have occurred in the District. The largest has been NoMa submarket’s arguable crown jewel, Two Constitution Square, which traded for $305 million this summer. StonebridgeCarras and Walton Street Capital sold the 589,000-square foot office to Northwestern Mutual.

Paramount Group acquired 1899 Pennsylvania Ave. for $812 per square foot, or $151.1 million. Prior to that deal, TIAA-CREF acquired the 227,000-square-foot Evening Star Building from KamAm partnership for close to $180 million.