WASHINGTON, DC-J Street Cos. just inked a 7,784 square foot lease with United Steelworkers at The Demonet Building in Dupont Circle, but that is not why J Street principal Geoff Kieffer is hopeful about the city's leasing market. Or rather, that is not only the reason why he is hopeful.
Kieffer points to a small but, in his eyes, significant indicator that the market is starting to wake up again: more tour activity, including at The Demonet Building, which is located at 1155 Connecticut Ave., NW. "Deals are still taking forever to get done but we are definitely seeing more tours, which is an important sign." In short, he says, the area is starting to shake off its sequestration slump.
"Relative to what it was 12 months ago, tour activity is much better," Kieffer adds.
In particular, Kieffer says he is seeing activity from small law firms and non-profits, two groups that were hit hard in the recession. "That is who is interested in The Demonet."
Kieffer says the company may be announcing another full floor lease there soon. The lease with USW marks the second full floor lease signed at the 93,046-square foot building in the past 30 days. J Street's Kieffer and Shea Byers represented the landlord in the transaction. The Meyer Group represented USW.
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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.
