WASHINGTON, DC—Net lease assets are in high demand in the DC area as any number of recent transactions show. The latest example is the trade of the Starbucks-anchored retail building at Dupont Circle, located at 1501 Connecticut Ave. NW. Harbor Group International acquired the fully-leased and highly-trafficked property from the local private equity group LaKritz/Adler Development for $1,672 per square foot, or $16.2 million. Calkain Cos.'s Rick Fernandez and David Sobelman repped the seller.

Starbucks, in fact, only occupies about 34% of the building but the building is located on one of the most well known corners in the District. That, plus the fact that the building has highly adaptable floor plates "suitable to a variety of retail and office uses," Sobelman says, making the building an excellent investment. Indeed, the last time it traded, in March 2010, it sold for $4.1 million.

In general net lease properties have been trading well here, especially since the start of 2014. Another record setter for Calkain was 1401 R St., NW, with a sales price of close to $1,100 per square foot for the ground-floor 1,278-square foot retail condo. The retail property had been recently redeveloped as residential condos This particular transaction garnered a 5.75% cap rate, a new low cap rate for a non-credit retail condo.

At the start of the year the Susquehanna Bank in Columbia, MD traded at a record-breaking cap rate of 4.7%. Calkain brokered this third deal as well. The buyer was drawn to the below market rent and the excellent corner location, the company said.