WASHINGTON, DC—Carr Properties scored a twofer with its simultaneous announcement that it sold an office building and picked another one up in two separate transactions.

The property it sold was Georgetown Plaza at 2233 Wisconsin Ave., NW, to JOSS Realty Partners for $26.8 million. The 150,097-square foot, five-story office building is subject to a long-term ground lease. Cushman & Wakefield's Eric Berkman and Steve Gichner represented Carr in the transaction.

Carr also acquired 2001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, aka, the James Monroe Building, for $107.7 million. In March GlobeSt.com reported a rumor that the building's owner, Property Group Partners, which put the building on the market last October, had found a buyer for the deal. The building last traded in 2007 for $111.5 million. Tenants in the fully-occupied CBD building include Peace Corps, Levin Blaszak Block, Madison Marquette, Heidrick & Struggles and Spectrum Science.

Carr financed the purchase with a $65 million, 10-year loan from Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and the cash it had on hand.

The simultaneous purchase and sale of two separate buildings brings to mind a similar transaction by First Potomac last month. It acquired an office building in Reston for $41 million while selling, in a separate transaction, Corporate Campus in Ashburn Center, also for $41 million.

Carr Properties didn't get its two transactions to align so neatly but the driver behind its deals and First Potomac's are the same – portfolio repositioning and improvement.

“The sale of 2233 Wisconsin Avenue and the acquisition of 2001 Pennsylvania Avenue are part of our strategy to upgrade the quality of our portfolio by focusing on high-quality assets in Metro-accessible, amenity-rich submarkets," said Oliver Carr, III, Carr Properties' CEO, in a prepared statement.