The Boston-based buyer got the buildings from Strategic Real Estate Advisors, a London-based firm, which acquired 1201 New York Ave. in 1999 on behalf of a private client and 1225 New York Ave. the following year. Strategic Real Estate Advisors did not reveal the buyer, but GlobeSt.com has confirmed from two market sources that that it is Fidelity Investments. Strategic Real Estate Advisors didn't return a telephone call for comment by deadline.
In a press release, StratREAL chairman and CEO Pierre Rolin says a capital improvement program has made the building more competitive, thus allowing the firm to retain several key tenants as well as attract a 15,000-sf high-end restaurant, just four blocks from the White House. "With these new leases in place we created a trophy asset with long-term stable income that was reflected in the aggressive pricing achieved," he said, citing a 97% occupancy.
Tonya Ginter, director of research for GVA Advantis, tells GlobeSt.com that the pricing is fairly typical for class A properties in the East End. "Prices continue to skyrocket here," she says, citing an average selling price of $465 per sf for class A buildings throughout Washington, DC.
Just recently in the East End, BlackRock Realty Advisors Inc. paid $90.8 million for 1015 15th St. to TIAA-CREF. Another little noticed deal that closed in recent months was 1620 Eye St., 1101 15th St. and 1156 15th St. by New York City's Rockrose Development. According to Ginter, the 450,000-sf portfolio traded for $193 million in August as part of a private estate sale.
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