JVs Secure $334M to Finance 28 VA Purchases

Located within Mark Center in Alexandria, the Lafayette Portfolio has nine buildings that are 92.4% occupied. The Quantico Portfolio, which is 99.4% occupied, includes 14 buildings that are in Chantilly and Sterling. Senior managing director David Keller and director Jon Wood of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler's Indianapolis office, and senior managing directors Bill Asbill and Bob Donhauser of HFF's Washington DC office, arranged the loans.

Keller tells GlobeSt.com that the 80% leveraged financings are interest-only throughout the entire term, and were made to finance the creation of the Duke and Eaton Vance joint ventures. "Duke bought the properties using cash and bank lines of credit," Keller says. "The joint ventures were created in order to finance the continued ownership of the assets." The funds used in the original purchase were repatriated, he says. The original deal, which closed in March 2006, was an $855-million Duke purchase of 32 office, industrial and land properties from the Alexandria, VA-based Mark Winkler Co.

The recent loan is a good one for the HFF office, Keller says, as there was significant interest in this portfolio, "especially given the high quality location of the assets. Washington, DC is a very desirable investment market." The properties included Liberty Center II, Mark Center I and 1701 N. Beauregard. Most of the tenants are government contractors, as the properties are near the Pentagon, says Asbill.