WASHINGTON, DC-1718 Connecticut Ave., NW,traded hands for $14.4 million this week as partof a 1031 exchange sale. RichardMcBride and Roy Ayers of McBrideReal Estate Services represented the both seller, localinvestor Nicholas Papadopoulos of PRIInc., and the buyer, an entity operated by telecomexecutive Dave Schaeffer.

Office buildings, especially on Connecticut Ave., are a rareasset to hold in a 1031, McBride tells Globest.com. "Usually atriple net lease property is what is on the back end," he says. Thebuilding's location and full roster of tenants, though, made iteasier to find a buyer.

Finding the right purchaser was key because he or she would haveto assume approximately $4.5 million of existing debt. Indeed, theselling price reflected that part of the deal, McBride says. Theseller found a fully-leased warehouse in Hagerstown, MD, as theexchange property.