A downtown Bethesda office building is swapping one local commercial real estate-focused bank for another.
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Alexandria, Virginia-based Burke & Herbert leased the entire building at 7815 Woodmont Ave., which served as EagleBank's former headquarters. The two-story property, owned by Bethmont LLC, totals about 18K SF, including the basement, Burke & Herbert Regional President Michael Solomon told Bisnow.
The bank is using the second-floor footprint for a commercial lending office. The plan is to apply for a bank branch location on the first floor and create more office space in the basement. Employees moved in this week, and the lease was signed earlier this month, Solomon said.
LEASES
The International Research and Exchange Board is moving from one end of Franklin Park to another.
IREX is taking 32K SF at 1350 Eye St. NW, JLL announced this week. The global development and education organization is moving from 1275 K St NW. The deal brings leasing activity at the Eye Street property to more than 225K SF since 2020, the brokerage said.
“The owner’s continued investment into the property has made it a sought-after, Class-A office building in DC, and it’s evident that companies are still very much interested in having an in-office presence for their employees,” JLL Executive Managing Director Doug Mueller said in a statement.
The 400K SF property is owned by MetLife Investment Management, which purchased it at a foreclosure auction in 2021 for $120.5M. MetLife was the primary debtholder on the property with the prior owner, D.C.-based Edge Funds.
The property's other tenants include law firm Hollingsworth, the Institute of International Education, the National Women’s Law Center, BASF Corp. and Johnson & Johnson.The building has a newly renovated fitness facility and tenant lounge. A renovated conference center is set to deliver in 2025.
JLL’s Doug Mueller, Kristen Mathis and Thomas Myers represented MetLife, and CBRE’s Ben Plaisted and Greg Scheipers represented IREX.
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American Real Estate Partners has a new 14K SF tenant at its Inventa Towers office property in Silver Spring. Childcare concept Two Birds, which provides professional workspace, early childhood education and extracurricular classes for children and parents, expects to move next spring into the 550K SF building, which used to serve as Discovery Communications' headquarters. In addition to Two Birds, AREP signed two other leases at Inventa this month, a 5K SF deal with business management solutions provider Laisar Management Group and a 6K SF lease with nonprofit Community Multi-Services.
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FINANCING
Developers of a 115-unit all-affordable apartment building in NoMa received construction financing. The NRP Group and Marshall Heights Community Development Organization received public and private funds, including $47.6M in tax-exempt bonds from the D.C. Housing Finance Agency, federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and $33.1M from D.C.’s Housing Production Trust Fund. Construction is expected to begin in July and end in June 2026.
MILESTONES
Skanska has opened leasing for Ozma, a new 275-unit apartment building in NoMa. The Swedish development company broke ground at 44 M St. NE in October 2021. The first move-ins are scheduled for July. Amenities at the property include a rooftop pool with cabanas, a Japanese-inspired lounge tearoom in the penthouse, a ground-floor “secret garden” and a gym with a sauna. The building has 7,700 SF of ground-floor retail that will be marketed by Papadopoulos Properties.
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The Chevy Chase Land Co. completed a $3M renovation of its 210K SF office building at 5425 Wisconsin Ave. NW, it announced this week. Upgrades to the eight-story building include a new tenant lounge with a 60-person training and conference room, pub-style collaboration booths, a Trackman golf simulator, a shuffleboard table, an arcade zone, a catering kitchen and a bar area. The improvements were designed by GTM Architects. Chevy Chase completed lobby enhancements in 2022 and sixth-floor spec suites in 2023.
PERSONNEL
Monday Properties hired Chris Wiederhold as vice president of multifamily acquisitions, the Arlington-based company announced this week. Wiederhold comes from Highlands Vista Group where he was a senior manager of acquisitions and asset management for the past five years. In his role, he will source and capitalize multifamily assets and land in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions. He will be based out of the Charleston, South Carolina, office.
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