On the heels of selling its building to Akridge, the American Association of University Women has signed a 48k SF lease at 1310 L St NW, a freshly repositioned building owned by the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

The building was originally an office for the Secret Service and was left vacant when the EPA moved out last year, but after finishing construction on the renovation earlier this year, the foundation was able to sign the AAUW to an anchor lease for the top three floors. Cushman & Wakefield's John Boland represented the association.

FD Stonewater principal David Alperstein, the building's broker, said the 10-story, 150k SF building now has a four-room conference center for all tenants, a refurbished fitness center and one of the biggest bike rooms in the city. While leasing has picked up around the region, the market is still fiercely competitive, and David says the conference center was a big differentiating factor.

David worked with Eugene Smith and Joan Sapienza, and Eugene and Joan gave Bisnow a quick tour this morning (we like the marble flooring in the lobby).

"We really wanted to put forth a value product with a complete package of amenities desired by today’s tenants," David says. There's also an under-construction rooftop deck and a tenant lounge and café on the ground floor, available to every office tenant in the building.

The renovation was designed by OTJ and, while the financials of neither the lease nor the renovation could be disclosed, David says, "We’ve done what we set out to do, delivering a fresh and exciting option for tenants while meeting the market in terms of the economics." Floors two through seven are still available, but David says there's plenty of activity and anticipates more leases signing by the end of the year. AAUW moves in next summer.