A new lease from the federal government is taking an Alexandria office building that PRP purchased vacant in 2018 to 60% leased.

The Department of Defense signed for 46K SF at 4825 Mark Center Drive, the D.C.-based landlord announced. Cushman & Wakefield's Scott Johnston brokered the deal.

The eight-story property is one of a pair that PRP purchased nearly six years ago for $40M after they went through foreclosure.

The buildings are within the mixed-use Mark Center corporate park in west Alexandria. The buildings sit at the intersection of Seminary Road and Interstate 395, next to the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center.

The DOD is moving from Falls Church's Skyline Towers, which couldn't accommodate the department’s growth needs, PRP President Paul Dougherty told Bisnow. The federal government's leasing arm, the General Services Administration, didn't respond to a request for comment before publication.

Six public and private tenants make up the 60% occupancy at 4825 Mark Center Drive, PRP said. Dougherty added that PRP is in negotiations with medical office and retail tenants at the property and expects to complete the lease-up of the building this year.

“We are pleased to land this 15-year lease in a time of very limited new leasing activity in Northern Virginia,” Dougherty said in a news release.

Northern Virginia's office market posted negative net absorption of 2.1M SF in 2023, and its vacancy rate rose to 23.3%, according to CBRE's fourth-quarter report. Alexandria had roughly flat net absorption last year, but its vacancy rate is 26.2%.

CORRECTION, JAN. 12, 2:40 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Cushman & Wakefield's Scott Johnston. This story has been updated.