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The famed D.C. office building where a break-in brought down a presidency could soon have a new owner for the second time in three years.
Rockwood Capital retained Newmark Knight Frank to seek buyers for the Watergate Office Building at 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, the brokerage firm announced Wednesday.
The 215K SF office building last traded in November 2016, when Penzance sold it to Rockwood for $80M. Rockwood then launched a $14M renovation on the property and brought it to 90% leased.
The renovation added a new fitness center, a bike storage room, an electric car charging station and upgraded common areas. The owner is currently upgrading the building's HVAC system, which will free up a portion of the rooftop for the next owner to create new amenity space.
“Rockwood’s recent improvements at the Watergate Building have driven significant leasing velocity over the last few years,” NKF Executive Managing Director Jud Ryan said in a release. “Those enhancements coupled with the ability of the next owner to capitalize on the newly available roof space for a unique rooftop terrace with breathtaking views of the Potomac, Georgetown, and Rosslyn, illustrate the tremendous upside potential to the building.”
The Watergate building, constructed in 1967, was the site of the 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. It is part of a six-building complex that includes additional office, residential, hotel and retail space.
Another office building in the Watergate complex at 600 New Hampshire Ave. NW sold in 2017 to WashREIT for $135M. The retail space in the complex, totaling 57K SF, sold in 2017 for $15M. The Watergate Hotel completed a $125M renovation in 2016.
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