Bethesda Tower Inks Leases With Hotel REIT, Insurance And Investment Firms: The D.C. Deal Sheet
A trophy office tower in the heart of Bethesda has secured three leases totaling nearly 79K SF.
The Avocet Tower building, which rises 22 stories a block from the Bethesda Metro station, signed leases with insurance and investment company Ullico, investment firm Arlington Capital Partners and hotel REIT DiamondRock Hospitality Co.
Transwestern manages the leasing of the 370K SF building at 7373 Wisconsin Ave. It announced the deals this week and said it was representing Beacon Capital Partners at the property.
The property was developed in 2022 by Stonebridge, which had retained Transwestern in 2023 to lease the building, but this week's release doesn't mention the local firm.
Property records don't show any ownership change at the property, and Transwestern declined to comment on the ownership situation. Beacon and Stonebridge didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ullico is moving into a 30K SF footprint at Avocet in a relocation from its current regional office in Silver Spring.
Arlington Capital Partners also leased 30K SF to move from its smaller office at The Wilson, which sits a few buildings down the road. And DiamondRock is taking 18K SF in a relocation and expansion from nearby 2 Bethesda Metro Center.
“This dynamic leasing activity underscores the strong demand for trophy office space as well as Avocet Tower’s reputation as one of the most desirable properties in the market with HQ-size opportunities,” Transwestern Real Estate Services Executive Managing Director Phil McCarthy said in the release.
In addition to McCarthy, Transwestern's Keith Foery, Mark Boyce and Karla Rivera represented Beacon. CBRE’s Niel Beggy represented DiamondRock, and CBRE’s Brad Wilner and Charlie Carroccio represented Arlington Capital. Wilner and Carroccio also joined CBRE’s Randy Harrell in representing Ullico.
LEASES
Property management company National Realty Partners has signed a 12,676 SF lease at Reston Eastpointe, Transwestern, which represented the landlord, announced on LinkedIn. The 195K SF property at 11091 Sunset Hills Road is owned by a joint venture of Lincoln Property Co., Ritz Banc Group and Masic. The owners are delinquent on their $38M CMBS loan that wasn't paid off when it matured in December 2023, according to Morningstar Credit.
Transwestern's Bernie McKeever Jr., Megan Rearden, Spencer Stouffer and Tony Womack represented the landlord, and TSCG's Nora Foley represented NRP. The company expects to move in May 2026.
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Washington Improv Theater is taking a ground-floor retail spot in a NoMa multifamily building. The theater inked a 10,700 SF, 30-year lease at Trammell Crow’s 1222 Third St. NE, also known as the Rigby. Transwestern, whose brokers Adam Collins and Jake Fox represented WIT, announced the deal this week. SRS represented Trammell Crow. The build-out is expected to cost $4M and include a 110-seat theater and seven classrooms. DMArchitects is doing the design. The theater is slated to open in January 2027.
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Italian restaurant Floriana is opening its first Virginia location in the ground-floor retail space formerly occupied by Virginia's Darling. The restaurant, from owner Jamie Branda, signed a 5,800 SF lease at The Atrium at 277 S. Washington St. Cushman & Wakefield, whose broker Sophie Van Pelt represented the tenant, announced the deal this week. The landlord, W.C. and A.N. Miller Development Co., was represented by Rappaport’s Melissa Webb and Bill Dickinson. Floriana is slated to open early next summer.
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Palestinian restaurant Ayat inked a 3,500 SF lease at a Skanska office building in Foggy Bottom. The restaurant, which comes from Anani Hospitality Group, plans to open at 2112 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in early spring. The restaurant already has locations in New York and New Jersey. This will be its first D.C.-area location, as it simultaneously plans openings on the Upper West Side, in Philadelphia and in Dallas. Skanska’s 2112 Penn is a 240K SF office building that delivered in 2018.
SALES
Brookfield has sold two development sites next to the Waterfront Metro station, approved for two mixed-use buildings with roughly 600 units. The investment giant sold the unimproved parcels at 375 M St. and 425 M St. SW, which total 100K SF, to Transwestern Development Co. for $6.5M apiece, D.C. deed records show. A spokesperson for TDC told Bisnow the company partnered with Bethesda-based Junction Development on the acquisition and is “evaluating potential development plans.”
PERSONNEL
EYA has hired Robin Bettarel as its head of multifamily, the Rockville-based housing developer announced this week. Bettarel arrives from Middleburg Communities, where she came on as managing director in 2023 to lead multifamily development efforts across the Mid-Atlantic. At EYA, she will steer and grow its pipeline, which consists of 2,000 units in the D.C. metro area.
