This Week’s D.C. Deal Sheet: Law Firm Doubles Footprint With Midtown Center Lease
Another law firm is planning on taking a big chunk of the Midtown Center space that Fannie Mae reached a deal last year to vacate.
Freshfields inked a 117K SF lease at Carr Properties’ development at 1100 15th St. NW, the developer announced this week. The firm is taking floors six through eight in the west tower, Carr announced.
The move more than doubles Freshfields' footprint from 700 13th St, NW where it has 52K SF, the Washington Business Journal reported.
In a similar move, law firm ArentFox Schiff announced in October it would relocate its downtown office to Midtown Center, taking 120K SF across three floors in the property's east tower.
“Midtown Center’s leasing velocity over the past year speaks to the ongoing strength and appeal of exceptional trophy office properties like Midtown Center,” Carr Chief Portfolio Officer Jackson Prentice said in Wednesday's release.
With Freshfields, Midtown Center is about 80% leased, Carr said, with its largest continuous availability spanning 116K SF on the entire fifth and sixth floors of the east tower. Carr plans to add new amenities to the property, including a new conference and entertainment center and a rooftop penthouse in the west tower.
CBRE’s Amy Bowser and Brooks Brown, along with Carr's Kaitlyn Rausse and Ryan Lopez, represented the landlord. CBRE’s Rob Copito and Harry Stephens represented Freshfields.
LEASES
Architecture firm Page Southerland Page inked a 68K SF lease at a West End office building, the landlord’s broker, CBRE, announced this week. JBG Smith sold the 375K SF office building at 2101 L St. NW in December to a joint venture of BG Venture and ELV Associates for $110M. Page is moving from 1615 M St. NW. The owner was represented by CBRE’s Carroll Cavanagh, Emily Eppolito and Dimitri Hajimihalis. Page was represented by Newmark’s Mike Shuler and Nick Fields.
SALES
Boston-based DSF Group purchased a 678-unit apartment and townhome community in Alexandria for $237M, according to property records. Equity Residential Properties Trust was the seller of Town Square at Mark Center at 1401 and 1459 N. Beauregard St. It had owned the community since 2010, according to property records. Marcus & Millichap’s IPA Capital Markets announced it arranged $165.9M in financing for the transaction, which included a 70%loan-to-value and 35-year amortization. It said the property is 98% occupied.
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Melrose Solomon Enterprises purchased a 172K SF mixed-use property that takes up nearly an entire block in Alexandria. JLL, which represented the seller and procured the buyer, announced the transaction but didn't disclose the price. The Washington Business Journal reported that the price was $38.9M.
Westport Capital Partners and Cambridge Holdings were the prior owners of 411 King St., and they had purchased it in 2018 for $50.4M. JLL’s Matt Nicholson, Kevin Byrd, Andrew Weir, Jim Meisel, Dave Baker, Jordan Lex, Dean Sands and Danny Naughton represented the seller.
FINANCING
Carr Properties landed financing for a 237-unit office-to-residential conversion in Alexandria. The developer secured an $84M loan from Kennedy Wilson and is bringing on MassMutual’s investment subsidiary, Barings, as an equity investor for its project at 425 Montgomery St. The expected cost of the project is $131M. Cushman & Wakefield represented Carr in securing the financing package.
PERSONNEL
Akridge’s Matt Klein is stepping down from the president and CEO roles he has held for over two decades. Klein will be taking on the role of chairman, as three executives take over the top rung of the company, the D.C.-based firm announced. Mike Gill, Adam Gooch and Sarah Knutson are coming in as managing principals. Gill is also the chief investment officer, while Gooch is the chief development officer, and Knutson is the chief operating officer. Founded in 1974, Akridge just celebrated its 50th anniversary. Founder Chip Akridge continues to serve as chairman emeritus.
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Founders Bank is bringing on Josh Phillips as a senior vice president of commercial lending, the D.C. bank announced this week. Phillips has over 20 years of experience in commercial banking, according to his LinkedIn profile, which shows he comes to Founders after nearly nine years as a vice president of commercial lending at United Bank.
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JBG Smith Chief Development Officer Kai Reynolds has retired, and three of the firm's retail leasing executives have left the company, the Washington Business Journal reported. Reynolds had held the position since 2019, and his departure was announced on the REIT’s third-quarter earnings call in October. On the retail leasing side, WBJ reported that Amy Rice, who was a senior vice president of retail leasing, departed last month to found her own retail consultancy; Lauren Greco, a vice president of retail leasing, left at the start of the year to join Papadopoulos Properties; and Jackie Sammarco, a senior associate of retail leasing, left to join AvalonBay Communities at the end of last year.
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One of the founders of Rockville-based Coakley Realty Management is retiring. Jim Dailey stepped down from the firm after leading it for 25 years, the firm announced. His co-founder, Rory S. Coakley, will continue to lead the full-service residential and commercial real estate firm serving the greater D.C. area. The company is looking to deepen its footprint in the industrial sector, the release said.
