Brookfield Sells Bethesda Tower For 87% Less Than It Paid In 2011
Canada-based investment giant Brookfield has offloaded yet another D.C.-area office property for a massive discount.
Florida-based In-Rel Properties paid $20M for the ground lease to 3 Bethesda Metro Center, a 388K SF building next to the Bethesda Metro station, an In-Rel official confirmed to Bisnow. The 1980s-era property is 52% leased.
It’s a steep reduction from the $150.1M Brookfield paid for the ground lease in 2011, when it purchased it from The Meridian Group at 93% occupied. The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority owns the ground.
Brookfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The acquisition is meant to complement In-Rel’s office building across the street at 7500 Old Georgetown Road, which the company also purchased at a massive discount at the end of 2023. It's taken that property from 40% to over 80% leased, In-Rel said in a Tuesday press release shared with Bisnow.
Together, the properties make up what In-Rel is calling “In-Rel Plaza,” an “activated public gathering space.”
For 3 Bethesda Metro Center, In-Rel is planning a “substantial capital improvement program,” it said, including facade enhancements, a redesigned lobby, a new fitness center and a 100-person conference room.
“We see tremendous potential to reposition the property through thoughtful capital investment and active ownership, creating an environment that strongly resonates with modern tenants,” In-Rel Properties principal Jackson Siegal said.
Cushman & Wakefield's Ben Powell, Gwen Dominguez and Michael Katcher have been selected to lease the property.
Brookfield was one of the largest buyers of U.S. office in the years leading up to the pandemic. Those properties have faced a wave of distress over the last few years amid interest rate hikes and changes in how office space across the country is used.
The investment giant lost six Montgomery County office properties at a foreclosure sale in October, five of which were taken by the lender.
Brookfield put 3 Bethesda Metro Center on the market in September with JLL, the Washington Business Journal reported at the time.
Locally, In-Rel also owns 2033 K St. NW, a 127K SF office building in downtown D.C. that it purchased in July for $20.5M, and Ballston Gateway, a 146K SF property at 3865 Wilson Blvd. that it purchased in December 2024 for $25.7M.
