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Weeks after Metro decided it would sell its longtime headquarters in Chinatown, the transit agency has kicked off its search for a new home, and it is looking to act fast.
WMATA is seeking to buy three new buildings in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, each between 100K SF and 350K SF, and is asking parties to submit expressions of interest by Aug. 10. JLL's Joe Judge and Tracy Bibbens are assisting the agency in its search.
The transit agency hopes to move most quickly on the purchase of a new D.C. building, which would serve as its headquarters once it sells the Jackson Graham Building at 600 Fifth St. NW. It said its desired closing range for the D.C. property is between Q4 2018 and Q2 2019.
The Maryland and Virginia properties have slightly longer timelines, with desired ranges between Q4 2018 and Q1 2020. WMATA wants each building to be within a 1,500-foot walk of a Metro station and be able to achieve LEED Silver certification. It detailed its requirements in a request for expressions of interest, posted to its website and first reported by the Washington Business Journal.
The agency also said it would consider a new, build-to-suit development for any of the properties, as long as it could deliver within three years of the deal going under contract. WMATA did not give a price range for the properties it is looking to buy.
Metro currently occupies roughly 700K SF across nine locations. The agency retained JLL in August to come up with a strategy to consolidate its real estate footprint. The brokers and the agency came up with recommendations, released earlier this month, that called for selling the Jackson Graham Building, acquiring three new properties and vacating its five leased offices. The proposal would reduce its overall footprint by 100K SF and save it an estimated $130M over the next 20 years.
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