World Bank Group Pays $165M For Piece Of D.C. Campus
The World Bank Group has closed a major deal to acquire a property across the street from its main headquarters near the White House.
Documents filed with the D.C. Recorder of Deeds on Tuesday show the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has the same primary address as the World Bank’s D.C. headquarters, acquired the land underneath the building at 701 18th St. NW for $165M.
It has owned and occupied the building, a 488K SF structure it calls the J Building, since the 1980s, when it leased the land from a commercial partnership.
The sellers of the land were New York City-based Benenson Capital Partners, which had a 75% interest, and Weiler-Arnow Management Co., which had a 25% interest.
No loan document was recorded along with the sale.
The World Bank entered into a 99-year ground lease with Benenson and Arnow in 1984 to build the property for its own use, according to Tuesday's deed filing and a Washington Post story at the time. The goal was to consolidate 1,400 of its employees scattered across 14 rented office buildings within the surrounding blocks into a single building.
A map of the World Bank's downtown consortium of office buildings in D.C. indicates the World Bank owns the J Building.
A spokesperson for the World Bank Group declined to comment to Bisnow. Benenson Capital Partners didn't respond to a request for comment.
The J Building was assessed by D.C.'s Office of Tax and Revenue at $147M for the second half of 2026, with the land assessed at $38M and the building at $109M.
The World Bank owns its headquarters across the street at 1818 H St. NW. It purchased its 265K SF G Building at 1776 G St. NW in 2019 for $129.5M.
