Dweck Properties Nabs Two DC Towers for Record $322M

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

In what reportedly is a record-setting deal, Dweck Properties Ltd., of Washington, D.C., has purchased Archstone Crystal Towers, located in Arlington, Va., for $322.25 million, it was announced Thursday. The two 12-story multi-family towers, which total 912 units, were sold by Equity Residential, represented by Jones Lang LaSalle Capital Markets.

The transaction reportedly breaks the record for the priciest sale of a single multi-family property in the Washington, D.C., region. The deal closed on March 28, a JLL spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive. JLL managing directors Al Cissel and Scott Melnick led the brokerage team.

The Washington Business Journal reported in early January that Dweck Properties, which had just listed for sale its Arlington Gateway office property in Arlington’s Ballston neighborhood, has been working to rebalance its office-heavy portfolio.

Built in 1968 on a site of about 10 acres, Archstone Crystal Towers underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2002, followed by $8.7 million of capital improvements during the last five years. The community is less than a mile from The Pentagon and only a block from the Crystal City Metro station. Amenities include a swimming pool, 24-hour sport club, rooftop deck and business center.

JLL’s marketing brochure noted that despite the steady improvements, just more than half of the complex’s units remain unrenovated, giving investors the opportunity to drive revenue growth through further modernization. The 912 units consist of 122 efficiency, 412 one-bedroom, 305 two-bedroom and 73 three-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents as of mid-2012 running $1,635, $1,924, $2,651 and $3,539, respectively.

A recent JLL report on multi-family markets in the Mid-Atlantic region cited the D.C. metro area’s “33 consecutive months of positive job growth and rock-bottom unemployment rate (5.2 percent)” as factors that “helped solidify DC’s position as one of the most durable and attractive investment markets in the world.”

JLL was also involved in two other recent metro D.C. apartment deals. Earlier this month, it was announced that Home Properties Inc. had sold its 450-unit Falkland Chase apartments in Silver Spring to The JBG Cos. for $98 million. The Rochester, N.Y.–based REIT reportedly has sought to downsize its holdings in metro Washington.

And in March AvalonBay Communities Inc., of Arlington, Va., closed on its sale of Avalon Decoverly in Rockville, Md., for $135 million.

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