Washington REIT Acquires DC Office Building for $105M

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust has acquired 1775 Eye St., N.W., a 185,000-square-foot office building in Washington, D.C.’s Central Business District, for $104.5 million.

“Acquiring 1775 Eye St. is yet another example of Washington REIT executing on its stated office strategy of acquiring high-quality, well-located urban and metro-centric assets,” said Paul McDermott, Washington REIT’s president & CEO, in a company release. “This value-add acquisition further increases our downtown footprint at a prime location that provides a tremendous opportunity to create value for our shareholders through effective leasing of this property above its current level.”

Located at the intersection of 18th and Eye streets in northwest DC, the building sits directly across the street from the Farragut West and two blocks from the Farragut North Metro stations.

The 11-story office building is currently 62 percent leased. Constructed in 1964, the property is currently undergoing its second renovation, which will include a new modernized lobby, common areas and fitness facility. Its first renovation, back in 1997, saw the replacement of the façade, storefronts and all the building systems.

Last week, McDermott told investors in a conference call that the company is aggressively deploying its medical office portfolio sales proceeds to strengthen each of its three core business lines: office, retail and residential. “For office and residential, we are focused on urban in-field properties with good access to public transportation, particularly in metro-served locations,” he said. “For retail, we are focused on strong neighborhood centers with exceptional demographic areas in and around the Washington, D.C., area.”

The purchase of 1775 Eye St. is Washington REIT’s third consecutive acquisition in downtown Washington this year, representing a total cumulative investment value of $256.5 million so far.

In March, it acquired The Army Navy Club office building on Farragut Square for $79 million, and in February it acquired Yale West, a multi-family property in Mount Vernon Triangle, for $73 million.