REAL ESTATE JOURNAL the most comprehensive source for commercial real estate news
Volume 24 Issue 8 April 27 - May 10, 2012
ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS Motley’s Auction & Realty to conduct foreclosure auction
4A Crystal Windows supplies high-rise
12-13A SPRING PREVIEW
17-32A
Bohler Engineering celebrates 30 years
10-11B
Plans $7 million renovation in Washington, DC
Uip & Ire Partnership acquires apartment building for $26m
W
ashington, DC — Urban Investment Partners (UIP) in partnership with Infinity Real Estate (IRE) of NYC has acquired a 114-unit apartment building at 1841 Columbia Rd., NW in Washington, DC, formerly known as The Alcazar, for $26 million. The seller was Fairfield Residential Company. Arbor Commercial Mortgage of New York provided the acquisition and project debt financing for the venture. 1841 Columbia Rd. is a pre-war mixed-use building conveniently located in the heart of Adams Morgan. The property features 20,000 s/f of prime neighborhood retail space. Current retail tenants include Napoleon Bistro, Bedrock Billiards, Gary Taylor Framing, Bank of America, World Cleaners, and Fleet Feet, which specializes in running,
1841 Columbia Road in Washington, D.C. bicycling, and swimming gear and is owned by local resident Shawn Fenty, brother of former Washington, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty.
The partners plan to invest more than $7 million on a comprehensive building renovation and modernization program to include a complete window and
retail storefront replacement, a new environmentally friendly water-sourced heating and cooling system, redesigned common areas, and a rooftop terrace certain to be one of the largest and most exciting resident amenities in the District. UIP General Contracting, Inc., a subsidiary of UIP, is performing the renovation work, which is expected to be completed by December 2012. UIP subsidiary UIP Property Management, Inc. will assume the property management of the building immediately. “As with many of our other multifamily properties in Washington, D.C., we have reached a win/win agreement with the tenants’ association, allowing UIP to make muchneeded improvements to the property to extend its useful life for another century,” said UIP principal Steve Schwat. n
Saffer, Lane, West and Siegel represented the State Services Organization
West, Lane & Schlager Realty Advisors negotiates 237,848 s/f lease in Washington, DC Washington,DC — West, Lane & Schlager Realty Advisors, LLC (“WLS”) has negotiated the largest private-sector lease transaction in Washington, DC this year. WLS negotiated on behalf of the State Services Organiza-
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Owners, Developers & Managers...... 33-45A Green Buildings.................................. 7-15A Spring Preview Spotlight................... 17-32A Shopping Centers.......................... Section B Featuring the Las Vegas RECon ICSC Convention
Upcoming Spotlights NJAA Conference & Expo PA Projects/Building Services www.marejournal.com
tion, Inc. (“SSO”) a 237,848 s/f, 15-year lease at 400-444 N. Capitol St. NW, also known as the Hall of the States Building. Mindy Saffer, LEED AP, Richard Lane, Eric West, LEED AP, and Richard Siegel, all WLS principals represented SSO. SSO manages the office
space that comprises the Hall of the States, offering a range of services to its 92 subtenants, which include the Washington offices of U.S. states, U.S. territories, and associations of state officials. The signing of this new lease will further advance SSO’s mission to provide cost-effective leasing and operational alternatives to its
members. “Timing was of the essence in this particular deal, and we’re delighted with the outcome,” Saffer said. “When SSO hired us in the fall of 2009, our direction was clear: ‘Save us money now, not in early 2014 when our lease expires.’ We immediately went to work to analyze SSO’s real estate needs and evaluated all viable alternatives. Ultimately, we were able to restructure its current and projected occupancies and expenses such that we reduced costs immediately and, more importantly, positioned SSO well over the long term.” Mebar Realty Holding Trust owns the 550,000 s/f property at 400-444 N. Capitol St. NW, which is a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol and Union Station. Besides SSO, these two interconnected buildings feature tenants like C-SPAN, CNBC and Fox News Corporation. n