Douglas Development, Brookfield Nearing $490M Refi of DC Office Asset
Bids are due today, with CBRE leading the financing assignment
By Cathy Cunningham January 31, 2020 5:07 pm
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Douglas Development and Brookfield Properties are very close to refinancing their Class A office property at 655 New York Avenue in Washington, D.C., sources confirmed to Commercial Observer.
CBRE’s James Millon, Tom Traynor and P.J. Finley are leading the $490 million financing request — which works out to a 65 percent loan-to-value — and bids from interested lenders are due today, sources said. Officials at CBRE declined to comment.
One lender, who spoke with CO on the condition of anonymity, said the lending opportunity is being heavily competed, with a mix of banks, life companies and CMBS shops going head-to-head.
Commercial Mortgage Alert first reported news of the financing request this morning.
The 768,000-square-foot trophy office and retail project sits adjacent to the Washington Convention Center and spans an entire city block in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood of downtown Washington. The recently-completed mega-complex comprises 19 existing historic buildings—erected in the early 1900s and acquired between 2001 and 2013—with a new, 11-story glass office building, and 80,000 square feet of space dedicated to food and retail.
Douglas Development bought the first of the historic building back in 2001, eventually spending $72 million to acquire all 19 buildings, according to the Washington Business Journal. The project’s architect, Shalom Baranes Associates, incorporated design elements from the original properties in the project, including terracotta panels to help it blend into neighboring buildings.
The D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment approved the development in 2015 with Brookfield joining the project in 2016 and investing $67 million, Bisnow reported.
Currently 92 percent leased to investment-grade tenants, the development is anchored by healthcare and education consulting company The Advisory Board Co., and includes a tenant-only two-floor gym and two private terraces for tenants leasing space on the upper floors.
In December 2019, PricewaterhouseCoopers signed a 15-year, 182,316-square-foot lease at the property, as previously reported by CO. PwC plans to move into its new space in the spring of 2021, consolidating two of its offices in the area. Additional tenants include The Capital Burger, Compass Coffee and Jeremiah Langhorne Restaurant.
A spokesperson for Brookfield declined to comment. An official at Douglas Development could not immediately be reached for comment.
