Tokyo-Based REIT Completes Purchase of D.C. Mixed-Use Campus for $300M
Affiliate of developer North American Sekisui House paid $279 million for most of D.C.’s City Ridge district late last year
By Nick Trombola June 13, 2025 12:45 pm
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A Tokyo-based real estate investment trust scooped up the remaining residential assets of a sprawling mixed-use project in Washington, D.C., co-developed by its North American affiliate.
Sekisui House REIT has paid $299 million for Crescendo, two mid-rise multifamily complexes totaling 340 units, at the City Ridge campus in Northwest D.C., according to the Business Journals. The deal, from sellers Roadside Development and North American Sekisui House (NASH), is one of the priciest sales in the District so far this year.
The acquisition completes Sekisui House REIT’s full purchase of City Ridge, which kicked off in November with the firm’s $279 million buy of the other four multifamily buildings at the campus. That sale included the 157-unit Branches North and South, the 107-unit Coterie, and the 86-unit Botanica.
“This [purchase] is made in response to the fact that while prices of rental condominiums in Japan remain high and securing sufficient quality investment opportunities continues to be difficult, the sponsor, Sekisui House, is developing urban rental housing in the U.S. that meets [Sekisui House REIT’s] investment criteria in terms of quality, competitiveness and location,” the REIT said in a May memo. “Therefore, by taking full advantage of the Sekisui House Group’s real estate development and management capabilities, [theREIT] aims to achieve stable growth in Japan as well as proactive growth in the U.S.”
Representatives for Roadside and for NASH did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Roadside Development and NASH co-developed the 1.8 million-square-foot City Ridge, which sits on the site of the former Fannie Mae headquarters, in 2022. The district also contains about 159,000 square feet of commercial space, in which Roadside will retain its ownership stake. Retail tenants there include Wegmans, Equinox and Kingstreet Oyster Bar.
The REIT’s latest purchase is only its third so far in the U.S., following last year’s acquisitions of the first chunk of City Ridge and the $328 million purchase of the NASH-developed, 407-unit Ivy on Boren complex in Seattle.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
