Watergate Office in D.C. Sells for Just $53M
The seller, Elme Communities — which plans to shed its remaining assets and dissolve later this year — purchased the office in 2017 for $135 million
By Nick Trombola March 9, 2026 2:35 pm
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Part of the infamous Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., has sold for over 60 percent less than its 2017 sale price as the seller prepares to formally dissolve later this year.
An affiliate of boutique hotel owner Jetset Hospitality acquired Watergate 600, named after its address at 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, for $52.5 million, according to District deed records. The Business Journals first reported news of the sale.
Seller Elme Communities is in the process of shedding its portfolio as it prepares to dissolve later this year. The multifamily-focused real estate investment trust announced in January that it had entered into sale agreements for its two remaining Maryland properties, including the roughly 300,000-square-foot Watergate 600, and both sales are expected to close in the first half of 2026. Elme purchased Watergate 600 in 2017 for $135 million, records show.
Despite Jetset’s focus on hospitality assets, the 12-story Watergate 600 is expected to remain an office asset, per the Business Journals. The building was nearly 82 percent leased as of the end of last year, but that’s down to at least about 60 percent with four contiguous upper floors opening up. The sale price is less than half of its 2027 assessed value of $122.1 million.
Stream Realty’s Matt Pacinelli, Charlie Smiroldo and Lukas Stanat represented Jetset in the deal, while JLL represented Elme.
“Watergate 600 offers a rare opportunity to lease a premier, contiguous top block in one of Washington’s most established submarkets,” Pacinelli said in a statement. “Opportunities of this scale — 125,000 square feet with monument and Potomac River views and a private terrace — are exceptionally limited in the West End. Combined with the building’s recent capital improvements, this availability offers tenants the ability to secure a distinctive presence within a landmark property.”
Elme, previously known as WashREIT, had transitioned from focusing on office and retail properties to multifamily during the waning years of the pandemic. Yet the high cost of capital and challenging market conditions prevented sustainable growth, according to the firm, ultimately leading to its dissolution. The REIT traded most of its office properties to Brookfield in 2021 for $766 million, and last August announced that it would sell 19 multifamily properties to Cortland for $1.6 billion.
Watergate 600 sits near the Potomac River in D.C.’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood west of the White House. It is part of a group of office buildings that includes 2600 Virginia Avenue Northwest, site of a June 17, 1972, break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee. The break-in was later found to be part of a political spy operation that was traced to deputies of President Richard Nixon, and ultimately led to Nixon’s resignation.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
