PHOTO: Courtesy Michael Rebibo
Michael Rebibo
Founder and managing principal at Rexmark
Michael Rebibo could never have imagined he’d one day control the leasehold of Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, but sometimes fate has other plans.
Rebibo’s Rexmark was initially the lender on the landmarked property. But, after foreclosing on borrower Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, he ended up in the conductor seat in June 2022.
The intricacies of the undertaking were significant and multifold — and the move had to be far more than simply a real estate play for Rexmark. The station’s entire operation was now in the firm’s hands, and Rexmark had to work with multiple stakeholders, including government and city officials, in getting Union Station back on, well, track.
The station had fallen on hard times during COVID, coupled with the crime and homelessness that soon surrounded its vicinity. Rexmark worked with city officials and undertook extensive community outreach to tackle those issues head-on, improving the station’s security and cleanliness and making deals with existing tenants to reopen their shuttered doors seven days a week, as well as signing new tenants.
Union Station has the potential to once again be a billion-dollar asset, as well as the beneficiary of the $3 trillion dollar federal infrastructure plan — which didn’t exist when Rexmark first invested in the asset as a lender five years ago. With approvals now in place to expand its footprint, money being invested, diligent care being taken, and a committed owner steering its repositioning, a bright new chapter is approaching the platform.
There are some many issues to work through, of course. Amtrak, which utilizes Union Station as its headquarters, filed an eminent domain claim in April 2022 to take control of the station. While this claim is still ongoing, Rexmark is busy turning the station around and restoring it to its former glory.
And, while Union Station is a work in progress after years of neglect, sources said the leasing — and investment — interest from the market has never been greater.
Rexmark’s investors in the asset are Korean, and immediately saw the vast appeal of the 115-year-old property. In terms of tenants, national, high-end brands are eyeing the space as well as various entertainment and experiential concepts, sources said. As this list went to press, the station’s foot traffic was up 40 percent year-over-year and sales were up an impressive 30 percent over the same time, according to sources.
All aboard!
