This Week’s D.C. Deal Sheet: Mistui Fudosan Inks 4 Deals At Homer Building, Plans $25M Renovation
One of the country’s largest lobbying firms inked an expansion in a downtown D.C. building that is slated for an upgrade.
BGR Group renewed its lease at The Homer Building at 601 13th St. NW near Metro Center, increasing its footprint from 30K SF to 40K SF in a long-term deal.
JLL, which leases the 460K SF property for owner Mitsui Fudosan America, announced the deal this week along with the revelation that the owner is planning a $25M renovation.
BGR President Erskine Wells said in a statement that the firm looked at other locations but decided to stay in The Homer Building in part because of the "substantial" renovation plan.
The property has seen 82K SF of leasing activity over the past year, Mitsui Fudosan America Director of Asset Management Aimilia Vassiliou said in the release. It also recently signed a 20K SF lease with an unnamed trade association and new leases with SMBC Group and Rio Tinto in the property’s ninth-floor spec suites, the release says.
The building was constructed in 1914 and renovated in 1990 by Akridge, which continues to serve as its property manager.
The new renovation is set to include a two-story boardroom in the heart of the atrium lobby, designed to accommodate more than 150 people. Also planned are upgrades to the rooftop terrace, including a new indoor glass enclosure, and an expanded fitness center, including a pickleball court.
JLL’s Evan Behr, Doug Mueller, Jeanette Ko, Kristen Mathis and Meghan Murray represented Mitsui Fudosan America. Transwestern’s John Schlegel and John Lugar represented BGR.
Disclosure: Bisnow's D.C. office is located in The Homer Building.
LEASES
Strada Education Foundation more than doubled its footprint when it renewed its lease at 2001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The national nonprofit took 27K SF at the 158K SF property owned by Carr Properties, up from its previous 12K SF by renegotiating its 11th-floor footprint and adding the entire ninth floor. Avison Young, which represented Strada, announced the news last week. AY's Jonathan Danziger and Sam Werner represented the tenant. Carr’s office building is scheduled for a foreclosure auction later this month, the Washington Business Journal reported in early June.
SALES
MRP Realty has officially taken control of Gallery Place. The planned purchase had previously been reported but officially closed last Friday, according to records filed with the D.C. Recorder of Deeds Monday. The price recorded was $225.7M, but that represents the assessed value, and an MRP spokesperson confirmed the sale price was $39M, the WBJ first reported last month. The 660K SF mixed-use property, formerly owned by Oxford Properties, went into receivership in May 2023.
MILESTONES
A new pizza joint from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay opened this week in Penn Quarter. At 7K SF, Street Pizza features two bars, a lounge area, pool tables, arcade games and multiple dining rooms. The location at 507 Seventh St. NW is Ramsay’s first U.S. branch of the pizza chain, which in the UK dishes out bottomless slices. Ramsay has opened two restaurants at the Wharf, his first in the D.C. area: the fast-casual Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips in 2022 and the sit-down Hell’s Kitchen in early 2023.
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In another celebrity-led retail deal, Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand Skims opened its Georgetown location Thursday. The brand signed a seven-year lease for 4,500 SF at 3300 M St. NW, owned by Eastbanc. The store is the first permanent brick-and-mortar location for the brand, which is set to open four others this summer in Austin, Houston, Atlanta and Aventura, Florida.
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A 388-unit apartment community in Bowie has opened its doors. St. John Properties and Somerset Cos. cut the ribbon for Aspen at Melford Town Center on June 5, the joint venture announced in a release this week. The property is valued at around $150M, according to the release. It is the parties' fourth joint venture partnership. Prince George’s County Council Members Jolene Ivey and Ingrid Watson were among the elected officials at the ribbon-cutting.
FINANCING
Republic Properties refinanced its senior loan on one of Southwest D.C.'s Portals office buildings. The D.C.-based real estate firm secured a $96.5M loan from an unnamed pension fund in a transaction arranged by JLL Securities. The deal refinanced a $130M loan that U.S. Bank provided in July 2020, deed records show.
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IDI Group and PTM Partners have refinanced a 318-unit property in Woodbridge. The joint venture secured a $60M senior loan for Viridium at 1000 Annapolis Way from an unnamed life insurance company, Commercial Observer reported. BWE’s Daniel Shiff, Adam Bieber and Alec Jenkins structured the deal. The two-building complex on the banks of the Occoquan River delivered in early 2023.
