The complex, which has undergone two renovations in the last five years, was built over a sixteen-year period, beginning with the construction of the 10-story Air Rights East Tower in 1964. Air Rights West came along in 1972, followed by the north tower in 1980. The last two structures are 13 floors and 12 floors high, respectively. All three buildings offer ground-level retail space and the complex is nearly 100% leased with tenants such as Acacia Mutual Life Insurance, American Capital Access Corp., George Washington University Health Plan, and Mass Mutual of Life Insurance. Leasing rates range from $25 per-sf for existing tenants to $34 per-sf for new occupants.

Lowe acquired the structure in 1997, taking the property off the hands of New York Life Insurance for $96 million in what was the largest transaction in suburban Maryland that year. Since then, Bethesda has evolved into one of the "premiere 24/7 communities in the country," according to Lowe Enterprises Mid-Atlantic senior vice president Marc A. Dubick. He goes on to explain to GlobeSt.com what motivated his company to sell the property. "There's a lot of capital in the Washington market and we were testing whether that would relate to Bethesda, and we think it does, given the price the building commanded," he says. "Then again, if we were to hold on to it for ten years and sell, we would have been just as satisfied."

Dubick did not specify how the income from the sell would be used, but he did say hint that Lowe could be going into acquisition mode in the area. Air Rights Center was the only Bethesda property in the company's portfolio. "We would absolutely be interested in acquiring additional real estate in Bethesda or Montgomery County in general," he says. "It's a good investment."