In return for shelling out a major chunk of change, the buyer, an unidentified off-shore client of Falcon Real Estate Investment Co., has added to its portfolio a build-to-suit structure with office space that is fully leased by patent and intellectual property law firm Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt PC until the year 2019. Scott Frankel of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale on behalf of the seller. Edwin Clarke III of Transwestern Carey Winston conducted the property search for Oblon/Spivak.

Monument acquired the 1.4-acre site now occupied by the Crescent at Carlyle in 1999 for $7.7 million. "While our original plan was to sell the building upon completion, Falcon, through Cushman & Wakefield, approached us in the fall of 2002 with an offer to purchase the property," explains Monument principal Jeffrey T. Neal. "And we accelerated our business plan to close on the sale less than one week after completion of the building by James G. Davis Construction Corp." Located less than a stone's throw from the US Patent and Trademark Office, the six-story building on Duke St. sits within the 76.5-acre mixed-use development known simply as Carlyle. In addition to the law firm's approximately 206,000 sf of office space, the building includes 5,000-sf of ground-level retail space, and a three-level underground parking facility.

For Oblon Spivak, the property is just right. "When we learned that the PTO was moving its offices, we realized this would be a perfect opportunity for us to find a new location for our own expanding firm," Oblon Spivak managing partner Marvin Spivak explains in a 2001 statement announcing the firm's relocation plan. "To continue to be right next to the PTO enables us to provide much more efficient services to benefit our valued clients. We will also be closer to the 'Rocket Docket,' the Federal District Court in Arlington, which is advantageous for the firm's extensive litigation practice. Two of our most important resources will literally be in our backyard." Oblon Spivak's 15-year lease, the financial terms of which are not available, began January 6 of this year, the company's move-in date.