Built in 1989 on a corner lot in the District's East End area, Metro Center is a bit of a rarity, of sorts, in the city, as it is a completely freestanding building with access to natural light from all four exposures. The 12-story structure contains 228,100 sf of office space on the top 11 floors, 11,600 sf of ground-level retail space, and 4,000 sf of storage room. The property also offers a three-level subterranean parking area capable of accommodating up to 225 vehicles.

Metro Center also offers a stable tenant base. The property is leased to near maximum capacity by 17 tenants, including public affairs communications firm the Cassidy Cos. Inc, which occupies 110,000 sf, and law firm Bryan Cave LLP, which leases about 49,000 sf. The two aforementioned occupants are committed to lease agreements that are not scheduled to expire until 2012 and 2010, respectively. Less than 30% of the building's leases are due to expire before 2007.

"In summary, 700 13th St is a high quality asset with stable, long-term cash flows from a well diversified tenant base in a prominent location in the strongest office market in the US," Lend Lease officials explain in a June 24 internal memo. "Furthermore, growth from structured reviews in the existing leases and the reversionary upside from average in-place rents being below current market rates result in forecast yield growth over time."