15-Story Office Tower Taken Off the Market for $6.35M

RICHMOND, VA-The 170,000-sf, 15-story office tower known as the 7th and Franklin Building has gotten a new owner with Washington, DC-based Douglas Development’s recent $6.35 million acquisition from Chevy Chase Land Co. Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction. Located in the city’s central business district, 7th and Franklin is a class B property and is home to a broad range of tenants including law firm Beale Balfour Davidson & Etherington PC, the Better Business Bureau, the Medical College of Virginia, and the State of Virginia also keeps offices in the building.

For Douglas Development, market reports indicate that the acquisition is a good investment, despite the 16% vacancy rate in the second quarter. “The comings and goings of tenants in Class B cancelled out any gains or losses almost exactly,” researchers note in the Mid-Year 2003 Thalheimer Report. “The low activity for leasing is not an indicator of the general activity in the downtown market. Several tenants are in the market right now for both class A and B space and we expect that trend of rising activity to continue throughout this year and the next couple of years as well.