Franklin Tower Brings Forth $88M

WASHINGTON, DC-There seems to be no end in sight to big-ticket office property dispositions in the District, and the recent $87.6 million sale of the 212,000-sf Franklin Tower has added to the city’s growing collection of high-priced sales. WestWind Capital Partners LP acquired the office property from the Bernstein Cos. and Gingery Development at a cost of about $413 per sf. Part of the acquisition deal included the assumption of Franklin Tower’s $30 million debt, or payment of the prepayment premium on the debt. “There was a lot of competition for the property,” Cassidy & Pinkard assistant vice president Drew Flood tells GlobeSt.com. Cassidy & Pinkard represented the sellers in the deal, while WestWind, Flood notes, represented itself.

Franklin Tower occupies a coveted half-acre corner spot at 1401 Eye St. in the city’s prominent East End area. Developed in 1991, the 12-story tower sits on Franklin Square Park and is flanked by the historic Franklin School and Almas Temple. In addition to its approximately 200,000 sf of class A office offerings, the property also features 10,000 sf of ground-level retail space, a 2,000-sf fitness center, and a three-level subterranean parking facility. Space in the building, currently leased to 98% capacity, goes for about $32 per sf, according to Woodmark Real Estate Services, which had been handling leasing activities at the property. Flood says a decision about the leasing agent under the new owner has not yet been made. Franklin Tower is home to a sterling list of nearly 20 tenants, including Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., ChevronTexaco, Mastercard International Inc., Microsoft Corp., Shell Oil Co., United Technologies Corp., and Vivendi Universal Holding I Corp.