Firm Buys Other Half of Premier Property for $34M

WASHINGTON, DC-The property at 1717 Pennsylvania Ave. has changed hands, well sort of, now that JP Morgan Fleming Investment Management has forked over its half of ownership interest in the 185,000-sf building to partner and 50% owner Carr Realty LP in a deal valued at $34 million. District tax records list the property’s 2004 assessed value at approximately $60 million. The transaction, which comes eight years after the two companies first acquired the property, makes Carr Realty 100% owner of 1717 Pennsylvania.

Just a stone’s throw from the White House and the World Bank Headquarters in the city’s Central Business District, 1717 Pennsylvania was developed on nearly half an acre in 1960, and underwent a $10.5 million gut renovation back in 1996. In addition to its 180,500 sf of class A office space, the 13-story above-grade structure also features 4,000 sf of street-level retail space, as well as a three-level underground parking facility. The property is leased to maximum capacity by a wide array of tenants. Occupants include MCI Telecommunications Corp. in a 105,000-sf space, law firm Goodwin Procter LLP with about 21,500 sf and Occidental International Corp, which occupies 10,500 sf. The three aforementioned tenants are under leases scheduled to expire no later than Nov. 1, 2007. At 100% occupancy, the property beats out its neighbors on the block, which boast a still admirably low 3% vacancy rate.