The 305,000-sf structure at 1201 New York opened its doors to occupants back in 1987, and Falcon acquired it in 1999 for $81 million. Falcon followed up that purchase in 2000 with the $33-million acquisition of the 114,000-sf building next door at 1225 New York Ave., a structure that was built in 1993. According to District tax records, the buildings' individual assessed values for 2004 come in at $82 million and $33.3 million, respectively.

"The new financing has allowed us to be more competitive in attracting new tenants," explains Strategic Real Estate chairman Pierre Rolin. "The combined building offers 33,000 sf per floor, which is very attractive to large tenants. We have leased nearly 200,000 sf of space to such tenants as the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Government Ethics, and the Federal Elections Commission. With the new leases and new financing, we have created a trophy asset with long-term stable income."