Georgetown, which formerly occupied the building, held on to the master lease after selling the property last year to Prudential Real Estate Investors affiliate TMW Property Funds USA in a two-building deal valued at $75 million. Currently, the university is subleasing the building in its entirety to the National Academy of Sciences, which plans to vacate the premises in 2007 for new digs in the East End.

The four-story stand-alone facility at 2001 Wisconsin Ave., also known as the Cecil and Ida Green Building, was developed in 1965 and substantially renovated in 1987. But more change is to come; the class B property will undergo a renovation in preparation for build out specifications of the new tenant. Transwestern is currently marketing the space for $23 per sf, triple-net.

"The property is a tremendous value for a large user to have control of an entire building at rents considerably lower than the average rent in Georgetown," Richardson tells GlobeSt.com. "And we're renovating; it will be an old shell with a brand new building." According to Advantis Real Estate Services Co.'s Year End 2004 Office Report, the average rate for class B office space in the West End/Georgetown submarket is $28 per sf; that figure jumps to $36.50 for class A space in the area.