According to District real estate records, the property has a proposed 2006 assessed value of $28 million. Gerry Trainor and Donald McCully, senior directors with Transwestern Commercial Services' Mid-Atlantic Investment Services Group, facilitated the transaction on behalf of Penzance.

Developed in 1969, 1129 20th St. is an eight-story structure with a two-level underground parking facility that can accommodate about 160 vehicles. The building was renovated in 1996 and again early last year. At the time of the transaction, 1129 20th St. was 87% occupied with tenants such as the American Legislative Exchange Council, Chicago Title, accounting firm Mitchell & Titus LLP and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

For Penzance, the decision to sell the property market was all about timing. "It felt to us that it was a moment in the cycle of the building where we had brought it to a good place and it was ready for prime time," Penzance's Peter N. Greenwald tells GlobeSt.com. "But we are committed to investing in the Washington, DC area. This sale is not a sign, in any way, of a lack of commitment to the market."