Publisher, Real Estate Co. Trade Assets in $211M Deal

ARLINGTON, VA-Crystal Mall Two, a 290,000-sf office property in Arlington’s Crystal City submarket, will come under the ownership of the Bureau of National Affairs Inc. now that the publishing company has agreed to acquire the building from Vornado Realty Trust’s Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty. The price is $100 million. In turn–in a 1031 like-kind exchange–Vornado will purchase the three Washington, DC office buildings, totaling 300,000 sf, in which the REIT now houses its headquarters, for $111 million.

As reported by GlobeSt.com last June, the two companies had reached an agreement in principle on this deal. The building that BNA will soon call home, Mall Two, is located at 1801 S. Bell St. near Reagan National Airport and the Pentagon. Built in 1969, the structure is considered a class A facility, but will undergo substantial renovations to accommodate its new tenant.

Vornado will come into possession of BNA’s three office buildings located in the West End area at 1227, 1229 and 1231 25th St. NW. Vornado plans to maintain one of the buildings, a 130,000-sf structure, as an office property and convert the remaining two structures into residential condominiums.