If the building closed on or around this price, it would be on par with other recent transactions. In June the Consumer Electronics Association acquired 1919 S Eads St., a 98,750-sf class A property from Charles E Smith for $388.86 per sf. In May 601 S. 12 St. was sold to Brookfield Properties from National Retail Properties Inc. for $425.93 per sf. It is a 540,000 sf, class B asset.

Office valuations in this submarket can be difficult to determine precisely due to the uncertainty created by the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure Commission last year. According to the Arlington County's BRAC Transition Task force, some 76.8% of all office space here is expected to be affected. "Part of the problem with Crystal City is that because the future renewals are uncertain it has caused some deals to hold off," Eric Berkman, senior vice president at Grubb & Ellis in Washington, DC tells GlobeSt.com.

As it happens, the Department of Defense is Presidential Towers' primary tenant according to local real estate records. This can be a potentially destabilizing situation, depending on the terms of the government entity's lease and its long range plans.