ARLINGTON, VA—It has taken several months for Stafford Place I and II to close but finally the trade have been settled: some six months after it was revealed that Atlanta-based Jamestown was under contract to purchase the two buildings for $300 million, the company announced on Wednesday that it has closed Stafford Place I, a 587,036-square foot, 12-story office located at 4201 Wilson Blvd.

This follows its acquisition of Stafford Place II, an 11-story, 184,548-square foot sister building located at 4121 Wilson Blvd., in June 2015, after Jamestown purchased the building out of a troubled situation for an undisclosed amount, according to Trepp data.

The deal is finalized just in time for Jamestown to make plans for the departure of Stafford Place's largest tenant next year. The National Science Foundation, which comprises 86% of available office space in the sister buildings, is leaving for Alexandria.

Besides recruiting new tenants, Jamestown is planning a revamp of the properties, including interior renovations, system modernizations and exterior streetscape improvements. The lobbies will be remodeled; also Jamestown has dusted off plans for Stafford I's open atrium space.

In the bigger picture the company sees the buildings as a beachhead from which it can take advantage of Wilson Boulevard's and Ballston's transformation into a more vibrant community. Forest City Enterprises' redevelopment of Ballston Common Mall into a new, open-air town center will help Stafford Place, given its proximity, the company believes.

"We see the area at an inflection point," said Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown, in a prepared statement. For various reasons, he believes, "Wilson Boulevard holds tremendous promise as a destination for the new innovation economy and the creative class.”

Transwestern began marketing the two office buildings, along with a third, on behalf of Dweck Properties at the beginning of the year.

In April the two buildings were put under contract for $300 million by Jamestown.

Then shortly afterwards the loan for Stafford Place II transferred into special servicing, according to Trepp. The borrower, Dweck, requested a 90-day extension on the loan, which is presumably why it went through the special servicer.

Jamestown was not able to speak to GlobeSt.com for this article.

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Erika Morphy

Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.

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