WASHINGTON, DC-The Alliance to Save Energy signs a 10-year lease for 18,000 sf in the 238,500-sf building at 1850 M St. NW. The firm is relocating from its current 13,000-sf headquarters.

ARLINGTON, VA-The Arlington County Board approves development plans for the Fairmont, a 237-unit condominium property. The 23-story residential tower is scheduled to deliver in early 2009.

WASHINGTON, DC-JOSS Realty Partners LLC takes title to the 127,500-sf office building at 1129 20th St. NW in a $43.3-million deal. The nearly four-decade-old structure will undergo renovations that will add about 30,000 sf of leasable space.

WASHINGTON, DC-The US--still considered the most secure and reliable environment for real estate investments among international players--will share more of the spotlight with other regions in 2006, according to a new survey by Afire. Investors are expected to increase activity in Western Europe and the UK.

LANDOVER, MD-Preferred Real Estate Investments takes title to the former headquarters campus for Giant Foods in a $45-million deal. Preferred takes the 1.5-million-sf office and industrial property from Dutch food company Royal Ahold NV.

RESTON, VA-The 253,800-sf Campus at Sunrise comes under new ownership. BPG Properties Ltd. acquires the three-structure office campus from CarrAmerica and is planning extensive upgrades.

PIKESVILLE, MD-Excalibur at Avalon, a 147-unit apartment property gets a new owner with the closing of a $47-million joint venture equity and debt financing package. It will complete the six-year-old complex's purchase and conversion to condominiums.

ASHBURN, VA-The Beaumeade Technology Campus trades in a deal that places the property in the portfolio of the Penzance Cos. The two-building office/flex condominium complex occupies a 12-acre parcel near Washington Dulles International Airport and features 132,000 sf of space.