Washington, D.C., June 28, 2010 –The $305 million sale of Two Constitution Square last week demonstrates NoMa’s leasing success and momentum in an uncertain economic environment. The $518 per SF price tag is a new high-water mark for the NoMa submarket.
StonebridgeCarras and Walton Street Capital sold the 589,000-square-foot office building to Northwestern Mutual. The project is fully leased to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) for the Department of Justice. Two Constitution Square is located at 145 N Street, N.E. in Washington, D.C.’s rapidly developing NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood, and sits adjacent to the New York Avenue Metrorail Station (Red Line).
The sale is a testament to the federal government’s strength as a stable, long-term tenant. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, and the General Services Administration have all signed recent leases in NoMa. NoMa experienced greater 2009 net leasing absorption than all other District submarkets combined. In addition, the $518 price per SF surpasses other recent trades in the NoMa submarket by more than $100 per SF, according to Real Capital Analytics.
“This price per square foot is the type you’d expect to see in the CBD or the East End. It’s a signal from investors that NoMa as a submarket is established, and has a bright future ahead,” said NoMa Business Improvement District President Liz Price.
Two Constitution Square was completed earlier this year; DOJ’s construction will be completed later this summer and the agency will fully occupy the building by late fall. Two Constitution Square has completed its documentation with the U.S. Green Building Council for Platinum LEED Certification under the Core and Shell program, and expects formal certification this summer. Northwestern Mutual has retained StonebridgeCarras Management to continue managing the building.
In addition to the Two Constitution Square building, the 1.6 million SF first phase of Constitution Square is the largest private development in Washington, D.C., including:
- One Constitution Square, a 329,251 SF office building now entirely pre-leased to GSA for its headquarters operation;
- a residential building with 440 luxury apartments;
- a 50,000 square foot Harris Teeter grocery store;
- a 204-room Hilton Garden Inn with meeting facilities, ballroom and restaurant; and
- 30,000 square feet of street-level retail space.
The project, a joint development of affiliates of StonebridgeCarras of Bethesda, MD and Walton Street Capital of Chicago, IL, also has one million additional square feet of future office, residential, and retail development.
About NoMa
NoMa is a mixed-use neighborhood north of Massachusetts Avenue and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Between 2007-2009, private developers have invested more than $1.5 billion in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID, and have plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space over the next 15 years. More than 5,000 new employees and residents will move into NoMa in 2010. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, visit the BID Web site at nomabid.wpengine.com.
###