Normandy Buys National Press Club Building for $155.5M

Morristown, New Jersey-based Normandy Real Estate Partners, a real estate investment and management firm, has purchased the iconic National Press Building in Washington, DC for $155.5 million, or nearly $317 per square foot. The 14-story building was sold by a venture between AEW Capital Management and Quadrangle Development Corp. which paid $167.5 million, or roughly $400 per square foot, for the property in June 2011.

Built in 1927-1928 for the National Press Club on the site of the Ebbitt Hotel and renovated in both 1985 and 2004, the National Press Club building at 529 14th St NW includes 468,251 gross square feet in Washington's East End submarket. The AEW-Quadrangle team retained what was then Cassidy Turley — now Cushman & Wakefield — in the summer of 2014 to seek buyers for the building, which at the time was assessed at $237.5 million.

"We are very excited about the acquisition of the National Press Building and our increasing level of acquisition activity across the Washington, D.C. region. We look forward to launching a program of targeted capital improvements to this iconic building in order to drive leasing activity and to take full advantage of the improving fundamentals we are seeing in the Washington, D.C. market," said Jeff Gronning, a Founder and Partner of Normandy Real Estate Partners, in a press release.

The National Press Club still makes its home on the two highest floors of the 14-story office and retail tower, with a mix of other tenants including American Physical Society, Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Marshalls, and Nine West. The property is located just blocks from major Federal buildings, some of the nation' s largest firms and associations, and is mass-transit oriented via Metro Center metro station. The building is also one of a very rare few in the U.S. that boasts its own ZIP code: 20045.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Normandy Buys 18th Street Office Building

Morristown, NJ-based Normandy Real Estate Partners announced this week that, in partnership with Japan's NTT Urban Development, it had closed on the acquisition of 1015 18th Street, NW Washington, DC. The 11-story office building, with an additional 3 floors below ground and 121 parking spaces, was sold for $49.9 million, according to a Nikkei Asian Review article. The property previously sold for $27,600,000 on December 18, 2003. This is the third partnership between Normandy and NTT and is the first in the District.

The 106,000-square foot Golden Triangle office building is located 1.5 blocks from Farragut North and West Metro Stations and was built in December 1970, and later renovated in 1986. Normandy plans to commence a major renovation of the property, which underwent an energy audit in 2010, to transform the asset and help "accelerate leasing velocity on the vacancy." Donohoe Real Estate Services, who represented the unnamed seller in the transaction, has been retained by Normandy as landlord’s leasing agent and anticipates delivering spec suites to the market early this year.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Normandy Buys Old Town Alexandria Office Building

Normandy Real Estate Partners, the Morristown, NJ-based real estate operator and investment manager, announced this week that it had purchased 1680 Duke Street in Alexandria, VA from the National School Boards Association, which will continue to occupy approximately 25,000 square feet. The price and terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Normady did note that Donohoe Real Estate Services brokered the transaction – and will serve as the exclusive leasing agent on behalf of Normandy.

"The location of the property is fantastic, with walkable amenities and proximity to the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, as well as excellent access to transportation hubs such as the King Street Metro Station, Alexandria Amtrak Station, Reagan National Airport, the Capitol Beltway and I-95," said Patrick Keeley, Vice President of Normandy Real Estate Partners.

The five-story, corner office building is located on the western border of Historic Old Town in the City of Alexandria, VA, approximately five miles south of the District of Columbia inside the Capital Beltway. Situated two blocks from the King Street Metro Station at the corner of Holland Lane and Duke Street, the property has excellent Metro accessibility, is across the street from a Whole Foods Market and is also positioned two blocks south of King Street, the main retail corridor in Old Town leading to the waterfront.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Normandy Secures $72M for Midtown Restoration

Jones Lang LaSalle announced this week that it had secured a $72 million loan on behalf of Normandy Real Estate Partners, a N.J.-based investment firm led by David Welsh and Finn Wentworth, for 125 W. 25th Street. French bank Natixis provided the financing on the 12-story property, which will allow Normandy to complete renovations to the building. Normandy originally purchased the building out of foreclosure for $54.5 million in 2013; prior to that, the former owners were Brooklyn-based investors Miriam and Michael Chen, who paid $34 million for it in 2006 but defaulted on a loan given to them by lender Cathay Bank.

"With this financing in place, our efforts are now focused on completing construction and finishing the redevelopment of the asset which will feature an open, loft-style setting and upgrades to the lobby, new enlarged windows, new elevators, and a new roof terrace and penthouse," said Paul Teti, principal at Normandy Real Estate Partners. "We’re excited to begin showing prospective tenants this ideally situated property that’s in the heart of Manhattan's technology and media center."

125 West 25th Street is located on West 25th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues – approximately one block west of Madison Square Park. The property offers 11,600 square foot floor plates with open layouts and light on three sides, resulting in a bright, collaborative work setting. The comprehensive renovation will include a glass façade on the first three stories, brand new building systems, lobby renovations, a roof deck, and new elevators, windows and floors.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

First Potomac Realty Buys Reston, VA Office Building

Normandy Real Estate Partners, the Morristown, New Jersey-based real estate investment and management firm, has sold 1775 Wiehle Avenue in Reston, Virginia to Bethesda-based First Potomac Realty Trust for $41 million. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though it is known that Paul Collins, Bill Collins, James Cassidy, Drew Flood, and Jud Ryan of Cassidy Turley represented the seller in the transaction.

The five-story, 125,444-square-foot office building was built in 2001 and provides immediate access to the Reston Town Center, which offers 40 retail stores, a wide variety of eating establishments, multi-family residential, and a 517-room Hyatt Regency Hotel. 1775 Wiehle offers tenants 25,000 square foot floorplates with high ceilings, 30' x 30' column spacing, 15% multi-tenant core factor, 9' finished ceilings and virtually column-free workspace. The building is 100% leased with Odin, Feldman & Pittleman, P.C. as the largest tenant.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Normandy Closes $140M Loan Portfolio

Normandy Real Estate Partners announced this week that it had closed on a $140 million loan from Morgan Stanley. John Campanella, senior managing director, and Paul Spellman, associate vice president with Cassidy Turley, negotiated this transaction on behalf of Normandy. The 10-building portfolio totals 787,425 square feet and is based in Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, with six properties concentrated in the Westfields International Corporate Center in Chantilly, VA.

"This successful transaction exhibits the strength of our vertically integrated platform as we have leased approximately 500,000 sf over the past three years, bringing occupancy to 93 percent," said Gavin Evans, Principal, Normandy Real Estate Partners. "This financing fully retires the original acquisition debt on the portfolio and allows us to further build on our vision and strategic plan for the Northern Virginia market."

"We continue to see strong lender interest in quality assets owned by well capitalized sponsors like Normandy", said John Campanella, Senior Managing Director, Cassidy Turley.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Boston's John Hancock Tower Sold for $930M

Boston Properties Inc. announced today that it would purchase the John Hancock Tower and Garage in Boston in a deal valued at $930 million according to the Associated Press. The purchase price reportedly consists of $289.5 million of cash plus the assumption of roughly $640.5 million in debt. The debt being assumed from the seller, a joint venture between an affiliate of Normandy Real Estate Partners and an affiliate of Five Mile Capital Partners, is a securitized senior mortgage loan that bears interest at a fixed rate of 5.68% per annum and matures in January 2017.

"The bidding was as fierce as anything I've ever handled during my 30 years in this business," said Robert Griffin, who brokered the sale for Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate services firm.

The John Hancock Tower is an iconic 62-story, approximately 1,700,000 rentable square foot office tower located in the heart of Boston's Back Bay neighborhood and is New England's tallest building. The garage is an eight-level, 2,013 space parking facility. As New England's tallest building, the John Hancock Tower features a 360-degree panoramic view of the Back Bay, Charles River, Cambridge, the Public Gardens, Boston Harbor and Financial District.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.