1680 Duke Street alexandria, va

Services Provided by Donohoe:

  • Seller’s Agent

Background:

1680 Duke Street was built for a non-profit owner in the mid-1980s.  Part of a multi-building office project, the 50,000 SF property served as an ideal headquarters. But, over time, the association came to require less square footage.  Attempts to retrofit and backfill the under-utilized space had proven difficult and the association hired Donohoe to explore both leasing and sales options.

Challenge:

Despite some excellent selling points, the property was coming to market with several challenges to overcome.  Among those issues: the new owner had significant re-purposing, re-tenanting, and tenant improvement costs; the common areas and elevators cabs needed refurbishment; and understanding the office park’s condominium structure would require significant due diligence prior to closing.

Result:

After evaluating the market, Donohoe Commercial Real Estate recommended a different approach to facilitate the building sale: exploring a sale/leaseback. Such a transaction allows the association to right-size their offices and reduce the buyer’s vacancy costs.  At the same time, DCRE worked to secure a long-term lease that converted the first-floor to retail and activated the building’s façade. Within 60 days of listing the property, DCRE had sole-sourced an institutional buyer that put the building under contract and closed 90 days later.