Developer Pays $7M For Planned Old Town Conversion: The D.C. Deal Sheet

An Arlington-based developer is taking the reins of an already approved office-to-residential conversion in Old Town Alexandria after acquiring it last month.

Insight Property Group plans to convert the 147K SF, six-story building at 2051 Jamieson Ave. into around 180 units, Tim White, the company’s principal and chief investment officer, told Bisnow in an email after announcing the news on LinkedIn earlier this week.

The developer paid $7.1M for the property, White said. That is about 11% of what it sold for nearly two decades ago.

Kapolei, Hawaii-based James Campbell Co. owned the 2003-era office building since 2008, paying $65.8M for the acquisition, the Washington Business Journal reported. 

“This transaction was completed as part of our long-standing strategy to reduce our exposure to office assets across the country and further concentrate our portfolio in other property types, particularly industrial,” James Campbell Co. Chief Operating Officer Claudia Walraven said in an emailed statement.

JLL had been marketing the property since at least February, the WBJ reported. 

The approved conversion plan allows for a four-story addition with two options for unit count: 187 residential units or 181 residential units with a floor of retail. That approval, granted in November, was spearheaded by Red Fox Development on behalf of James Campbell, White said. Red Fox is no longer involved.

Patrick Sullivan, who joined Insight as head of acquisitions this year, led the deal, White said. Sullivan previously spent more than a decade at MRP Realty.

“This is Insight’s sixth office acquisition,” White said in an email. “What began as an opportunistic move has become a core part of the business alongside our ground-up multifamily work, and we are actively looking for additional office buildings across the D.C. metro for similar execution.”

SALES

MAA sold a 269-unit apartment building near Thomas Circle for $147M, the Washington Business Journal reported, citing D.C. deed records. Goldman Sachs was the buyer of 1499 Massachusetts Ave. NW and received a $70M loan from the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System. According to a lawsuit filed in April, MAA owned a 35% stake in the building and an “unaffiliated institutional investor” controlled 65%, the WBJ reported.

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A trio of investors sold a 189K SF Ballston office building for nearly double what it paid to acquire the property exactly two years ago. FarmViewVentures, GreenBarn Investment Group and Rithm Capital sold 4075 Wilson Blvd. to Atlanta-based Piedmont Realty Trust for $52.7M, the Atlanta-based REIT announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. FarmViewVentures founder John Wolf said Monday in a LinkedIn post that the buyer paid all cash. FarmViewVentures’ partnership had purchased the property in September 2024 for $27.6M in cash.

MILESTONES

Montgomery Housing Partnership announced that it has completed development on a 163-unit affordable apartment building near the North Bethesda Metro station. The Chimes, an $86M project, reserves its units for a mix of affordability levels — families earning 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% and 80% of the area median income or less. MHP held a grand opening Thursday with Montgomery County officials and private partners. The development received a $2.2M grant from the Amazon Housing Fund. It also secured 9% and 4% tax credit awards.

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Trammell Crow Co. has started construction on a 95K SF flex warehouse in Rockville, Maryland, the Dallas-based developer announced this week. The developer is replacing a vacant office building on 5.6 acres at 7500 Standish Place, which TCC purchased in June. The project, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2027, will feature a 32-foot clear height and a 130-foot truck court. McCloud Builders is the general contractor, and JLL will lease the project.

FINANCING

Carr Properties secured a $92M construction loan for its 299-unit office-to-residential redevelopment in D.C.’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood. PNC Bank was the lead lender and administrative agent for the financing, which also included debt from United Bank. Berkadia advised Carr in arranging the financing. 

The project at 2121 Virginia Ave. NW, which also benefited from a D.C. Housing in Downtown 20-year tax abatement, is already underway, and vertical construction is expected to begin this month. Clark Construction is the general contractor, and Michael Graves Architecture is leading the design.

UPDATE, SEPT. 18, 4:45 P.M. ET: This story has been updated to include a comment from James Campbell Co.