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Newmark announced today that it is marketing the Watergate Office Building at 2600 Virginia Avenue on behalf of Rockwood Capital. The 214,508-square-foot, 11-story office tower is located on the Potomac Riverfront in Washington, DC’s West End, a core downtown submarket known for its luxurious hotels, high-end restaurants and luxury residential real estate.
“The Watergate Office Building is one of the most storied buildings in the United States. As the site of the infamous Watergate scandal-the 1972 break-in to the Democratic National Committee headquarters-the building offers an opportunity to own an iconic piece of American History,” said Newmark Executive Managing Director Jud Ryan.
The property is currently 90 percent leased, including the headquarters for ten of its tenants, and recently underwent a $14 million, ground-up transformation to a modern, Class A, institutional-quality office building. Improvements include a new fitness center with showers and lockers, secure bike storage and repair station, electric car charging stations, and fully updated restrooms, common areas, and a fully renovated lobby.
The Watergate Office Building connects directly to the 336-room, 5-star Watergate Hotel which recently underwent a $125 Million gut renovation adding a stunning rooftop deck and bar, new food and beverage offerings, and new spa and conference facilities. The Watergate complex is home to 60,000 square feet of restaurant, retail, and service amenities within the Watergate Shops. The complex is currently upgrading its central plant HVAC system which will result in significant cost savings and free up a large area of rooftop space.
“Rockwood’s recent improvements at the Watergate Building have driven significant leasing velocity over the last few years,” added Ryan. “Those enhancements coupled with the ability of the next owner to capitalize on the newly available roof space for a unique rooftop terrace with breathtaking views of the Potomac, Georgetown, and Rosslyn, illustrate the tremendous upside potential to the building.”
The Watergate Office Building was built in 1967 as part of the 10-acre Watergate complex which, at the time, was the largest privately-funded urban renewal project in the history of Washington, DC. Designed by famed Italian architect Luigi Moretti, and originally developed by the Italian firm Societa Generale Immobiliare (SGI), the project was the first mixed-use development in the District. The Watergate complex consists of six 12- to 14-story buildings around a central retail plaza, including three luxury residential buildings, the Watergate Hotel, the Watergate Office Building and the 600 New Hampshire Avenue office building. The complex is named after the terraced steps to the river from the western side of the Lincoln Memorial.
Newmark’s Vice Chairman Alex Foshay, Executive Managing Directors Jud Ryan and James Cassidy and Vice President Cliff Cummings are facilitating the sale while Vice Chairman Joe Donato is arranging financing and Chairman, Metropolitan Asset Services Brendan Owen is handling leasing of the space.
Photos of the building credited to Sam Kittner can be found here.
About Rockwood Capital
Rockwood Capital, LLC (“Rockwood”) is a real estate investment management firm founded in 1995 that provides equity capital combined with real estate operating expertise for the repositioning, recapitalization, development and redevelopment of residential, office, research and development, retail and hotel space in key markets throughout the United States. Rockwood and its principals have invested on behalf of their clients approximately $29.6 billion of real estate through commingled funds and separate accounts. Rockwood is a 73-person organization with offices in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Los Angeles, CA that manages a portfolio of approximately $3.8 billion of net equity value in approximately $7.4 billion of gross real estate assets as of 9/30/2018. Rockwood’s investors include sovereign wealth funds, public and private pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, funds of funds, high net worth individuals and family offices. For further information visit, www.rockwoodcap.com.
About Newmark
Newmark (“Newmark”), operated by Newmark Group, Inc. (“Newmark Group”) (NASDAQ: NMRK), is one of the world’s leading and most trusted commercial real estate advisory firms, offering a complete suite of services and products for both owners and occupiers. Together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently-owned offices, Newmark’s 16,000 professionals operate from approximately 430 offices on six continents. Newmark’s investor/owner services and products include investment sales, agency leasing, property management, valuation and advisory, diligence, underwriting, government-sponsored enterprise lending, loan servicing, debt and structured finance and loan sales. Occupier services and products include tenant representation, real estate management technology systems, workplace and occupancy strategy, global corporate services consulting, project management, lease administration and facilities management. For further information, visit www.ngkf.com.
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