Cushman & Wakefield Closes Two Washington, D.C.-Area Deals

Cushman & Wakefield secured $51 million for Core Downtown Silver Spring, an apartment building under construction in downtown Silver Spring, Md.

Northwestern Mutual Life, Milwaukee, provided the long-term construction/permanent financing.

C&W Executive Managing Director Philip Mudd and Senior Vice President Bradley Geiger arranged the financing on behalf of Willco, Potomac, Md., and Foulger-Pratt, Silver Spring.

“This site was acquired by Willco in the mid-1980s and is considered a prime transit-oriented location,” Mudd said.

When completed Core Downtown Silver Spring will house 292 units in its 16 stories as well as 1,200 square feet of ground-level retail space. Units will average 707 square feet. Floors 5 through 14 will have nine-foot ceiling heights while floors 15 and 16 will have 10-foot ceilings.

C&W also represented Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, Hartford, Conn., when Cornerstone sold two Washington, D.C. buildings, 1501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 730 15th Street NW, for $55.5 million.

C&W Executive Directors Eric Berkman and Steven Gichner brokered the transaction. Bank of America currently leases both properties one block east of the White House. Built in 1902, 1501 Pennsylvania Avenue is a one-story, 5,000-square-foot bank branch with a 50-foot-high ornate ceiling. Bank of America uses it as a bank branch. It appears on older ten-dollar bills because of its proximity to the Treasury Department.

Connected to 1501 Pennsylvania Avenue, 730 15th Street includes 112,000 square feet of office space in its ten stories. The top floor houses a ballroom with wraparound windows that give unobstructed views of the White House, Treasury Department, Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial and portions of the National Mall.

Berkman noted that only one other private property facing the White House has similar classical architecture and views over the National Mall. “There will always be tremendous demand for classic Washington office buildings,” he said.

The Washington Business Journal reported that the Milken Family Foundation purchased the properties and plans to convert 1501 Pennsylvania Avenue into the Museum of the American Educator.