Akridge Closes on Office Condominium Sales.

Sales at 1016 16th St. Suggest That Many D.C. Office Lessees Are Would-Be Buyers.

WASHINGTON -- Akridge has closed on the sales of five floors of its eight-story office condominium building at 1016 16th St., NW. Three additional floors of the building at 1016 16th St. are under contract. The one remaining unit of 4,400 square feet comprises the entire sixth floor.

1016 16th St. is a beautifully-restored, 1920s building that lies between K and L Streets in downtown D.C., just three blocks north of The White House. This prime location will soon be home to three new residents: the Jesuit Conference, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and The 1871 Heritage Headquarters, LLC (The Bar Association of DC and the BADC Foundation).

Office condominiums represent a unique--and rare--opportunity for companies to purchase office space, allowing them to build equity rather than paying to lease space. Eugene J. Kenney, Vice President of Leasing at Akridge, suggests that an organization relatively stable in size could save as much as a million dollars in costs over the course of 10 years by purchasing a floor at 1016 16th St.

"Many smaller organizations like the idea of owning," says Kenney. "Among other things, owning your office space allows you more control over your physical environment."

The Akridge Office Fund purchased the 38,166 square foot building in April of 2006 and chose to reposition 1016 16th St. as 10 units to sell as office condominiums.

The Jesuit Conference closed on its purchase with Akridge on September 25. The Conference will relocate from its offices at 1616 P St. to occupy four floors of the 16th St. building. Peter Gottesman and Paul Ehrenreich of CresaPartners brokered this 17,536 square-foot sale.

MALDEF closed on its purchase of a partial-first floor office space on October 5. The Fund is relocating from 1717 K St., NW. The transaction for the 3,081 square-foot condominium was brokered by Wesley Herr of Grubb & Ellis.

1871 Heritage Headquarters closed on a 678 square-foot space on the first floor of the building on September 18. The broker was not indicated.

About Akridge

Akridge is a comprehensive real estate services company that provides acquisition, development, asset management, property management, and leasing and consulting services. For seven of the last eight years, Akridge has been ranked the number one real estate firm in the country, among firms of similar size, for client satisfaction by CEL & Associates and BOMA. Since 1974, the company's projects have encompassed over 10 million square feet of space in the greater Washington region.

For more information, please visit www.akridge.com.