Hines JV Inks 300 KSF Lease Extension

The media publisher and paper of record The Washington Post has extended its lease at One Franklin Square in Washington, D.C. The tenant renegotiated its initial commitment of occupying 300,000 square feet with the assistance of JM Zell Partners.

The Washington Post first signed a long-term lease with Hines, the building’s owner, back in 2014 and moved in 2016. The paper’s previous headquarters was at 1150 15th St. NW, less than one mile away from the current offices.

Hines and General Motors Pension Fund acquired the 12-story, 612,189-square-foot One Franklin Square in 1996. Prentiss Properties Trust sold the property for $180 million. Since its acquisition, the asset has been subject to two loans. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. originated $184 million in financing in 2005, while Mesa West Capital provided a $261 million loan in 2016, CommercialEdge data shows. Hines has now modified and extended the building’s loan through Mesa West, for up to five years.

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One Franklin Square came online in 1990 and was designed by Hartman-Cox Architects. The LEED Certified Gold building features 59,312 floorplates, 12 passenger elevators, a fitness center and a yoga center, a conference room, a rooftop terrace, controlled access and 864 car parking spaces. The property includes a first-floor retail component as well that hosts Compass Coffee, SoHo Café, and Union Kitchen.

Besides The Washington Post, the tenant roster also includes law firm Reed Smith, Davis Wright Tremaine, Atoll Financial Group, Mindspace, National Median Board and The Executive Leadership Council, among others.

Located at 1301 K St. NW, the building is across the street from Franklin Park and five blocks northeast of the White House. The property is surrounded by major thoroughfares such as K Street, 13th Street and 14th Street, while tenants have access to the McPherson Metrorail Station.

Office vacancy is up in D.C.

Washington D.C.’s office market registered a slowdown in 2023, in line with national trends, with less construction underway and lower transaction volume. Nevertheless, in terms of tenancy, D.C. had quite a few significant leases last year, situating the metro above some of the other gateway markets such as Chicago and Seattle.

As of February 2024, Washington D.C.’s office vacancy rate was at 17.1 percent, a 340-basis-point increase over a 12-month period and lower than the national rate of 18.0 percent, a recent CommercialEdge report shows.