By Ben Peters – Staff Reporter, Washington Business Journal

In-Rel Properties has been on a recent streak acquiring D.C.-area offices at bargain prices. Its latest is 2033 K St. NW.CBRE

In-Rel Properties, a Florida-based commercial real estate investor, has closed on its third Greater Washington office acquisition in the past 18 months.

The firm on Friday paid $20.5 million for 2033 K St. NW, an eight-story, 128,767-square-foot office at the corner of 21st and K streets NW. American Realty Advisors was the seller. The price works out to roughly $158 a square foot.

The sale price comes is well shy of the building’s $32.25 million 2025 assessed value. That’s the trend regionwide as older offices sell to bargain-seeking buyers.

“We really feel that our hands-on property management and sort of responsiveness to prospective tenants sets us apart in a market that unfortunately is going through a tremendous amount of turmoil,” In-Rel Principal Jackson Siegal told me. “We’re hoping to ride this wave of owners who have a reset basis and can transact to lead our success.”

CBRE’s Carroll Cavanagh, Dimitri Hajimihalis and Emily Eppolito will oversee leasing at the property, which is currently 77% vacant, according to Siegal.

Built in 1975, 2033 K underwent a $20 million renovation in 2019 with a new lobby, gym and conference center. In-Rel plans to develop a series of “town hall” spec suites on the second and third floors, CBRE said in a news release.

American Realty Advisors did not immediately return a request for comment.

In-Rel debuted in the D.C.-area market in the final days of 2023 with its $29.9 million acquisition of Bethesda‘s 7500 Old Georgetown Road, a 14-story, 338,000-square-foot office tower. It followed that up in December with 3865 Wilson Blvd., also known as Ballston Gateway, for $25.7 million. Both were considered bargain deals.

By Dan Brendel – Staff Reporter, Washington Business Journal

Nov 14, 2024

Eagle Bancorp Inc., the parent company of EagleBank, has announced plans to move its headquarters into in a well-known building in Bethesda, a consolidation it hopes will be conducive to growth

The bank currently has headquarters functions spread across two buildings in Bethesda and Rockville. The move to 7500 Old Georgetown Road, anticipated to occur inSeptember, will bring about 200 employees from those locations under one roof.

EagleBank will put its name on the building and occupy 65,000 square feet across three floors — the fourth, fifth and the top floor, the 15th. It inked the lease with In-Rel Properties, which acquired the property in 2023, on Oct. 24. The fourth and fifth floors will begin to receive renovations in January, while the top floor has already received a refresh.

The move won’t represent a major increase or decrease in leased space, except that now it’ll all be in one place, EagleBank President and CEO Susan Riel told me in an interview. It’ll also provide the company room to grow over time, she said.

Clark Construction used to be the 335,000-square-foot building’s anchor tenant, with its name on the building, before decamping to Tysons. 

The deal is a success story for Lake Worth Beach, Florida-based In-Rel, which has increased the building’s leasing from 42% when the company bought it a year ago to 78% now, including the EagleBank deal, Jackson Siegal, an In-Rel principal, told me in an interview. In-Rel bought the building for a steal — $29.9 million in 2023, slashed from the $133.8 million it traded for in 2019.

The building at 7500 Old Georgetown Road is In-Rel’s first acquisition in the D.C. region, though Siegal said the company is seeking additional, similar value-add office acquisition opportunities in the region.

“We’re delighted with our investment in Bethesda, and EagleBank taking so much space here is a testament to the resiliency of the submarket,” Siegal said.

Riel said the move doesn’t involve any state or county incentives. Siegal declined to say whether there were lease concessions.

“We look at ourselves as a Bethesda bank, a Maryland bank,” Riel said.

Riel said the new digs will improve transportation options for employees, providing more parking and immediate access to the Red Line’s Bethesda Metro station. The building’s large conference room will also provide EagleBank a place to hold big meetings, which previously it’s had to hold off-site, she said.

The building was constructed in the 1980s but renovated in 2019. Since buying it a year ago, In-Rel has also renovated some common spaces and built out some spec suites, Siegal said.

EagleBank is the ninth-largest bank in Greater Washington based on metro-area deposits, according to Business Journal research. Its $8.3 billion in local deposits account for a market share of 2.85%.

 For Immediate Release

**Hoover, AL, May 29, 2024** – NAI Chase Commercial, a member of the world’s premier managed network of commercial real estate firms, NAI Global, announced today the Hoover City Council’s approval of a 15-acre Mixed-Use Development to be located in the picturesque environment off Inverness Parkway, Hoover, Alabama. Randy Thomas represented the landlord on behalf of Inverness Center North Office Park, while the Louisianna Mixed Use Developer, Stoagroup will spearhead the multifamily and boutique retail portions of the development.

This mixed-use development will feature a blend of predominantly single unit dwellings with a luxury style targeting young, educated professionals, alongside 16,000 square feet of boutique retail space, giving compliment to the existing 450,000 SF of class A office space. The retail space will include a destination white tablecloth restaurant with outdoor water side seating, boutiques, cafes, and other high-end retail establishments, creating a walkable community atmosphere nestled within a park-like setting.

“We are delighted that the city council approved this mixed-use development,” said Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President-Brokerage of NAI Chase Commercial. “This new development will revitalize a once vacant office park, tenanted by Southern Company.   Over the past year, the new owners of The Inverness Center North Park have invested over $4 million in renovating the existing office buildings. Building 44 is now at 95% occupancy. Building 40 has completed a portion of its common area renovations which include a conference facility and fitness center. The class A office buildings have secured six new leases, including tenants such as Pulmonary Associates of the Southeast, Ardent Schools Corporate Offices and Ascension IT. Building 42 will undergo renovations soon as the third phase of the office redevelopment. The approval of the mixed-use Development within the Inverness Community is a perfect example of sparking new energy into office parks suffering from Post Pandemic occupancy.” Thomas added.

“Mixed-use developments cater to young professionals by seamlessly integrating the Live, Work, play aspects into a single cohesive environment,” said Prescott Bailey with Stoagroup. “Inverness Center North will feature Luxury professional living, renovated Class A office spaces, retail stores, and entertainment venues within a unique, lush natural setting with walking trails along Memorial Lake. This environment diminished the need for long commutes and fosters a balanced lifestyle. For young professionals, the convenience of living near their workplace and having access to amenities such as gyms, cafes, restaurants, and parks significantly enhances their quality of life. The vibrant, dynamic atmosphere of mixed-use developments encourages social interaction and networking, while the variety of activities and services available supports a flexible, modern way of living,” said Bailey. This holistic approach to urban planning not only meets the practical needs of residents but also creates a thriving community that is attractive to the young, dynamic workforce.

One of Bethesda’s most prominent office towers has sold for a fraction of its prior price after Clark Construction vacated most of its space. 

Stonebridge and Rockwood Capital sold the 16-story office property at 7500 Old Georgetown Road for $29.9M, roughly 22% of what they paid for it in 2019. The buyer, South Florida-based In-Rel Properties, announced the sale in a press release and confirmed the price to Bisnow.

The building is 40% leased, and In-Rel plans to maintain it as an office property, In-Rel senior adviser Jackson Siegal told Bisnow Tuesday. Commercial Observer first reported the sale.

The sellers had acquired the 335K SF property in 2019 for $133M. Invesco provided Stonebridge and Rockwood with a $103M loan in 2019 along with the acquisition, and Wells Fargo acquired the loan in 2020 and still held it as of June, deed records show.

Stonebridge and Rockwood also invested $21M to renovate the building last year, according to a Cushman & Wakefield brochure marketing the building for sale. 

The deal represented a “short sale,” Siegal told Bisnow, meaning the lender took a loss. The buyer obtained a new loan from EagleBank along with the deal, Siegal said. 

The building sits next to the Bethesda Metro station at the main intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Wisconsin Avenue. 

The building’s prior anchor tenant, Clark Construction, reportedly vacated the vast majority of its 120K SF at the property when it moved its headquarters to Tysons in 2022, the Washington Business Journal reported at the time. The company was emptying more than 90K SF, according to the WBJ, citing a CBRE report. Clark still maintains some office space at the property, Siegal confirmed. 

“We’re really planning on trying to aggressively get tenants back in,” Siegal told Bisnow.

“We want to bring it back to its former glory,” he said. “It has the potential to be a very dynamic workplace.”

The purchase marks the first D.C.-area acquisition for office and retail investment firm In-Rel, which owns properties in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma. But the firm is looking to do more deals in the region.

“We think D.C. is one of those places that has been hit really, really hard by Covid — like particularly hard,” Siegal said. “And we think that in the long term, D.C. is going to come back from this.” 

The firm also closed on an acquisition of a 119K SF office property in Memphis, Tennessee, within 48 hours of the Bethesda deal. That property, the Lipscomb & Pitts Building, is 91% occupied and sold for $6.8M, In-Rel Vice President of Finance Paul Catalano told Bisnow in an email. 

Sellers paid $133 million for the property in 2019

BY KEITH LORIA JANUARY 2, 2024 1:44 PM

7500 OLD GEORGETOWN ROAD.PHOTO: JOHN COLE

In-Rel Properties has acquired 7500 Old Georgetown Road, a 16-story office building in Bethesda, Md., in a short sale, Commercial Observer has learned. 

In-Rel paid $29.85 million, according to public records — more than $100 million less than the last sale price just four years ago. 

The seller, a joint venture between Rockwood Capital and Stonebridge, paid $133 million for the 335,000-square-foot, 40-year-old building in 2019. But the property fell into financial distress during the pandemic, and the building was just 40 percent leased at the time of the sale. This was despite a renovation that Rockwood and Stonebridge undertook in 2022. 

The landlords still had more than $100 million left in loans, necessitating the deal, according to someone with knowledge of the sale.

“We specialize in revitalizing troubled office buildings,” Jackson Siegal, an adviser at In-Rel Properties, told CO. “We are very excited to be part of the growth in Bethesda. We think that folks are beginning to figure out their office requirements in this new hybrid work world, with many determining that some level of back to the office will be needed for mentorship, culture and collaboration. Our plan is to provide a work environment that incentivizes folks to come into the office.” 

Dennis Udwin, In-Rel’s president, said the 2022 renovation was a factor in the buy. 

“We are not just acquiring a property, we are investing in a prime location in the D.C. area,” Udwin said. “The timing might not have been favorable for the previous ownership, but they did an outstanding job renovating the exterior, lobbies, bathrooms, gym, and conference center. We are here to build on that foundation and unlock the property’s full potential.”

This is the first Washington, D.C.-area acquisition for the Lake Worth Beach, Fla.-based company, which has more than 3.5 million square feet under management in six states.