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Press
Meritage buys D.C. downtown building
Washington Times
By Tim Lempke
Friday, June 27th, 2003
It didn?t take long for Andrew Nathan to jump back into the D.C. real estate market. The former executive for Tishman Speyer Properties in the District founded Meritage Properties in February, and this week, he announced the company?s acquisition of 1411 K St. NW, a 65,000-square-foot building downtown.
The $10.04 million purchase, from RAB Management, is the first for New York-based Meritage.
Mr. Nathan described 1411 K St. as "a hidden gem sitting in the heart of the downtown Washington corridor."
"It presented the chance for us to execute precisely the kind of? strategy that is the cornerstone of the Meritage Properties mission."
That strategy is to buy well-located buildings, upgrade their appearance and facilities, and sell them at a profit. In the case of the 1411, Meritage plans to renovate the lobby and construct a new fa?de on the K Street. The building, constructed in 1959, was last renovated in 1990.
It?s no surprise that Mr. Nathan turned to the District for Meritage?s first big deal. During his 16-year stay at Tishman Speyer, he helped to establish the firm?s presence in the Washington area while serving as its chief of acquisitions for the eastern half of the country.
Meritage worked with brokers from Buchanan Partners, a District-based company that has developed more than 2 million square feet of office space in the Washington region.
"We saw this as a unique opportunity to acquire a solid building in a wonderful location, said Brian Bennighoff, a principal with Buchanan. "We are confident that before the end of the year, the results of our efforts will be apparent and appreciated by both our tenants and our neighbors."
The building is 97 percent leased.
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