Science Organization Buys New Home for $19M

WASHINGTON, DC-The newly developed office structure at 1121 14th St. has gotten a new owner, the Society for Neuroscience. It is also now the lead tenant in the building. The nonprofit science organization acquired the property from developer DRI Partners Inc. for nearly $19.4 million, according to District real estate records.

Trip Howell, regional managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle, which represented DRI, tells GlobeSt.com that SFN stepped up to the plate as a buyer while DRI was developing the building as a build-to-suit or build-to-lease. Trammell Crow represented SFN. Located a stone’s throw from Franklin Park and several blocks from the White House, 1121 14th St. is an 11-story structure that was conceived by the architectural firm of Envision Design as an environmentally friendly property.

“The architect had already done some work and SFN came in and modified it and embellished it so the time to market was reduced,” Howell says. “SFN is now leasing out the balance of the building.” The organization, which relocated its headquarters from nearby Dupont Circle, occupies the top three floors of the structure.

According to a 2005 report by DC’s Downtown Improvement District, the development cost for 1121 14th St. was $25 million. Aegis Realty Consultants orchestrated financing through Prudential Real Estate Investors in the amount of approximately $25 million on DRI’s behalf in 2003 for the acquisition of the property and development of the building.