Falcon Purchases Time-Life Building in Alexandria, Virginia
ACQUISITION
Falcon Purchases Time-Life Building in Alexandria, Virginia
Falcon Real Estate Investment Company, LP completed the purchase of the Time-Life Building in Alexandria, Virginia, Falcon’s second purchase in the master-planned Carlyle development. This development includes the new 2,000,000 square foot home of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is also the home of the Federal District Court for Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The five-story Time-Life Building has a total of 156,123 rentable square feet (14,519 square meters) and is located on a 1.4-acre site. The building has a three-story underground parking garage with 290 parking spaces.
The Time-Life Building is directly across the street from the Crescent at Carlyle that was purchased by Falcon in January 2003. That property is on a long-term lease to one of the nation’s leading patent law firms. The Time- Life Building and the Crescent at Carlyle sit on opposite sides of the main entrance to the Carlyle development and this acquisition completes a strategic plan to control over 300,000 square feet of Class A office space at the main entrance to the Patent & Trademark complex.
The purchase of the Time-Life Building was a somewhat unique transaction. Time-Life was recently sold by its parent company, Time Warner, and will be moving out of the building during the next year. Therefore, Falcon will be seeking to re-lease the entire building to other tenants that might be attracted to the site by the Patent and Trademark Office.
The property was purchased at a price of approximately $39 million, equal to $250 per square foot. This was an all-cash transaction, and reserves were also established to cover the projected re-leasing costs. David Hill, Senior Vice President of Falcon Real Estate responsible for acquisitions in the Washington D.C. market, stated, “We are very optimistic about the leasing prospects for this premier property because of its excellent location. Once the re-leasing has been accomplished, we look forward to obtaining mortgage financing on the property and we expect this to be an excellent long-term investment.”