Deka Immobilien acquires office building in Washington D.C.

Frankfurt – 22.09.2021

Deka Immobilien has purchased an office building for around 167 million US dollars in Washington D.C., USA, that will be added to the open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienMetropolen. The office building, 500 L'Enfant Plaza, which was completed in 2019, has direct access to the neighbouring National Mall and to the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station. The sellers are the real estate company JBG Smith and Landmark Partners.

This premium property offers more than 20,000 m² of leasable space and is almost entirely rented by seven tenants on long-term leases. The main tenant, the think tank the Urban Institute, which specialises in public policy and urban research, has its global headquarters here. The property is located in the historic Southwest Waterfront submarket, near the Capitol. Many important US authorities have offices near L'Enfant, while properties in the new The Wharf district, which is adjacent to the building, is used for a mixture of work, living and leisure. The property has excellent transport connections and has also received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

Deka-ImmobilienMetropolen is aimed exclusively at private investors and makes currency-hedged investments worldwide in commercial properties located in dynamically growing metropolitan areas. Target investment markets are chosen using a city selection model based on the long-term drivers of growth — globalisation, urbanisation, ecology and new working environments. This investment in Washington D.C. is the second property in an attractive US metropolis to be acquired by the Deka-ImmobilienMetropolen fund management, following the purchase of an office building in Chicago. The property is considered one of the most attractive properties in the submarket and offers long-term yield opportunities in the US political and administrative centre.

DekaBank is the securities services provider of the German Savings Banks Finance Group (Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe). Together with its subsidiaries it forms Deka Group. With total customer assets of more than EUR 395 billion (as at 31/12/2021) and more than 5.2 million securities accounts, DekaBank is one of the largest securities services providers and real estate asset managers in Germany. DekaBank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the German Sparkasse savings banks and forms an integral part of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe.

The Deka Group’s global real estate expertise is pooled in its Real Estate Division. The management companies, Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH and WestInvest Gesellschaft für Investmentfonds mbH provide management and support for around EUR 47 billion in real estate assets (as at 31/12/2021).