Henderson Park, Lowe Land $180M for D.C. Office-to-Resi Project
The redevelopment is adding three stories to this 1990s-vintage property.
A joint venture between London-based Henderson Park and Lowe has closed on construction financing for a conversion project at 1250 Maryland Avenue SW in Washington, D.C. The 536,000-square-foot office building known as Portals I will be transformed into a 428-unit multifamily community. Deutsche Bank issued the debt, which according to Commercial Observer, clocked in at $180 million.
Beyer Blinder Belle is the architect of record, while KTGY serves as the interior designer. Balfour Beatty provides general contracting services and Oehme, van Sweden | OvS oversees landscaping.
This adaptive-reuse project will add three more levels—totaling 112,000 square feet—to the 1992-built, eight-story office building, while also renewing the property’s facade. Additionally, the conversion is on track to add 53,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.
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Making use of the workplace’s large floorplates, the multifamily project’s units will average more than 1,000 square feet, according to a company statement. The development will encompass studio and one- to three-bedroom layouts.
Apartments are set to feature floor-to-ceiling windows, while common-area amenities will consist of a rooftop terrace with a swimming pool, a resident lounge, coworking spaces, as well as a gym, among others. What’s more, the project aims for LEED Gold certification through its sustainable building practices.
Carrying the address 1250 Maryland Ave. SW, the office property is approximately 4 miles from downtown D.C., and within walking distance of the Washington Channel and Tidal Basin. Thoroughfares such as U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 395 run close to the building, providing connectivity to the greater metro area.
A hotspot for office-to-residential conversions
The workplace property is part of the Portals campus, developed by Republic Properties. This particular building was encumbered by a decline in occupancy, resulting in its 2017 sale for $84 million to a special servicer. Problems persisted, and at the tail end of 2023, Henderson Park paid just $26 million for the asset.
The office campus has become a hotspot for adaptive reuse, with multiple projects driving a conversion-led revitalization. Just last month, Republic Properties secured a $195 million construction loan for the transformation of Portals IV, according to the Washington Business Journal. Kennedy Wilson and Pearlmark provided the financing for the 356-unit multifamily redevelopment.
These projects are neither the first nor the only conversions on the site. Back in 2020, Republic Properties completed the adaptive reuse of Portals V, converting the former office building into a 373-unit multifamily community known as 1331.
D.C.’s growing conversion pipeline
Metro Washington, D.C., is home to some of the largest conversion projects, having a pipeline of 6,533 units as of 2025—a figure that grew 12 percent year-over-year—Yardi Matrix shows. With the D.C. council approving tax abatement programs for office-to-residential conversions, the pipeline could grow even larger.
JBG SMITH may bolster the number of underway conversion units through the adaptive reuse of a 550,000-square-foot workplace in Arlington, Va. The developer filed conversion plans late last year, considering the construction of nearly 200 multifamily units and a 330-key hotel.
