Douglas Development Purchases South Washington Street Property

Local commercial real estate firm Tartan Properties last week announced the sale of 115 S. Washington St. to the Douglas Development Corporation.

The 22,653-square-foot space was owned by and served as a parish hall for Washington Street Methodist Church. The property had recently housed a preschool, which moved out after finding a new facility. The church hadn’t utilized the space in some time, according to Tartan’s Mike Porterfield.

Alexandria-based Douglas Development Corporation has redeveloped a series of historic properties in the region, including Chinatown Row, the International Spy Museum property and The Citadel, a new mixed-use complex in Adams Morgan.

Porterfield said Douglas Development does not have a concept in hand for the S. Washington Street property, but that there is potential for retail, apartment and condo use.

“I think it will be nice for the city to see some new activity in a building that had been underused,” Porterfield said.

According to a 2011 Washington Post report, Douglas is known for sitting on vacant property for as long as it takes to secure retailers that can transform an area. The company already owns a number of properties in the King Street-Washington Street area.