Boston Properties picks up D.C. office stake

Boston Properties head Mort Zuckerman

Boston Properties has made its first office building acquisition since its buying spree in 2008, according to the Wall Street Journal, picking up a 30 percent stake in a Washington, D.C. property. But rather than celebrate, industry insiders are pointing to the relatively small size of the deal — Boston Properties is paying just $8.5 million for its portion of the 180,000-square-foot office building — a far cry from the company’s larger boom time purchases. The building, currently occupied by the Internal Revenue Service, is expected to be vacant by 2011, when Boston Properties plans to spearhead a $40 million to $50 million renovation and upgrade project. [WSJ]