Post Brothers Face Foreclosure of Conversion Project in DC

A developer pursuing several office-to-residential conversions in the nation’s capital is in danger of losing one of them to foreclosure.

Post Brothers received a foreclosure notice on Friday for its 300,000-square-foot office property at 2100 M Street NW in the district’s West End neighborhood, the Washington Business Journal reported. A foreclosure auction is on the books for April 10.

The Philadelphia-based developer landed a $66.7 million loan from AllianceBernstein two years ago, but the balance has since ballooned to $77.9 million. The loan matured a few months ago.

Post Brothers president Matthew Pestronk expressed hope the issue could be resolved amicably and with the developer still in place, saying the company was “actively working” on raising funds.

Post Brothers acquired the property in 2023 from Network Realty Partners and Meadow Partners for $66.7 million. The office asset was previously the longtime home of the Urban Institute before an announced departure in 2017.

In October, the developer secured approval from the Board of Zoning Adjustment for a conversion to a 400-unit apartment building with 20,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, according to the Commercial Observer.

While Post Brothers fights for its West End redevelopment, the firm is forging ahead with the district’s largest conversion so far. The developer’s $400 million conversion of the Universal Buildings at 1825 and 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW is expected to yield 600 units and 700,000 square feet. Post Brothers tapped a 20-year tax incentive for conversions in the district, which is expected to save the company $95 million in property taxes.

D.C. ranks second in the nation in office-to-residential unit pipeline, according to RentCafe, trailing only New York City. There are 71,000 units in the national pipeline, a record-breaking total in the firm’s tracking and a tripling of the number of units in the works three years ago.

— Holden Walter-Warner