District of Columbia industrial is concentrated across Washington, D.C. (CBD, East End, West End, NoMa, Capitol Hill, Navy Yard, Capitol Riverfront, Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom). The District's economy is uniquely anchored by federal government employment , the GSA-leased office portfolio, the broader contractor and trade-association base, and a deep professional-services and law-firm concentration; the post-2020 office reset and the federal RTO mandate cycle have both materially affected District CRE underwriting . Washington, D.C.-area distribution and logistics product anchors the institutional industrial bid pool, with regional-bank and life-company competition on stabilized Class A bulk distribution and last-mile product.
Active capital sources
- Life Companies
- CMBS Lenders
- District of Columbia Regional Banks
- National Debt Funds
Loan programs we place
- Bulk Distribution Perm Debt
- Last-Mile Industrial Acquisition
- Build-to-Suit Construction-to-Perm
- Industrial Refinance / Recapitalization
Source notes
- per BLS QCEW, 2025, the federal government is the largest single employer in the District
- BLS QCEW, 2025
Frequently asked questions
What LTV is realistic on stabilized Washington, D.C. industrial?
Stabilized institutional bulk distribution and last-mile product typically clears 60% to 70% LTV through life companies and CMBS; debt yields of 8.5% to 10.0% effectively size most highly leveraged executions . Single-tenant credit-tenant net-leased product with long WALT can stretch into the 65% to 75% range on the back of underlying tenant credit.
Do you finance cold storage and specialty industrial in District of Columbia?
Yes. Cold storage, food-and-beverage processing, and aerospace-supplier industrial each draw specialty lender pools with distinct underwriting standards. The specialty industrial debt funds active on cold-chain and food-grade product treat large-format institutional cold storage as a primary asset class, and life-company correspondent shops with food-and-beverage industrial expertise quote stabilized institutional product on competitive terms.
What is District of Columbia's transfer tax structure for commercial industrial?
The District imposes a combined recordation tax and transfer tax of 2.90% of consideration on commercial transactions over $400,000 (recordation 1.45% + transfer 1.45%; DC Office of Tax and Revenue, 2024). Total transfer-side tax burden of 2.90% on a typical $10-25M District commercial transaction runs $290,000 to $725,000, among the highest closing-cost burdens in the country and a material variable in equity sizing.
Are construction loans available for build-to-suit industrial in District of Columbia?
Yes. Construction-to-perm executions for credit-tenant net-leased product draw competitive bidding from regional banks and a focused subset of national debt funds. Required equity is typically in the 25% to 35% range with partial recourse during construction burning off at stabilization, and long-WALT take-out through CMBS or life companies is the typical exit. Pre-construction lease execution with an investment-grade tenant materially improves both pricing and proceeds: the same physical building with a 10-year credit-tenant lease in hand at construction-loan closing typically clears 50 to 100 basis points tighter than a comparable speculative build, frequently with materially lower required equity.