Jemal Real Estate, DivcoWest and JLS Capital have formed a joint venture to continue the wave of office-to-residential conversions in Washington, D.C. The joint venture intends to convert a 342,000 square foot office building at 1255 23rd Street NW in D.C.'s West End into 323 residential units. Approximately 36 of these units are designated as affordable housing. A 22,000 square foot ground-floor retail space will remain.
Madison Realty Capital provided a $40 million loan to finance the acquisition and pre-development. DivcoWest owns the eight-storey property and will retain an equity stake alongside Jemal Real Estate. Fillat+ Architecture is responsible for the conversion design.
Property Details and Strategic Direction
Built in 1982, the property features 257 covered parking spaces and is located just a few blocks from the Foggy Bottom-GW University Metro station, between Georgetown, George Washington University, and Dupont Circle. Norman Jemal, Senior Managing Principal at Douglas Development, founded Jemal Real Estate in late 2025 with the aim of driving such conversions.
Norman Jemal stated that the adaptive reuse of existing buildings will play an increasingly important role for the future of Washington's neighbourhoods. He emphasised that the building at 1255 23rd Street NW, despite its original office use, possesses the geometry and structure suitable for an outstanding residential building.
Experience in Adaptive Reuse
Jemal Real Estate has prior experience with property conversions. This includes the conversion of an office and mixed-use building in Syracuse, N.Y., into 57 residential units, as well as the transformation of a 20-storey office tower in Richmond, Va., into 288 residential units and 210 hotel rooms. The Jemal family is also actively involved in acquiring properties in the greater DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) area.
- —Jemal Real Estate: Leading the project development.
- —DivcoWest: Owner and equity partner.
- —JLS Capital: Partner in the joint venture.
- —Madison Realty Capital: Provided the $40 million loan.
Matthew Jemal's Jemal Equities invested $92 million in a 254,000 square foot office building in Dupont Circle. This deal marked Jemal Equities' fourth office acquisition in D.C. within approximately 14 months.
