One of the region’s largest office-to-residential redevelopment projects is a go, with a new majority partner on board and a $175 million construction loan locked down.
A partnership of Bethesda-based Stonebridge, D.C.’s The Bernstein Cos. and New York’s Criterion Real Estate Capital has sold a 72% stake in the 1990 K St. NW project to an entity that shares an address with the Florida State Board of Administration and is managed by MetLife Investment Management LLC, according to deed records. The consideration is listed in deed records as $58.7 million.
That the team was able to secure its capital stack in a year suggests certain projects are still financeable in the District, despite the struggles of so many others. The project “reflects our commitment to delivering high-quality, thoughtfully designed housing in one of Washington, D.C.’s most established neighborhoods,” Kent Marquis, Stonebridge principal, said in a statement. The development, Marquis continues, “will serve a truly diverse range of residents.”
The prime downtown D.C. site at the corner of 20th and K is located a block or two west of the Farragut North and West Metro stations and four blocks east of Foggy Bottom-GWU station. Demolition work got underway a year ago to the day, Sept. 3, 2025, with a groundbreaking featuring Mayor Muriel Bowser and the development team. The project is part of the District’s Housing in Downtown program, which provides a 20-year tax abatement for commercial-to-residential conversions or redevelopments.
The K Street development is the second-largest project in the Housing in Downtown pipeline, behind only the conversion of the Universal Buildings on Connecticut Avenue into roughly 600 units.
The former office at 1990 K totaled just shy of 300,000 square feet and was constructed in 1979. Bernstein acquired the property in 2001 for $55.8 million. Stonebridge and Criterion entered the picture as partners and part-owners in September 2025.
The new development's amenities will include a rooftop lounge and pool, two-story fitness and wellness center, coworking space and an elevated courtyard.
The new financing was secured by Cushman & Wakefield’s D.C.-based capital markets and debt advisory team, according to a release.