Manulife US REIT (MUST) said that its fifth largest tenant, US Treasury, has signed a 24-month lease renewal at 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue (Penn) in Washington, D.C., starting from August 2025.
The US Treasury will retain its space of about 120,000 square feet (sq ft) at Penn and the renewal will extend the property’s weighted average lease expiry from 1.4 years to 2.3 years.
The US Treasury has been a major anchor tenant in the building since 2011. As at Sept 30, it contributed to 5.3% of MUST’s total gross rental income.
CEO and CIO of the manager of MUST John Casasante said that the US Treasury had initially informed the trust that it might relocate, but was considering a short-term extension of its existing lease at Penn.
“The finalisation of this two-year lease renewal provides us with greater cashflow certainty amid ongoing challenges in the Washington, D.C. office market. That said, the federal government’s requirement for employees to return to office is expected to revitalise the city’s economy and may boost office demand over time,” he adds.
Casasante notes that the trust is working on several of these leasing opportunities and are optimistic of finalising them before th eyear ends.
See also: Keppel DC REIT obtains JPY11 bil term loan facility and JPY7.48 bil consumption tax loan facility
Penn is a 13-storey Class A office building located just a block from the White House in Washington, D.C., and within proximity to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Federal Reserve.
Units in MUST closed 0.1 cents higher or 1.389% up at 7.3 cents on Nov 19.
