Jemal and DivcoWest plan 323 apartments inside a 1982 DC office building
Jemal Real Estate Strategies and DivcoWest plan to convert 1255 23rd Street NW, a 342,000-square-foot Washington, D.C. office building, into about 323 apartments. Madison Realty Capital lent $40 million for acquisition and predevelopment. DivcoWest is the current owner of the property and will retain an equity interest.
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Key facts, context, and what it means.
Key takeaways
About 323 apartments at 1255 23rd Street NW would come close to the nearly 350 units Jemal Real Estate Strategies has created across its Syracuse and Richmond conversions combined, in a single building.
An owner of an older office building near transit does not have to exit to get a conversion started: DivcoWest is selling into the venture and keeping an equity interest alongside the new sponsor.
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In a joint venture announced by the partners, Jemal Real Estate Strategies and DivcoWest plan to turn 1255 23rd Street NW, an office building of 342,000 square feet in Washington's West End, into about 323 apartments. As many as three dozen of those units will be affordable. Madison Realty Capital provided a $40 million loan covering acquisition and predevelopment, according to the partners' Business Wire release.
What stands out is how this deal's size compares with the sponsor's record so far. Jemal Real Estate Strategies launched in late 2025 and has since sponsored two conversions: an office and mixed-use building in Syracuse, New York, and a 20-story office tower in Richmond, Virginia. Together they created nearly 350 residential units.
An eight-story 1982 shell near three Metro lines
The building went up in 1982 and stands a few blocks from the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro station, which serves the Blue, Orange and Silver lines. It sits between Georgetown, George Washington University and Dupont Circle, an area the partners describe as short on housing, and especially short on affordable units. Norman Jemal, senior managing principal of Jemal Real Estate Strategies, said the office building has the geometry and structure to work as a residential building. Samir Tejpaul, head of investments at Madison Realty Capital, made a similar point about its configuration and called the area a market with few chances to build new housing.
The design team starts with a 342,000-square-foot office building and a target of about 323 apartments. FILLAT+ Architecture is the project architect.
1255 23rd Street NW by the numbers
Business Wire release from Jemal Real Estate Strategies and DivcoWest
A seller that stays in the deal
DivcoWest, which owns the property today, will keep an equity stake next to Jemal Real Estate Strategies. According to Nico Papageorge, a managing director at DivcoWest, the combined teams will deliver affordable and market-rate apartments alike and position the property for the long term.
DivcoWest is no small holder. Founded in 1993 by Stuart Shiff and now a DivCore Capital company, the San Francisco-based firm says it and its predecessor have acquired about 77.6 million square feet of commercial space, with a portfolio that spans office, R&D, lab, industrial, retail and multifamily, plus a Washington office.
Construction financing has not been announced, and the partners say more details will come as plans advance.
The sponsor behind the West End bet
Norman Jemal, Senior Managing Principal at Douglas Development, founded Jemal Real Estate Strategies as a private investment platform focused on opportunistic real estate and structured investment opportunities. In addition to the Syracuse and Richmond conversions, the firm is repositioning and leasing an office building in Arlington, Virginia.
There's a fair objection to reading too much into the track record. The release gives no costs per unit, schedules or leasing results from Syracuse or Richmond. That makes the West End project the bigger proof point in its own right, in a market where Tejpaul himself flagged how scarce residential development opportunities are.
Affordable count and the next filing
The Business Wire release says the building will be converted into approximately 323 apartments and that the project will include up to three dozen affordable units.
For anyone tracking West End housing supply or bidding on the work, the number to watch is the final affordable count, stated as "up to 36" today, and whether it lands inside or on top of the 323-unit total.
The partners say additional project details will be announced as plans advance. The financing disclosed so far is Madison Realty Capital's $40 million loan for acquisition and predevelopment.
Sources
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