Johns Hopkins University sells D.C. Office to Big Ten School
March 18, 2025
Johns Hopkins University sells D.C. Office to Big Ten School
2:59
Managing Editor, Washington Business Journal
Mar 18, 2025 9:06am EDT
Johns Hopkins University has sold the second of a trio of D.C. office buildings that used to comprise its District campus until its 2023 consolidation on Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
Indiana University Foundation Inc. paid $17.5 million for 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, according to deed records, or roughly $308 per square foot. The deal was expected, as the foundation filed plans with the D.C. Zoning Commission in the fall for the adaptive reuse of the 56,773-square-foot building with event, meeting and academic spaces, offices and dorm rooms for 35 to 40 Indiana University students. SmithGroup is Indiana University's architect for that project.
The eight-story, 1960s-era property will become the university’s new D.C. campus, per public filings, once its interior is modernized with new finishes, fixtures and lighting, upgraded elevators and new restrooms on each level. Known as the Benjamin T. Rome Building, 1619 Mass has a 2025 assessed value of $43.8 million, according to the D.C. tax office.
“It will open new doors for our students by making new and potentially life-changing experiences available," Pamela Whitten, president of Indiana University, said in a release. "It will create new opportunities for us to highlight IU innovation for national and international policymakers, extending the impact of that research.
IU's existing D.C. Advancement Center is located on the 11th floor of the Willard Office building at 1455 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, according to the school's website. Students spending a semester in Washington take classes at the Willard Center. IU's District offerings including its D.C. Accelerator, Washington Leadership Program and the D.C. Global Leadership Forum.
Johns Hopkins relocated to 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, formerly the Newseum, in August 2023, a year after paying $372.5 million for that property and then completing a $200 million renovation. That opened the door for the sale of JHU’s three-building D.C. campus — 1619, 1717 and 1740 Massachusetts Ave. NW.
It sold 1740 Massachusetts in December to the Republic of Poland for $20.1 million, roughly half its assessed value. Poland intends to consolidate its D.C. presence in that 58,734-square-foot, nine-story building, following “renovations, redecoration, and adjustments to meet diplomatic security requirements and other needs,” the Polish Embassy said at the time.
The former JHU campus is being jointly marketed for sale by Cushman & Wakefield and Civitas Commercial Real Estate Services. The one building that remains, 1717 Massachusetts, is the largest, at 108,000 square feet.
