The Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Association (CREBA) serves its members through education, networking, and recognition. Each year, CREBA honors and recognizes remarkable development, sales, and leasing performance throughout the greater Washington, DC area at their annual awards ceremony. The CREBA awards are widely considered the most prestigious award competition in the Washington, DC commercial real estate industry. In 2021, Carr Properties is proud to have received three, esteemed recognitions, including Project of the Year, Maryland Lease Transaction of the Year, and Rising Star.
The Wilson, a 23-story trophy office tower part of our larger 940,000-square-foot mixed-use development which includes The Elm, a two-tower residential development with 456 apartments, was recognized as CREBA’s 2020 Project of the Year. The Wilson is a landmark development, delivering a level of high-end office quality that has not been seen in Bethesda before. With its proximity to nearby transit and Bethesda Row, The Wilson has become the new heart of Bethesda. We thank all of our associates, partners, and service providers who had a role in bringing The Wilson to life. “A project of this scale and complexity would never be built without support from the entire company. A special thank you to our development team, Alison Wertzler, David Chaconas, and Tom Argires, for their exceptional leadership over the last four years,” shared Austen Holderness, Chief Development Officer of Carr Properties.
By delivering 100% pre-leased in 2020, with the signing of Walker & Dunlop, The Wilson solidified its best-in-class caliber and led the building to win CREBA’s 2020 Maryland Lease Transaction of the Year. This 59,000 square foot lease transaction had many complexities, including the relocation of an existing customer to make enough contiguous space, as well as the renegotiation of other leases to accommodate the needs of the customer. At a time of great uncertainty in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Walker & Dunlop’s decision to relocate its headquarters to The Wilson reflects their heightened search for wellness-centric spaces in a trophy office project.
As Oliver Carr shared in November 2020, “We are thrilled to welcome Walker & Dunlop as a valued customer at The Wilson. Having Walker & Dunlop choose The Wilson as their future headquarters speaks to the best-in-class quality of this project. It was a pleasure working with the Walker & Dunlop and CBRE teams to achieve a successful outcome for all parties. I am also extremely proud of the efforts from the Carr Properties and Transwestern leasing teams to complete the leasing of The Wilson prior to completion of the development.”
Transwestern Executive Co-Directors Phillip McCarthy, Keith Foery and Senior Vice President Erin Kurucza represented Carr Properties, which was led by Senior Vice President Jackson Prentice, Vice President Kaitlyn Rausse, and Vice President Jason Bockeneck. Walker & Dunlop were represented by CBRE Vice Chariman Lou Christopher, Senior Vice Presidents Brad Wilner and Charlie Carroccio.
Lastly, Carr Properties’ Senior Leasing Associate, Tim Whitebread, was named CREBA’s 2021 Rising Star. The Rising Star award recognizes the next generation of leaders within the commercial real estate industry. For this award, a nominee must be 35 years or younger and is selected based on contributions to the industry, their clients, and their firms. This year, CREBA had a record number of nominations which resulted in 17 extremely worthy candidates, however, there is only one Rising Star: Tim Whitebread!
In the last year, Tim has stepped up into a new role taking on more responsibility, was involved in over 30 lease transactions throughout 2020, and is widely respected and admired amongst his peers. This award is a reflection of Tim’s talent and dedication to his craft, and we are so proud of him, as the named recipient. Watch CREBA’s dedication video honoring Tim here.