The movers and shakers of the D.C. region’s real estate scene were honored last week at the annual Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Association of Greater Washington awards ceremony.
The event, held at The Ritz-Carlton in the West End, highlighted the individuals and teams that made the most impactful imprint on the local CRE landscape last year.
Courtesy of CREBA
MRP Realty Managing Principal Bob Murphy accepts CREBA’s Joseph Stettinius Jr. Leadership Award.
Celebrated deals ranged from a 150K SF law firm lease poised to kick off construction of a new office building in downtown D.C. to the sale of a 31-story Rosslyn tower to its incoming anchor tenant.
Industry giants were honored for qualities ranging from deal prowess to public service, leadership and early career success.
There were five individual recognition award recipients, each of whom was presented with a compilation video of commentary from their peers overlaid with photos.
MRP Realty Managing Principal Bob Murphy won the Joseph Stettinius Jr. Leadership Award, given to an individual active in a leadership position at a commercial real estate firm who is “kind, compassionate, visionary and smart.” The award’s namesake was a top Cushman & Wakefield executive who died in 2018 at age 55.
“The like-mindedness between Joe Stettinius and Bob Murphy — they were incredible,” Cushman & Wakefield Executive Vice Chair Bill Collins said in Murphy’s video. “The idea for both of them was there’s never a job that they would ask anybody to do without them doing it themselves.”
Courtesy of CREBA
CBRE Vice President Jhon Pacheco receives the Rising Star Award.
CBRE Vice President Jhon Pacheco was given the Rising Star Award, designated for professionals under 35 for their “contributions to the industry, their customers and their firms.”
“Jhon is the combination of hard work, creative problem-solving and just grit,” CBRE First Vice President Tony Bolino said in Pacheco’s video montage.
The awards for top leasing agents of the year went to JLL Executive Managing Director Evan Behr in D.C. — for the second year in a row — as well as Colliers Vice Chairman Adam Schindler in Maryland and CBRE Vice Chairman Cathy Delcoco in Virginia.
Cushman & Wakefield Executive Vice Chairman Darian LeBlanc, who has managed the brokerage’s government services group for two decades, won the award for GSA Leasing Agent of the Year.
Courtesy of CREBA
Carr Properties Senior Vice President of Leasing Kaitlyn Rausse won Developer/Landlord Agent of the Year.
Carr Properties Senior Vice President of Leasing Kaitlyn Rausse was named Developer/Landlord Agent of the Year after winning the same honor last year. Rausse, who leases Midtown Center, shepherded several big deals at the property in 2024, including Fannie Mae’s 340K SF extension and ArentFox Schiff’s new lease for 120K SF.
CBRE teams won awards for the D.C. and Maryland Leasing Transactions of the Year, with Vice Chairman Lou Christopher the lead broker on both deals.
The D.C. leasing transaction award went to the team behind the McDermott Will & Emery prelease for BXP’s anticipated new 320K SF office building at Metro Center.
Courtesy of CREBA
The team behind the D.C. Lease Transaction of the Year for the McDermott Will & Emery deal: BXP’s Max Planning, JLL’s Evan Behr, CBRE’s Jordan Brainard and Lou Christopher, and BXP’s Jake Stroman.
For Maryland, the leasing deal award went to the team that inked Westat’s 188K SF lease at B.F. Saul Co.’s 7501 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda. The company is in the process of selling its longtime Rockville headquarters.
Virginia’s Leasing Transaction of the Year went to the CBRE team behind Carfax’s 87K SF lease at Comstock’s 1906 Reston Metro Plaza in Reston, an expansion from the tenant’s Centreville headquarters.
The Sales Transaction of the Year was awarded to Cushman & Wakefield and JBG Smith for their execution of the Central Place office tower sale. CoStar purchased the 31-story building at 1201 Wilson Blvd. for $339M in early 2024 for its new headquarters.
The Finance Transaction of the Year went to Cushman & Wakefield’s team for the office-to-residential conversion at 1625 Massachusetts Ave. NW. National Real Estate Development is transforming the property, formerly home to the Air Line Pilots Association, into 157 units. The property secured a $63.8M loan from Bank of America last fall, Bisnow first reported, and was one of the first three projects to receive the city’s 20-year tax abatement under the Housing in Downtown program.