Developers see value in DC's Metro stations

Washington

SOME of Washington's most accomplished real estate developers recently announced a new company that one described as a "true powerhouse". Valued at US$8.4 billion, the company, JBG Smith, will be the capital's largest landlord to the federal government and will dwarf any real estate venture the region has seen.

To create it, the principles of two existing firms, the JBG Cos and Vornado/Charles E Smith, merged their companies and took what they considered the best 92 properties (including 50 office complexes and 18 apartment buildings) from each. Everything else will be sold.

Although the properties are spread across the region, one characteristic unites them. Almost every one - 98 per cent - is within a half-mile…