The General Services Administration says it has sold the historic 1918 Liberty Loan Building at 401 14th St. SW for $17 million, a deal tied to plans to remove an underused federal asset from its books. The six-story building’s unusual Maine Avenue-to-Intersta
A rare, fully built-in highway ramp has sat inside the historic Liberty Loan Building for more than a century. Now, the General Services Administration says the property has a new owner—and the federal government is moving to take it off its books.
The historic Liberty Loan Building in Southwest D.C. was sold for $17 million to a Virginia business executive, according to deed records. The GSA said the sale will remove a costly, underused federal asset from its books.
The building itself is a 1918 structure at 401 14th St. SW. It spans about 174,000 square feet on a 2.76-acre property overlooking the Tidal Basin. It is perhaps best known for the traffic ramp from Maine Avenue to Interstate 395 that runs through the building.
The sale is part of the federal government’s broader push to unload what it says is underutilized real estate. Deed records show Satvik “Vinny” Raj. a Vienna. Virginia-based managing director and founder of Digilent Consulting. purchased the Liberty Loan building. The deal was backed by a $17.5 million loan from OakNorth Bank in the United Kingdom. Nearly $15 million of that loan was used to purchase the building. The GSA had been considering cash offers for the property.
Historic protections and site restrictions will shape what happens next. The sale also includes a 1.8-acre piece of Reservation 2, known as the Washington Monument Grounds. The National Park Service transferred that parcel to GSA earlier this year to help facilitate the deal.
That land comes with restrictions requiring landscaping. hardscape and streetscape features to remain visually compatible with the surrounding area. and it bars commercial signage. mirroring rules that apply to the National Mall. The property was found eligible in December 2024 for a spot on the National Register. It was conveyed with a historic preservation covenant requiring approval from the D.C. State Historic Preservation Officer for alterations.
The GSA said the six-story building—situated within walking distance of the National Mall. Washington Monument and the Southwest waterfront—is in a prime spot for new economic development. The agency also said the sale is expected to save taxpayers nearly $14.6 million in deferred maintenance and about $1.6 million a year in operating costs. as it continues an effort to dispose of other underused federal buildings.
The sequence of decisions is clear in the paperwork and the price: the government is offloading a property it calls costly and underused. while the buyer takes on a landmark structure with strict rules—ones designed to keep the Washington Monument Grounds visually compatible with the National Mall and to require official signoff for changes.
Liberty Loan Building General Services Administration GSA 401 14th St. SW Southwest Washington D.C. highway ramp Tidal Basin OakNorth Bank Digilent Consulting Satvik “Vinny” Raj Reservation 2 Washington Monument Grounds National Park Service National Register D.C. State Historic Preservation Officer deferred maintenance
So they sold a building with a highway ramp in it… why does DC always have weird stuff like that?
17 million?? That ramp in there sounds illegal, like how is it even still allowed. I read it fast but sounds like they just got rid of it to someone from Virginia and called it efficiency.
Wait, is this the building that connects Maine Avenue to I-395? I thought those old ramps were public infrastructure, not some asset on a spreadsheet. But I guess it’s “underutilized” so they sell it and move on. Also the guy name Satvik “Vinny” Raj sounds like he’s gonna turn it into something crazy, watch.
GSA cashes out and now there’s a new owner… love that for us 🙄. They say it’s to remove a costly underused asset but they should’ve just fixed it or used it for offices or something. And if the National Park Service transferred land to GSA, doesn’t that mean the restrictions mean nothing and people will still do whatever they want with the landscaping and streetscape? Seems like a loophole.