Whiting-Turner’s will build its corporate headquarters with the help of architect Gensler as part of a 50-year ground lease agreement, which will be a cornerstone of long-term collaboration between the two organizations.

The 150,000-square-foot office building is expected to be completed in 2028. It will include a safety-focused training center and connect Whiting-Turner and Goucher College to the surrounding Towson area, 8 miles north of Baltimore.

The facility will also introduce young adults to career opportunities in construction and design.

For the past 51 years, Whiting-Turner’s headquarters have been the Hampton Plaza Office Building on East Joppa Road in Towson.

Six months earlier, Goucher College and Edenwald Senior Living announced plans for Maryland’s first university retirement community.

It will combine cultural and educational activities through Goucher with the amenities and services of a Life Plan Community to foster lifelong learning and connection.

Whiting-Turner has been active in supporting the Baltimore area. It recently announced that it will partner with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore and the Baltimore Ravens to create a Hilton Recreation Center that will serve 2,000 youth annually.

In December, Whiting-Turner was part of a group that began construction for VanTrust on the 526,119-square-foot Building C at the 2.4 million-square-foot Platte International Commerce Center development in Kansas City.

Delivery is expected in July for the facility, which might be expanded to 1.1 million square feet.

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The Minneapolis portfolio has 17 buildings and spans nearly 1.9 million square feet, while the Baltimore acquisition includes 10 buildings totaling 881,000 square feet. The locations and square footage of each asset in the two portfolios were not released and the company declined to offer more details, including the seller or sellers of the assets.

The company described the properties in general terms noting they have highly diversified tenants, high average clear heights, ample loading docks and parking spaces, as well as proximity to major thoroughfares, employment centers and residential neighborhoods.

READ ALSO: The Future Demand for Industrial Is Decarbonized

The firm, which has been among the top five largest cross-border buyers of U.S. real estate over the past five years, focuses on key U.S. industrial markets with significant population bases, diversified economies and resilient tenant demand.

Investcorp noted that as of the fourth quarter of 2024, market rent growth over the past three years averaged 13.4 percent in Baltimore and 11.4 percent in Minneapolis, according to Green Street Advisors data. These figures outpace the 9.3 percent average for the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas.

Baltimore has seen a recent influx of major corporations including Optum Inc., JLL, Under Armour and Morgan Stanley. Minneapolis has a diverse economy that features 17 Fortune 500 companies like Target Corp., Best Buy Co., 3M Co. and General Mills.

In the U.S., the Bahrain-based firm invests primarily in the industrial and residential asset classes, with 98 percent of its portfolio coming from those two sectors. As of September, nearly 60 percent of Investcorp’s real estate assets under management in the U.S. were in the industrial sector. Since 1996, Investcorp has acquired approximately 1,400 properties totaling more than $26 billion.

Growing U.S. industrial presence

The Minneapolis and Baltimore deals come about five months after Investcorp made three industrial acquisitions totaling about 1.5 million square feet for approximately $300 million. The Dallas and Atlanta infill portfolio had 16 buildings totaling 597,161 square feet and expanded the firm’s existing significant industrial presence in both markets. The West Coast infill portfolio includes 17 buildings encompassing 539,909 square feet across Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area. The Tampa industrial portfolio had eight buildings comprising 279,887 square feet.

Investcorp officials noted well-located, multi-tenanted assets continue to attract interest from tenants and investors as re-shoring and nearshoring efforts reshape the industrial and manufacturing landscapes in the U.S. The three portfolios reflected those characteristics and were expected to provide a resilient cash flow with year-over-year industrial rent growth.

Last April, Investcorp acquired a 1.3 million-square-foot, 31-building industrial portfolio in South Florida and Denver for about $200 million.

A month earlier, Investcorp formed a new investment vehicle valued at $526 million with two leading sovereign wealth funds to focus on acquiring U.S. industrial assets. The investment vehicle’s buying capacity was estimated at about $1.5 billion.

Several properties in Indiana and Florida previously owned by Investcorp changed hands last year. In July, Sperry Equities acquired Northwest Indiana Logistics Portfolio with 639,829 square feet across two buildings in Portage, Ind. Investcorp had owned the assets, which are in the Chicago industrial market, according to CommercialEdge data.

Cypress Park, a five-building industrial park in Orlando, Fla., with 256,838 square feet, was sold to Harbert Management Corp. in April for $40.5 million. The industrial park had been acquired by Investcorp in 2021 for $28 million, according to CommercialEdge.

The post Investcorp Pays $335M for Industrial Portfolios appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Wexford Science & Technology and The University of Maryland, Baltimore have opened 4MLK, an eight-story, 250,000-square-foot life science building in Baltimore.

The developer broke ground on the facility, which is part of the university’s BioPark, in the fall of 2022. An $81.5 million loan originated by Ventas financed the construction, according to CommercialEdge information.

The multi-tenant lab and office building is the third such facility developed by Wexford within the campus.

READ ALSO: Life Science Trends to Watch in 2025

Located at 4 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., the mid-rise is within walking distance of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and less than 1 mile from downtown Baltimore. The Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is some 9 miles away.

The property comprises 160,000 square feet of Class A wet lab-capable space, 35,000 square feet of flexible, scale-in-place lab and innovation infrastructure and a 16,000-square-foot civic lounge and assembly space, along with an adjacent public plaza.

The building will house Wexford’s headquarters. In addition, a key tenant will be The University of Maryland School of Medicine, which will establish its new Edward & Jennifer St. John Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine at 4MLK. This center will enhance research collaborations and jointly develop cutting-edge innovations.

Part of a larger life science campus

The BioPark spans 14 acres and includes nearly 1.2 million square feet of laboratory, office, health-care and community-oriented space across seven buildings. Upon full occupancy, 4MLK will be home to the largest concentration of bioscience companies in the Greater Baltimore region.

The national life science construction pipeline has shown remarkable resilience, with 54.7 million square feet of new space underway between 2019 and October 2024, according to CommercialEdge data. Key life science clusters continue to prosper despite general economic challenges, largely due to their reliance on direct research and in-person collaboration.

The post Wexford, University of Maryland Complete Baltimore Life Science Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A joint venture between Hanover Co. and multiple institutional investors advised by Northwestern Mutual Real Estate has broken ground on Frederick Airport Park, a 118-acre, 1.7 million-square-foot campus in Frederick, Md.

Development partners include architecture firm MGMA and civil engineer Harris Smariga, as well as general contractor Conewago.

Cushman & Wakefield will market the project to potential tenants, while CBRE assisted Hanover in finding capital partners. Northwestern provided a $46.1 million, 5-year loan, according to public records.

READ ALSO: Top 5 Markets for Industrial Deliveries

As a first phase, the team will develop two buildings on a speculative basis, expected to total about 508,000 square feet. The first facility is projected to come online in the third quarter of next year. Additionally, each of the two light industrial developments within the first phase will measure more than 250,000 square feet in a front-park, rear-load configuration.

These facilities are taking shape at 1620 and 1640 Bowmans Farm Road, providing easy access to Interstate 70. Downtown Frederick is about 2 miles away, while downtown Baltimore is some 48 miles southeast. The Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is within 52 miles.

Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Directors Peter Rosan and McLane Fisher are in charge of leasing the project. CBRE Executive Vice Presidents Bo Cashman and Jonathan Beard worked on behalf of Hanover to find capital partners.

A need for light industrial space

Built on a speculative basis, the project will benefit from an increased demand for light industrial space. According to a recent study by BKM Capital Partners, the subsector is resilient even in a slower economy.

Besides Hanover Co.’s new project, Baltimore’s Frederick submarket had two additional industrial assets underway. They are both being developed by St. John Properties, CommercialEdge data shows. Each of the two adjacent projects, taking shape at 4734 and 4744 Arcadia Drive, measures 60,240 square feet.

Baltimore’s industrial supply pipeline included 2.8 million square feet under construction, representing a 1.3 percent expansion of existing stock, 60 basis points below the national rate, the most recent CommercialEdge report shows.

The post Hanover, Northwestern Mutual Kick Off 1.7 MSF Maryland Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Finmarc Management Inc. has purchased Riverview Plaza, a 185,275-square-foot regional shopping center in Frederick, Md., for $30 million. The joint venture of EDENS and JPMorgan Chase & Co. sold the asset. This is the second property and first retail center Finmarc added to its Frederick-area portfolio.

CBRE Executive Vice President Ryan Sciullo and Vice President H. Casey Benson Smith brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller, while Finmarc was self-represented.

Completed in 1998, Riverview Plaza last changed hands back in 1999, when the EDENS joint venture purchased it, according to CommercialEdge data. Last year, EDENS sold a 168,655-square-foot shopping center in Bridgeport, Conn.

The tenant roster includes anchors TJ Maxx, Michaels, PetSmart and Bob’s Discount Furniture, along with a mix of diverse retailers such as Sierra and Old Navy. It is also shadow-anchored by the nearby Home Depot and Target. At the time of the deal, Riverview Plaza was 95 percent leased.

Located at 5425 Urbana Pike, the shopping center is within an Opportunity Zone. Riverview Plaza is near Interstate 270, in an area where the daily traffic count reaches 20,000 vehicles, according to Finmarc. The retail center serves 125,000 individuals within a 5-mile radius, with an average income of $130,000.

Baltimore’s retail sector looks solid

Baltimore started the new year with strong retail leasing activity, despite a slight increase in vacancy, according to a recent market report from MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services. Overall vacancy increased 10 basis points quarter-over-quarter, to 6.2 percent as of March.

More than half a million square feet of existing space has been leased this year, and 37 percent of the 286,000 square feet under construction is still available, with most already pre-leased.

The post Finmarc Pays $30M for Baltimore-Area Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Stifel Financial Corp. has signed a 35,000-square-foot office lease at Armada Hoffler’s Wills Wharf, a 330,000-square-foot building in Baltimore. JLL and Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord and tenant, respectively.

The trophy property offers 236,000 square feet of Class A office space, as well as 156 hotel keys. Built in 2020, Wills Wharf is LEED Silver Core and Shell certified. The 12-story, $120 million building features 34,653-square-foot floorplates, a daycare center, as well as waterfront views, among others.

Through its relocation from downtown St. Louis, the independent investment bank and financial services company will join ranks with other tenants such as Morgan Stanley, Franklin Templeton and Transamerica.

READ ALSO: Sizing Up the Prime Office Building Landscape

Located at 1201 Wills St., the building rises on the banks of Patapsco River, inside an 89-score walk area. Several upscale dining options, parks, as well as a ferry terminal, are within walking distance, while downtown Baltimore is more than 1 mile away.

JLL Vice President Peter Jackson represented Armada Hoffler in the leasing proceedings. Cushman & Wakefield Senior Managing Director David Downey Jr. and Executive Director Courtenay Jenkins spearheaded the negotiations on behalf of Stifel Financial Corp.

A closer look at Harbor Point

Wills Wharf is part of Harbor Point, a 27-acre mixed-use project including 3 million square feet of office—which is 98 percent leased—retail, residential and hospitality space. Armada Hoffler developed the project alongside Beatty Development Group.

Harbor Point’s first two phases debuted between 2010 and 2020, with Wills Wharf being the latest addition to the project. There are currently three other developments under construction at the Harbor, with another in the planning and permitting stages.

In 2021, Armada Hoffler paid $246 million to purchase a majority stake in the Exelon building, a 440,000-square-foot mixed-use property inside Harbor Point.

Baltimore’s office market marches on

According to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report, Baltimore’s office vacancy rate stood at 17.4 percent at the end of 2024’s first quarter. The city’s office absorption was negative, at 136,000 square feet year-to-date through March, the same report reveals.

The overall office leasing activity in Baltimore throughout 2024’s first quarter clocked in at 1.1 million square feet, distributed nearly evenly between new leases and renewals, according to the report. This year’s figures edge 2023’s (812,640 square feet) and 2022’s (960,865 square feet) during the same period.

In February, Window Nation inked a 50,698-square-foot lease at St. John Properties and Greenbaum Enterprises’ 104,412-square-foot office building inside the 605-acre Maple Lawn mixed-use community.

The post Armada Hoffler Inks 35 KSF Office Lease in Baltimore appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A CBRE team led by Bo Cashman and Jonathan Beard, along with members of CBRE National Partners, led the marketing of the 198-acre portfolio and represented the seller in the negotiations.

The Baltimore Crossroads portfolio is situated within an established industrial park along the I-95 Corridor and dissected by Route 43 in the Baltimore East Industrial submarket. The portfolio, which also has excellent accessibility to the Port of Baltimore, is currently 97 percent leased to national and regional tenants.

The properties in the portfolio are 1405, 1409 and 1411 Tangier Drive and 11501, 11503 and 11505 Pocomoke Court. The buildings range in size from 42,275 square feet to 435,490 square feet.

READ ALSO: How Logistics Developers Can Surmount Inventory Hurdles

The submarket has availability of 3.6 percent and high barriers to entry, according to CBRE. Tenants, particularly big-box occupiers, are attracted the submarket because of its central location, nearby ports, robust regional infrastructure, labor pool and high population concentration within 100 miles. CBRE noted Baltimore saw a nearly 30 percent year over year increase in big-box leasing activity leasing activity in 2023 alone.

Despite the Port of Baltimore being closed from March 26, when a large container ship struck and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, through June 10, the Baltimore industrial market remained resilient. CBRE’s second-quarter industrial report for Baltimore stated the market performed well during the second quarter, recording its best quarter for absorption since the fourth quarter of 2022. Leasing was up 87 percent across the market quarter-over-quarter including a new lease for 129,465 square feet at 6301 New Cold Mill Road in the Baltimore East submarket inked by Windspeed Logistics. 

Recent EQT deals

Radnor, Pa.,-based EQT Exeter has been an active investor in the industrial sector. Last month, the global real estate investment manager acquired four properties totaling 365,000 square feet, part of Gayteway Business Park in Arlington, Wash., for $70.6 million from GS Venture Partners, according to CommercialEdge data. The assets were fully leased at the time of the purchase.

In May, the firm paid Prologis more than $284.6 million for a 5.1 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in metro Minneapolis-St. Paul. A month earlier, EQT made two industrial deals. The firm acquired a 641,906-square-foot Phoenix-area industrial asset from BET Investments for $60.1 million. It also purchased an 819,004-square-foot industrial facility in Fontana, Calif., for $197 million from Manulife Investment Management.

The post Behind EQT Exeter’s $141M Portfolio Buy appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A recent report from the Marsh McLennan Agency shows that the number of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. nearly tripled in the past decade, boosted by severe storms and flooding. Meanwhile, bad weather and increased usage are also putting more strain on America’s aging infrastructure.

To stay competitive, effective risk management, contingency planning and insurance strategies should come into play. This means many industrial owners and operators will need to adjust strategies.

Kate Rutherford, senior vice president at Prologis, is on the front lines of developing an effective risk management strategy. Based on her 20 years of experience, Rutherford has no illusions about what lies ahead: “Extreme weather events are totally out of our control. What we can control is our preparation and our response.”

READ ALSO: Rising Insurance Costs and the Power of Risk Management

For Rutherford, preparation starts at the construction and development phase. “We’re in a lot of markets, so we experience all the different disasters such as earthquakes, windstorms and floods. This requires a proactive approach, assessing natural hazards and climate exposures, making sure that properties are built to withstand potential disasters.”

Maintenance, monitoring matter

But preparation isn’t enough. Regular maintenance is also required. Rutherford highlighted how seemingly trivial things such as checking the status of roof drains can prevent damage by making sure water doesn’t accumulate on rooftops during heavy rainstorms. She also mentioned the importance of keeping nearby trees trimmed, which can keep tree branches and other wind-borne debris from damaging buildings.

Rutherford also stressed the importance of active monitoring. In January 2023, a series of tornadoes occurred with no warning in Atlanta. For Prologis, monitoring kept a natural disaster from becoming a human tragedy.

READ ALSO: How to Protect CRE From Wildfires

“We have fire alarm monitoring at all our buildings. A few minutes before the incident, our property manager received a waterflow alarm notice. The fire department was dispatched to evacuate the building, and everyone took shelter. The customer called us shortly thereafter and while there was some damage to the building, there were no fatalities. Those kinds of positive actions reduce negative impact,” she said.

Contingency comms is key

Rutherford also emphasized the importance of a data-driven approach to contingency planning. This starts with communication. To maintain accurate contact information and protocols, Prologis turns to Archipelago, a productivity software platform that pairs data management with interactive analytics.

The data-driven approach allows Prologis to:

• Maintain accurate contact lists.
• Know when storms alerts go out to customers and vendors.
• Determine an appropriate response based on the information available, such as stopping construction or evacuating facilities.
• Keep risk and leadership teams in the loop.
• Connect quickly with disaster recovery partners vendors, across the country and across the globe and track their performance over time.

Vendor relations are critical

Preparation goes beyond facilities themselves. Having the right relationships in place before disaster hits is also critical. Not just to protect employes and customers, but also to maintain business continuity.

Toby Mink, CBRE executive vice president based out of Baltimore, helped lead the response when a container ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. The bridge collapsed, claiming the lives of motorists and construction workers, disrupted a major transportation route and blocked access to the port of Baltimore.

For operators working with CBRE, the harbor blockage could have also become a major business disruption.

Mink mentioned that many of the company’s commercial properties are industrial and warehouse, and are key entry points for regional and national fulfillment networks. When access to the port was shut down, clients had to find different paths because they couldn’t reach the inner harbor.

According to Mink, “it took about 30 days for the port to reopen, but because we had developed relationships with other ports and facilities in the region, our clients were able to redirect their traffic and avoid a major business disruption. If we hadn’t had those relationships in place, a lot of businesses probably wouldn’t have survived.”

Resilience today benefits tomorrow

With increasing industry losses brought by more frequent and severe natural hazards, owners and/or operators are likely to see increased prices and greater limits on the breadth of available insurance coverage. The Marsh McLennan report shows that as many as 68 percent of commercial properties are underinsured by 25 percent or more—and 19 percent are underinsured by 100 percent.

But Jeff Bray, head of global risk management for Prologis, as well as risk manager in residence at Florida State University’s College of Business, makes it clear that resilience and better risk management practices are the smarter option overall.

As Bray put it, “Although most insurance companies do not have a formal method for considering resilience in their underwriting today, the steps we take to prepare for and mitigate potential losses will be a differentiator for insurance buyers in the future.”

As insurers scrutinize risk management strategies when weighing their own risk, the owner/operator who has built resilience and risk management into their plans at the start will be better positioned.

All said and done, having a good risk management strategy is about more than dollars and cents. It also helps create a company culture of caring. In a tight labor market, this can help employers find and retain the talent they need to grow and stay competitive.

Here’s Mink’s example: “We were building a facility in Indianapolis, and we put in a tornado shelter. The landlord challenged us that not a lot of people were doing these, but we had recently seen a warehouse in the area that had been cut in half by a tornado. Hopefully, that room is never used. It could be a storage room for the next 20 years. But if I’m an employee there and I know I’m in an area where tornadoes are present, I think it’s nice to know that somebody has thought ahead about my safety.”

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United Hampshire U.S. REIT has obtained $22 million for the refinancing of Arundel Plaza, a 282,039-square-foot shopping center in Glen Burnie, Md. JLL secured the 5-year, fixed-rate loan through a correspondent life company lender.

The property had become subject to a $21.5 million loan from State Farm in 2018, according to CommercialEdge information. The note had a maturity date set in 2028.

Built in 1967, Arundel Plaza underwent a cosmetic renovation in 2017. Anchored by Lowe’s and Giant Food, the community shopping center has a diverse mix of national and regional retailers such as Jersey Mike’s Subs, FedEx, Hook and Reel, Panda Express and Chipotle.

Arundel Plaza was 100 percent leased to 15 tenants at the time of its refinancing. The property has an average tenancy of 8 years with a weighted average lease expiry of 7.8 years, according to JLL.

JLL Senior Managing Directors Michael Klein and Jon Mikula, Senior Director Evan Parker and Analyst John Cumming led the Debt Advisory Team that worked on behalf of the borrower.

A well-positioned shopping center near Baltimore

Located at 6620 Governor Ritchie Highway, the retail power center is in Baltimore’s Route 2 Corridor submarket, with downtown Baltimore some 8 miles away. The shopping center serves approximately 183,000 individuals within a 5-mile radius and has had some 2.2 million visitors over the past 12 months.

The Baltimore retail market is expected to add 410,000 square feet to supply in 2024, according to Institutional Property Advisors research. The vacancy rate is slated to reach 6.2 percent at the end of this year, only 20 basis points above the metro’s trailing 5-year average.

The post Baltimore-Area Shopping Center Lands $22M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Alterra IOS has made its latest stride in the industrial outdoor storage sector with the purchase of 7121 Dorsey Run Road, a 5-acre property in Elkridge, Md., a suburb of Baltimore. The previous owner was K&J Holdings LLC, according to CommercialEdge information. MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate represented the buyer.

The Class B asset at 7121 Dorsey Run Road came online in 2001, the same source reveals. The property includes a mix of paved and gravel-laid trailer storage lots, as well as 13,000 square feet of office and retail space.

READ ALSO: What’s Next for Industrial Real Estate?

The facility currently serves as headquarters and regional storage depot for Traffic Engineering Services, a provider of traffic direction equipment and services. The company rents and sells signs, cones and arrow boards, and also provides in-house traffic control services and professional training.

The IOS property has access to four separate highway onramps, which feed into Interstate 95 as well as Maryland routes 1 and 100. Its location is 4 miles west of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and 11 miles from downtown Baltimore. Downtown Washington, D.C., is 23 miles away.

Alterra’s IOS buying binge

Mark Gannon, senior vice president at Alterra IOS, said in prepared remarks the firm plans to acquire more properties around the Baltimore-Washington corridor.

This smaller transaction follows a recent large-scale portfolio purchase that closed in January. Alterra acquired 17 properties across 14 states, in a sale-leaseback deal with TruGreen.

A week prior, the firm partnered with ConGlobal Industries for the purchase of four assets totaling 90 acres. The company’s portfolio currently includes more than 200 properties across more than 30 states. As of May 2023, its holdings were worth nearly $2.5 billion.

The post Alterra IOS Picks Up Baltimore-Area Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

St. John Properties has signed two leases totaling approximately 45,000 square feet at Aviation Business Park in Glen Burnie, Md., within the Baltimore market. IT company Skyline Technology Solutions has renewed its commitment for its corporate headquarters and has expanded its footprint for a flex/R&D space. CBRE represented the tenant, while the landlord worked in-house in both leasing agreements.

Aviation Business Park is a 120,000-square-foot, three-building complex at 6956, 6958 and 6960 Aviation Blvd. that is composed of one flex/R&D building and two single-story office buildings. The owner purchased the property in 2022 for $13.3 million from seller Adler Real Estate Partners, according to CommercialEdge. Other tenants at the business park include VIM Technologies Inc., the same source shows.

Last year, St. John Properties reconfigured the office building at 6958 Aviation Blvd. into a flex/R&D property that now includes drive-in doors and expanded loading areas for flex users.

Skyline Technology Solutions’ renewed its 28,753-square-foot office deal at 6956 Aviation Blvd., while its new 16,001 square feet flex/R&D space is at 6958 Aviation Blvd. The company’s Vice President Jason Ross said in prepared remarks that the conversion of 6958 Aviation Blvd. will support Skyline’s office, warehouse and logistics needs, with moving-in slated for August.

CBRE’s Executive Vice President Mike Roden negotiated on behalf of the tenant, while St. John Properties’ Assistant Vice President of Leasing Lacey Johansson represented the ownership.

St. John’s recent activity across its Baltimore portfolio

The 12-acre office campus provides easy access to Interstate 97 and is 2 miles from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, 12 miles from Baltimore, 21 miles from Annapolis, Md. and within 36 miles of Washington, D.C.

In February, the landlord signed a 23,574-square-foot lease at its 140-acre mixed-use business campus, Lexington Exchange, in California, Md. The IT tenant will move its corporate headquarters to the development, that is expected to include more than 700,000 square feet of Class A office, flex, warehouse and retail space.

During the same period, St. John Properties, together with partner Greenbaum Enterprises, signed a 50,698-square-foot deal at 8110 Maple Lawn Blvd., an office building within Maple Lawn business park, in Baltimore.

The post St. John Properties Inks Baltimore Renewal and Expansion appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

EVAPCO Inc., a heat transfer applications manufacturing company, has received approval for its headquarters expansion plan in Toneytown, Md. The company plans to add 45,000 square feet of new office space at 5151 Allendale Lane over the next two years, while also creating 275 new jobs in the area. This marks the second time in the last decade the company is expanding its operations.

Maryland Department of Commerce approved a $1.4 million condition loan through its Advantage Maryland program, along with a $200,000 grant provided through the Partnership for Workforce Quality program. EVAPCO Inc. is also eligible for multiple tax credits, including the More Jobs for Marylanders program and Maryland’s Job Creation Tax Credit.

The company’s global headquarters consists of a 420,706-square-foot facility at 5151 Allendale Lane. With the new jobs EVAPCO Inc. plans to add, its employment will be brought to more than 840 workers in Carroll County.

The 46-acre property allows for easy access to the Central Maryland area, being 43 miles from Townson, Md., 47 miles from Hanover, Md., 48 miles from Baltimore, 49 miles of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and within 62 miles of Dulles International Airport.

Since its founding in 1976, the company grew to its current size, manufacturing products in 23 locations across 10 countries around the globe and with a sales network composed of more than 200 offices.

Recent news in Baltimore’s office markets

Earlier this year, St. John Properties purchased Aviation Business Park, a three-building office campus in Glen Burnie, Md., encompassing more than 120,000 square feet of office space. The new owner plans to reposition one of the buildings, from commercial office to flex/R&D space.

In late 2023, the same company announced its plans to develop Berry Pointe, a 635,000-square-foot mixed-use business campus in Waldorf, Md. The project represents the company’s first development in Charles County, with plans including 550,000 square feet of R&D space, 60,000 square feet of office space and 70,000 square feet of retail.

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St. John Properties has signed a 23,574-square-foot lease at Lexington Exchange, its 140-acre mixed-use business campus in California, Md. The tenant is Information Technology services and consulting company FGS LLC, with moving-in scheduled for this spring. St. John represented itself, while Hooper & Associates negotiated on behalf of the tenant.

FGS, which will maintain its corporate headquarters in La Plata, Md., will move to 23566 Oak View Drive, a 28,560-square-foot flex/R&D building that features 18-foot clear heights, dock loading capabilities and drive-in doors.

Lexington Exchange is a mixed-use development that will include more than 700,000 square feet of Class A office, flex/R&D, warehouse and retail space, as well as pad site opportunities. St. John Properties is developing the project with partner Chaney Enterprises. Current tenants include ALDI, RC Theatres and Chipotle.

A 140-acre business campus

The business campus currently has five completed buildings totaling 118,000 square feet of flex/R&D and 68,618 square feet of retail space. Development plans include 15 additional buildings that will total 615,240 square feet of space. Earlier in February, the developer secured a $13.1 million refinancing from United Bank, according to St. Mary’s County public records.

The partnership is currently marketing several pad sites at the business campus, that can support businesses such as restaurants, convenience stores, financial institutions or urgent care facilities.

Fronting Maryland Route 235, Lexington Exchange is near Wildewood Center and allows easy access to Maryland Route 4 and to Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

Hooper & Associates Owner & Manager of Sales and Development Anne Hooper negotiated on behalf of the tenant. FGS serves customer in the greater Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas and, as it continues to win government contracts, the company was in immediate need of a new space with expansion capacities, said Hooper in prepared remarks. St. John Properties’ team of Leasing Representative Michael White and Senior Vice President Matt Lenihan are in charge of marketing the flex/R&D properties for lease, while Vice President of Retail Leasing Bill Holzman is leading retail leasing efforts.

Leasing deals and upcoming projects

Other recent leases across St. John Properties’ portfolio includes Window Nation’s 50,698-square-foot deal at Maple Lawn, a 605-acre mixed-use campus in Baltimore. Greenbaum Enterprises is behind the mixed-use development, that will include 1 million square feet of office space, 150,780 square feet of retail space and 210,100 square feet of flex/R&D space.

In late 2023, the company purchased an 82-acre site in Waldorf, Md., where it plans to develop Berry Pointe, a 635,000-square-foot mixed-use project with office, retail and flex/R&D space. Phase I is scheduled to be completed in early 2025.

The post St. John Inks Lease at Maryland Mixed-Use Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A joint venture between St. John Properties and Greenbaum Enterprises has signed a 50,698-square-foot lease at its 104,412-square-foot office building within Maple Lawn, a mixed-use community in Baltimore. Window replacer Window Nation will occupy the space.

St. John Properties Assistant Vice President Bill Jautze represented the landlord, while Rick Williamson represented the tenant.

The LEED Gold-certified building came online in 2017 and is currently subject to a $22 million loan from EquiTrust Life Insurance Co., according to CommercialEdge information. The four-story property features two passenger elevators and roughly 420 parking spaces.

READ ALSO: Navigating Office Sector Transitions in 2024

The facility is at 8110 Maple Lawn Blvd., 22 miles from downtown Baltimore and 20 miles from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Downtown Washington, D.C., is within 29 miles.

In 2022, Window Nation signed two leases totaling 23,030 square feet at Cromwell Business Park, a 165-acre campus also owned by St. John Properties. The company will continue to house a showroom and a warehouse there.

Maple Lawn, up close

Greenbaum Enterprises is the master developer of the 605-acre Maple Lawn mixed-use community. The master plan includes more than 1 million square feet of office space, 210,100 square feet of flex/R&D space and 150,780 square feet of retail.

Maple Lawn also features 1,308 residential units, a 103-key hotel and 10 miles of walking trails, together with a 14,000-square-foot community center. Plans call for the addition of about 38,500 square feet of retail.

St. John Properties has more than 16 million square feet of build-to-suit commercial space across Maryland. The company acquired recently an 82-acre site in Waldorf with plans for an approximately 635,000-square-foot mixed-use business campus. The first phase is slated for completion early next year.

The post St. John Properties JV Inks 51 KSF Baltimore Lease appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Completed in 1986, 10 North Park spans 82,300 square feet across four stories. Travelers Insurance’s lease brings the asset to full occupancy.

The property is part of a five-building North Park Business Community totaling 296,446 square feet. The rental rate at the campus is $24.5 per square foot. Other tenants include Asset Strategy Consultants and Alight Solutions, CommercialEdge information shows.

MacKenzie acquired the park in 2019 from Greenfield Partners in a $44 million portfolio transaction, according to CommercialEdge data. The sale was subject to a $28.6 million, 10-year loan from PNC Bank, the same source shows.

Located at 10 N. Park Drive, the property is near Interstate 63, roughly 20 miles north of Baltimore. It is also adjacent to the Hunt Valley Towne Center shopping mall.

Joe Bradley, senior vice president & principal for MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord. Cushman & Wakefield Managing Directors Douglas Brinkley and Charles Fenwick represented the tenant in the transaction. The brokerage firm was recently tapped by a MAG Partners joint venture to lease 1.1 million square feet of office space within a 235-acre redevelopment in the Baltimore area.

The post Travelers Insurance to Relocate Baltimore-Area Office appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The office building at 1750 Forest Drive was originally a retail property. Image courtesy of Hyatt Commercial

Manekin has signed a 14,732-square-foot lease at a 125,000-square-foot Class A office building in Annapolis, Md., within metro Baltimore. Hyatt Commercial negotiated on behalf of the landlord. Verbal Beginnings, an ABA therapy provider, will join other tenants at the property, such as Physical Therapy Group, South River Mortgage, RedZone and Steiner Houck.

The building at 1750 Forest Drive is a second-generation office redevelopment that features a two-story glass atrium, a café area, showers, bike storage facilities, outdoor spaces and common areas. Additionally, the property includes two passenger elevators, 28,000- to 62,000-square-foot floorplates and 531 vehicle parking spots, according to CommercialEdge. The current ownership purchased the asset in 2016 for $9 million from Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund.

Originally built as a retail facility in 1973, the property served as the former headquarters for the seller and underwent a renovation program completed in July 2019. A partnership between Manekin and Murphy Commercial Real Estate repositioned the single-story building.

The 8-acre property is close to multiple bus stations, 22 miles from Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, 29 miles from downtown Baltimore and within 30 miles of Washington, D.C. Hyatt Commercial’s team of Senior Vice President Laurie Murphy-Zuiderhof and Vice President Randy Miller negotiated on behalf of the landlord.

Significant office deals in Baltimore

In July, Cushman & Wakefield became the exclusive leasing agent of Baltimore Peninsula. Developed by MAG Partners and MacFarlane Partners, the 235-acre mixed-use project will include 440,000 square feet of office space located within two Fitwel-certified buildings.

In what was one of the most significant leasing deals in recent memory, Morgan Stanley extended and expanded its lease at Thames Street Wharf. In November 2022, Morgan Stanley committed to an additional 46,000 square feet at the location, resulting in a total footprint of 242,000 square feet.

The post Manekin Signs 15 KSF Lease at Baltimore-Area Office Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The LEED Gold-certified property features 25,000-square-foot floorplates. Image by Jeff Sauers Photography, courtesy of CPI Productions

MedStar Medical Group has expanded its office footprint in Annapolis, Md., with the signing of a 19,739-square-foot lease at 810 Bestgate Road, a 100,000-square-foot medical office building. Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant, while the landlord, St. John Properties, was represented in-house.

In September, MedStar Health signed another lease of approximately 11,000 square feet at the same building, its current footprint totaling some 31,000 square feet of office space. The building’s tenant roster includes LifeStance Health, Maryland Oncology Hematology and Premier Allergist.

Completed in 2020, the speculative building is now fully leased. 810 Bestgate Road is part of a two-building campus comprising 128,000 square feet of commercial office space. The LEED Gold-certified property features 25,000-square-foot floorplates and some 450 parking spaces.

The 6.8-acre site is some 3 miles from downtown Annapolis, while Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center is less than a mile away. Retail centers in the area include Westfield Annapolis Mall and Annapolis Town Centre, located within a 2-mile radius. Interstate 97 is 3 miles away, while Baltimore/Washington International Airport is 20 miles northwest.

Cushman & Wakefield’s team that secured the deal included Executive Director Matthew Sullivan and Senior Associate Paige Wingate.

St. John Properties grows Baltimore portfolio

Earlier this year, St. John Properties announced the development of a 635,000-square-foot mixed-use business campus in Waldorf, Md., that will include 550,000 square feet of R&D, retail and office space. The first phase of the project is slated for completion in early 2025.

In January, the firm acquired a three-property office portfolio in Glen Burnie, Md. Aviation Business Park, which traded for $13.3 million, comprises more than 120,000 square feet of office space.

The post MedStar Expands Baltimore-Area Footprint appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The Rockville facility is almost entirely leased to Children’s National. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Hines has acquired two medical office buildings in Pikesville, Md., and Rockville, Md., through its flagship commingled U.S. core plus investment vehicle, Hines U.S. Property Partners Fund. Harrison Street sold the assets totaling 200,000 square feet with the assistance of Newmark.

The deal marks the fund’s first investment in health-care assets and its first acquisition in the Washington, D.C., metro area. HUSPP’s recent purchases, worth $200 million, also involved three industrial properties amounting to some 735,000 square feet.

READ ALSO: Checkup on Health-Care, Life Science Opportunities

While still focusing on the industrial, office and mixed-use sectors, Hines will continue to invest in other alternative assets through the fund, such as medical and self storage facilities, to diversify its portfolio.

Newmark Executive Managing Director Ben Appel, Senior Managing Directors Jay Miele, John Nero and Michael Greeley, alongside Executive Managing Director Jud Ryan, represented the seller.

Two Maryland medical facilities

LifeBridge Health anchors the Pikesville clinic. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Both Maryland facilities previously traded in 2013 as part of a $303.4 million portfolio transaction, CommercialEdge data shows. In 2019, the two medical office buildings were refinanced for a combined $60.6 million in a $369.3 million portfolio deal originated by John Hancock.

The Class A, Rockville facility came online in 1999 on 4.6 acres. The four-story, 66,000-square-foot building is almost entirely leased by Children’s National, which has been a tenant since the property’s completion.

Located at 9850 Key W. Ave., the asset is 21 miles northwest of Washington D.C. and some 43 miles from Baltimore. Other medical facilities in the surrounding area include USA Fibroid Centers, Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center and Maple Springs Medical Center.

The Pikesville property is a five-story, Class A building that came online in 1996 on 6.1 acres. LifeBridge Health anchors this multi-tenant, 131,545-square-foot clinic.

The medical facility is at 1838 Greene Tree Road, near Interstate 695 and 15 miles from downtown Baltimore. The property is less than 5 miles from Northwest Hospital; other health-care providers in the area include Greater Baltimore Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Group and Community Health Center.

The post Hines Adds DC Assets to Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Berry Pointe’s Phase I will be completed in early 2025. Image courtesy of St. John Properties

St. John Properties has purchased an 82-acre site in Waldorf, Md., with plans to develop Berry Pointe, an approximately 635,000-square-foot mixed-use business campus.

The project marks the company’s first development in Charles County. Upon completion, Berry Pointe is expected to support more than 2,100 jobs in the area.

Stout Real Estate & Development’s Tara Stout represented the seller during the land acquisition, while St. John Properties was represented in-house. The land changed hands for $10 million, according to Charles County public records.

Berry Pointe will consist of 12 buildings totaling 550,000 square feet of R&D space, two buildings totaling approximately 60,000 square feet of single-story office space and some 70,000 square feet of retail space spread across two in-line buildings. The retail component will also provide a rich amenity package for the business community’s future tenants.

A new business campus

The office buildings will feature 10-foot clear heights, ample parking spots and suites sizes from 2,240 square feet to 33,660 square feet, while the LEED-designed R&D buildings will include 18-foot clear heights, drive-in doors and dock loading capabilities and suites from 2,500 to 59,640 square feet.

Phase I consists of two R&D buildings totaling nearly 98,000 square feet and one inline retail property encompassing 11,000 square feet. The project’s initial phase is expected to be delivered in early 2025. The remaining office, flex and retail planned buildings will be developed based upon the project’s leasing pace.

The 82-acre development is situated along Maryland Route 228 and 18 miles from Alexandria, Va., 25 miles from Washington, D.C. and within 56 miles of downtown Baltimore. St. John Properties’ Vice President of Retail Leasing, Bill Holzman, together with Leasing Representative Mike White will be leading the project’s leasing activities.

A similar project in St. John Properties’ pipeline is Wake Forest Exchange, a mixed-use campus in Wake Forest, N.C. The developer purchased 30 acres earlier this month, with plans to develop six buildings totaling 165,000 square feet that will include office, flex and retail space.

In January, the company picked up a three-building Baltimore-area office portfolio encompassing more than 120,000 square feet, with plans to convert one of the buildings to flex/R&D.

The post St. John Properties Plans Maryland Mixed-Use Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

MAG Partners, together with MacFarlane Partners, has tapped Cushman & Wakefield as exclusive leasing agent for the office space at Baltimore Peninsula, a 235-acre redevelopment project in Baltimore. The mixed-use project’s investor team also includes Sagamore Ventures and Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group. 

The news comes as the development’s first phase, consisting of 1.1 million square feet of office, retail and residential space, is nearing completion. Upon full buildout, the waterfront project will create up to 14 million square feet of space, along with 40 acres of green space.

READ ALSO: When Vacancy Rates Trigger Potential Tax Refunds

Cushman & Wakefield’s Courtenay Jenkins, Rich Thomas, Matt Melnick and Linn Worthington will be marketing the offices at Baltimore Peninsula. The company will be in charge of the 440,000 square feet of office space, located within two FITWEL-certified assets, namely 2455 House St. and Rye Street Market.

The team replaced the prior brokers from JLL, in an effort to boost office leasing at the project, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. The same source reveals that the new brokers will also target out-of-state tenants, willing to expand to Baltimore.

The first two office leasing agreements secured by JLL are CFG Bank’s 97,000 -square-foot long-term deal and interior design firm H. Chambers Co.’s 9,000-square-foot lease. Signed in January, CFG Bank will be relocating its headquarters to 2455 House St., occupying three full floors, while the second tenant signed its lease last September, at Rye Street Market.

Offices at Baltimore Peninsula

2455 House St. is a seven-story building that includes 212,000 square feet of office space and 9,500 square feet of retail space. The asset features 33,000-square-foot floor plates, a fitness center with locker rooms, bike storage facilities, a rooftop terrace with event and meeting rooms, a conference center, a common-area bar and multiple outdoor spaces.

Rye Street Market is a campus composed of three six-story buildings, situated within the central square of Baltimore Peninsula, that includes 228,000 square feet of office space, 45,000 square feet of retail space, with built-out suites, outdoor terraces, conference rooms, rooftop terraces, a fitness center and bike storage facilities.

The post Cushman & Wakefield Tapped to Lease Baltimore Peninsula Office Space appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

White Marsh Interchange Park aerial rendering. Image courtesy of Merritt Properties

Merritt Properties has begun the development of White Marsh Interchange Park, a nine-building, 750,000-square-foot industrial campus in White Marsh, Md. The first phase of the project, consisting of three buildings totaling 235,000 square feet, is anticipated to deliver in the spring of 2024.

The development is taking shape at 10301 Philadelphia Road, on 56 acres that Merritt acquired in 2021. The site used to be home to a General Motors facility that closed in 2019.

White Marsh Interchange Park, up close

The first development phase will comprise Building A, measuring 167,900 square feet with 32-foot clear heights, together with Building H and Building I, of 34,000 square feet each and 20-foot clear heights. The following six facilities will range from 50,500 to 151,800 square feet. The property will feature rear-loading docks and ample parking with trailer storage.

At full build-out, the campus will have flex/light industrial space capabilities ranging from 3,000 square feet to 167,000 square feet. Amenities are set to include outdoor seating areas, lawn games and a walking trail. Merritt Construction Services will manage the development’s construction.

READ ALSO: East Coast Ports Challenge West Coast Mainstays

Situated off Interstate 95 and 5 miles from Interstate 695, the property offers easy access to the larger Maryland and Northeastern areas. Port of Baltimore is roughly 13 miles southwest.

Baltimore’s industrial scene

The project is within Merritt’s Baltimore County East portfolio, which is 95 percent leased. Despite concerns of a recession and economic volatility, the industrial real estate market is performing extremely well, with no exception in the Baltimore area.

The Baltimore industrial market had more than 3.3 million square feet in the pipeline as of April, according to a CommercialEdge report. The vacancy rate clocked in at 3.5 percent, 60 basis points lower than the national average of 4.1 percent.

The post Merritt Properties Launches Baltimore Industrial Development appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Ace Logistics Center. Image courtesy of MCB Real Estate

A joint venture between MCB Real Estate, Artemis Real Estate Partners and Ace Logistics Services has purchased Tower Logistics Center, an 859,900-square-foot industrial building in Aberdeen, Md. Developers Merritt Properties and BentallGreenOak sold the facility for $80.7 million, as reported by CommercialObserver. Ace Logistics will fully occupy the warehouse and anticipates to begin operations at its first Harford County location later this month.

CBRE represented the sellers, while JLL worked on behalf of the buyers and represented Ace Logistics in the lease deal.

READ ALSO: Industrial Outdoor Storage’s Growth Spurt Continues

The new owners intend to rebrand the facility as Ace Logistics Center. Built in 2021 on a 98.5-acre site at 1225 S. Philadelphia Blvd., the warehouse features 189 cross docks, four drive-in docks, 40-foot clear heights and 130-foot truck court depths, along with more than 310 trailer parking spaces. The facility is off Highway 40, less than 3 miles from central Aberdeen and roughly 28 miles from Baltimore. The Phillips AAF military airport and Interstate 95 are also nearby.

CBRE Executive Vice Presidents Robert Cashman and Jonathan Beard acted on behalf of the sellers and JLL Executive Managing Director Benjamin Meisels, along with Managing Director Peter Hajimihalis, brokered the deal on behalf of the buyers and arranged the lease.

Industrial assets withstand headwinds

Despite economic uncertainty, the industrial sector is maintaining solid fundamentals, according to a recent CommercialEdge report. Although transaction volume has dropped significantly—amounting to only $7.7 billion in this year’s first quarter compared to $20.5 billion over the same period of 2022—rents have continued to rise. The average per-square-foot price in the U.S. increased by 7.1 percent year-over-year through March.

The post Artemis JV Pays $81M for Mid-Atlantic Logistics Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Corridor Marketplace. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

A. J. & C. Garfunkel has obtained a $45 million loan for the refinancing of Corridor Marketplace, a 452,102-square-foot retail center in Laurel, Md. EagleBank provided the funds.

Constructed in 1996, Corridor Marketplace occupies the southwestern corner of the junction between the Baltimore Washington Parkway and Route 198. The property is situated less than 12 miles from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and some 4 miles from downtown Laurel.

The shopping center served a population of 62,520 residents within a 3-mile radius, averaging a household income of $98,931 as of 2018, according to the owner. Corridor Marketplace houses tenants including Kohl’s, Hobby Lobby, Total Wine & More, Target, Big Lots, Starbucks and Aldi.

EagleBank’s commercial real estate team comprising Senior Vice President & Market Executive Kathy Harbold and Vice President & CRE Portfolio Manager David Redmond worked on providing the refinancing loan.

Slowing, yet healthy market

According to recent CBRE research, while retail space absorption recorded a significant slowdown in the first quarter of 2023, dropping to 8.6 million square feet from 31.5 million square feet same time last year, it remained positive for the 10th consecutive quarter. Demand for newly constructed product, particularly in the power center and neighborhood, community and strip center segments, continues to be strong, according to the same source.

In the first quarter of 2023, the average national retail availability decreased by 50 basis points year-over-year, to 4.8 percent, its lowest level since CBRE began monitoring the market in 2005.

The post Maryland Retail Asset Lands $45M Refi appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

1205 68th St., Rosedale. Image courtesy of Triten Real Estate Partners

Triten Real Estate Partners, of Houston, has acquired two infill industrial outdoor storage (IOS) properties along the I-95 corridor northeast of Baltimore from Greenspring Realty Partners, of Lutherville, Md., Triten announced on Monday, January 30.

No dollar amount was disclosed for the off-market transaction, which was sourced by Triten Principal Danny Coffman.

The two properties are at 11235-11239 Philadelphia Road, White Marsh, Md., and 1205 68th St., Rosedale, Baltimore County. They’re about 9 miles apart, and each has ready access to I-95, I-695, I-895 and I-70 and to the Port of Baltimore, Tradepoint Atlantic and downtown Baltimore.

The 15.0-acre Philadelphia Road property is zoned heavy industrial with a special use permit for the dismantling and storage of vehicles. The property operates as an outside storage facility, and is 50 percent occupied with 7 acres available for lease.

READ ALSO: Trends That Will Shape Industrial Real Estate in 2023

1205 68th St., which is 11.8 acres, is also zoned heavy industrial and operates as a truck terminal and freight facility.

Triten stated that properties zoned heavy industrial and with close proximity to the Port of Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal “are hard to come by and highly sought after.”

There is significant demand for outside storage in the Baltimore County East submarket due to the container traffic driven by the Dundalk Terminal at the Port of Baltimore, Coffman said in prepared remarks.

Triten, which focuses on industrial service facilities and IOS assets, noted that more than 3.4 million square feet of warehouse space is currently underway in metro Baltimore.

No longer a niche

In August, we reported on the growing interest in industrial outdoor storage, which appears to be transitioning rapidly from its small-scale, mom-and-pop origins into a target for serious amounts of institutional capital. The sector is estimated to be valued at roughly $200 billion, despite issues such as a relative lack of liquidity and concerns around valuation.

Last April, Triten began demolishing the former Market Square Mall in Plano, Texas, on whose site it plans to build Assembly Park, a mixed-use development with 180,000 square feet of Class A creative office space, more than 300 residential units and 16,500 square feet of retail and restaurants. The project is scheduled for delivery late this year.

The post Triten Buys Industrial Outdoor Storage Assets appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Aviation Business Park. Image courtesy of St. John Properties Inc.

St. John Properties Inc. has purchased Aviation Business Park, a three-building portfolio in Glen Burnie, Md., comprising more than 120,000 square feet of office space. Cushman & Wakefield brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller, Adler Real Estate Partners, while the buyer handled the acquisition in-house.

According to Anne Arundel County public records, the portfolio traded for $13.3 million. As revealed by the same source, the properties previously changed hands in 2017 for $16.4 million. The asset was 63 percent leased at the time of the current transaction.

This acquisition is the second major one closed by St. John Properties in recent months, following the purchase of the 74,000-square-foot Triangle Business Park, which is now part of the company’s Baltimore Gateway.

READ ALSO: Where to Find Opportunities as Economy Slows 

Originally completed in 2008, Aviation Business Park houses a diverse range of tenants, including Skyline Technology Solutions, Atlantic Yacht Documentation and CDI Corp., among others, according to CommercialEdge. The office campus offers connectivity to Interstate 97, being less than 4 miles from the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The property is also situated in proximity to a range of business-related amenities, hotels, shopping centers and restaurants.

Improvement plans ahead

The single-story buildings are located adjacent to St. John’s Cromwell Business Park. These buildings are 6956, 6958 and 6960 Aviation Blvd., comprising 54,310 square feet, 35,361 square feet, and 30,613 square feet of office space, respectively. The portfolio is part of a larger, mixed-use business community with a total of nearly 1 million square feet of flex, research and development, office, and retail space.

St. John Properties intends to reposition one of the buildings at Aviation Business Park from commercial office to flex/R&D, by adding drive-in doors and making changes to the shared parking area to increase loading capacity. The company has allocated around $1.5 million in capital expenses for this conversion.

Fueling the flight-to-quality trend amplified by the pandemic, companies are now investing in Class A, amenity-rich office buildings. This shift means that many Class B and Class C properties will likely be considered for conversion and redevelopment, bringing both opportunities and challenges for office investors.

Cushman & Wakefield Managing Director Graham Savage, Executive Managing Director Jonathan Carpenter and Associate Dawes Milchling represented the seller in the transaction.

The post St. John Properties Acquires Baltimore-Area Office Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image by Eduardo Soares via Unsplash

Tomorrow, regional grocery chain Giant Food will officially open a new, 56,000-square-foot store at RPT Realty’s Crofton Centre, a 252,000-square-foot shopping mall in Crofton, Md. The new location, at 1649 Crofton Center, will bring more than 200 jobs to the local community.

Built on the former site of a Shoppers supermarket, according to The Daily Record, the new Giant store will replace the one located less than a mile away at 1161 Md. Route 3 N. in Gambrills, Md. Customers can expect a seamless transition, as the new store will open the next morning after the nearby location closes, ensuring no interruption in service.

Completed in 1975 on nearly 26 acres, as revealed by CommercialEdge, Crofton Centre is anchored by At Home. Dollar Tree, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and CVS are also among the property’s tenants.

The shopping center is at the intersection of Crain Highway and Davidsonville Road, one of the highest trafficked areas in the region. Downtown Baltimore is some 23 miles north.

During the past few months, the retail sector has been recovering from the difficulties caused by the pandemic. As most restrictions have been lifted, consumers have returned to their pre-pandemic shopping habits, but with a new approach to buying goods, which includes visiting physical stores as well as using digital websites and social media platforms.

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10285 Little Patuxent Parkway. Image courtesy of Howard Hughes Corp.

Howard Hughes Corp. has begun construction on an 86,000-square-foot medical office building at 10285 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia, Md.

The $45.8 million project in the Lakefront District marks the first phase of the developer’s $325 million stake in the $5 billion, 391-acre Downtown Columbia redevelopment.

The new four-story medical office property is expected to open in early 2024. Designed by Studio Red Architects, the building is anticipated to achieve both LEED and Fitwel certifications. The property, which CommercialEdge data shows as being the first addition of its kind to Columbia in seven years, will host a variety of tenants in the field, including Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland, which has preleased a quarter of the building’s space.

Amenities will include a lounge, a fitness center, public art installations and an outdoor terrace. Situated along Lake Kittamaqundi, the development will be at the center of the redeveloped Lakefront District, in close proximity to the Mall in Columbia, several other medical offices and a variety of retail, dining and entertainment options.

The Maryland master plan

10285 Little Patuxent Parkway. Image courtesy of Howard Hughes Corp.

The groundbreaking of the medical office building is the first milestone for HHC’s investment in the rejuvenation of the Lakefront District. The firm’s plans at the site call for the construction of 1.3 million square feet of office space, 281,000 square feet of retail and 1,284 apartments.

READ ALSO: Medical Office Sector Resists Adversity

The Downtown Columbia master plan, to be built over 30 years, will include a total of 4.3 million square feet of office space, 1.3 million square feet of retail space, 6,200 apartments and 640 hotels across three neighborhoods: Lakefront District, Merriweather District and Central District.

In the Merriweather District, HHC had recently finished construction on Marlow, a 472-unit luxury apartment community anchored by a Smashing Grapes restaurant. In the Lakefront District, The 3rd, a non-profit incubator space and café supporting women-of-color entrepreneurs recently opened, and will soon be joined by The Collective, a dining and entertainment concept scheduled to welcome its first customers this winter.

HHC has also invested $10 million in the redevelopment of Central District’s Corporate Row office campus, a seven-building, 1 million-square-foot office park.

The post Howard Hughes Launches $325M Maryland Redevelopment appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Southside Marketplace

Giant Food has opened its latest grocery store within the Southside Marketplace, a 125,146-square-foot shopping center located at 857 E. Fort Ave. in Baltimore, Md.

Giant Food will occupy 44,264 square feet, vacated by a former Shoppers Food & Pharmacy establishment. The new store will open on Friday, Nov. 18.

The opening of Giant Food’s latest location will mark its sixth in Baltimore, as the grocer remains the largest of its kind in the city by market share, square footage and employee size. According to the Baltimore Business Journal, the chain has over 150 locations around the Mid-Atlantic.

READ ALSO: How the Pandemic Changed Malls

Southside Marketplace was built in 1991 and is currently owned by Regency Centers, which had acquired the property back in 2005, CommercialEdge data shows. Other tenants include Five Below and Quickway Hibachi Grill. The new location in the Southside Marketplace will include Giant’s modern floorplans, full service departments and free Wi-Fi. Customers will also have access to most of Giant’s brand-standard amenities such as online pickup and delivery placement. Located in the city’s Riverside Park neighborhood, the shopping center is within 2 miles of downtown Baltimore and a population of 33,000 residents, according to CommercialEdge information.

Groceries, the retail giant

Giant Food’s latest opening takes place as grocery stores remain among the most in-demand commercial real estate assets in the market. Grocery-anchored shopping centers are seeing some of the highest demand and capital investment from REITs, due in part to their relative resistance to economic headwinds in comparison to other sectors of the retail industry, and a bounce-back from pandemic-era online orders.

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Thames Street Wharf. Image courtesy of Armada Hoffler

Morgan Stanley has extended, as well as expanded, its lease in the Thames Street Wharf office building in Baltimore. Armada Hoffler owns the Harbor Point neighborhood property.

On top of its original 196,000-square-foot lease, Morgan Stanley has committed to an additional 46,000 square feet. The company will now occupy 242,000 square feet at Thames Street Wharf until 2035.

The Thames Street Wharf building in Harbor Point is 100 percent occupied. Current office tenants include RBC Wealth, EY, T. Rowe Price, Constellation Energy Group and Transamerica. Franklin Templeton also recently signed a lease for 60,000 square feet in the building.

READ ALSO: Getting Corporate Tenants Back to the Office

Built in 2010, the eight-story building has been owned by Armada Hoffler since 2019, when the company acquired the asset for $101 million. The Thames Street Wharf is LEED Gold Certified and features 2,000 square feet of retail space, according to CommercialEdge data.

Located at 1300 Thames St., the asset has waterfront views and provides tenants with entertainment, retail and dining spaces within walking distance. Some 1,000 luxury apartments are in the Harbor Point community, all of which is surrounded by a 5-acre waterfront park.

Morgan Stanley also signed a 28,000-square-foot lease this year in San Antonio, Texas. Headquartered in New York City, the company has 20 locations nationwide.

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Exelon building. Image courtesy of Armada Hoffler Properties

Armada Hoffler Properties is expanding its footprint at Baltimore’s Harbor Point downtown waterfront development with the planned purchase of a majority stake in the 23-story, 444,000-square-foot mixed-use Exelon building for an estimated $246 million. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

READ ALSO: Top 5 Office Deliveries Nationwide

The Class A office component of the building is fully leased by clean energy provider Exelon, which has 15 more years on its 20-year lease. The property also has 103 multifamily units, which are 96 percent occupied as of late November. The asset additionally has 38,500 square feet of retail space anchored by home décor retailer West Elm and 750 parking spaces, 500 of which are leased by Exelon Corp.

Armada Hoffler Construction was the general contractor on the Exelon building, which was completed in November 2016. The property was constructed with long-term development partner Beatty Development Group, which will retain a 10 percent ownership position in the asset and owns the overall Harbor Point site. The building is certified LEED Gold and the interior is LEED Platinum. It is the fourth-largest LEED ID+C Platinum-certified project in the U.S.

Harbor Point expansion

While Armada Hoffler and Beatty Development are longtime development partners on the 27-acre, 3 million-square-foot Harbor Point project, Armada Hoffler bought the Exelon building majority stake from an unidentified equity investor, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Once the transaction is completed, Armada Hoffler will own four Harbor Point properties—the Exelon building at 1310 Point St., 1405 Point Apartments, as well as the Thames Street Wharf and Wills Wharf office buildings. The company is currently in a joint venture developing the T. Rowe Price global headquarters and the companion mixed-use residential, retail and parking garage at Harbor Point. That project is slated for delivery in 2024.

The Exelon building, which cost approximately $183 million to develop, was one of the first commercial properties built at Harbor Point, a former vacant industrial site that became key to Baltimore’s renewal. Louis Haddad, president & CEO of Armada Hoffler, said in a prepared statement that master-planned, mixed-use developments in premier locations like Harbor Point, are central to its strategy. The acquisition of the majority ownership stake in the Exelon building expands Armada Hoffler’s presence in Harbor Point and is also consistent with the Virginia-based company’s long-term plan to build scale in the submarket.

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Amazon fulfillment center. Image courtesy of Amazon

Amazon has opened two delivery stations in central Maryland, including their first in Baltimore, and two more in Virginia’s Hampton Roads area, as well as a career center for hiring and orientation, also in Hampton Roads. The company now has 15 delivery stations in each state.

READ ALSO: Industrial Construction Ramps Up

The 72,000-square-foot Baltimore delivery station is at 2100 Van Deman St., along Colgate Creek in the Saint Helena neighborhood and within half a mile of an Amazon fulfillment center.

The delivery station in Hanover, Md., is at 7226 Preston Gateway Drive and totals 194,000 square feet.

In Hampton Roads, the Amazon Career Center, at 1989 S. Military Highway in Chesapeake, Va., will serve as a hiring and orientation hub for the company’s operations facilities in Chesapeake, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hampton and Virginia Beach.

The two delivery stations in the Hampton Roads area are a 165,000-square-foot facility at 1400 Sewells Point Road in Norfolk, Va., and a 111,600-square-foot facility at 223 W. Mercury Blvd. in Hampton, Va.

An Amazon spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive that the Hanover facility is new construction and the others were existing properties. In all, the four new delivery stations total more than 500,000 square feet.

Amazon explains that its delivery stations handle the last mile of its order process and help speed up deliveries for customers. Packages are shipped to a delivery station from neighboring Amazon Fulfillment and Sortation Centers, loaded into delivery vehicles and delivered to customers.

Big—and bigger

Amazon is, of course, well known in recent years for a massive development program of super-sized distribution facilities.

A March survey of the nation’s 10 largest industrial projects under construction, based on CommercialEdge data, found that nine were affiliated with Amazon. (The sole exception was Tesla’s 4 million-square-foot Giga Texas vehicle-assembly facility in Austin).

Among the nine was a $200 million, 3.8 million-square-foot multi-story processing facility in Suffolk, Va.—in the Hampton Roads region. The robotics-assisted fulfillment center will be the state’s largest industrial building.

The post Amazon Expands in Hampton Roads, Metro Baltimore appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image by jplenio via Pixabay.com

In 2020, the U.S. Green Building Council awarded LEED certification in Maryland to 88 projects across some 13 million square feet. This maintained the state in the sixth position achieved in 2019, with a total of 15 million square feet.

Of the 88 projects certified to one of LEED’s levels last year, 34 were office assets totaling 3.3 million square feet. On the list below, we’ve highlighted the top office buildings awarded LEED in 2020, using data provided by USGBC, ranking projects from largest to smallest based on square footage.

Source: USGBC

READ ALSO: Top 10 States for LEED Certification

1, 4 & 7. Silver Spring Metro Plaza, Silver Spring — LEED Gold

Silver Spring Metro Plaza

All three Brookfield Properties properties in Montgomery County boast the LEED-EB: O&M Gold certification. The awards are actually recertifications, maintaining the LEED Gold status achieved in 2014. In addition, Silver Spring Metro Plaza began benchmarking through Energy Star in 2004.

Built in 1986, the three-building property rises 17 stories at 8403, 8401 & 8405 Colesville Road and benefits from an optimum location, with direct access to the Silver Spring Metro station, adjacent to MARC trains and a 30-minute drive from Ronald Reagan Washington Airport.

The implementation of real-time energy management—providing live information on how the building systems are performing, so that adjustments can be made right away—has been a game-changer for the development’s sustainability focus. This has helped the property operator save energy and money, as well as reduce maintenance. The owner also used utility incentive programs for retrofitting lobbies, restrooms parking garage and stairwell lighting with LED technology, and the most recent modernization updates will include pedestrian walkways and gathering spaces surrounded by greenery.

Notable tenants at the property include Regus, Bailey Wealth Advisors, AMDEX Corp., Dunkin Donuts and National Bid Network, according to CommercialEdge data.

2. 6100 Merriweather, Columbia — LEED Gold

6100 Merriweather

Spanning nearly 350,000 square feet, The Howard Hughes Corp.’s office development broke ground in 2018, targeting a LEED certification. The project reached completion one year later and received LEED-CS v2009 certification in 2020.

The owner’s commitment to sustainability is reflected in the $5 billion, 30-year redevelopment of downtown Columbia, which, in addition to transforming the suburban hub into a third city between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., has made the Merriweather District the first LEED Neighborhood Development v4 in the state and the second East Coast development to achieve it.

The new office building, located in the famed area, boasts a façade that incorporates glazing throughout to maximize views and natural light. Amenities include a rooftop terrace, indoor bike storage and direct access to more than 100 miles of trails. The structure, like all others in the Merriweather District, includes STEER technology—a self-parking solution that transformed the neighborhood into the first area in the country to be built for automated, self-parking cars.

Cybersecurity company Tenable anchors the building. In early 2021, Howard Hughes Corp. announced that five companies have committed to opening new offices in the 12-story tower—Advarra, Ames Watson, Applied Network Solutions, Insperity and Olive AI.

READ ALSO: Port Covington’s Impact on the Baltimore Office Market

3. Pike & Rose, Block 3A, North Bethesda — LEED Gold

Pike & Rose

The office component of Federal Realty Investment Trust’s mixed-use development was completed in 2020 and achieved LEED-CS v2009 Gold status in the same year. The 212,000-square-foot, 12-story Pike & Rose is near the White Flint Metro station and interstates 270 and 495.

The building features an expansive curtain wall and punched window glazing, paired with a shallow core depth to optimize natural light and access to exterior views. Dedicated outdoor air ventilation delivers 100 percent outside air into the property, filtered to levels appropriate for operating rooms. Moreover, occupants benefit from 30 percent more fresh air than required by code.

The mid-rise also includes a Wi-Fi-enabled rooftop amenity space with an outside terrace, bike storage and a touchless elevator system with PORT technology that automatically limits the number of occupants. Tenants at the property include Federal Realty Investment Trust, Industrious and United Solutions.

5. 810 Bestgate Road, Annapolis — LEED Gold

810 Bestgate Road

The four-story, 100,000-square-foot medical office building was designed to achieve LEED-CS v2009 Gold upon completion, which occurred in 2020.

Maryland Oncology Hematology selected the St. John Properties-owned asset as the site of its inaugural entry into the Anne Arundel County marketplace due to its proximity to the Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Green activities at 810 Bestgate Road include sustainable site selection and development, an energy-efficient design, enhanced indoor environmental quality, and responsible materials selection and waste management, as well as water use reduction.

READ ALSO: 10 Top Projects in LEED’s Leading States

6. Hoen Lithograph, Baltimore — LEED Gold

Hoen Lithograph Building. Image via Google Street View

Developed from 1885 to 1963, the site is the only one that survives to illustrate The Hoen & Co. legacy. The historic property, at 2101 E. Biddle St., is known as the Hoen Lithograph building—between 1902 and 1981, Hoen & Co. occupied the building. In 2019, after laying unoccupied for more than 35 years, the 85,000-square-foot building entered a substantial renovation process, which was completed last year with financial aid from various public sources. The work included new automated building and HVAC controls, high-efficiency lighting upgrades and efficiency upgrades to the windows and roofing.

The property—renamed The Center for Neighborhood Innovation—has been repurposed as a mixed-use development comprising three historic structures and two warehouses/storage buildings. An internal courtyard serves as a community event space or outdoor seating for a cafe. Tenants include The Outlook Co., Morgan State University School of Architecture & Planning, Cross Street Partners and City Life Community Builders.

8. 4747 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda — LEED Gold

4747 Bethesda Ave. Image via Google Street View

JBG Smith’s 15-story, 280,000-square-foot asset broke ground in 2017 and opened in 2020, targeting LEED Gold. The 45,372 square feet leased by Host Hotels & Resorts was awarded LEED Gold certification for Interior Design and Construction in late November last year. In early 2021, the entire project received LEED Gold certification for Core and Shell.

Boasting a striking curved bronze and glass façade and floor-to-ceiling windows, occupants at the property enjoy abundant natural light throughout the day. The building is ideally located adjacent to the Capital Crescent Trail, which connects Georgetown to Silver Spring for commuting and recreation. It is also close to the entrance of the future Purple Line Station and just three blocks to Bethesda Metro Station on the Red Line. The rooftop terrace offers panoramic views of downtown Bethesda and is also appointed with a fire pit and outdoor seating featuring Wi-Fi, which creates a suitable setting for conferences, corporate events and out-of-office work.

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Port Covington. Image courtesy of Weller Development Co.

After construction went vertical earlier this year, the first phase of Baltimore’s $5.5 billion Port Covington waterfront development in Baltimore—dubbed Chapter 1B—has received a $189 million, four-year construction loan from Bank OZK. JLL arranged the debt. The city of Baltimore also issued the first, $138 million portion of a more complex $660 million bundle of Tax Increment Financing to fund infrastructure improvements for the project.

Project sponsors include Sagamore Ventures and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, while Weller Development Co. serves as development partner. Expected to begin delivering in late 2022, the phase will include more than 1 million square feet across five buildings:

• Building E1: 162 residential units and 40,000 square feet of retail;
• Building E5A: 212,000 square feet of office and 9,500 square feet of retail;
• Building E5B: 40 residential units, 81 extended-stay units and 6,000 square feet of retail;
• Building E6: 254 residential units and 16,000 square feet of retail; and
• Building E7, Rye Street Market: 228,000 square feet of office and a 45,000-square-foot market.

Port Covington is taking shape across 235 acres along the Southeast Baltimore waterfront and will have three access points to and from Interstate 95. The development is the biggest urban revitalization project in the country and, at full build-out, will include up to a combined 18 million square feet of office, retail, mixed-income residential, hotel, marina and public space, with 40 acres dedicated to parks and green space.

The post Baltimore Mixed-Use Megaproject Gets $189M Loan appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

2209 Sulphur Spring Road

The O’Donnell Group has sold a 313,000-square-foot industrial facility in Halethorpe, Md., to Aminim Group. CommercialEdge data shows the asset last traded at the beginning of 2018 for $13 million.

Managing Director Jay Wellschlager, Senior Managing Director Bruce Strasburg, Director Craig Childs and Analyst Elizabeth Runge from JLL represented the seller in the transaction, while Senior Director Paul Spellman secured acquisition financing for the new owner. Managing Director Dave Dannenfelser and Vice President Tyler Boykin from the brokerage team previously worked with the seller when it purchased the asset to fully leased the warehouse within a 12-month span.  

Located at 2209 Sulphur Spring Road within an Enterprise Zone at the northern end of the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, the building is less than 3 miles from the intersection of interstates 95 and 695, while downtown Boston is less than 7 miles northeast. Occupying 17.3 acres, the asset features heavy power, 35 loading docks and the potential for 56 trailer drops.

Continuous improvement

The tenant roster includes Liberty Tire Recycling and Indusco Wire Rope and Fittings. Originally completed in 1960, the building underwent capital improvements totaling some $6.5 million since 2013, which included a new roof, T5 and LED lighting, dock seals and two new bridges, as well as additional loading positions, asphalt and storefronts.   

While most other asset types faced severe challenges since the onset of the pandemic, investors’ confidence in the industrial sector remained strong. According to CommercialEdge data, even though transaction volumes in 2020 fell to roughly $29 billion, or three-quarters of the previous years, the industry performed better than expected in a year of severe uncertainty.  

The post JLL Arranges Sale of Baltimore Warehouse appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

40TEN. Image courtesy of 28 Walker Development

Downtown Baltimore’s office market will soon have a first-of-its kind offering, courtesy of a new project by 28 Walker Development. The company has just announced plans for 40TEN, a 125,000-square-foot building that will be the only office property in the area built entirely of heavy wood timber materials.

READ ALSO: Commercial Construction Planning Proceeds: Dodge

40TEN will take shape at 4010 Boston St., within 28 Walker’s Collective at Canton mixed-use development. The five-story building will benefit from heavy timber’s energy efficient attributes, which offer not just a green atmosphere, but a visually pleasing one, with an organic exterior and interior design of natural wood columns and exposed wood ceilings. “Heavy timber represents a unique design aesthetic that provides a rich warm environment like no other office environment,” Mark Sapperstein, CEO of 28 Walker Development, told Commercial Property Executive. “We believe that if an office tenant wants to work in a run-of-the-mill standard office building, there are plenty of those already within the city of Baltimore and we didn’t need to add to that.”

The development of 40TEN is a speculative endeavor, and 28 Walker was not hesitant to move forward without a commitment in place despite the uncertainty in the office market due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic turmoil. The company has reason to be confident. “We wanted to build upon significant demand drivers that we experienced in our Phillips Seafood office renovation in which companies were drawn to buildings with unique character and charm,” Sapperstein added. 28 Walker’s Philips Seafood redevelopment in Baltimore resulted in the highly successful McHenry Row mixed-use project, which contains a 400,000-square-foot office segment that is currently 99 percent leased.

Already, 40TEN has attracted the attention of Celebree School, which preleased approximately 10,300 square feet of office space. The childhood education and care center will also have the use of a 6,000-square-foot outside playground area. 28 Walker expects to complete 40TEN in early 2022.

A new kind of demand

As noted in a report by NAI KLNB, which is spearheading leasing for 40TEN, demand for office space at the close of 2020 remained subdued due to the pandemic, leaving Baltimore with an average Class A vacancy rate of 13.7 percent. Some companies are now considering reducing their footprint in favor of long-term remote work options, some are focused on rearranging or expanding space to accommodate social distancing, and some are taking a wait-and-see approach. Regardless, 28 Walker sees a strong future for the office sector.

“We don’t believe that companies will do away with office space altogether, but they will reevaluate how much they need and how they will use it. And as companies reevaluate their space, they will focus on improving the in-office experience for their workers,” Sapperstein contended. He added that the factors that will drive demand in the post-pandemic environment will include the call for “more efficient space with flexible space plans; reduced footprints within highly amenitized buildings, space designed for work and wellbeing; and space within buildings designed to attract the next generation of workforce.” NAI KLNB reports that 40TEN is receiving significant interest from companies interested in relocating their offices, as well as from commercial real estate professionals.

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Mid Atlantic Food Center. Image courtesy of Provender Partners

Provender Partners has sold the Mid-Atlantic Food Center, a 363,900-square-foot distribution facility in Severn, Md. Scout Capital Partners acquired the property for $62 million. According to CommercialEdge data, Provender had purchased the asset in 2018, for $23 million.

Built in 1990, the Class A property includes a 101,500-square-foot freezer, 47,000 square feet of cold storage and 150,300 square feet of dry warehouse space. After the 2018 acquisition, the buyer implemented a capital improvement plan at the building. In October 2020, Nash Finch Co. signed a seven-year lease for the entire asset. JLL’s David Dannenfelser and Chris Cummings from Colliers assisted both parties in the negotiation. The duo, along with JLL’s Bruce Strasburg and Craig Childs, also brokered the trade to Scout Capital.

Located at 8024 Telegraph Road, on approximately 31 acres, the building is within 5 miles of Interstate 97. The property is also 6 miles from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and 16 miles from the Port of Baltimore.

Last year, Provender sold more than $215 million in assets and leased more than 790,000 square feet of refrigerated facilities across the U.S. In late 2020, the company also formed a joint venture with Cerberus Capital Management. The partnership will seek to build a multibillion-dollar portfolio of U.S. cold storage facilities. The joint venture also intends to expand a strategic program that enables farmers to pivot between bulk and individual packaging.

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Port Covington. Image courtesy of Weller Development Co.

With more than $650 million in financing in place, vertical construction in excess of 1.1 million square feet of mixed-use space at Port Covington in Baltimore is set to begin at the 235-acre redevelopment site along the city’s waterfront.

This $500 million development phase, known as Chapter 1B, includes 440,000 square feet of office, 586,000 square feet of residential with 537 units, 116,000 square feet of retail, more than 1,000 parking spaces and 10 acres of parks and public space.  

READ ALSO: Port Covington’s Impact on the Baltimore Office Market

The five buildings are scheduled to begin delivering in late 2022. The Port Covington Development Team consists of lead investors Sagamore Ventures, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group and lead developer Weller Development Co.

Plans for the first phase call for:

• Building E1 – 223,000 square feet consisting of 162 residential units and 40,000 square feet of retail
• Building E5A – 221,500 square feet consisting of 212,000 square feet of office space and 9,500 square feet of retail
• Building E5B – 133,000 square feet consisting of 40 residential units, 81 extended-stay units and 6,000 square feet of retail
• Building E6 – 293,000 square feet consisting of 254 residential units and 16,000 square feet of retail
• Building E7, Rye Street Market – 273,000 square feet consisting of 228,000 square feet of office space and a 45,000-square-foot market

Alexandria Real Estate Equities is also developing a six-story, 170,000-square-foot office and laboratory building that will be part of 1B. In total, Chapter 1 will include about 3.4 million square feet of development with 20 percent of the residences set aside for affordable apartments.

When fully built out, Port Covington is slated to include up to 18 million square feet of new, mixed-use development, with 2.5 miles of restored waterfront and more than 40 acres of parks and green space.

Financing outlined

The capitalization totals more than $650 million, including approximately $137 million in Tax Increment Financing bonds. The Baltimore City Council first approved the TIF financing for the $5.5 billion megaproject in September 2016.

It was the first in many government approvals that will be needed over the next few decades as the development team transforms an industrial peninsula of the Patapsco River. The TIF package allows bonds to be sold to investors to help pay for the massive project, which is one of the largest urban revitalization efforts in the U.S.

Kevin Plank, lead investor in Port Covington and Under Amour’s founder & former CEO, said the TIF bond sale was met with overwhelming demand. He mentioned in prepared remarks that the TIF bond sale, which closed last week, is proof that institutional investors believe in the future success of the project.

Businesses and organizations already located at Port Covington include Sagamore Spirit Distillery, the Rye Street tavern, Nick’s Fish House, Under Armour, City Garage, The Baltimore Sun, two marinas, Swann Park, West Covington Park and Impact Village.

Construction on infrastructure for the first phase began in late 2019 but was suspended in April to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 crisis.

The post Baltimore’s Port Covington Ramps Up After Financing Boost appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The Mid-Atlantic Commerce Center. Image via Google Maps

TJ Maxx has signed a 205,306-square-foot lease at The Mid-Atlantic Commerce Center, a 853,520-square-foot industrial property in Jessup, Md. The retailer is set to use the space as a distribution center. Newmark represented the landlord, Grandview Partners, and CBRE assisted the tenant.

According to CommercialEdge data, Greenfield Partners acquired the asset this year, for $88 million. The landlord implemented several improvements, including an upgraded roof, new electrical system and a 123,000-square foot expansion. The site also features new trailer and employee parking. The property is 92 percent leased.

Located at 7600 Assateague Drive on 47 acres, the center is within 1 mile of Interstate 95. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is 10 miles from the facility.

Newmark’s team included Senior Managing Director Brian Kruger, Managing Director Bobby Clements and Associate Erik Evans. Recently, another Newmark team arranged the sale of a newly built, 82,900-square-foot logistics property in San Jose, Calif. Panattoni Development Co. sold the fully leased asset.

The post TJ Maxx Inks Lease for Baltimore-Area Distribution Facility appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Extra Space Storage. Image courtesy of St. John Properties

St. John Properties has opened its second Extra Space Storage property in Baltimore. The developer financed the construction of the 133,000-square-foot facility with a $21.5 million loan from Truist Bank in 2019, according to Yardi Matrix data.

Located on 11 acres at 810 Pinnacle Drive in Linthicum Heights, Md., the five-story building has 936 climate-controlled units with sizes ranging between 20 and 300 square feet. The facility has drive-up access, an elevator, alarmed units, security cameras and is accessible 24/7 via computerized gates.

The property is part of BWI Tech Park, a 156-acre business complex near Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Situated a short distance from State Route 295, the site is 8 miles southwest of downtown Baltimore.

In 2019, St. John Properties announced plans to build three self storage properties in the Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties. The developer’s first self storage development in the region is a 131,300-square foot facility at 1350 Innovation St. in Middle River, Md., the same data provider shows. Extra Space Storage oversees management for the two completed facilities and the upcoming project.

St. Johns Properties has been active in the Maryland area. In September, the company completed the $8.5 million acquisition of a 58,000-square-foot flex building in Windsor Mill. Klein Enterprises sold the asset, which is fully leased to Leidos.

The post St. John Properties Opens 133 KSF Baltimore Storage Facility appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Mid Atlantic Food Center. Image courtesy of Provender Partners

Provender Partners has inked a 363,872-square-foot lease at its Mid Atlantic Food Center in Severn, Md. Food distributor Nash Finch Co. signed a seven-year, full-building commitment with a total value of $25.8 million.

Located on 31 acres at 8024 Telegraph Road, the single-story facility was completed in 1990. Situated within the Baltimore Washington corridor, the distribution center provides access to more than 9 million people in a 1.5-hour drive, according to Colliers International data. The site is 6 miles south of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and 15 miles southwest of downtown Baltimore.

The property provides three types of storage for food distribution: a 101,500-square-foot freezer, 47,000 square feet of cold storage and 150,300 square feet of dry warehouse space. Additionally, the property has a 30,600-square-foot office component, 48 dock-high and one grade-level door.

JLL Managing Director David Dannenfelser and Colliers International Senior Vice President Chris Cummings assisted both parties in the negotiation.

Provender Partners acquired the property for $23 million from US Foods in 2018, according to Anne Arundel County records. Bank of the West originated a $25.3 million acquisition and development loan for the company.

In May, Provender completed the $92.5 million disposition of Junction 20/35, a 1.1 million-square-foot warehouse in South Fort Worth, Texas. CIM Group acquired the asset.

The post Provender Partners Completes 364 KSF Baltimore Warehouse Lease appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

6701 Baymeadow Drive. Image courtesy of Transwestern

Transwestern has closed on a 30,852-square-foot lease on behalf of Platt Development Group at a flex-office building in Glen Burnie, Md. The Anne Arundel County Health Department signed for space at 6701 Baymeadow Drive, an 84,640-square-foot property. Transwestern Senior Vice Presidents Tom Gentner, Brian Watts and Brian Siegel represented the landlord. A Mackenzie Commercial Real Estate team including Senior Vice President Trish Farrell and Vice President David McClatchy acted on behalf of the tenant.

Located within Baymeadow Business Park, just south of the Ordnance Plaza shopping mall, the single-story building came online in 1976 and is situated on nearly 7 acres. The larger campus houses light manufacturing, distribution and office facilities. The county’s Health Department was attracted by the property’s easy access via Route 10 and close accessibility to the Washington-Baltimore Corridor network of interstates, as well as the area’s population density, Gentner said in prepared remarks. Both downtown Baltimore and the Baltimore-Washington International Airport are located within 10 miles.

According to Sage Platt, president of the Platt Development Group, Johns Hopkins Health Care previously occupied the Health Department’s new home. The landlord is the long-time owner of 6701 Baymeadow Drive, having acquired it in 1996, Yardi Matrix data shows.

In September, a Transwestern team helped Tishman Speyer secure CWCapital as a tenant in nearby Washington, D.C. 

If you’d like to be featured in Brokers’ Corner, simply fill in our short form or send your deal to deals@cpe-mhn.com.

The post Transwestern Closes 30 KSF Baltimore-Area Lease appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

7152 Windsor Blvd. Image courtesy of St. John Properties

St. John Properties has acquired a 58,000-square-foot flex building in the Woodlawn section of Baltimore County from Klein Enterprises for $8.5 million. The property, which is fully leased to Leidos, last traded in 2018 when Klein bought it from CSG Partners.

The single-story property at 7152 Windsor Blvd. is situated on nearly 5 acres, close to the Baltimore Beltway, at the intersection of Lord Baltimore Drive and Windsor Boulevard, with the list of nearby neighbors including Northrop Grumman and Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. Additionally, the property is within 3 miles of the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid. Constructed in 1985, the property has two dock loading doors and 16-foot ceilings. The surrounding parking lot has a 5.19/1,000 square feet parking ratio.

St. John Properties was initially attracted by the property due to its proximity to the company’s 82-acre Windsor Corporate Park, which also includes the firm’s corporate base, as well as the 10-acre Windsor Office Park, according to prepared remarks by Sean Doordan, St. John Properties senior vice president of leasing & acquisitions. 

Robert Filley, first vice president of investments with Marcus & Millichap, worked on behalf of the seller. St. John Properties was represented in-house.

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Renaissance Harborplace. Image courtesy of The Buccini/Pollin Group

The Buccini/Pollin Group has acquired the 622-key Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel from Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. for $80 million, or approximately $129,000 per key. The purchase of the full-service waterfront hotel expands the company’s portfolio of Marriott-affiliated and lifestyle hotels.

READ ALSO: Can Mezzanine Loans Spur Hospitality’s Rebound?

Located at 202 E. Pratt St. in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the hotel last sold for $157 million in 2005, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. The Wall Street Journal reported the buyer had planned to buy the hotel for $100 million before the COVID-19 crisis hit and Sunstone agreed to lower the price. The hotel was one of six out of 20 owned by Sunstone that remained open and were operating during the entire month of April, according to the REIT’s first-quarter 2020 earnings report released May 8. With the sale of the Baltimore asset, Sunstone now has interests in 19 hotels comprising 9,988 guestrooms. Among its other hospitality properties are Boston Park Plaza, Hilton Times Square in New York City and Renaissance Los Angeles Airport.

Sunstone President & CEO John Arabia said in a prepared statement the sale furthered the Irvine, Calif.-based company’s stated strategy of focusing on what it calls its long-term relevant real estate. The disposition also increased the REIT’s liquidity and put it in a good position to navigate the current environment and capitalize on opportunities as they arise, Arabia said.

Hotel details

Sunstone had completed a five-month, multimillion-dollar renovation of the hotel last August. The project included complete refurbishment of the guestrooms and suites, including wall coverings, carpeting, bedding and furnishings and upgraded bathrooms. The hotel’s Club Lounge was updated and expanded by 700 square feet. The property’s nearly 30,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces and public areas had been renovated in 2016.

Buccini/Pollin also noted the hotel has three food and beverage outlets and a signature, waterfront restaurant called Watertable. Additional amenities include a fitness center and full-service business center. The hotel is within walking distance of Baltimore’s major attractions including M&T Bank Stadium, Camden Yards, the National Aquarium and the Baltimore Convention Center.

Dave Pollin, president of The Buccini/Pollin Group, said in prepared remarks the company knows and loves the Renaissance brand. He called Baltimore “a city on the rise” and said the company was proud to be expanding its commitment there. Buccini/Pollin opened its first hotel in the area in 1997. Today, its portfolio includes 17 Marriott-affiliated hotels, including the recently renovated and rebranded Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown in Old City. The company had acquired it in March 2018 when it was known as the Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill Hotel. The privately held real estate acquisition, development and management company is  headquartered in Chevy Chase, Md., and Wilmington, Del., with more than $5 billion of real estate assets, including more than 40 hotels, 7 million square feet of office and retail space, 15 major residential communities and multiple entertainment venues. It also owns the historic Hotel du Pont in Wilmington and is building a new hotel slated to open in 2021, the Virgin Hotels New Orleans, in partnership with Virgin Group’s lifestyle hotel brand.

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7556 Teague Road

JPB and Holland Properties have appointed Lee & Associates | Maryland as the exclusive leasing broker for a 150,000-square-foot medical office building in Hanover, Md. Senior Vice President Bill Harrison and Associate Austin Eber will spearhead leasing efforts at the Class A property located within Arundel Mills Corporate Park. 

Developed in 2009 on an 8-acre site, the asset is located at 7556 Teague Road. The five-story building includes 30,000 square feet of retail space and underwent cosmetic renovation in 2012, according to Yardi Matrix data. The LEED Silver-certified property features floorplates of approximately 30,000 square feet and a parking ratio of 5 spaces per 1,000 square feet.

According to Lee & Associates, the building is roughly 77 percent occupied. Formerly leased to Anne Arundel Community College, the property currently houses tenants including Advanced Radiology, Flagship Orthodontics and LabCorp, among others. The asset is some 4 miles south of downtown Hanover near Highway 100, across from the 1.3 million-square-foot Arundel Mills shopping mall. Anne Arundel Medical Center is less than 4 miles northwest. 

Last November, Lee & Associates | Maryland landed an industrial leasing assignment in Hampstead, Md. Allan Riorda, Ned Brady, Alexandra Shearer and John Van Buskirk were part of the team chosen to lead marketing efforts at the 1 million-square-foot a distribution facility.

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Cold Spring Shopping Center. Image via Google Street View

Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Cold Spring Shopping Center, a 22,000-square-foot property in Baltimore. The firm’s Christopher Burnham and Dean Zang acted on behalf of seller Schwaber Holdings and procured the buyer, Liberty Group Holdings. Fully occupied at the time of sale, the retail asset traded in a 1031 exchange, as per Schwaber’s strategy to upgrade and reposition its commercial portfolio.

The Family Dollar-anchored asset is at 1401-1415 E. Cold Spring Lane, within walking distance of Morgan State University. Milton Schwaber developed Cold Spring in the early 1950s as one of the first strip centers in Baltimore City. Schwaber Holdings redeveloped the property in 2014. The shopping center is some 5 miles northeast of downtown Baltimore, surrounded by dense residential areas such as Hillen, Original Northwood and New Northwood.

In February, Marcus & Millichap’s Institutional Property Advisors arranged the $20 million sale of a 234,036-square-foot, grocery-anchored retail center located between Baltimore’s Pig Town and Hollins Market neighborhoods. Burnham, Zang and David Crotts led the team representing the seller.

If you’d like to be featured in Brokers’ Corner, simply fill in our short form or send your deal to deals@cpe-mhn.com.

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Image via Pixabay.com

Terreno Realty Corp. has sold three industrial assets along the Washington-Baltimore corridor in Maryland for a total of $51.3 million. The properties, located in Anne Arundel and Howard counties, add up to roughly 340,000 square feet and are fully leased to 10 tenants.

The largest of the three is 7190 Parkway Drive in Hanover, Md., a 159,000-square-foot cross-dock distribution building located on 11.7 acres, which changed hands for $25.3 million. The 1968-built asset last traded in March 2014 for $18 million, when Terreno acquired it from Pearlmark Real Estate Partners, Anne Arundel County records show. The tenant roster includes Crate & Barrel, and the property is within 7 miles of Baltimore/Washington International Airport and 13 miles away from downtown Baltimore.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus Saps Enthusiasm for Spec Warehouse

The second building, also relatively close to BWI Airport, is the 66,000-square-foot 7125 Troy Hill Drive in Elkridge, Md. Terreno sold the property for $9.3 million, eight years after buying it for $6.7 million. The rear-load distribution center, completed in 2003, is situated on 4 acres and is home to CSC Serviceworks, Continental Carbonic Products and Unitec. Central Baltimore is 15 miles away via Interstate 95.

The third property in the deal is the 115,000-square-foot rear-load distribution building at 9070 Junction Drive in Annapolis Junction, Md., which is located on 9 acres and came online in 1997. Terreno sold the asset for $16.6 million, five years after acquiring it for $10.4 million. The property’s tenant roster including Infors USA Inc., Safan Darley, McNichols Co., NeighborCare Home Medical and NSRI.

COVID-19 Woes

While the economic slowdown from the coronavirus pandemic has certainly affected all real estate sectors and decelerated transaction activity on the whole, industrial has been left largely unscathed, in part due to an acceleration of e-commerce as a direct effect of social distancing measures.

The segment, which saw the smallest uptick in CMBS delinquencies of all asset classes in May, is expected to record a relatively healthy evolution of vacancy rates over the coming quarters, which cannot be said of hotels and most of the retail sector. In this light, industrial transaction volumes actually grew in some of the hardest-hit markets as the pandemic unraveled, with Las Vegas a telling example. 

The post Terreno Trades 3 in Maryland for $51M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

1001 Pine Heights Ave.

Trout Daniel & Associates has brokered the sale of a 31,000-square-foot medical office building in Baltimore. A division of The Goddard Cos. purchased the Class B asset from a private investor. Gary Olschansky of the TD&A Investment Sales Department arranged the off-market transaction, which had been initiated prior to the onset of the pandemic. According to Yardi Matrix data, the property last traded in 2010 for $2.7 million.

Located at 1001 Pine Heights Ave. on the St. Agnes Hospital campus, the three-story building was developed in 1979 and underwent cosmetic renovation in 2016, Yardi Matrix shows. According to TD&A, the asset was 95 percent leased at the time of sale. The new owner intends to implement interior and exterior upgrades and has selected TD&A to spearhead leasing efforts.

The building is approximately 5 miles southwest of downtown Baltimore, just south of U.S. Route 1. Providing easy ingress and egress to interstates 95 and 695, the location is also accessible through public transportation.

If you’d like to be featured in Brokers’ Corner, simply fill in our short form or send your deal to deals@cpe-mhn.com.

The post TD&A Arranges Baltimore MOB Sale appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

8530 Corridor Road

Long Roofing has appointed MacKenzie Management Co. to operate a 55,000-square-foot office building at Corridor 32 Business Center, in Jessup, Md. With this assignment, MacKenzie now manages the entire business park, which totals 131,584 square feet.

Senior Vice President Kevin Kimmel will be managing the property on behalf of Long Roofing. According to Yardi Matrix data, the owner acquired it in 2019, from Bernstein Management. The asset traded for $3 million.

MacKenzie’s services will include the day-to-day physical management of the property, detailed financial analysis, and tenant customer service. These responsibilities will also include lease administration and oversight of third-party service providers.

Located at 8530 Corridor Road, on 4 acres, the asset is at the junction of Patuxent Freeway and Washington Blvd. The business center is 2 miles from Interstate 95. The asset is also within 8 miles of a two-building office campus, which traded earlier this month. Merritt Properties acquired the Class A complex from an affiliate of BentallGreenOak.

The post MacKenzie Management Co. to Operate Baltimore-Area Office Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Lyndwood Executive Center. Image courtesy of Merritt Properties

Merritt Properties has expanded its portfolio in Howard County with the purchase of Lyndwood Executive Center, a two-building Class A office campus in Elkridge, Md. Merritt’s leasing team told Commercial Property Executive that the seller was an affiliate of BentallGreenOak.

READ ALSO: How COVID-19 Is Affecting Investment

Located at 6085 and 6095 Marshalee Drive, Lyndwood Executive Center is 98 percent leased to 13 tenants that include software developer Ancile Solutions, website development firm Network Building & Consulting and the Howard County Government. The 164,730-square-foot, three-story office buildings were designed in a campus-like setting that offers various floorplans to suit all types of tenant needs. Lyndwood Executive Center, which has achieved LEED Silver certification, also includes 788 parking spaces. The property is located by Route 100, with nearby access to Interstate 95 and Routes 29, 103, 104 and 108.

Vince Bagli, who is part of Merritt’s leasing team, said in prepared remarks that Howard County has been a strong submarket for the company and its industrial and mid-rise office portfolio. Bagli told CPE that Merritt is an opportunistic real estate company that is always looking for projects that complement its existing portfolio. Bagli added in his prepared statement that Lyndwood Executive Center fitted with the portfolio’s other office properties including Columbia Corporate Park and Meadowridge that are also located in Howard County.

Liz Tarran-Jones, who is also part of Merritt’s leasing team, said in prepared remarks that Howard County attracts a highly educated labor force since it is located between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. She added in her prepared statement that the area can suit a variety of tenants including government, health-care, technology and education institutions.

Merritt’s Maryland portfolio

Tarran-Jones also said in her prepared remarks that Merritt has 904,000 square feet of Class A office space leased to 126 tenants throughout the Maryland cities of Columbia, Elkridge and Ellicott City. Outside its 39 office properties in Maryland, Merritt also owns several office assets in Virginia and North Carolina.

In November, Merritt also acquired a vacant office building in the Baltimore area from Greenfield Partners. Merritt plans to upgrade the property and achieve LEED Silver certification.

The post Merritt Properties Acquires Baltimore-Area Office Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Halethorpe Manufacturing and Distribution Center. Image courtesy of Blue Ocean

Blue Ocean has leased 133,520 square feet of its 692,492-square-foot Halethorpe Manufacturing and Distribution Center in metro Baltimore to Barker Steel Mid-Atlantic. The property is at 1954 Halethorpe Farms Road, close to both I-95 and I-695 and less than a mile from the Halethorpe station on the MARC Penn Line.

READ ALSO: Prologis Index Points to ‘Elevated Uncertainty’ for Logistics

The building reportedly features heavy infrastructure, high clear height and broad column spacing. The property has a long history, having been used to manufacture aircraft components in World War II. Blue Ocean purchased the building in 2015.

Jared Engel and Steve Cornblatt of Trout Daniel & Associates represented Blue Ocean in the leasing transaction. Barker Steel Mid-Atlantic was represented by Toby Mink of CBRE. A Blue Ocean spokesperson did not reply to Commercial Property Executive’s request for additional information.

Dependent on trade

The metro Baltimore industrial market finished last year with its average vacancy having decreased for the fourth straight year, according to a first-quarter report from MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services.

Though absorption was nearly 3 million square feet in the first quarter, that surge rested on a 1.5 million-square-foot lease by Floor & Decor and a 1.2 million-square-foot lease from Home Depot. MacKenzie also cautioned that because the Port of Baltimore is crucial to the health of the metro’s industrial market, a major disruption to the international supply chain could hit the market hard.

The Arbutus submarket saw about 68,000 square feet of negative net absorption in the first quarter, on an inventory of about 7.7 million square feet, again according to MacKenzie. Average asking rents in the submarket are $3.71 per square foot.

Less than three weeks ago, Amazon acquired a six-building, 648,173-square-foot industrial portfolio in the Baltimore Commons Business Park. The Techwood Business Center traded for $91 million.

The post Blue Ocean Lands Major Industrial Lease appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Techwood Business Center. Image courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield

In a $90.5 million deal, Amazon has acquired Techwood Business Center, a six-building, 648,173-square-foot industrial portfolio located in the Baltimore Commons Business Park, along the Baltimore-Washington corridor.

RREEF Management LLC was the seller, according to the latest Baltimore industrial report by Cushman & Wakefield, whose local capital markets team completed the transaction.

READ ALSO: Grocery Stores Pick Up, While Most Retail Slows Down

The industrial properties have immediate access to I-95, I-295 and I-97, offering a combination of scale and functionality in one of the highest performing supply-constrained markets in the U.S., according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Jonathan Carpenter, executive managing director of the firm’s Baltimore Capital Markets team, said in a prepared statement that the offering received tremendous interest from national and international investors. He described the bidding process as extremely competitive. Carpenter, who only identified the new owner as an e-commerce company in his remarks, said the winning bidder had a strategic interest in the business park and in the Baltimore-Washington region.

In the past 12 months, Carpenter and Senior Director Graham Savage, his colleague on the Cushman & Wakefield Baltimore capital markets team, have closed nearly $350 million in industrial deals volume. Carpenter and Savage represented the seller in the Techwood transaction.

Baltimore industrial market

The overall vacancy rate for the Baltimore industrial market in the first quarter of 2020 was roughly similar to the fourth quarter of 2019—6.3 percent in the first quarter, down slightly from 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Baltimore industrial reports for the respective quarters. In Anne Arundel County, the submarket where Techwood Business Center is located, the overall vacancy rate in the first quarter of 2020 was 8.8 percent, up from 8.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019.

In addition to the Techwood Business Center transaction, the second-biggest industrial sale in the Baltimore market during the first quarter also occurred in the Anne Arundel County submarket. Two buildings totaling 840,000 square feet at Brandon Woods III were sold to GLL Real Estate Partners Inc. for $90 million. 

The post Amazon Pays $91M for Baltimore Industrial Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Airport Square 10. Image via Google Street View

Versant Health has signed a 38,000-square-foot, 11-year lease at Airport Square 10, a 73,572-square-foot office building in Linthicum Heights, Md. Cushman & Wakefield represented landlord Bluepoint Group in the lease, while Savills USA negotiated on behalf of the vision-care company.

The three-story building at 881 Elkridge Landing Road was developed in 1986. Bluepoint Group purchased the asset in 2018 and renovated it in 2019, making capital improvements such as lobby renovations and parking lot upgrades.

The five-acre property is less than 10 miles southeast of downtown Baltimore, within Airport Square Office Park. 

Cushman & Wakefield’s Rich Thomas, Matt Melnick and Linn Worthington assisted Bluepoint Group in the lease. Savills’ David Rubenstein, George Santos and Ryan Miller represented the tenant. Santos was also instrumental in the imre headquarters’ relocation to Towson, Md.

The post Bluepoint Group Inks 38 KSF Lease Near Baltimore appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Brandon Woods III. Image courtesy of Chesapeake Real Estate Group

GLL Real Estate Partners has purchased a major Baltimore industrial property with the development potential to reach a total of 1.1 million square feet. In a $90 million deal, the Munich-based company has acquired the 259-acre Brandon Woods III in Anne Arundel County, from a joint venture of Chesapeake Real Estate Group and EverWest Real Estate Investors.  

READ ALSO: How Is COVID-19 Affecting the Construction Industry?

Chesapeake constructed Brandon Woods III, which currently totals 840,000 square feet of industrial and warehouse space across two buildings. The facilities are located at 7550 Perryman Court and 7659 Solley Road in Curtis Bay, within 2 miles of Interstate 695. The property is also 8 miles from Interstates 95 and 895, 9 miles from the Port of Baltimore and 11 miles from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

The 500,000-square-foot 7550 Perryman Court is considered the largest industrial speculative building ever constructed in Anne Arundel County, according to Chesapeake. Best Buy signed a long-term lease for the entire building in the summer of 2018 and is using it as a warehouse and distribution center that serves its Mid-Atlantic market. Best Buy has 300 workers at 7550 Perryman, which is also used as a repair site for major appliances, televisions and home theatre products.

The smaller 7659 Solley Road was recently constructed and offers 340,000 square feet of speculative industrial and warehouse space. The building was constructed with 36-foot ceiling heights, 87 dock doors, four drive-in doors, a 130-foot truck court and parking for 257 cars and 61 trailers.

Potential for 1 million square feet

Brandon Woods III also includes two land parcels that total 51 acres and can accommodate another 250,000 square feet of development, bringing the facilities to a combined 1.1 million square feet.

GLL, a subsidiary of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, retained Chesapeake for the construction, leasing and management of Brandon Woods III. Christian Goebel, GLL’s executive vice president, said in prepared remarks that the company will work with Chesapeake to lease up 7659 Solley, while also exploring the development options for the remaining two land parcels. 

Goebel also said in his prepared statement that Brandon Woods III adds to GLL’s 2.4 million-square-foot portfolio of Class A industrial space in the U.S. GLL’s Maryland purchase represents its third industrial acquisition in the U.S. In June 2018, the company also purchased a 226,392-square-foot industrial property in Weston, Fla., for 30.4 million. GLL, which also invests in U.S. retail spaces, has recently sold its 269,000-square-foot retail center in Atlanta for $75.4 million.

The post German Investor Buys Baltimore Industrial Asset for $90M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Like the other Gotham Greens facilities, this greenhouse uses hydroponic systems and is 100 percent powered by renewable energy. The company claims that it uses 95 percent less water and 97 percent less land than conventional farming. In addition, the new greenhouse is served by proprietary data-driven tools that enable the producer to run one of the highest-yielding, most energy-efficient indoor farming system available on the market.

The greenhouse will be the first to provide a year-round supply of fresh lettuce to retail, restaurant and food service customers across 10 states in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. The current project opens 60 full-time green jobs in Baltimore. The firm has partnered with the Baltimore County Department of Economic and Workforce Development and the Center for Urban Families to find the best candidates for the positions.

Bethlehem Steel Mill has its origins in the 1880s and was acquired by Bethlehem Steel in 1916 when Sparrows Point became the world’s largest steel-producing center, where girders for the Golden Gate, George Washington and Bay bridges, as well as steel for shipbuilding during the World Wars, was produced. The facility gradually deteriorated until its bankruptcy in 2012.

The post Gotham Greens Greenhouse Replaces Bethlehem Steel Mill appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

9017 Red Branch Road. Image via Google Street View

Newmark Knight Frank has arranged the sale of 9017 Red Branch Road, a Class A industrial asset in Columbia, Md. Executive Managing Director Cris Abramson, Director Nicholas Signor and Associate Director Ben McCarty brokered the sale. An affiliate of May Riegler Properties purchased the property from Grebow Investments for $4.3 million.

In November, the same team represented Greenfield Partners in its disposition of a 98,640-square-foot office building in Hunt Valley, Md. The buyer intends to begin major capital improvements at the property.

May Riegler has selected the brokerage’s Brian Kruger and Erik Evans to oversee leasing efforts at the industrial property, which was 28 percent leased at the time of the sale. According to NKF, the building’s submarket has a vacancy rate higher than 95 percent.

Located along the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, the 57,272-square-foot property is within 1 mile of State Route 100 and 5 miles of Interstate 95. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is 12 miles from the asset.

If you’d like to be featured in Brokers’ Corner, simply fill in our short form or send your deal to deals@cpe-mhn.com.

The post NKF Completes Baltimore Industrial Sale appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Mount Clare Junction. Image via Google Street View

Carlyle Development Group has purchased Mount Clare Junction, a 234,036-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center in Baltimore. Baltimore Business Journal shows the property traded for $20 million. Fortress Investment Group was the seller, according to public records. The asset last traded in 2017 for $8.7 million.

Institutional Property Advisors negotiated the deal on behalf of the seller. Directors Christopher Burnham and David Crotts and Senior Managing Director Dean Zang led the brokerage team.

Located at 1223 W. Pratt St. on 15.7 acres, the shopping center is home to anchor tenants Price Rite, Family Dollar and Capital One, as well as the Baltimore Housing Authority and Maryland Department of Social Services. At the time of the sale, the asset was 82 percent occupied.

The retail center is situated between the Pig Town and Hollins Market neighborhoods, within 2 miles of Baltimore’s central business district and Inner Harbor and less than 3 miles from Weller Development’s 235-acre Port Covington mixed-use development.

The post Carlyle Development Pays $20M for Baltimore Retail Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

40 Wight Ave.

CCIT II—a CIM Group-managed non-listed REIT—has spent $39.1 million on a 134,455-square-foot office building in Hunt Valley, Md. According to Yardi Matrix data, the sale marks the first time the asset changed hands since 2017, when Greenfield Partners developed the property.

The acquisition is the fourth for the buyer since last December, adding 653,455 square feet of single-tenant net-leased assets to the company’s portfolio.  

Located at 40 Wight Ave., the asset is within walking distance of retail and dining options, as well as three light rail stops. Additionally, the property is less than 2 miles from Interstate 83 and roughly 18 miles north of downtown Baltimore. The five-story, LEED Gold-certified building occupies some 7.4 acres and houses the corporate headquarters of a regional engineering and design firm.

At the end of the year, CIM Group welcomed Andersen at its 1.3 million-square-foot CityNational2Cal tower in Los Angeles. The independent tax firm will relocate its office from 400 S. Hope St. 

The post CIM Group Affiliate Buys Baltimore-Area Office Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

1500 W. Nursery Road. Image courtesy of St. John Properties

St. John Properties has signed a full-building lease with a defense contractor, which will occupy 118,000 square feet of office space within the BWI Tech Park in Baltimore, Md. Starting July, the first wave of professionals is expected to move into the new development that was designed to accommodate as many as 700 employees.

READ ALSO: Baltimore Office Report – Summer 2019

St. John Properties began working on adding space to BWI Tech Park on a speculative basis in January 2018 and delivered the office building last fall. Located at 1500 W. Nursery Road, the four-story Class A commercial office property features 10-foot ceiling heights and roadside visibility from Route 295. The property is also near many hotels and restaurants and is located eight minutes away from downtown Baltimore, 20 miles from Maryland’s capital, Annapolis, and 30 miles from Washington, D.C.

Sean Doordan, senior vice president of leasing and acquisitions for St. John Properties, said the employees of these high-paying and technical jobs in BWI Tech Park will benefit the area’s retail locations and other businesses.  

While the defense contractor will move into the 118,000-square-foot office in BWI Tech Park, the more than 1 million-square-foot campus also comprises 163,000 square feet across six single-story buildings, 620,000 square feet of flex/R&D space, 133,000 square feet of self storage and 43,000 square feet of retail space, according to a company spokesperson. Earlier this month, EN Engineering signed a 29,000-square-foot lease for 811 Pinnacle Drive, a flex/R&D space within BWI Tech Park.

Serious on sustainability

St. John Properties designed BWI Tech Park and its individual buildings with stringent sustainability standards. According to the company, the building that was leased to the defense contractor is LEED Gold certified and was designed with a low-impact strategy in mind, with the aim of increasing the open space and infiltration, while also protecting the surrounding Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

According to a company spokesperson, St. John Properties has more LEED-certified properties than any other developer in Maryland. Since starting their LEED program in 2009, the company has developed more than 50 LEED-certified buildings totaling more than 3 million square feet.  

The post St. John Properties Inks Full-Building Lease in Baltimore appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image via Pixabay

MedAmerica Properties Inc. is now Broad Street Realty Inc., courtesy of the completion of the first phase of the 19 definitive merger agreements MedAmerica and Broad Street Realty LLC announced in May 2019. The transaction, which involved stock and cash, leaves the new fully integrated and self-managed real estate company with a portfolio of nine grocery-anchored shopping centers totaling approximately 865,600 square feet in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Broad Street makes its debut with a footprint in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. The bulk of the collection is located in Maryland and includes the 85,900-square-foot Coral Hills Shopping Center in Capitol Heights; the 74,300-square-foot Crestview Square in Landover; the 98,900-square-foot Vista Shops at Golden Mile in Frederick; and Hollinswood Shopping Center, a Baltimore property featuring 112,600 square feet. The Virginia portion of the portfolio consists of the 109,600-square-foot West Broad Commons in Richmond along with Midtown Colonial and Midtown Lamonticello, which encompass 98,000 and 79,500 square feet, respectively, in Williamsburg. Broad Street’s largest asset, the 178,800-square-foot Dekalb Plaza is located in East Norriton, Pa., while the smallest property of the group, the 28,000-square-foot Avondale Shops, can be found in Washington, D.C.

READ ALSO: CRE Mega-Trends for 2020 and Beyond

In conjunction with the closing of the first tranche of mergers, certain Broad Street subsidiaries entered into two financing agreements with Basis Management Group LLC. Basis provided a $66.9 million loan secured by mortgages on six of the newly formed company’s properties and committed to investing as much as $10.7 million in Broad Street subsidiaries. Broad Street secured an additional $6.5 million loan through MVB Bank Inc. The company utilized proceeds from the financings for the repayment of debt as well as for general corporate purposes.

Upon final completion of the transactions, Broad Street will have a portfolio totaling 17 shopping centers encompassing more than 2 million square feet in the Mid-Atlantic and Colorado. The new company will also operate, develop and redevelop grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use properties and provide commercial real estate services.

Portfolio Purchase Slowdown

Despite such transactions as Tiffany & Co.’s $16 billion sale to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, retail M&A activity did not garner the same high number of headlines in 2019 as they did the previous year. At the close of the third quarter of 2019, retail sector M&A volume was 21 percent below the two-year average, according to a report by PwC.

However, grocery-anchored shopping centers continued to be an investor favorite in 2019. Notable transactions in the shopping center arena included Rosenthal Properties and PGIM Real Estate’s joint venture acquisition of a five-property, 742,000-square-foot portfolio in Richmond, Va., in a $125 million deal. And First Washington Realty Inc. turned heads with its $485 million purchase of five shopping centers totaling 800,000 square feet in metropolitan Washington, D.C. Broad Street expects the remaining 10 MedAmerica mergers to close within the next several months.

The post Broad Street, MedAmerica Close Merger’s First Phase appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

1401 Rockville Pike. Image via Google Street View

Office Properties Income Trust has sold three suburban Maryland office properties for $61.9 million, excluding any closing costs. The buyer was not disclosed.

All three buildings are managed by The RMR Group, a Massachusetts-based alternative asset management company.

READ ALSO: Top 5 Office Markets for Vacancy Growth

Two of the properties are in the Woodlawn area of Baltimore, about 8 miles west of downtown, while the third office building is located in Rockville, Md., a town about 17 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. Earlier this month, DSC Partners landed a $138 million loan for the acquisition of a 28-building office and industrial portfolio in Montgomery County, Md.

Woodmont Office Center, located at 1401 Rockville Pike, is the largest of the three properties, at 190,044 square feet. Built in 1986, the Class B asset has 33,947-square-foot floor plates and is about 94 percent occupied. The six-story building houses government tenants and also includes 12,000 square feet of retail space. The property last changed hands in 1998, when OPI purchased the asset for $32 million from seller Highridge Partners, according to Yardi Matrix data.

Located within Meadows Business Park in Woodlawn, Md., the four-story 6300 Security Blvd. was built in 1973 and totals 123,027 square feet. The Class B property was completely renovated in 1996 and is 100 percent occupied by government tenants. OPI purchased the building in 2011 for $19.7 million from seller Colony Capital.

Just down the street and within the same business park is 6340 Security Blvd., a 59,534-square-foot Class B office property that is currently 19 percent occupied. Built in 1973, the two-story building last changed hands in 2011 for $7.8 million.

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25 South Charles. Rendering courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield has signed a new lease and two renewals at 25 South Charles, a 359,000-square-foot office building in Baltimore. The property has welcomed new tenant Thomas & Libowitz and will continue to house Rosenberg Martin Greenberg and AT&T. The combined leases amount to roughly 50,000 square feet.

Grander Capital Partners acquired the asset located at 25 S. Charles St. in a joint venture with Boston Andes Capital in 2017. Equity Commonwealth sold the property for $24.5 million, while Webster Bank provided a $17.3 million acquisition loan, according to Yardi Matrix data. 

The landlord has executed major interior improvements on the building including an upgraded main lobby, elevators as well as remodeled restrooms. A gym, conference center and covered bike storage were also added. Moreover, an exterior facade renovation is slated for completion in early 2020.

Built in 1972, the 22-story asset is situated on 0.6 acres in Baltimore’s central business district and is close to the Inner Harbor. Numerous dining, retail and hotel options are within walking distance.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Senior Managing Director Bruce Matthai and Directors Brian Wyatt and Bronwyn LeGette represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. JLL and another Cushman & Wakefield team worked on behalf of the tenants.

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120 E. Baltimore St.

CBRE has represented Grander Capital Partners in a lease renewal and expansion with law firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy at a 326,325-square-foot office building in Baltimore. The tenant is moving from the 17th floor to the 25th floor, increasing its space from 14,117 to 16,921 square feet.

Located at 120 E. Baltimore St., the property also known as the SunTrust Building was completed in 1989 and is undergoing renovations. The improvements will include an upgraded lobby, refurbished common areas and elevators as well as a full renovation of the ground-floor retail space occupied by Nalley Fresh. Situated in the city’s central business district, the building is in close proximity to numerous dining, retail and entertainment options.

The CBRE team of Susan Homberg, Tyler Feeley and James Bahr represented the landlord. Brian Wyatt and Bruce Matthai of Cushman & Wakefield worked on behalf of the law firm. The asset’s tenant mix also includes the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, SunTrust Bank and the State Retirement Agency.

Grander Capital Partners bought the building in 2017 from Franklin Street Properties for $32.8 million, according to Yardi Matrix data. Citizens Financial Group financed the acquisition with a $28.7 million loan.

A recent Yardi Matrix report found that Baltimore’s office landscape is going through a major transformation, with several large mixed-use projects underway such as Sagamore’s Port Covington, Beatty Development’s Harbor Point as well as Howard Hughes Corp.’s Merriweather District in Columbia.

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Metro Park North. Image courtesy of DSC Partners

Citizens Commercial Banking provided a $138 million loan to DSC Partners for the acquisition of a 28-building office and industrial portfolio totaling nearly 1.3 million square feet in Montgomery County, Md. A division of Citizens Bank, Citizens Commercial Bank was lead-left bank and administrative agent for the loan transaction.

The properties are located in three office parks that were owned by PS Business Parks and consist of the MetroPark North campus in Rockville and the WesTech and Meadows business parks in Silver Spring. The properties include single- and multi-story office and flex buildings with tenants such as the U.S. Government, MedStar Health, Children’s Hospital, Adventist Health Care, Intelligent Automation, Aetna, Netcom Technologies and Dealeron.

READ ALSO: MBA Predicts Record 2020 for Originations

PS Business Parks sold the properties for $149 million to DSC Partners, a company founded in 2017 by two former First Potomac Realty Trust executives—Doug Donatelli and Nicholas Smith. The partners were attracted to the diversity of the tenant mix in both markets, including medical, technology, biotech and education. PS Business Parks, a REIT that acquires, develops, owns and operates commercial properties that are primarily industrial, flex and office space, had owned the campus since 2001, according to Yardi Matrix data.

Metro Park North is located in the North Rockville submarket off Route 355 and less than 5 miles from Interstate 270. In addition to nearly 1 million square feet of traditional offices and flex suites, the property has onsite gym and conference center facilities. Meadows and WesTech business parks feature 12 single-story flex office buildings and are located off Route 29 in Silver Spring on a 36-acre campus.

Growing DSC Partners

The Maryland portfolio acquisition comes a year after DSC Partners purchased 1250 Eye St. N.W., a 178,000-square-foot, Class A office building in Washington, D.C., from RREEF Property Trust for $100 million in a joint venture with Wafra Inc. Completed in 1982 and renovated in 2007, the building is located one block from the McPherson Square Metro Station. The new owners are planning a nearly $5 million capital improvement plan for the property, including adding a fitness and conference center.

In April, DSC Partners acquired a 1.6 million-square-foot portfolio in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia for $167 million from a division of RMR Group. The portfolio comprises 15 office, flex and industrial buildings in Chesapeake and Norfolk, and includes tenants such as the U.S. Government and Sentara Healthcare.

Donatelli and Smith were very familiar with the portfolio because First Potomac had acquired it back when Donatelli was CEO and Smith was the chief investment officer. The RMR Group affiliate had purchased the properties about three years ago. After the purchase, DSC Partners selected Colliers International’s Norfolk office to handle leasing. DSC Partners now owns and operates a diverse portfolio of 45 buildings and 3.4 million square feet in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

The post DSC Procures $138M Loan for Maryland Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

226 Schilling Circle

Merritt Properties has acquired Schilling Green III, the former home of McCormick & Co. in Hunt Valley, Md., bringing its portfolio in the Interstate 83 corridor to 1.4 million square feet. According to Yardi Matrix data, the seller was Greenfield Partners, which previously purchased the asset in 2012 for $14.5 million. Merritt plans to fully upgrade the vacant building and achieve LEED Silver certification by spring 2021. Merritt Construction Services, the construction division of Merritt Cos., will be in charge of redeveloping the 98,640-square-foot asset.

READ ALSO: What to Expect From Baltimore’s Office Market

Cris Abramson, Nicholas Signor and Ben McCarty of Newmark Knight Frank’s Maryland Capital Markets represented the seller in the transaction, marking the fourth office deal the team closed in Hunt Valley this year. Earlier this year, the firm facilitated the sale of North Park, another office building part of Greenfield’s portfolio.

Close to the region’s top businesses

Schilling Green III is located at 226 Schilling Circle, within a half-mile radius of five other Merritt properties which also include Schilling Green, a similar building that Merritt redeveloped in 2008. Schilling Green became the first speculative project in the Interstate 83 corridor to receive LEED certification.

The three-story property was completed in 1980 and features a grade-level parking structure for up to 395 vehicles. According to Yardi Matrix data, the building is divided into three floor plates of 32,880 square feet.  

The nearby area is home to several of the region’s top employers: ArmadaCorp Capital, Atradius Trade Credit Insurance, EA Engineering, New York Life, Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. and RBC Royal Bank. Tenants have access to more than 1 million square feet of retail space and amenities as well as light rail and bus transportation options.

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One Light Street. Image courtesy of Madison Marquette

Madison Marquette has received a $185 million financing to recapitalize One Light Street, a Class A 800,000-square-foot mixed-use high-rise in Baltimore. Bridge Investment Group secured the loan, one of the largest in the market. The developer broke ground on the 28-story building in January 2017 and secured $169 million in construction financing from two lenders in September 2017. Bridge Investment also participated at the time with a $44 million bridge loan. 

Madison Marquette Chief Development/Asset Management Officer Peter Cole and Senior Vice President George Kelly negotiated on behalf of the borrower, while Bridge Investment Group Managing Director Jay Haberman represented the lender in the transaction. Phillips Realty Capital Principal Mark Remington served as advisor in the deal. 

Class A building and location

Completed in 2019, One Light Street features 5,000 square feet of ground floor retail, 252,200 square feet of office space across nine floors and 280 luxury residences across the building’s topmost 10 floors. Designed by AECOM to receive LEED Silver certification, the tower also has nine levels of above- and below-grade parking totaling 645 spaces.

According to Yardi Matrix data, the building’s residential component features a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom floorplans averaging 691 square feet. Communal amenities include a business center, fitness center and pool with sun deck, as well as several electric charging stations. M&T Bank is an anchor tenant at the property with a 15-year, 155,000-square-foot lease.

Located at 1 Light St. in the city’s original business district, the mixed-use tower rises two blocks southwest of Baltimore City Hall and three blocks north of the National Aquarium. The 2.7-acre property is less than one mile west of Interstate 83, within an area filled with hotels, restaurants, parks and shopping venues.

The post Baltimore Tower Lands $185M Recap appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

11333 McCormick Road

Inland Private Capital Corp. has sold the Bank of America office building in the Hunt Valley suburb of Baltimore through a subsidiary for $99.3 million. The privately held asset management firm facilitated the sale on behalf of one of its Section 1031 investment programs.

The 377,332-square-foot property at 11333 McCormick Road represents IPC’s largest pre-recession corporate office holding. With the disposition, IPC has completed 19 full-cycle asset sales with a total price of $665.7 million during 2019 to date.

Built in 1974 and expanded in 1997, the building has a seven-story and a nine-story component. IPC acquired it from Bank of America in July 2008 for $72.7 million, according to Yardi Matrix. Bank of America had purchased the asset from PHH Corp. in 1997.

The Class B property is located at the corner of McCormick Road and Shawan Road, just off Interstate 83, and across the street from the Hunt Valley Towne Centre outdoor shopping mall. Hunt Valley, an unincorporated community north of Baltimore, is home to a number of corporations including McCormick & Co. and Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Achieving 7.1% return

IPC managed the asset through the recession, and later obtained a 10-year lease extension and completed a refinance and recapitalization effort. Yardi Matrix records indicate that the property received a $60 million loan from Parkway Bank and Trust Co. in November 2018.

The lease extension included a 550-space parking lot expansion. The vast majority of tenant improvement dollars were funded by reserves, according to a statement by IPC. The asset provided a 7.1 percent average annualized return to investors and the sale resulted in a total return of 177.3 percent, based on the aggregate amount of original capital invested in the property.

In August of last year, IPC sold four freestanding medical office buildings in the Chicago area and south of Boston for a total of $45.7 million, working on behalf of Medical Office Portfolio DST, one of its 1031 investment programs.

The post Baltimore Office Building Trades for $99M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Marc Broady, Vice President of Community Affairs, Weller Development Co. Image courtesy of Weller Development Co.

Weller Development Co., the developer of Baltimore’s multi-billion project Port Covington, has hired Marc Broady as vice president of community affairs. In his new role, Broady will be responsible for maintaining the connection between the company and communities around the mixed-use development. The project, which broke ground in May, is expected to add more than 3 million square feet of new office, retail, hotel and residential space to the South Baltimore area.

READ ALSO: Port Covington’s Impact on the Baltimore Office Market

In his new position, Broady will spearhead a number of processes meant to expand Port Covington’s impact. This includes workforce development programming, local hiring and apprenticeships, support for women- and minority-owned businesses and community partnerships. He will also be responsible for implementing developer commitments toward the historic city-wide Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Baltimore and the South Baltimore 6 Coalition Community Benefits Agreement valued at more than $135 million.

In addition, he will oversee the partnership with the South Baltimore 7 Coalition,  made up of community leaders from Brooklyn, Cherry Hill, Curtis Bay, Lakeland, Mt. Winans, Westport and Port Covington.

“Their engagement, interest in my role, knowledge of the agreements made and expectations on both sides is unparalleled. A major part of my attraction to this role was their sincere interest in the success of the project and their understanding that if Port Covington remains successful, the community benefits as well,” Broady told Commercial Property Executive. 

A decade in the business

Broady brings more than a decade of experience in civic and community involvement, having previously worked as lead counsel and policy advisor for Elijah Cummings, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland. He also supervised the creation of the Baltimore chapter of President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative and worked in the Baltimore City Public School System.

Weller Development’s new vice president received his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law and his Bachelor of Science degree from Frostburg State University. He is also a member of the Maryland Bar.   

The post Baltimore’s Port Covington Gets New VP of Community Affairs appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Scott Dorsey, CEO, Merritt Cos. Image courtesy of Merritt Cos.

The Baltimore office market is well-positioned for growth, largely due to the rapid rise of health care and cybersecurity, and the impact of transformative projects such as Port Covington. Demand for prime office space is still strong, which should ensure a fast absorption of the upcoming deliveries.

Class A developments, such as Merritt Cos.’ 20-story 3401 Boston, are springing up not far from the central business district. Scott Dorsey, the company’s CEO, provides insights into the metro’s ballooning office sector and explains why we will see more renovated buildings in Baltimore’s workspace landscape.

READ ALSO: Port Covington’s Impact on the Baltimore Office Market

How would you describe Baltimore’s office sector today and how do you see it going forward?

Dorsey: It’s a mature market and new developments are on the horizon, which will make the office sector more competitive. There has always been a high demand for office users in the Interstate 83 corridor and the main challenge continues to be the scarcity of ground-up developments. That’s why we anticipate seeing an increasing trend to redevelop office properties and elevate spaces to today’s standards.

For instance, Merritt Cos. recently converted a former research and development building into a Class A office in Owings Mills, Md., at 10065 Red Run Blvd. We gutted a 63,000-square-foot, two-story building and redesigned it to hold modern office spaces with open floor plans. We also have plans to develop Timonium III, a 90,000-square-foot Class A office at 2026 Greenspring Drive. Moving forward, landlords will have to get creative in repositioning their office buildings and as vacancy gets tighter, you should expect to see rental rates increase.

Tell us more about on Baltimore’s best submarkets for office investment and what attracts tenants to them.

Dorsey: Howard County, Columbia and Ellicott City, Md., have been great submarkets due to their proximity to Baltimore City and Washington, D.C. There is a well-educated workforce and a variety of business sectors, including health care, education, technology and government contractors. This keeps the market robust and rents are typically 50 percent lower than the ones in the Washington, D.C. market. A strong public school system and residential communities make the area a great place to develop and conduct business.

In the I-83 corridor, we typically post a +90 percent occupancy rate. Towson, Timonium, Hunt Valley and Owings Mills are the most popular submarkets. These areas are located near major highways, including the Baltimore Beltway and wealthy residential communities. Popular industries include financial services and insurance companies. Our redevelopment in Owings Mills, Md., comes at a good time because the area is experiencing decreasing vacancies and positive absorption for the first time in years.

What are the challenges and risks investors and developers face in Baltimore during this economic cycle? How can they overcome them?

Dorsey: We have been developing industrial and office projects in the Baltimore region since 1967 and have gone through many economic cycles. Rather than try to time the market as long-term holders of real estate assets, we know that the best strategy is to create high-quality projects in the best locations, as these invariably outperform the overall market in a downturn.

Moreover, you also need to have capital available to take advantage of opportunities to acquire land or buildings for redevelopment at favorable prices and always be conservative in debt strategy, in order to mitigate the effects of higher vacancies and lower rental rates in tougher markets.

READ ALSO: Demand Catches Up to Supply in Baltimore

How do you identify the right areas for development?

Dorsey: Location is key. Other factors include price, accessibility, county and government support, utilities and existing infrastructure.

Tell us more about 3401 Boston, the largest office project in your company’s development pipeline. What makes this project stand out?

3401 Boston. Image courtesy of Merritt Cos.

Dorsey: The building will feature 10 stories of floor-to-ceiling glass office, with average floorplates of 20,000 square feet and 10 levels of garage parking, with a total of 550 spaces. 3401 Boston will include a penthouse terrace, a community lounge and 9,000 square feet of street-level retail. Located in the thriving Canton neighborhood of downtown Baltimore, this building will be within walking distance to Merritt Clubs Canton and sought-after shopping and dining amenities. Since the development will be positioned outside of the Central Business District, but within minutes of I-95, office users will have the unique opportunity to avoid downtown gridlock.

What are your company’s short- and long-term plans?

Dorsey: There is no difference between our short- and long-term plans. Since our company was founded in 1967 by Leroy Merritt, we have been focused on taking care of our customers, employees and partners while seeking growth opportunities.

The post What to Expect From Baltimore’s Office Market appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Northeast Commons. Rendering courtesy of Trammell Crow Co.

Trammell Crow Co., along with development partner Diamond Realty Investments, has secured funding for an upcoming speculative industrial project along the Interstate 95 corridor north of Baltimore, Md. BMO Harris Bank originated the $26 million construction loan. Dubbed North East Commons, the Class A facility is slated for a 2020 completion.

The 716,490-square-foot distribution center will be situated on a 60-acre parcel in North East, in Cecil County. The building will feature 40-foot clear heights, 1 per 7,000-square-foot dock door ratios as well as car and trailer parking with multiple queuing lanes. North East Commons will also feature rail access. The development is located about 45 miles from Baltimore and 60 miles from Philadelphia. The warehouse will feature frontage along Route 272, with I-95 just a mile away.

According to Trammell Crow Vice President Matt Nunn, the I-95 corridor is a growing submarket that continues to attract large tenants. A recent JLL industrial report highlights the same area as having more than 90 percent of all metro Baltimore’s industrial development—more than 3 million square feet. And according to Prologis, industrial vacancy rates dropped to 4.5% nationwide.

The area is designated a Maryland Enterprise Zone, which provides tax incentives both for developers and potential tenants, including a 10-year credit against local property taxes and credits for every new position created that pays at least 150 percent of the federal minimum wage. According to the Maryland Department of Commerce, Cecil County has more than 6,200 acres designated as Enterprise Zones, expiring in 2023.

The post Trammell Crow to Develop 700 KSF Baltimore Distribution Facility appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image via Pixabay

KKR has acquired five industrial distribution properties totaling 565,644 square feet. The buildings have joined KKR’s Alpha Industrial Properties portfolio, which now totals 8 million square feet across eight high-growth markets in the U.S. KKR made the investment through its Real Estate Partners Americas Fund II.

The properties are shallow-bay, “last mile,” light industrial warehouses in San Diego, Baltimore and Huntington Beach, Calif. Their average vintage is 1995, while their overall occupancy is 91 percent. The properties were acquired from three different sellers.

KKR did not respond to Commercial Property Executive’s request for additional information.

All eyes on vacancy 

Though the U.S. industrial real estate market was sailing steadily in the first quarter, players are keeping a close watch on leasing activity, given concerns about economic and trade factors, as well as an increase of 10 basis points in the average nationwide vacancy, which rose to 5.0 percent, according to a first-quarter market report from JLL.

Still, “vacancy continues to be near all-time historic lows,” JLL noted, and most industrial markets saw rent growth.

Three trends bear watching, says JLL:

• Supply continues to increase, with the construction pipeline up 4.3 percent through the addition of 10 million square feet, bringing the under-construction total nationwide to 258.8 million square feet.
• Though rental growth is slowing, it continues to rise, hitting a national average of $5.79 per square foot.
• Perhaps surprisingly, traditional retailers are driving leasing activity, at nearly 13.6 percent, followed closely by logistics and distribution and by 3PL, in second and third place, respectively. The three together account for more than a third of all U.S. industrial leasing. 

In February, KKR purchased for $43.5 million a recently completed 406,650-square-foot distribution facility, at the 1.5-million-square-foot Optimus Logistics Center in Perris, Calif., in the Interstate 215 corridor. The seller was Rockefeller Group.

In a very different purchase last December, KKR, along with TMG Partners, acquired 1221 City Center, a 24-story office tower in downtown Oakland, Calif. UBS Realty Investors sold the 522,000-square-foot building for a sum reported to be about $255 million.

The post KKR Buys 566 KSF Multi-State Industrial Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Court Towers. Image courtesy of Savills

Savills’ Senior Managing Director George Santos, Managing Director Ryan Miller and Assistant Director Mike Barbalace have represented marketing communications agency imre in relocating its headquarters. After 26 years spent in the Baltimore area, imre is moving from its current office at 909 Ridgebrook Road in Sparks, Md., to the 7-story, 137,102-square-foot Court Towers in Towson, Md. The firm entered an 11-year lease with Artemis Properties, the owner of the building, according to Yardi Matrix. Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord.

The move to 210 W. Pennsylvania Ave. is scheduled for November 2019. The new 18,058-square-foot lease will increase imre’s footprint by more than 25 percent and will accommodate up to 145 employees. The company is going to occupy the entire seventh floor of the Court Towers building.

According to Yardi Matrix data, the property was completed in 1989 and provides a total of 135,000 square feet of office space and more than 2,000 square feet of retail space, a recently renovated lobby and plaza, a covered parking garage, a full-service deli, as well as a fully equipped fitness center. The tenant roster includes names such as Park America, Mentzer Media Services and Venable. The building is close to Greenberg Gibbons’ upcoming $350 million mixed-use project and can be reached via Interstate 695. 

If you’d like to be featured in Brokers’ Corner, send your deal to deals@cpe-mhn.com.  

The post Savills Arranges HQ Relocation for imre appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Matt Lenihan, Vice President of Leasing, St. John Properties. Image courtesy of St. John Properties

After appointing a new senior vice president last month, St. John Properties has promoted Matt Lenihan to vice president of leasing. In the new position, he will continue to handle leasing operations for the company’s Baltimore and Harford counties commercial office and flex/R&D portfolio.

The recently appointed executive has been with the company since 2001, having previously served as assistant vice president of leasing. Other positions within the company included leasing agent and construction manager. Between 1998 and 2001, he held various positions at The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.

Lenihan holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland at College Park. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors for Unified Community Connections, the Army Alliance and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

The post St. John Properties Adds New VP of Leasing appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Thames Street Wharf. Image courtesy of KBS

Armada Hoffler Properties will soon expand its footprint in Baltimore’s popular Harbor Point development with the acquisition of a 260,000-square-foot trophy office building. Having just entered into an agreement, Armada will purchase Thames Street Wharf from KBS in a $101 million transaction. CBRE marketed the asset on behalf of the seller.

Fronting the Baltimore Harbor at 1300 Thames, St., Thames Street Wharf first opened its doors in 2010, developed by H&S Properties Development Corp. and built by Armada Hoffler Construction, a subsidiary of Armada. The eight-story tower, which also features roughly 1,500 square feet of retail space, is 100 percent occupied.

Anchors Johns Hopkins Medicine and Morgan Stanley occupy a combined 92 percent of the LEED Gold-certified property, with the latter having signed a lease renewal in the first quarter of 2019 to continue to occupy its 195,783 square feet of space. Armada Hoffler Construction also maintains offices in the building, which is home to a total of seven tenants.

Harbor Point Presence

Thames Street Wharf will be Armada’s third major asset in the 27-acre Harbor Point neighborhood. The vertically integrated REIT also recently claimed a controlling interest in 1405 Point, formerly Point Street Apartments, a 289-unit luxury high-rise. Additionally, the company is currently developing Wills Wharf, a 325,000-square-foot mixed-use project.

The Thames Street Wharf transaction is on track to reach completion by the close of the second quarter of 2019. The building last traded in 2014, when KBS purchased it from Beatty Development Group for $89 million, marking the largest price per-square-foot ever paid for an office property in Baltimore at the time.

The post Armada Hoffler to Buy Baltimore Asset for $101M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Overview of Chesapeake Commerce Center, adjacent to the Port of Baltimore. Image courtesy of Duke Realty

Ace Logistics has signed a lease for an upcoming 182,000-square-foot built-to-suit warehouse at Duke Realty Corp.’s Chesapeake Commerce Center, a 177-acre industrial campus in Baltimore. The new development will be filling the last parcel of undeveloped land.

Ace also renewed its lease for a 169,000-square-foot building at 5900 Holabird Ave., within the center. Located at 6000 Holabird Ave., the new property will be close to Interstate 95 and will offer convenient access to the Port of Baltimore and the Seagirt and Dundalk Marine terminals.

Duke Realty acquired the parcel back in 2005, when it was home to a General Motors assembly plant, and redeveloped the space. The property is now anchored by Amazon, which occupies more than 1 million square feet in three warehouses. Other tenants include Berry Global, A&S Services and Johns Hopkins Home Care Group.

JLL’s Peter Hajimihalis and Ben Meisels worked on behalf of Ace Logistics, while CBRE’s Justin Mohler represented Duke Realty, which owns 2.6 million square feet of warehouse and logistics space in the Baltimore area. 

The post Ace Logistics to Expand at Chesapeake Commerce Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

North Park. Image courtesy of Newmark Knight Frank

Newmark Knight Frank has recently orchestrated the sale of North Park, a 297,500-square-foot office portfolio in the Hunt Valley area in Cockeysville, Md., roughly 20 miles north of Baltimore. Acting on behalf of Greenfield Partners, the commercial real estate advisory firm sold the thee-building complex to North Park Ventures LLC.

North Park encompasses the low-rise towers at 4, 6 and 10 N. Park Dr., all three of which opened their doors for the first time in the 1980s. 4 N. Park is the largest of the properties, with 128,300 square feet of space, including 2,000 square feet of ground-level retail offerings. The building at 6 N. Park encompasses 81,500 square feet, while 10 N. Park features 87,700 square feet. Together, the Class B buildings, which were most recently renovated between 2009 and 2012, are 94 percent leased.

North Park. Image courtesy of Newmark Knight Frank

Greenfield had owned North Park since 2014, when the company came into possession of the properties as part of a 6.6 million-square-foot portfolio purchase from Liberty Property Trust. According to Maryland records, Greenfield paid a total of approximately $40.8 million for the three buildings five years ago. NKF’s capital markets team behind the disposition of North Park included Cris Abramson, Nicholas Signor and Ben McCarty.

A go-to market

Metropolitan Baltimore recorded $684 million in office sales volume in 2018, and while 2019 got off to a slow start, the area is still considered a solid market for office investment. According to a first quarter report by NKF, macro issues notwithstanding, capital continues to target the metro area given its steady leasing performance, which is buoyed by the education/health sectors and the cybersecurity industry. Baltimore has posted positive net absorption for 19 of the last 21 quarters.

Notable office transactions in the Greater Baltimore area over the last six months include Goldman Sachs & Co.’s sale of 180 Admiral Cochrane Drive, a 125,700-squre-foot property in Annapolis, to Grander Capital Partners for $24.5 million last fall. More recently, Greenfield sold the 337,300-square-foot International Circle Portfolio in Hunt Valley to a local, family-owned investment and development company. NKF represented the sellers in both transactions.

The post Greenfield Partners Sells 297 KSF Baltimore Office Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Airport Square Park. Image courtesy of Transwestern

Following the sale of a 21-property, multistate industrial portfolio, Transwestern Commercial Services has secured the sale of Airport Square Portfolio, a 238,459-square-foot industrial portfolio consisting of four buildings located in Baltimore. JU Holdings of New York acquired the properties.

Located at 800, 900, 930 and 849 International Drive, adjacent of the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the properties are part of the Airport Square Park. The campus offers access to Maryland Route 295, Interstate 95, downtown Baltimore and is approximately 20 miles from downtown Washington, D.C. Additionally, a variety of dining and accommodations options are nearby.

The portfolio includes three one-story buildings and one four-story office building totaling more than 57,000 square feet. Built in 1986, the office property sits on a 220-acre corporate campus and includes various firms in the high technology, telecommunications and security-related industries. Airport Square is currently 85 percent leased, according to Transwestern.

The post Transwestern Brokers Maryland Industrial Portfolio Sale appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Governors Commons. Image courtesy of Continental Realty Corp.

After recently purchasing an 87,250-square-foot shopping center in Spring Hill, Fla., Continental Realty Corp. has acquired Governors Commons, a 129,242-square-foot retail asset in Glen Burnie, Md., for $16.2 million. The seller was Urban Edge Properties, according to Anne Arundel County Assessor data. The new owner financed the acquisition through an undisclosed loan.  

Situated at 7311 Ritchie Highway, close to Interstate 97 and Arundel Expressway and less than 14 miles of downtown Baltimore, the Gavigan’s Furniture-anchored asset was fully leased at the time of the sale. The tenant roster also includes Pep Boys, Sake Japanese Steakhouse, Goodwill Industries and Dollar Tree, with PNC Bank and Bubba’s 33 restaurant occupying separate pad sites at the 21.8-acre property. More than 25,000 vehicles pass the retail center every day and within a 3-mile radius, there are almost 85,000 residents with an average household income of nearly $80,000.   

Newmark Knight Frank Vice Chairman Geoffrey Millerd, Managing Director Mathew Adler and Financial Analyst/ Associate Chris Huesgen brokered the sale. Additionally, Vice Chairman Joe Donato arranged acquisition financing. 

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Nottingham Ridge Logistics Center. Image courtesy of Atapco Properties and CREG

A joint venture between Atapco Properties and Chesapeake Real Estate Group (CREG) has kicked off construction of a pair of industrial buildings totaling more than 750,000 square feet in Baltimore County. The partners acquired the 52-acre site last year and have started marketing and leasing on the project—Nottingham Ridge Logistics Center—which is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2020.

Atapco will lead the development and construction effort for the two properties, located at 5300 and 5301 Nottingham Drive in White Marsh, Md. The Class A warehouse/industrial facilities will measure 585,000 square feet and 165,000 square feet and will feature clear ceiling heights of 36 feet and 32 feet, respectively. Both buildings will allow for drive-in and dock door loading.

CREG will oversee the marketing and leasing for the project, which is adjacent to Interstate 95. Located near Exit 67, the site was formerly zoned for a 100-store outlet mall until the developer, Paragon Outlet Partners, scrapped the retail plan and sold off the parcel.

“We are proceeding with construction because we are confident in the warehouse/industrial market for sites with immediate access to the I-95,” commented Armin Groeschel, vice president of development for Atapco Properties in a prepared statement. “The continuing demand for the same-day or next-day delivery is the most significant driver for new Class A logistics centers with close proximity to major population centers.”

CREG grows in Mid-Atlantic

Atapco Properties, a subsidiary of American Trading and Production Corp., develops a wide range of real estate assets across the U.S. The company has worked with CREG on multiple business parks and industrial projects in the past, including in Greencastle, Pa., and Jessup, Md.

CREG specializes in buying and developing industrial projects in the Baltimore-Washington metro area. Last November, the company broke ground on another two-building industrial site, further to the east of Baltimore, on behalf of TA Realty. The site spans 350,000 square feet of warehouse space within the Trimble Road Business Park in Edgewood, Md.

The post Work Starts on 750 KSF Logistics Center Near Baltimore appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Sean Doordan, Senior Vice President, St. John Properties. Image courtesy of St. John Properties

Baltimore-based St. John Properties Inc. has appointed Sean Doordan as senior vice president of leasing and acquisitions. Aside from procurement activities, his new responsibilities will include the management of the leasing, space planning, interior design and marketing divisions. This includes coordinating all broker and client relation activities, as well as creating advertising and public relations programs.

Doordan has worked for the company since 2005 and previously occupied the position of senior vice president in the acquisitions department. “Sean’s knowledge, skill set and diversified experience in all phases of the real estate development process makes him the perfect individual for this expanded role with the company,” said Lawrence Maykrantz, president of St. John Properties, in prepared remarks.

Doordan serves on several boards, including the Real Estate and Infrastructure Advisory Board for the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, as well as the Board of Directors for Providence Center and the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce. He holds a bachelor of science degree in business management from University of Delaware and a master’s degree of real estate from the Edward St. John Real Estate Program at Johns Hopkins University.

St. John Properties has several Maryland office and industrial projects in the works. Last December, the company broke ground on three buildings totaling 200,000 square feet of flex, R&D, bulk and warehouse space within Arcadia Business Park in Frederick.

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6201 Greenleigh Avenue

St. John Properties has received its 50^th certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for satisfying LEED requirements in the development and construction of commercial office and flex/R&D buildings situated throughout the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., metropolitan region.

Since initiating its LEED program a decade ago, the Baltimore-based commercial real estate company developed close to 3 million square feet of Gold, Silver or Certified space throughout Maryland, Utah and Virginia.

Of all, 37 buildings have achieved the LEED Gold status for core and shell, representing nearly 75 percent of total projects. In fact, nearly every new property constructed by St. John Properties is designed to earn LEED certification, including some across Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Utah and Wisconsin.

Latest LEEDs

Some of the most recent St. John Properties buildings to achieve LEED certification include 8 Easter Court—a 31,560-square-foot flex/office building—and 10 Easter Court—a 39,120-square-foot flex/office building, both located within Dolfield Business Park in Owings Mills, Md. Both assets earned the LEED Gold status. Moreover, the four-story, Class A office building at 6201 Greenleigh Ave., fully leased by Stanley Black & Decker, was also LEED Gold-certified by USGBC with 65 score points. The 77,000-square-foot building is part of Greenleigh at Crossroads, near White Marsh. All three properties are located in Baltimore County, Md.

“An increasing number of companies will only occupy space that is LEED-certified, including the General Services Administration,” Richard Williamson, senior vice president of leasing and marketing at St. John Properties, said in prepared remarks.

“Buildings that achieve LEED certification are lowering carbon emissions, creating a healthier environment and reducing operating costs while prioritizing sustainable practices,” added Mahesh Ramanujam, USGBC president & CEO. “Given the extraordinary importance of climate protection, St. John Properties is playing a central role with their leadership and getting USGBC closer to our goal of outpacing conventional buildings to improve the quality of life.”

Image courtesy of St. John Properties

The post St. John Properties’ LEED Asset Count Reaches 50 appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

1820 Lancaster St.

Baltimore’s tech scene now includes Oakland, Calif.,-based start-up Broadly. The firm has opened its third nation-wide office in the Southeast Baltimore submarket, where it has recently leased a 7,500-square-foot space. Its plans are to hire 50 employees at the new location.

“The city certainly checks all the boxes. It’s a great community for tech companies to grow and thrive. We love the proximity to top-tier universities, technology leaders and the wider D.C. metropolitan area,” said Josh Melick, Broadly’s CEO & co-founder.

The office is located on the third floor of the Union Box Building, at 1820 Lancaster St. Originally built in 1920 as an industrial facility, the 50,000-square-foot property was converted to office in 1999. According to Yardi Matrix data, The Brick Cos. bought the building in 2007 from Union Box Co. in a portfolio sale, which also incorporated 1,699 square feet of office space at 1821 Thames St. The property is subject to a $3.5 million loan with CNO Financial Group.

The Southeast Baltimore submarket has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the metro with companies competing for space due to its proximity to the city’s highly educated workforce. Some firms, including The Foundery, prefer it to the more modern live-work-play communities such as the $5.5 billion Port Covington.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix

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Thames Street Wharf

KBS has recently signed a 195,783-square-foot lease renewal with Morgan Stanley at its Thames Street Wharf in Baltimore, Md. The financial giant moved to Baltimore in 2003 and has been occupying space in the Class A building since its completion in 2010. Other tenants include Beatty Development Group and Armada Hoffler Construction.

Thames Street Wharf is a 260,000-square-foot, eight-story property, which achieved LEED Gold for its sustainable design and construction. The building features floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the Patapsco River. Amenities include a café/deli, coffee shop, dry cleaning service and concierge service. Additionally, the landlord plans to upgrade the lobby and common areas this year.

Setting tone for more

Located on 1.3 acres at 1300 Thames St., the property is the first building delivered as part of the Harbor Point mixed-use development, Baltimore’s largest downtown waterfront site. Neighborhood amenities include parks, dining and shopping options, a farmer’s market, a fitness center, a medical center, universities. Harbor Point Central Plaza and Broadway Square are also nearby. BWI Marshall Airport and various bus and train stations provide commuters easy access throughout the entire area.

JLL’s Joe Messina and Brad Crosley represented the tenants in the lease transaction. Newmark Knight Frank’s Dan Callihan acted on behalf of the landlord.

“We acquired Thames Street Wharf in a joint venture with a sovereign partner, in lieu of an institutional client, knowing that it had generational attributes and that with continued enhancements it would remain attractive to top tier companies,” KBS Regional President Marc Deluca said in a prepared statement.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix

The post KBS Inks 196 KSF Lease Renewal in Baltimore appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Marc Weller, Founding Partner & President, Weller Development

Baltimore’s economy continued to grow slowly but steadily in 2018, fueled primarily by the metro’s health-care sector as well as a new, cybersecurity-centered layer of tech businesses. For years, the city has dealt with an oversupply of office space in most submarkets except for those with a high concentration of tech tenants, such as Jessup and Woodlawn. Nevertheless, according to a recent Yardi Matrix report, the city’s office market is keeping up with national trends, as demand for modern office space is rising.

Investors are bullish that Baltimore will attract more interest from companies in the near future given the state’s willingness to provide support for new developments. At the beginning of the year, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that the state will bolster the opportunity zones program with a total of $56.5 million in state and federal incentives. In addition, a growing number of live-work-play communities are underway, the most notable being Howard Hughes Corp.’s $5 billion Merriweather District and Sagamore Development and Weller Development’s $5.5 billion Port Covington.

According to Marc Weller, founding partner & president of Weller Development, live-work-play projects such as Port Covington are key for revitalizing both the city’s long-abandoned industrial areas as well as the economy since they usually aim to generate thousands of jobs on the medium and long term. His company is currently working on the revised first part of the project, which is projected to add 3 million square feet of new space to the South Baltimore area. Approximately 1.3 million square feet will be for office use, which exceeds the total amount of office space delivered last year. By the time it will be completed, approximately two decades from now, the 235-acre Port Covington is expected to encompass offices, homes, stores and restaurants as well as 40 acres of parks and open spaces.

In your opinion, what are Baltimore office market’s biggest strengths and weaknesses at this point?

Weller: We are more bullish on Baltimore than we’ve ever been. The outlook for Baltimore’s office market is quite strong for 2019, with a highly skilled, dynamic workforce in place and strong leadership in health care and cybersecurity. Baltimore should also benefit greatly from the newly introduced federal Opportunity Zone program. For Port Covington and our neighboring communities, the program provides an incredible opportunity to drive capital into a geographic region that has not seen much investment for decades. It’s a critical tool for us and others in Baltimore, to draw investors with a mission-driven approach and community focus to Port Covington and other areas that qualify.

New office projects have been limited during the past four years, as total yearly deliveries surpassed the 1 million-square-foot mark only in 2016. How will a project like Port Covington impact Baltimore’s office market?

Weller: With 235 acres of land and easy access to Interstate 95 along 2.5 miles of waterfront, we believe Port Covington is as much a regional play as it is a Baltimore play. Baltimore is definitely a market that is on the rise, with a low cost of living and high density of dynamic talent. But in Port Covington, we offer the ability for commuters to travel to and from Washington, D.C., in 35 minutes, compared to nearly an hour for downtown Baltimore. From that standpoint, we are creating an entirely new market.

Rendering of Port Covington

What impact do you expect it will have on the South Baltimore community and the metro’s overall economy?

Weller: Early on in the development process, we made it a priority to begin meeting with the South Baltimore communities on a regular basis, to ensure they would share in the economic, educational, cultural, environmental and social benefits associated with a redeveloped Port Covington.

The redevelopment of Port Covington will have a fundamental and far-reaching positive impact on Baltimore, its economy and its future. We expect the project to generate thousands of new jobs, new businesses, fresh opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship and more for Baltimore City residents—especially for South Baltimore.

What can you tell us about the capital stack for this development? How complex is the financing structure?

Weller: We plan to raise Opportunity Zone funds and source conventional debt to capitalize the first phase of the project. We have seen tremendous interest from both sides of the equation—debt and equity—and plan to start construction towards the middle of 2019 with tax increment financing being issued around the same time.

The project falls within a particular development trend we’re seeing in several major markets across the country. South Florida, Boston and Chicago are also investing into revitalizing waterfront areas. What are the challenges of redeveloping industrial areas?

Weller: The biggest challenge in redeveloping 235 acres of land along the waterfront is the environmental piece. As we have seen elsewhere in the U.S., industrial areas along the waterfront offer fantastic opportunities for developers to take on transformative mixed-use development projects. But it is important we use these opportunities to transform not just the perception of cities from the outside, but change cities for the people that live there as well.

As part of our efforts to be good stewards of the environment we are developing, we are working collaboratively with local partners including the Parks & People Foundation, South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, South Baltimore Seven (SB7) Communities and the City of Baltimore to implement an 11-mile waterfront improvement plan along the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River. Measures being examined for that stretch of waterfront include biologically engineered shoreline improvements, installation of a trash wheel as well as the creation of a “waterfront district” with the goal of improving water quality, reinvigorating aquatic life and improving the health and wellness of the surrounding communities.

What companies have joined the tenant roster so far? What is the strategy for attracting new ones?

Weller: Port Covington already has more than 20 tenants with more than 1,000 employees working here every day. In 2016, we opened City Garage, a dynamic workplace for local artisans and creative entrepreneurs that is currently occupied by several tenants including Betamore, an incubator and coworking space. Later that year, we celebrated the opening of UA Lighthouse, Under Armour’s center for manufacturing and design innovation. Sagamore Spirit Distillery and Rye Street Tavern, key projects in the first development phase, opened in 2017, ahead of schedule.

Last summer, the Baltimore Sun moved its newsroom operations to the company’s printing plant at Port Covington. And late last year, we announced that three influential cybersecurity firms have committed to move from Silicon Valley to Port Covington when the first buildings of our next phase are delivered—by 2021. Those companies include: DataTribe, a globally-known cybersecurity startup studio with offices in Maryland and Silicon Valley; AllegisCyber, a leading and one of the oldest Silicon Valley-based early-stage cybersecurity venture capital firms; and Evergreen Advisors, a Columbia, Md.,-based investment banking and corporate advisory firm focused on assisting emerging growth and middle-market companies. 

Tell us about the possibility of Port Covington becoming the nation’s first “Cyber Town.”

Weller: Port Covington offers a truly unique opportunity for cybersecurity and technology companies to locate within 30 minutes from U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, which is a big reason why companies like DataTribe, AllegisCyber and Evergreen Advisers have already committed to leave Silicon Valley and move here.

Port Covington has it all for companies in the cyber and tech space: prime waterfront location, connectivity, an abundance of existing dynamic tech talent and an entrepreneurial ethos focused on future growth. But the truth is, these assets are driving interest from not just cybersecurity and technology companies, but growing, innovative and tech-forward companies in the education and life sciences spaces as well.

Tell us a bit about Weller Development’s future projects and the possibility of replicating Port Covington in other cities across the nation. 

Weller: We are currently well underway in the planning phases of Chapter 1. Including the already opened Sagamore Spirit Distillery and Rye Street Tavern, Chapter 1 is planned to include up to 3 million square feet of mixed-use development, including 1.26 million square feet of office, 269,000 square feet of retail, 1.33 million square feet of residential and 156,000 square feet of hotel space. That will begin with Rye Street Market—a mixed-use property that will include three boutique loft-style creative office buildings totaling 180,000 square feet, a vibrant market, restaurants, shops and shared amenities. Rye Street Market is expected to be delivered as early as the end of 2020 into 2021.

Rendering of Rye Street Market

Additional office, retail, hospitality and residential spaces are currently in the planning stages and will be driven by lead tenant interest. Future phases are slated to include more than 10 million square feet of additional office, residential, retail and hotel development with little restriction to build more, offering robust expansion and relocation opportunities for companies across Port Covington.

Images courtesy of Weller Development

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Cranberry Run Business Park

FRP Development Corp. has purchased the 270,000- square-foot Cranberry Run Business Park, in Aberdeen, Md., from an entity connected to Kinsley Properties for $6.3 million. The acquisition marks the first local purchase since FRP announced its development strategy last year, following the sale of 40 warehouses and three land parcels totaling roughly $350 million.

Located at 1003-1015 Old Philadelphia Road, the five-building property is adjacent to Perryman industrial area, less than 8 miles of Interstate 95, roughly 25 miles of Baltimore and 70 miles of Philadelphia. The industrial park’s Mid-Atlantic location provides access to 40 percent of the U.S. population in a one-day truck drive. The Baltimore-Washington, D.C., region ranks as the fourth largest metropolitan region in the country, with more than 10 million consumers in the combined statistical area.     

The property includes a freestanding 9,000-square-foot building, two buildings consisting of almost 40,000 square feet each, while the largest building features 130,000 square feet. The assets’ structures contain 18- to 22-foot ceiling heights, dock and drive-in doors, large truck courts and parking in adjacent lots. At the time of the sale, the 1980s-built property was 15 percent leased.  

Renovation plans

FRP intends to renovate the interior and exterior of the buildings in order to re-tenant the industrial park. Upgrades are set to include structural improvements to the overall building envelope and roof, modernizing electrical systems, loading docks and associated equipment as well as concrete dolly pads and exterior paving. Certain portions of the interior will be demolished, while landscaping will be replaced and reconfigured in order to increase flexibility. 

“Activity among warehouse and industrial users in the Mid-Atlantic region remains white hot and we do not expect to see this subside. In the near future, we will elevate Cranberry Run Business Park to a business community offering nearly 230,000 square feet of warehouse and flex space,” said Todd Evans, acquisition & portfolio manager for FRP, in prepared remarks. “Based on our market research, the typical Cranberry Run Business Park tenant will range between 10,000 and 40,000 square feet of space, with the majority of interest emanating from the immediate area.” 

KLNB Vice President Christopher Wright and Principal Peter Dudley worked on behalf of the seller and procured the buyer. FRP selected Wright and Dudley as brokers of record for the property.   

Image courtesy of FRP Development Corp.

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Embassy Suites by Hilton Baltimore at BWI Airport

HFF has secured financing for the acquisition of Embassy Suites by Hilton Baltimore at BWI Airport, a 251-key, all-suite hotel in the Baltimore-area community of Linthicum Heights, Md. The HFF team assisted TCOR Hotel Partners in forming a joint venture equity partnership with TriGate Capital. The team subsequently obtained a five-year, fixed-rate loan from a local bank on behalf of the newly-formed joint venture. 

Situated on 7.2 acres at 1300 Concourse Drive, the hotel is 3.2 miles from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, where traffic is more than 26.4 million passengers a year. The property is also 8 miles from Baltimore Inner Harbor, less than 20 miles from Annapolis and 25 miles from downtown Washington, D.C. 

Embassy Suites by Hilton Baltimore at BWI Airport opened in 1987 and was fully renovated in May 2016. The amenities include a multi-story atrium, a fitness center, a business center, a lounge, an indoor pool and meeting rooms, as well as the BISTRO One restaurant. 

According to Anne Arundel County records, the property previously changed hands in 2014, for $21.2 million.

HFF Senior Directors Pete Fehlman and Chris Hew have led the debt placement team. Last year, another team led by Fehlman secured more than 20 million in acquisition financing for two Dallas-area hotels.

Image via Google Street View

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Logistics Pointe BWI

Westmount Realty Capital has sold Logistics Pointe BWI, a three-building industrial property in Hanover, Md. The seller had purchased the 357,701-square-foot light industrial and distribution facility in 2015 for $26.6 million, according to Anne Arundel county records.

Located at 7462 Candlewood Road, the asset is close to Baltimore-Washington International Airport and less than 3 miles from Interstate 95, offering easy access to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and the entire Eastern seaboard. The tilt-up buildings feature rear-loading docks, 24-foot clear heights, 40- by 40-foot column spacing and large trucks and aprons.

The seller has invested in modifications, such as upgrading the sprinkler system to current ESFR specifications and building out speculative tenant improvements. To reposition the property after improvements were completed, Westmount rebranded the asset from Candlewood Commerce Center to Logistics Pointe BWI and highlighted the possibility of “plug-and-play” solutions for tenants with near-term occupancy requirements.

“With solid fundamentals in place, Baltimore is one of the strongest secondary markets in the country,” said Clifford Booth, president & CEO of Westmount, in prepared remarks. “Westmount is actively looking to acquire strategically located industrial properties in similar markets, with solid economic drivers, across the U.S.”

The deal comes a few months after Rialto Capital Management’s acquisition of Parkway Industrial, a nine-building industrial portfolio located less than 5 miles from Logistics Pointe BWI.

Image via Google Street View

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Christoph Donner, CEO, Allianz Real Estate of America

Tradepoint Atlantic has received $135 million in financing for two new, build-to-suit, Class A industrial buildings within the Tradepoint Atlantic multimodal industrial project in the Baltimore-area community of Sparrows Point, Md.

HFF worked on behalf of Tradepoint Atlantic to arrange two separate, non-recourse loans with Allianz Real Estate.

“The buildings’ locations, access to various modes of transportation and long-term leases are very appealing,” Christoph Donner, Allianz Real Estate of America’s CEO, told Commercial Property Executive. “In addition, Tradepoint Atlantic’s experienced leadership with a proven track record make them an excellent long-term partner for us.”

The two buildings, which total 2.2 million square feet, will be fully leased to Under Armour and Amazon. The Under Armour facility has a $71.8 million, 18-year, fixed-rate loan, while the Amazon facility was given a $63.2 million, 17-year, fixed-rate loan.

“Well-located new industrial product, particularly with long-term leases with tenants like Amazon and Under Armour, is very desirable,” Donner said. “The long-term in-place leases to Amazon and Under Armour provide stable and growing cash flow over the life of the loans.”

At nearly 1.4 million square feet, the Under Armour building was completed in 2018 and is expected to open for business in early 2019. The cross-dock building boasts 35 total dock-door positions, two drive-in doors and 38-foot clear heights. 

The 857,514-square-foot building leased to Amazon was also completed last year and has a cross-dock design with 63 dock doors, two drive-in doors and 41-foot clear heights.  

Premier industrial gateway

The Tradepoint Atlantic site consists of 3,250 acres situated on the Sparrows Point peninsula, along the Patapsco River at the gateway to the Port of Baltimore, just 5 miles from the city’s CBD.

The site is also home to the largest privately owned rail interchange yard on the East Coast and has a privately owned and operated short-line railroad, with more than 60 miles of track and connections to two Class I railroads, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway. 

The property offers immediate access to major interstate and regional road networks via Interstate 695, which bifurcates the site and encircles the city of Baltimore, connecting the project to Interstates 95, 895, 97, 70 and 83, as well as Route 295.

“The location serves as a gateway to markets across the eastern United States with tremendous access to highways, rail and deep-water berths,” Donner said.

Tradepoint Atlantic also owns and operates a marine terminal within the Port of Baltimore and offers significant deep-water frontage with deep-water berths.

HFF’s Managing Director Cary Abod, Director Rob Carey and Associate Kevin Byrd handled financing for the borrower.

In December, Allianz’s U.S. expansion plan continued with the acquisition of 53 State St., a 1.2 million-square-foot office property in downtown Boston, which sold for $845 million.

Image courtesy of Allianz Real Estate

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Homewood Suites by Hilton Baltimore-BWI Airport

MCR Development has acquired the 147-key Homewood Suites by Hilton Baltimore-BWI Airport, in Linthicum, Md. The company decline to disclose the purchase price for the asset.

The hotel, located at 1181 Winterson Road, recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation. Each suite features a fully equipped kitchen with two-burner stove, microwave, full-size refrigerator and dishwasher, along with complimentary grocery shopping.

Amenities include:

• 24-hour convenience store
• indoor pool
• 24-hour fitness center 
• 24-hour business center
• On-site laundry facilities
• Meeting and event space
• Complimentary breakfast 
• Free Wi-Fi
• complimentary 24-hour airport shuttle

The hotel is a six-minute drive from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and a 15-minute drive to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, which offers entertainment options such as ice skating, tours of historic ships, the Horseshoe Casino and the National Aquarium.

A healthy picture

The metro Baltimore hospitality market had nearly 1,000 rooms in the pipeline as of June, according to a second-half 2018 report from Marcus & Millichap. Though this was far fewer than the 3,000-plus underway in metro Washington, D.C., it far outstripped any other metro areas in the Central Atlantic region.

Transaction velocity is up in Maryland, where hotel properties “traded with first-year returns in the mid-8 percent band, nearly 50 basis points above the regional average,” the report stated.

Nationally, the hospitality industry was expected to enjoy a record surge of holiday-season traffic in the fourth quarter, on top of occupancy and revenue gains in the third quarter, according to a fourth-quarter M&M report.

“Hotel cap rates have remained steady for the last couple of months while those of other commercial properties have begun to rise,” David G. Shillington, president of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp., wrote in the report.

“Moreover,” he continued, “the gap between Treasury yields and hotel cap rates is relatively wider when compared with other property types. This extra room allows hotel values to better absorb the interest rate pressure.”

Though cap rates might adjust upward as interest rates continue to rise, Shillington noted that this has not yet happened in the hotel sector.

MCR recently partnered with Building and Land Technology in securing $647.5 million in financing across a 53-property national hotel portfolio. 

Image courtesy of MCR

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Arcadia Business Park

St. John Properties has broken ground on three buildings totaling nearly 200,000 square feet of space in Frederick, Md. The properties will provide flex/R&D and bulk/warehouse space. Each of the three buildings will be completed in the summer of 2019.

The properties are part of Phase I of the construction of Arcadia Business Park, a 61-acre business park situated at MD Route 85 and Arcadia Drive. Once all phases are complete, the project will house 600,000 square feet of space spread throughout eight buildings.

Two of the buildings will be single-story flex/R&D properties that will consist of 37,080 square feet and 45,120 square feet. The structures will feature 16- to 18-foot clear ceiling heights, dock and drive-in loading and suite sizes starting at 2,520 square feet.

The third building is a bulk/warehouse facility consisting of 112,000 square feet of space. The property will feature 32-foot minimum clear heights, 50 by 52-foot column spaces, abundant glass and skylights and suite sizes beginning at 10,400 square feet of space.

“Arcadia Business Park is in an economically-robust and vibrant region with rapidly-expanding employers, diverse amenities and a range of available housing choices. With this Phase I of development, we intend to contribute significantly to the momentum and business growth in Frederick County,” said Matt Holbrook, regional partner for St. John Properties, in prepared remarks.

In October, St. John Properties completed three new leases totaling more than 35,000 square feet of office space in Baltimore County, Md.

Image courtesy of St. John Properties

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116 Defense Highway

Douglas Development has acquired a Class A office building in Annapolis, Md., for $12 million. Transwestern represented the seller in the deal and provided disposition services. 

Located at 116 Defense Highway, the property comprises 81,931 square feet. The building is 70 percent leased, primarily to medical office tenants. The asset is within close proximity to Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Managing Director Mark Glagola of Transwestern’s Mid-Atlantic Capital Markets Group led the team representing the seller. 

“This sale is an exciting repositioning of an older asset that has tremendous upside. Douglas Development is the perfect operator to achieve great success,” Glagola told Commercial Property Executive. 

Mid-Atlantic movement 

Over the last year, Douglas Development has been continuously active in the Mid-Atlantic. In July, the firm secured a $52.8 million floating-rate loan to refinance and lease 1000 F St. NW, a newly constructed office property in Washington, D.C.’s East End submarket. Before that, in August of 2017, the company purchased a two-story mixed-use building in Annapolis, Md., for $2.3 million. 

Image courtesy of Transwestern 

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Rendering of 102 Fulfillment Drive

Chesapeake Real Estate Group LLC, on behalf of TA Realty LLC, has started development on a two-building industrial site consisting of 350,000 square feet of warehouse space within the Trimble Road Business Park in Edgewood, Md. 

Earlier this year, TA Realty acquired the site from CREG. Construction is now underway at 102 Fulfillment Drive, which will include 210,000 square feet of speculative space, and 103 Fulfillment Drive, which will offer 140,450 square feet of space.

“The development philosophy of CREG continues to be to proactively construct real estate product to remain ahead of tenant demand,” Matt Laraway, CREG’s partner, said in a prepared statement. “We are extremely confident and excited to build another project in Harford County’s business-friendly environment and hope to capitalize on the strong market fundamentals.”

AGCO Corp. has already preleased 50,000 square feet of the latter building. Both buildings are expected to be delivered in 2019.

“The Trimble Road site works extremely well because it allows us to get quality products to our dealers more efficiently,” David Rubin, AGCO Corp.’s director of operations, imported equipment, said in a prepared statement. “The additional training space will increase our ability to keep both internal and external stakeholders informed on improvements, offerings and procedures.”

The Class A property at 102 Fulfillment Drive will boast 18 dock doors and two drive-in doors, with construction scheduled for the second quarter of 2019. The building at 103 Fulfillment Drive is also Class A, with nearly 90,000 square feet available. Both buildings will utilize the concrete tilt-up method of construction and will feature 32-foot clear ceiling heights and 7-inch unreinforced concrete floor slabs to accommodate heavy loads.

Both properties are located less than 3 miles from Interstate 95, and just 14 miles from Interstate 695. Additionally, the Port of Baltimore is only 24 miles away and the Baltimore-Washington International Airport is less than an hour’s drive. The site has access to approximately 50 percent of the U.S. population within a one-day truck drive.

CBRE’s Toby Mink, senior vice president and Jon Casella, first vice president, are leasing the buildings, in a partnership with CREG’s brokerage operation.

Demand for industrial increasing

CBRE’s most recent industrial report for the area revealed that the vacancy rate for warehouse space in the Harford County/Cecil County submarket consists of approximately 28 million square feet of space, and the market has recorded 1.2 million square feet of net absorption year-to-date in 2018.

Given the historically tight nature of the market and increasing demand from end-users, the report predicted industrial asking rates would increase over the next 12 to 18 months.

“Regionally, the volume of transactions remains unprecedented as retailers cannot gain access fast enough to large-scale warehouse buildings situated near major population centers to support the same-day or next-day delivery expectations of the American consumer,” Laraway said. “We are riding a wave that few have experienced in their real estate careers. Much of this activity is being driven by the tremendous liquidity in the capital markets, coupled with the insatiable demand for stabilized industrial product by institutional owners.”

In August, CREG and EverWest Real Estate Investors signed a 500,400-square-foot lease with Best Buy at Brandon Woods III in Anne Arundel County. CREG had purchased the 259-acre Illinois-based site from Exelon Corp. the previous summer, with plans to develop 1 million square feet of industrial space in a partnership with EverWest.

Image courtesy of Chesapeake Real Estate Group LLC

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11155 Dolfield Road

St. John Properties Inc. has completed three new leases totaling more than 35,000 square feet of office space in Baltimore County, Md. 

American Pool Enterprises, a provider of pool management services to apartment and senior communities, as well as military bases and country, swim and golf clubs, is expanding and relocating to Dolfield Business Park. Located at 11155 Dolfield Road in Owings Mills, the company will occupy 15,000 square feet. USA Marble and Granite LLC, a provider of marble, granite and quartz countertops for kitchens and bathrooms, has leased 12,000 square feet within the Timonium Business Center in Timonium. Lastly, Erickson Living, which owns and operates senior living communities across 10 states, has signed a lease for 8,100 square feet at the Beltway West Corporate Center in Catonsville. Located at 5700 Executive Drive, the firm will utilize the new space to house administrative functions. 

“Leasing momentum remained brisk throughout the summer, with our Baltimore County portfolio the beneficiary of significant leasing activity,” said Richard Williamson, senior vice president, Leasing and Marketing, St. John Properties, in a prepared statement. 

In February, the company inked a 45,120-square-foot lease with Wilcoxon Sensing Technologies, a vibration and sensing equipment manufacturer, to occupy space within the 44-acre Riverside Technology Park in Frederick, Md. 

Image courtesy of St. John’s Properties Inc. 

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Parkway Industrial

Rialto Capital Management has acquired Parkway Industrial, a nine-building industrial portfolio in Hanover, Md. Senior Managing Director Mark Glagola and Executive Vice President Gerry Trainor of Transwestern’s Mid-Atlantic Capital Markets Group, represented the seller, a global investment manager, in the transaction. 

Totaling 711,220 square feet, the portfolio includes properties located at 7222 Parkway Drive; 7100, 7115, 7121, 7150, 7170 and 7200 Standard Drive; and 7267 and 7270 Park Circle Drive. The buildings are within close proximity to interstates 95 and 97, as well as the Baltimore Washington Parkway. 

“The Baltimore-Washington Corridor is severely supply-constrained for infill industrial product, with well-located, older product being redeveloped for other uses as the economy continues to recover,” said Glagola, in a prepared statement. “Parkway Industrial offered a rare opportunity to acquire a well-located, institutional-quality portfolio. The park is 95 percent occupied by a strong mix of tenants, including Lockheed Martin, AT&T and Sprint, that benefit from the park’s proximity to Fort Meade and an embedded telecom operations infrastructure that is very difficult to relocate.”

In September, Transwestern represented LNR Partners in the $14.7 million disposition of a two-building, 134,000-square-foot flex/office portfolio near Tampa, Fla., to a private investor. The buyer landed a 10-year, $10.3 million loan from Starwood Mortgage Capital to finance the acquisition. 

Image courtesy of Transwestern 

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6100 Wabash Ave.

CoreCivic has acquired 6100 Wabash Ave., a 540,566-square-foot office building occupied by the U.S. Social Security Administration in the Baltimore suburb of Reisterstown, Md., for $242 million, from an affiliate of The JBG Cos.

“We are excited to announce this acquisition as we continue to execute our acquisition strategy to expand our portfolio of government-leased real estate assets,” Damon Hininger, CoreCivic’s CEO, said in a prepared statement. “SSA–Baltimore is a critical component of SSA’s central office operations and provides us with accretive growth and diversification.”

JLL’s Capital Markets team of Executive Managing Director John Duffy and Executive Vice Presidents Marc Rampulla and Brian Saal represented the seller in the transaction. The deal is the highest price paid for an office building in the area this year.

The JBG Cos., in partnership with Klein Enterprises, developed the building back in 2012 and leased it to the Social Security Administration for 20 years, under a contract set to expire in January of 2034.

“This was a very attractive and rare opportunity for investors to acquire a high-quality, transit-oriented asset leased to the federal government on a long-term basis and we were able to generate significant interest,” Rampulla said in a prepared statement.

Booming area

The 11-acre property is LEED Silver certified. It’s situated approximately 5 miles from the SSA’s 1.4 million-square-foot headquarters in Woodlawn.

The fact that it’s close to many transportation options is a big factor for its appeal. The building is nearby I-695 and is less than a 30-minute drive from Baltimore Washington International Airport. It’s also adjacent to the Reisterstown Metro station.

More than 1.7 million square feet of retail amenities are within a mile of the property.

“6100 Wabash is one of the highest-quality government-occupied buildings in the country,” Saal said. “Our team was proud to lead the sale effort.”

Image courtesy of Yardi

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Rendering of The Container Store facility

MRP Industrial has inked three separate leases totaling 1.5 million square feet of industrial and distribution space in Harford County, Md. Two of the deals were for Eastgate 95, a 250-acre logistics park in Aberdeen and the other was for a site in Perryman. 

Logistic provider Kuehne + Nagel signed a full building lease totaling 656,880 square feet of distribution space at Eastgate 95. Located at 1100 Woodley Road, the facility will be operational in September and create 225 jobs in the process. On the adjacent 67-acre site, MRP will develop a 600,000-square-foot building, expandable up to 700,000 square feet, to serve as The Container Store’s east coast distribution facility. That space will create 150 jobs once the retail moves in 2019. 

The third lease comes in the form of PrimeSource, a national building products company, which signed a 250,000-square-foot lease for a new building that will be constructed at 505 Advantage Avenue. The property will accommodate the requirement for 3 acres of outside storage and provide loading on two sides of the building. The company will be relocating from its current Aberdeen location in early 2019 as well. 

Continued development plans 

Rendering of the PrimeSource facility

This major leasing activity has prompted phase II of Eastgate 95, which will feature more than 1 million square feet of speculative industrial and distribution space. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2019 and be completed by the end of the year. The next building will include 36-foot clear heights, four grade level doors, 242 dock doors, expansive truck courts and space for 450 vehicles and 300 trucks to park.

The completed Eastgate 95 will comprise three buildings totaling 2.3 million square feet. The property provides development options ranging from 600,000 to 1.5 million square feet, with flexible trailer storage and auto parking spaces. The project is located 30 miles from Baltimore, 34 miles from the Port of Baltimore, and two miles along the AMTRAK line, Interstate 95 and Aberdeen Proving Ground. 

CBRE’s Senior Vice President Bill Pellington is handling marketing and leasing for Eastgate 95. Pellington, along with MRP’s Co-Founder & Principal D. Reid Townsend, represented the landlord on all three transactions. CBRE’s Senior Vice Presidents Mike Elardo and Toby Mink, along with Real Estate Advisory Partners’ Senior Vice President Sean Fitzsimmons and Cushman & Wakefield’s Director Michael Kimmel, represented the three tenants.    

“Our properties in Harford County have been benefited by a strategic location along the Interstate 95 corridor that can access approximately 40 percent of the United States population within a one-day truck drive,” Townsend told Commercial Property Executive. “Harford County officials are extremely seasoned in responding to these requirements and their efforts to attract and retain each company played a significant role in our success. Recent momentum in the warehouse and logistics sector throughout the Mid-Atlantic region remains extremely vibrant and we are proceeding with our next phase of speculative development with optimism and complete confidence.” 

Renderings courtesy of MRP Industrial 

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Brandon Woods III

Chesapeake Real Estate Group (CREG) and EverWest Real Estate Investors (EW) have signed a 500,400-square-foot lease with Best Buy at Brandon Woods III in Anne Arundel County. CREG has purchased the 259-acre site from Exelon Corp. last summer, with plans to develop 1 million square feet of industrial space in a partnership with EW.

Located at 7550 Perryman St., near Fort Smallwood Road, Brandon Woods III is part of the Brandon Wood Business Park, originally developed by Constellation Real Estate. On-site tenants include Reliable Churchill, Fila USA and Under Armour. The facility—one of the biggest speculative industrial spaces in the county—features 36-foot-clear ceiling heights and is 90 percent completed. Best Buy is expected to move in by March 2019 and will use the property as a warehouse and distribution center.

“Anne Arundel County’s multi-modal transportation assets, particularly access to the Port of Baltimore and BWI-Marshall Airport, will greatly benefit Best Buy,” said Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh, in prepared remarks. “This deal is just the latest to speak how attractive the industrial market is in the greater Baltimore region.”  

Future expansion

“We intend to capitalize on current demand and the strong market fundamentals by moving forward right away with our second building that will be 340,000 square feet,” said Matt Laraway, partner at CREG, in a prepared statement. Additionally, CREG has commenced the design phase of a third, 150,000-square-foot building, set to be completed in mid-2019, along with a fourth structure that will have between 80,000 and 100,000 square feet.

CREG’s Matthew Laraway and Scott Skogmo represented the landlord, while Michael Royce, principal at Avison Young, worked on behalf of the lessee.

Image courtesy of Chesapeake Real Estate Group 

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Brian Streilein, vice president, Lee & Associates

Lee & Associates Maryland has appointed Brian Streilein as vice president of investment services and capital markets. In his new role, Streilein will focus on mid-market commercial office, industrial and flex office investment property transactions throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. Furthermore, he will attract and represent various types of sellers of commercial real estate properties, including private investors, real estate investment trusts, pension fund advisers and life insurance companies. 

Prior to joining Lee & Associates, Streilein held the position of director of investment sales at Cushman & Wakefield, serving the greater New York City area. During his time there, he assisted on transactions totaling $225 million and provided valuations of more than 500 properties.

“Brian’s skills will supplement the activities of our current professional team that has demonstrated a strong record of matching sellers and buyers of investment-quality commercial real estate assets,” said Allan Riorda, principal & president of Lee & Associates, in a prepared statement.

In June, Lee & Associates brokered the sale and will handle the leasing process of a 260,000-square-foot speculative industrial project in Pennsylvania.

Image courtesy of Lee & Associates

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Building I, occupied by Naxion Health

Warfield Cos. has bought a 91-acre mixed-use property located on MD Route 32 in Sykesville, Md. The lot includes 12 buildings, three of which have been renovated and are occupied by Nexion Health, Zeteo Tech and The Carroll County Dance Center. The new owners plan to renovate and reposition the rest of the buildings and add new constructions. The complex will be rebranded as Warfield at Historic Sykesville.

Upon completion, the development will feature 600,000 square feet of Class A office, industrial and retail space, 180 residential units, a full-service hotel and a 27-acre park. Elm Street Development has purchased the first phase of the project—145 townhouses—with groundbreaking scheduled this month. The company will work with a national contractor and the first homes will be delivered early next year. The next phases will focus on hospitality and retail uses.

Lee & Associates will oversee leasing and marketing activities for the commercial, retail and hospitality components. “The development team is optimistic about the timing of this project and its position in the market,” said Dennis Boyle, associate with Lee & Associates, in prepared remarks. “There is a pent-up demand for commercial space in Carroll County due to limited delivery of new space in recent years, particularly within the medical, health care and research sectors.”

The existing buildings—totaling 185,000 square feet—carry historical designations from the National Park Service and Maryland Historical Trust. Interstate 70, Interstate 795 are both easily accessible from the site. According to a recent Yardi Matrix report, development activity is strong in Baltimore, with several mixed-use projects underway. 

Image courtesy of Warfield Cos.

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7152 Windsor Blvd.

Through an affiliate, Klein Enterprises has purchased 7152 Windsor Blvd. in Rutherford Business Park, which is part of Baltimore’s Windsor Mill, Md., submarket. The acquisition reportedly boosts the locally based company’s commercial portfolio to more than 2.1 million square feet.

The 57,855-square-foot, single-story office building is fully leased by Leidos Innovations Corp., a subsidiary of defense contractor Leidos (formerly known as SAIC), through February 2023. Leidos operates two federal government contracts at the property, supporting Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service joint programs.

“The addition of 7152 Windsor is consistent with our strategy to expand our commercial portfolio,” Daniel Klein, president of Klein Enterprises, said in a prepared statement. “We remain focused on acquiring well-located, quality properties such as 7152 Windsor, which contribute to the increasing strength and diversification of both our commercial asset base, as well as our entire portfolio.”

The seller was CSG Partners, also of Baltimore, which had purchased the building from Corporate Office Properties Trust in late 2011, in a $32.5 million portfolio sale, according to information provided by Yardi Matrix. The Class C building was completed in 1986 in the unincorporated community of Gwynn Oak, Md.

Financials on the deal were not disclosed. Neither Klein Enterprises nor CSG Partners replied to Commercial Property Executive’s requests for additional information.

A metro facing uncertainty

At least from the standpoint of job growth, Baltimore’s economy is doing passably, according to a first-quarter report from Mackenzie Commercial Real Estate Services. It notes that the latest figures indicate that education and health services have led job creation, and that the Port of Baltimore continues to be a mainstay of the metro’s economy, though a full-on trade war could undermine even the port.

The office market in the Baltimore County West submarket has an average direct vacancy of 12.0 percent and modest absorption. The weighted average asking rent is $20.61, having risen slightly over the past couple of quarters, per the Mackenzie report.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix

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Loch Raven Shopping Center

Dollar Tree has expanded its Baltimore footprint by signing a 14,284-square-foot lease at Loch Raven Shopping Center in Towson, Md. The Allen & Rocks Inc.-owned property will house the Fortune 200 company’s 11th Baltimore location. Dollar Tree’s new space is expected to open at the beginning of the fall.

According to PropertyShark data, the 57,500–square-foot shopping center was completed in 2004. Notable tenants include Youfit, Subway, Wells Fargo, Exxon and the U.S. Postal Office. Additionally, Loch Raven Shopping Center is located at 1500 E. Northern Parkway, in the vicinity of residential communities, schools, golf courses and parks. Multiple bus stations facilitate the access throughout the entire area, with downtown Baltimore being 6 miles away.

H&R Retail Principals Lawrence Hoffman and Scott Yurow brokered the lease transaction on behalf of the tenant. The two brokers have previously facilitated another lease for Dollar Tree last January. 

“Dollar Tree is an actively growing tenant in Maryland and we are confident that this additional location will satisfy the area’s strong demand for value retail,” Yurow said in a prepared statement.

Image via Google Street View

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