BETHESDA, MD. — Walker & Dunlop Inc. has agreed to purchase the commercial mortgage servicing rights associated with a $3.8 billion servicing portfolio from Oppenheimer Multifamily Housing & Healthcare Finance Inc., a subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. Walker & Dunlop will use available capital to fund the approximately $45 million purchase price. The portfolio comprises more than 480 multifamily and healthcare loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The acquisition will make Walker & Dunlop the largest HUD multifamily and healthcare servicer in the U.S.
BETHESDA, MD. — Carr Properties has acquired a 163,000-square-foot office building in the Central Business District of Bethesda for $105 million. The seller was an entity controlled by American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Carr intends to redevelop and expand the four-story building into a mixed-use property that will include over 900,000 square feet of office, residential and retail space. The project will also include the addition of the Bethesda Purple Line Station, a new entrance to the Metro Red Line and a below-grade tunnel for the Capital Crescent Trail. The property is located at 7272 Wisconsin Ave. “We believe that the Apex site, as redeveloped, will be the new commercial hub of the Bethesda market with unparalleled access to public transportation, bike trails and the thriving restaurant and retail of Bethesda Row,” says Oliver Carr III, CEO of Carr Properties. “We could not be more excited about this opportunity for our company.” In a related transaction, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists will relocate its headquarters to Carr’s recently developed LEED Platinum-certified office building located at 4500 East West Highway in Bethesda. Carr Properties is a private REIT that owns, acquires and develops commercial real estate, predominately office properties, in …
NORTH BETHESDA, MD. — Monument Realty has inked a full-building lease with Abt Associates at 6130 Executive Blvd. in North Bethesda, roughly 12 miles outside of Washington, D.C. The 155,000-square-foot lease is the first of the two-building, 328,000-square-foot Executive Plaza that Monument Realty recently renovated. The $10 million renovation included common area upgrades, new mechanical systems and exterior and interior repairs, as well as the addition of a new fitness center, café and a 3,500-square-foot conference center. Abt Associates is a global research and development firm that has multiple offices in the U.S. and program offices in more than 40 countries. Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented Abt in the lease transaction. Avison Young represented Monument Realty and its partner, Angelo, Gordon & Co.
WHITE MARSH, MD. — Construction has begun on Greenleigh at Crossroads, a $750 million component of Baltimore Crossroads, a 1,000-acre mixed-use development in White Marsh in the eastern section of Baltimore County. The completed Greenleigh at Crossroads will contain 1,000 single-family homes and townhomes, 500 multifamily units, three mid-rise Class A office buildings spanning 300,000 square feet, 128,000 square feet of single-story office space, 116,000 square feet of retail and a 120-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott. The development team consists of St. John Properties, Somerset Construction Co. and Elm Street Development. “The integrated design of Greenleigh at Crossroads reflects and responds to the new urbanism trend that is sweeping the country, while also complementing the existing product mix that exists at Baltimore Crossroads,” says Edward St. John, chairman of St. John Properties. St. John Properties has broken ground on one of the office buildings, and should begin construction on the hotel in late 2016. Elm Street Development will soon begin building the single-family homes and townhomes, with models expected to open in spring 2017. Somerset Construction will begin work this fall on The Berkleigh, a luxury apartment community featuring 317 units. Located along Maryland Route 43 near I-95, Baltimore Crossroads is …
CLINTON, MD. — KLNB Retail has brokered the $20 million sale of Clinton Plaza, a 210,000-square-foot shopping center located at 8899 Woodyard Road in Clinton, roughly 16 miles from Washington, D.C. The property is located approximately three miles south of Joint Base Andrews, the home of Andrews Air Force Base and Naval Air Facility Washington. Kmart occupies a 107,000-square-foot anchor space at Clinton Plaza, which features 10 inline restaurants and several pad sites leased to tenants such as Checkers and Popeyes Chicken. There is a vacant 43,000-square-foot junior anchor space and an additional 10,000 square feet of space available for lease. Andy Stape and Vito Lupo led KLNB Retail’s investment sales team in representing the seller, Columbia Regency Retail Partners LLC. The KLNB Retail team also procured the buyer, Clinton Investors LLC.
For the fifth straight year, the Baltimore industrial market ended the year with a positive net absorption, with improvements continuing in both rental rate growth and overall fundamentals. While not overly robust compared to other areas of the country, such as Ontario, Calif., Atlanta, New Jersey and Central Pennsylvania, the Baltimore market absorbed almost 3 million square feet of industrial space in 2015. This sustained growth trend is attributed to a steady, albeit choppy, stream of demand, sustained levels of new construction activity and falling availability and vacancy markers. Looking at the overall conditions of the market, several factors contribute to the improving fundamentals, the most significant of which is the ongoing, high demand for Class A industrial property, which continues to outpace available supply. The Baltimore market is located in the heart of the I-95 Corridor and can access 34 percent of the U.S. population within a single day’s drive. Additionally, given its location within the Washington/Baltimore metropolis, major retailers have selected Baltimore as a logical location for e-commerce and omni-channel fulfillment centers to distribute to homes. These centers will allow retailers same-day access to the 9 million people in the Baltimore-Washington region. On average, those residing in this …
NORTH EAST, MD. — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) has partnered with Diamond Realty Investments Inc. to develop Principio Commerce Center I, a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center in North East. The property will be built on a 100-acre parcel within the 6 million-square-foot Principio Business Park. Home to existing tenants such as Restoration Hardware and General Electric, the industrial park is located adjacent to Route 40 and less than five miles from I-95. Principio Commerce Center I will feature a cross-dock design with 190-foot truck courts, 283 trailer stalls, up to 216 dock doors, 36-foot clear heights and an ESFR sprinkler system. Dave Dannenfelser of JLL and Mike Zerbe of Colliers International are handling Principio Commerce Center I’s leasing. Conewago is the project’s general contractor, and KSS Architects provided design services. PCCP provided a construction loan to TCC and Diamond Realty, which plan to deliver the asset in spring 2017.
LANHAM, MD. — Cambridge Property Group LLC has sold a 142,810-square-foot flex building located at 10201 Good Luck Road in Lanham, a city roughly 13 miles outside of Washington, D.C. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority purchased the property for approximately $12.9 million. Cambridge Property Group developed the office and distribution building in 2005 as a build-to-suit for the General Services Administration on behalf of a tenant client, which occupied the property continuously until December 2015. William Czekaj, Ingo Mayr and Benjamin Eldridge Jr. of Cambridge Property Group negotiated the transaction on behalf of developer client CA/Development Associates LLC.
BALTIMORE — TruAmerica Multifamily, in partnership with MSD Capital LP, has purchased a 1,004-unit apartment portfolio in suburban Baltimore for $187 million. The acquisition is Los Angeles-based TruAmerica’s first purchase east of Colorado and includes the 158-unit Bayshore Landing in Annapolis, the 634-unit Sherwood Crossing in Eldridge and the 212-unit Southfield in Nottingham. Each property features resort-style pool areas, clubhouses, fitness centers and other recreational facilities. The apartment communities were built between 1984 and 1990. TruAmerica will complete an interior renovation plan started by the undisclosed seller that includes faux-wood flooring, granite countertops, updated cabinetry and new appliance packages. TruAmerica’s business plan also calls for upgrades to the portfolio’s common area amenities.
ANNAPOLIS, MD. — Armada Hoffler Properties Inc., a Virginia Beach, Va.-based REIT, has invested $42 million for the development of the $102 million residential component of Annapolis Junction Town Center, a planned 18-acre mixed-use development in Annapolis. Upon completion, Annapolis Junction Town Center will feature 17,000 square feet of retail space, a 150-room hotel, 416 upscale apartment residences and 100,000 square feet of Class A office space. Scheduled to break ground in the second quarter of 2016 with estimated completion in the first quarter of 2018, the Residences will pursue LEED Silver certification and feature structured parking adjacent to the Savage MARC Commuter Rail Station. The investment agreement includes a purchase option for Armada Hoffler to acquire an 88 percent interest in the project at the developer’s cost basis, upon completion of construction. The agreement also includes a $68 million maximum price construction contract for Armada Hoffler to build the asset.