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PRACTICALLY AN INSTITUTION

Baltimore
Baltimore
June 14, 2012 Bisnow
PRACTICALLY AN INSTITUTION
Jon Carpenter and David Bramble, 2011
Cassidy Turley's Jon Carpenter (with MCB Real Estate co-founder David Bramble at a Bisnow event last year) tells us Goldman Sachs affiliate Archon's purchase of a 216k SF Columbia office portfolio is a contrarian play for the buyer. That's because it's suburban, but Archon has a DC office that gets the unique demand drivers (we're talking about federal cybersecurity spending) in the DC-Baltimore tweener 'burbs. Jon and colleague Jay Wellschlager repped the seller, Goldstar Group, closing out its fund with this last asset. Jon also says Archon is developing a BWI-area property, partially leased to Ciena, which will complement its '08-vintage Station Ridge there.
Lakeview I and II, Columbia
Archon's four new buildings, known as Lakeview I and II, sold for $30.2M, or $139k/SF, low on the price-per-SF spectrum of recent Columbia deals. But Lakeview is older (built in the '80s) and needs capital—something Archon has and is willing to part with—for both improvements and TIs as lease-up gets under way, not to mention several leases rolling within three years. Other recent Columbia deals, all facilitated by Cassidy Turley (note the higher prices):
  • New Boston Fund bought the 84k SF Stevens Forest Green for $164/SF, but it was built within 10 years and has no rollover for five years within its 86% occupancy.
  • First Potomac bought the 86k SF Hillside I and II (also a newer complex, and it's fully leased) for $188/SF.
  • Prologis sold 14 fully leased Columbia Business Center (161k SF) and Columbia Gateway (202k SF) assets to Greenfield Partners for $156/SF and $152/SF, respectively.
  • Wells Real Estate Funds bought the 201k SF Franklin Center for $325/SF.
The big point, Jon says, is that list of Columbia buyers—all strong institutions.
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Related Topics: Jon Carpenter, MCB Real Estate, David Bramble, Greenfield Partners, Jay Wellschlager, Wells Real Estate Funds, Goldstar Group, Columbia Gateway, Columbia Business Center, SF Columbia, Station Ridge, SF Stevens Forest Green, SF Hillside, SF Franklin Center