Pinkard's Pick

Return-starved investors are on the hunt for any opportunity in the DC area. (Someone asked us if the scaffolding outside our office could be repositioned into multifamily.) According to two local investment aces, Virginia might be the best landing spot.

Yesterday at Bethesda's Daily Grill, we snapped Pinkard Group principals Peter Kleeblatt and Bob Pinkard, who tell us that while Northern Virginia's leasing market is "beaten up," there are big opportunities. Take Pinkard Group's recent buy (with partners AEW and Buchanan Partners) of VeriSign's former 101k SF HQ in Sterling, a 40% leased property that had been controlled by a special servicer. Bob tells us NoVa's base of IT, government contractor, tech, and other professional firms is flying to quality, though investors need to be wary of timing. "Once you see recovery, it might be too late because everyone else jumps in." (It's like the last piece of cake. It'll be gone by the time you get there... so just eat the first piece.)

Here's the Sterling property; Buchanan developed it back in '01. A submarket like Sterling (and Loudoun County in general) might be particularly primed for a big recovery, the guys say, given the area's fast-growing—and high-earning—demographics. Peter says there's been a "center of gravity" shift for where investors will park funds as well-located suburban deals appear less risky than before.

The guys are also excited about another Pinkard Group/Buchanan venture: The Kingsley, a mixed-use Harris Teeter-anchored site in Old Town Alexandria that'll fully deliver by the end of the year. Peter tells us leasing for the first phase of apartments will begin April 1, while the Harris Teeter should open around Labor Day. He's also fresh off a skiing trip to Park City, while Bob tells us he's busy chairing the board of the Bishop Walker School for Boys in Ward 8. All four of Bob's kids are also West Coasters now (three in San Francisco and one in Idaho), and one happens to work for Castlight Health, which goes public today.