SOLD

Former Millennium Bank Building

1051 Elden Street, Herndon, VA.

Martin Kibbe listed the former Millennium Bank Building for sale after federal regulators shut the bank down and handed over its  deposits to Washington First Bank. The building was owned by a Potomac, Maryland based LLC.

1051 Elden is a two story, 7,400 SF office building on three quarters of an acre with good parking. The property zoning allowed a good variety of uses and fetched a variety of offers. SSE LLC’s offer of $270 PSF and settlement in thirty days was accepted.   SSE bought the building as is and will renovate the property for its own use. Settlement started on December 2, 2014 and took over thirty days to finish. The buyer was in China. China’s lack of notaries required many weeks of appointments at the US Embassy.

9 Ball in the Corner Pocket

900 Rockville Pike Sale

This half-acre site had approval for a 12,000 SF billiards showroom. With the economic slowdown those plans were shelved and Martin was asked to sell the property.

The buyer was interested in the property a year before the contract was ratified but the seller needed to delay the sale. Hurry up and wait. The property settled for $60 per square foot.

There are not many vacant sites on Rockville Pike. The property also received acceptable findings from both a Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental studies. Similar Rockville land values range from $45 to $110 per square foot.

345 N. Charles Street - SOLD

The Attorney Fraternity

 

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International has sold 345 N. Charles to 345 Charles LLC. The P.A.D. board had decided their    director should not be in the property management business and asked Martin to sell the property. They will continue to occupy the property until they are able to complete an IRC 512 exchange.

The buyer will occupy a portion of the property and the first floor will be available for lease. The property sold for approximately $60 PSF.

PHCC HQ Space Leased

Falls Church, VA.

 

The National Association of Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors own and occupy a small office building in Falls Church, Virginia. PHCC currently occupies two of the three floors and leases out two suites on the top floor. An accounting firm had outgrown the space they leased and relocated. The association’s CFO contacted her

trusted  residential real estate agent and that agent referred her to Marty.

The tenant’s floor has a separate elevator lobby and recently

renovated restrooms. The 3,300 square foot suite was in good

condition and … you guessed it...has a very nice HVAC system.

Two well qualified tenants were interested in leasing the space,

one of which required only paint and a new suite entry sign.

The space leased for five years at $23.50 PSF Full Service.

Siamese Twins Sold.

Different Models, Identical Price.

“Mr. Laurel” listed the Laurel Realty Building at 150 Washington first. The neighboring owners of the Laurel Plumbing Building at 132 Washington called to say “Me too.” Both long term owners had decided their buildings were ready for new opportunities.

Even though 150 Washington is a two story office building with good parking, and 132 Washington is a one story warehouse / showroom with no parking, their values were similar. The old saying “buy two, they’re small” seemed appropriate to many

prospective buyers. The properties both sold for identical prices but to separate buyers. Both buyers have planned major renovations before the buildings will take on their next lives.

Do Over Deal.

Thirty years in the commercial real estate business and I had never before had a “do over” deal. Sure I had plenty of lease negotiations fall apart but I never had a client move in and within days be asked to move out. I needed another item on my checklist.

In February I was contacted by a marketing company in need of a small office. The company was opening a number of small offices around the country to service two large customers. They had outgrown an executive suite space in Rockville and needed office space ASAP. Their wish list was pretty simple. Two executive offices, a reception area and a large conference room. The conference room had to accommodate two dozen salespeople that met twice a day.

Experience warned there would be three potential issues. The first issue was the need for more parking than a small office generally is allotted. Second issue would be office noise that could impact neighboring tenants. Third, there would be a limited amount of spaces that fit their needs that didn't need more than fresh paint and carpet.

The Property Expedition was short and yielded a clear winner. The property had plenty of on-site and street parking. The suite had recently been finished for a building owner that never moved in. The space had two offices and a short section of wall and a door could provide a third. During our meeting with the building owner, his broker and contractor we verified that my plan for the possible wall did not conflict with the vents, lights or sprinkler layouts. We also addressed the twice a day traffic that the space would experience during the sales meetings. The tenant liked that the large conference room did not share any walls with neighboring tenants. The landlord was impressed that the tenant assigned two salespeople to make sure the restrooms were neat and tidy after each meeting. The lease was executed on a Friday and management made an extra effort for the tenant to have access that Saturday.

A week later I get the call from the building’s broker saying that the tenant had to go. Why the short honeymoon? The answer – “smoking”. No, the tenant was not smoking in the building. The salespeople that did smoke would congregate by the Safety Butt Can outside the front door.

                        Now you know what that thing is called.

Their non-smoking friends would go outside to join them. At break time, the building appeared to be having a fire drill. The building was designed before the indoor smoking ban and the only place for the Safety Butt Can was outside the front door. The larger tenants complained about the crowds blocking the entrance and the landlord complained to his broker. The broker called me and pleaded to help them find another home. All rent and deposits would be returned. They begged for a “Do over."

Two months later my client moved into their new home. I found another space that met the program if a wall was removed and another added. The building had a previous tenant with a large sales team so the owner added a small covered smoking court behind the elevator lobby.

I have now added an item labeled “Safety Butt Can Location” to my Tenant Wish List. It can be found right after the item “Baby Changing Station also in Men’s Room.”

Playing around with Picasa for building virtual tours. The music is sample music that came with Windows XP. The only other choice was Beethoven's Symphony No. 9