Berkeley Partners Buys $14M DC-Area Asset

By Tudor Scolca

Gude Commerce Center, at 1011 E. Gude Drive

Berkeley Partners has acquired an 80,000-square-foot industrial/retail property in Rockville, Md. Finmarc Management Inc. sold the asset for $14.6 million, and was represented in the transaction by MetCap Advisors.

The facility served as the headquarters of printing and mail service company Smith Litho, which went out of business in 2010, after almost 37 years of activity. Gude Commerce Center is located at 1011 E. Gude Drive, near Interstate 270 and Maryland routes 355 and 200. The building is north of Washington, D.C., approximately 23 miles from downtown and 27 miles from Ronald Reagan International Airport.

Capital Improvements

Finmarc acquired the vacant asset in 2013 for $5.9 million. The company invested more than $4 million on a full renovation and transformation of the building. Improvements included the replacement of interior and exterior lighting, new electric and HVAC systems, a new roof and new façade, as well as repaving the parking lot. At the time of sale, the building was 94 percent occupied by various tenants.

“Finmarc remains extremely bullish on this section of Montgomery County, as evidenced by our acquisition last year of a four-building 130,000-square-foot industrial complex on Southlawn Lane, as well as our other property holdings in this submarket. We maintain a tremendous amount of confidence in the long-term viability and health of this area,” said Sean Sullivan, vice president of Finmarc Management, in a prepared statement.

Last July, the company purchased the Festival at Manassas, an 117,000-square-foot shopping center in Manassas, Va.

Image courtesy of Finmarc Management Inc