DSC Procures $138M Loan for Maryland Portfolio

Metro Park North. Image courtesy of DSC Partners

Citizens Commercial Banking provided a $138 million loan to DSC Partners for the acquisition of a 28-building office and industrial portfolio totaling nearly 1.3 million square feet in Montgomery County, Md. A division of Citizens Bank, Citizens Commercial Bank was lead-left bank and administrative agent for the loan transaction.

The properties are located in three office parks that were owned by PS Business Parks and consist of the MetroPark North campus in Rockville and the WesTech and Meadows business parks in Silver Spring. The properties include single- and multi-story office and flex buildings with tenants such as the U.S. Government, MedStar Health, Children’s Hospital, Adventist Health Care, Intelligent Automation, Aetna, Netcom Technologies and Dealeron.

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PS Business Parks sold the properties for $149 million to DSC Partners, a company founded in 2017 by two former First Potomac Realty Trust executives—Doug Donatelli and Nicholas Smith. The partners were attracted to the diversity of the tenant mix in both markets, including medical, technology, biotech and education. PS Business Parks, a REIT that acquires, develops, owns and operates commercial properties that are primarily industrial, flex and office space, had owned the campus since 2001, according to Yardi Matrix data.

Metro Park North is located in the North Rockville submarket off Route 355 and less than 5 miles from Interstate 270. In addition to nearly 1 million square feet of traditional offices and flex suites, the property has onsite gym and conference center facilities. Meadows and WesTech business parks feature 12 single-story flex office buildings and are located off Route 29 in Silver Spring on a 36-acre campus.

Growing DSC Partners

The Maryland portfolio acquisition comes a year after DSC Partners purchased 1250 Eye St. N.W., a 178,000-square-foot, Class A office building in Washington, D.C., from RREEF Property Trust for $100 million in a joint venture with Wafra Inc. Completed in 1982 and renovated in 2007, the building is located one block from the McPherson Square Metro Station. The new owners are planning a nearly $5 million capital improvement plan for the property, including adding a fitness and conference center.

In April, DSC Partners acquired a 1.6 million-square-foot portfolio in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia for $167 million from a division of RMR Group. The portfolio comprises 15 office, flex and industrial buildings in Chesapeake and Norfolk, and includes tenants such as the U.S. Government and Sentara Healthcare.

Donatelli and Smith were very familiar with the portfolio because First Potomac had acquired it back when Donatelli was CEO and Smith was the chief investment officer. The RMR Group affiliate had purchased the properties about three years ago. After the purchase, DSC Partners selected Colliers International’s Norfolk office to handle leasing. DSC Partners now owns and operates a diverse portfolio of 45 buildings and 3.4 million square feet in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.