FINMARC MANAGEMENT, INC. ACQUIRES FORMER SMITH LITHO BUILDING IN ROCKVILLE, MD FOR $5.87 MILLION
Posted on: 05/08/2013

New owner plans to invest more than $2 million in renovations and improvements

 Finmarc Management, Inc., through an affiliated entity, has acquired the former Smith Litho building, an 80,000 square foot flex building contained in the Rockville section of Montgomery County for $5.87 million. Kenneth Fellows and Robert Pugh, principals of Edge Commercial Real Estate represented both the seller, H&S Leasing Associates LLP and the buyer, Bethesda, MD-based Finmarc Management.

 

Located at 1011 E. Gude Drive, the property is positioned between Rockville Pike (MD Route 355) and Norbeck Road and is immediately adjacent to Interstate 270 and the Intercounty Connector (MD Route 200). The building, which formerly functioned as the headquarters of Smith Litho, a full-service printing and mail services company, has been vacant since the company ceased operations in 2010.

 

Finmarc Management is making plans to invest more than $2 million in capital improvements to the building which will include installing a new roof, repairing and repaving the free-standing parking lot, renovating the exterior façade, replacing and upgrading all exterior and interior lighting and completing other tenant improvements.

 

“Rockville remains an extremely attractive market for companies looking to locate or expand their business based on its proximity to Washington, D.C., and there exists a rapidly diminishing supply of quality flex/office space for end-users,” explained Marc F. Solomon, Principal – Managing Director of Finmarc Management. “Our improvement strategy will elevate 1011 E. Gude to the upper tier of properties available in this sub-market, and properly position the asset to achieve dramatic and long-term value.

 

“The building was acquired below replacement cost and was funded utilizing a portion of the proceeds from the sale of The Shoppes of Burnt Mills, a 100% leased shopping center located in Silver Spring that was recently sold,” Solomon added.

 

According to numbers provided by Edge Commercial Real Estate, the current vacancy rate for flex/office space in the North Rockville marketplace is approximately 13%.

 

The E. Gude Drive acquisition was part of a 1031 tax-free exchange.

 

Finmarc Management, Inc. is a fully-integrated commercial real estate services company that focuses on the management, acquisition, leasing and development of retail centers, industrial and flex/warehouse projects, along with commercial office buildings throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The firm presently manages a diverse portfolio encompassing more than five million square of commercial space situated in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. For additional information, visit www.finmarc.com.