FINMARC MANAGEMENT, INC. SELLS TWO-STORY, 25,000 SQUARE FOOT FLEX/OFFICE BUILDING IN GAITHERSBURG, MD FOR NEARLY $4.3 MILLION
Posted on: 30/01/2024

(January 30, 2024) – Finmarc Management, Inc., a diversified commercial real estate investment and management firm headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, has announced the sale of 620 E. Diamond Avenue, a two-story building containing approximately 25,000 square feet of flex/office space, to Identity, Inc. for nearly $4.35 million. The asset was part of a nine-building portfolio comprising approximately 342,000 square feet of flex/office, commercial office, retail, and warehouse space purchased by Finmarc in 2014 from First Potomac Realty Trust. The building, which is contained on a 1.98-acre parcel in the Gaithersburg section of Montgomery County, was 50 percent occupied at the time of the sales transaction. Ken Fellows and Rob Pugh of KLNB represented the seller and Jhon Pacheco of CBRE represented the buyer in this sales transaction. Aaron Rosenfeld of Kelley Drye Warren provided legal services to Finmarc.   

The asset is positioned within proximity to Interstate 270, MD Route 200 (Intercounty Connector), MD Route 355 and the Shady Grove Metro Station and is approximately 20 miles from Washington, D.C. and 40 miles from BWI Airport.   

Identity, a non-profit organization which operates four high school Wellness Centers and two Youth Opportunity Centers in Montgomery County, intends to relocate its headquarters and approximately 50 employees to 620 E. Diamond Avenue later this year. The group provides a broad array of programs and services focused on supporting the physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being of Latino and other historically underserved youth throughout their high school years.

“This sale continues our strategy of disposing select assets, as demonstrated by last year’s sale of 7375 Boston Boulevard in Springfield, Virginia, as well as Largo Town Center, a 280,000 square foot regional retail center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and to deploy the generated funds into emerging acquisition opportunities we expect to uncover in 2024,” stated David Fink, Principal, Finmarc. “A rapidly-rising interest rate environment brought investment sales activity to a virtual standstill last year. But, prospects of lower benchmark rates, pent-up demand, and our team’s ability to identify value-add opportunities in various asset classes positions us as preferred buyers in the year ahead.     

“We are particularly attracted to under-performing properties that provides our team the opportunity to create long-term and sustained value with the implementation of proven leasing and asset management strategies that lower operational expenses,” Fink added. “We also have a distinct advantage among others given our ready access to our internal capital, combined with our certainty to close which instill confidence among sellers.”  

Fink added that Identity acquired a well-maintained asset with in-place tenants that will provide immediate cash flow to the non-profit organization. “Identity is a highly-respected organization which provides extremely important services to the underserved population of Montgomery County and its presence in Girard Place will pay valuable dividends to the local Gaithersburg community,” he added. 

Finmarc’s long-term investment strategy is to identify and acquire institutional-quality assets with a compelling value-add component in suburban submarkets that demonstrate long-term strength and viability. The company believes that well-located and best-in-class flex/office and industrial buildings situated in the outer ring suburbs will continue to flourish and Finmarc remains extremely confident in the long-term economic fundamentals of the Mid-Atlantic and DMV submarkets.                

Finmarc Management, Inc. is a fully-integrated commercial real estate company that focuses on real estate investment, management, leasing and development of retail, industrial/flex, and office properties throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The firm presently owns and manages a portfolio encompassing approximately seven million square feet of commercial properties located in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. For additional information visit www.finmarc.com