Industrial Property Pulls In $12M

LAUREL, MD-The 140,000-sf industrial building at 8880 Gorman Rd. has become the property of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust courtesy of a recent $11.5 million cash deal. The Rockville, MD-based REIT acquired the structure from Lincoln Freestate LLC, which had purchased the building back in 1998 for $4.1 million. Howard County records list the property’s 2004 assessed value at nearly $8 million

Developed in 2000 by Lincoln Property Co., 8880 Gorman Rd. occupies a 10-acre parcel in the new business park known as Lincoln Center near I-95 and I-495. The facility was a build-to-suit project for infant incubator developer Datex-Ohmeda Inc., which continues to occupy the entire single-story structure. The terms of the company’s leasing agreement with the former owner are unclear. However, in terms of current market rates, industrial property in suburban Maryland leases for an average of $5.50 per sf, according to Advantis Real Estate Services’ Year-End 2003 Flex-Industrial Report.