221,700-SF Office Complex Commands $43M

ROCKVILLE, MD-Rockville Corporate Center, a 221,700-sf office complex in the I-270 Corridor, has been sold in a $43.3-million deal. Corporate Office Properties Trust acquired the two-building property from Applera Corp. in a sale-leaseback transaction that allows Applera subsidiary Celera Genomics to maintain its full occupancy of one building and partial occupancy of the other. Rockville Corporate Center was developed in 1987 on W. Gude Drive. The office structures, which occupy a 14.5-acre parcel, are just part of the package; the property also includes a 9.7-acre parcel that can be developed to accommodate as much as 215,000 sf of additional commercial space. The new owner does not intend to let the excess acreage stand vacant for long. “The additional development site will also allow us to expand our market presence and take advantage of a very tight office market,” says COPT president and CEO Randall M. Griffin.