JV Plans $325M Office Project With 2M SF

COLUMBIA, MD-The stable of class A office property in the Baltimore commercial real estate market is on target for a sizeable space infusion now that a new joint venture has been formed to develop a 1.8-million-sf office property on a 63-acre parcel. Office REIT Corporate Office Properties Trust has joined forces with a limited partnership affiliated with Bethesda’s Somerset Construction Co. to make the class A office project a reality. The endeavor, COPT president and COO Randall M. Griffin says, will likely cost approximately $325 million to complete.

The project, which will encompass 13 structures, will be part of a 300-acre planned mixed-use community to be called Arundel Preserve. Arundel Preserve will feature 1,175 residences, 430,000 sf of retail space and an additional 650,000 sf of office space not affiliated with the COPT/Somerset endeavor. But Somerset has its hand in other aspects of Arundel Preserve; the company is partnering with Toll Brothers Inc. to build the single-family homes and with Bozzuto Development Co. on the planned community’s multifamily segment.

Additionally, Somerset is overseeing development of the retail portion and is still the owner of the 300-acre parcel on which Arundel Preserve will be built. As for COPT’s extended involvement, the REIT will also take on the leasing and management responsibilities for the office segment, which will serve as the gateway to Arundel Preserve.