Relying on the assistance of Cushman & Wakefield's Warren Dahlstrom, Jim Luck, Martin Ryan and Stewart Calhoun, seller Lord Baltimore Properties walked away with the distinction of having sold the highest priced commercial office building in the Ballston submarket--ever. Stafford Place II, which Lord Baltimore developed six years ago, sits off I-66 about 10 minutes outside of downtown Washington, DC and just across the street from the 580,000-sf Ballston Common Mall. The 11-story office property has a tenant base that includes the National Science Foundation, which occupies 35% of the building under a lease that will not expire until 2015.

For Dweck, the acquisition provides the company with a complement to its existing portfolio, which includes the recently acquired Arlington Gateway and Baltimore Metro Center; purchases that cost a respective $125 million and $61 million. "Stafford Place II is one of the nicest 6-year-old buildings in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor," Dahlstrom notes. "Achieving a record price was the owner's challenge to us. The only discouraging word was heard from the two unsuccessful bidders who offered an equal price, but had a contingent study period."