TA Associates Takes Research Plaza for $60M

ROCKVILLE, MD-TA Associates Realty has acquired Research Plaza, a class A office building in the Rockville submarket for $60.3 million. It purchased the five-story, 227,114-sf building from a pension fund advised by LaSalle Investment Management. The seller was represented by Bill Collins, Paul Collins, Jud Ryan and Drew Flood of Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers.

The property has a classic red-brick facade and 45,000-sf floorplates. It is currently 82% leased to investment grade tenants–a good ratio for both Montgomery County and the Rockville submarket, observes Tonya Ginter, director of research and marketing for GVA Advantis. “Montgomery County’s vacancy rate is 9.8%, which is still below equilibrium, or 10%,” she tells GlobeSt.com. The Rockville submarket is doing even better, with an 8.7% vacancy rate.

The building’s vacancy rate–both current and future–will be one avenue by which the new buyer expects to add value to its acquisition, Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers’ Paul Collins tells GlobeSt.com. Next year, the lease will expire for the building’s largest tenant, Thomson Information Services, which occupies half of the space. “The rent they are paying is currently below market price,” he says. The building’s asking rate is $29 per sf to $30 per sf, Collins adds.