At $205 per sf, this was one of Baltimore's highest trades, Beard tells GlobeSt.com. Despite the aggressive pricing, he adds, the buyer still viewed it as a bargain--compared to other cities in the Mid-Atlantic. "Increasingly we are seeing investors from outside Baltimore swoop in and buy these assets," he says. According to Beard, almost every asset they have sold in Baltimore this year has been to a company or investor from outside the city. This was Brick Cos.' first acquisition here, he adds. "They keyed in on the building right away and went after it very aggressively."

One reason the firm was drawn to the building, located on 1820 Lancaster St., was its historic pedigree. Brick Cos., Beard says, saw the adaptive reuse of the building as a good spend for their investment philosophy of environmental and social responsibility in the real estate industry.

The former headquarters for the Union Box Co., the building dates back to the 1800s. It was extensively renovated several years ago; transformed from crumbling, boarded up brick building to its original look, including the block letters that read Union Box Co. on the facade. Today, the building is fully leased to 11 retail, office and residential tenants including the US Post Office and Johns Hopkins University. No other renovations are necessary, Beard says, which means the building is more of a long term, income play than value-add opportunity.