That's Another $112M in Chantilly Office Sales

Mission Ridge I and II have traded for $96 million.

CHANTILLY, VA—As noted here and here and here , the Chantilly submarket is emerging from its deep freeze. Following our report last week that Meadows I in Westfields Corporate Park traded for $31.8 million or $306 per square foot, we have learned that Mission Ridge I & II, a 312,203-square foot complex, have traded as well. Charlotte, NC-based Salus Property Investments acquired the two, five-story buildings located at 15020 Conference Center Dr., for approximately $96 million, or $307 per square foot. LaSalle Investment Management was the seller.  LaSalle acquired the building in November 2010 for $40.5 million. Goldstar Re-enters the Suburban Office Market

Victory Point is Goldstar Group’s first suburban office purchase in years.

Separately, a new joint venture partnership between Bethesda, MD-based Goldstar Group, and CrossHarbor Capital Partners, an investment management firm in Boston, have made their first acquisition in Chantilly. The JV has acquired a three-story, 150,000 square foot office building in the Westfields Office Park for $16.35 million. Called Victory Point, the building is located at 14200 Park Meadow Dr. and is 82% leased. Carr Properties, which was represented by Eric Berkman and Steve Gichner of Cushman & Wakefield, was the seller. This deal, sadly, was one of the last transactions Gichner closed before his death in January 2016. Gichner, 50, died at his Bethesda home after a struggle with cancer. Besides another investment sales data point for Chantilly, this deal also represents the first commercial office building the Goldstar Group has acquired in more than three years. From 2009 through 2014, the company focused almost exclusively on the multifamily asset class. “The improving fundamentals of the Westfields office market, combined with Victory Point’s robust rent roll, was the combination our firm was seeking to re-enter the suburban office market after our five year hiatus,” said Goldstar CEO Michael Brodsky. The fundamentals in this submarket are moving faster than many people might suspect, he also said. “Vacancy levels and market rents can shift rather quickly, based on just a few leases and our research shows emerging activity among government contractors that can effectively move the needle.” The FBI Took 182,035 SF at Mission Ridge in 2011 This trend was visible, albeit in embryonic form, as far back as 2011 when JLL noted some activity in the submarket. It observed that, despite the overall doldrums of the area, there was still a large government presence in buildings outside the Beltway in Northern Virginia. “The FBI’s 182,035-square-foot lease at Mission Ridge in Chantilly, VA marked the largest lease of the year [2011] in the Outside the Beltway market,” it said. But what is equally as interesting now is that retail is starting to emerge as well, says Goldstar’s Brodsky, who points to Wegmans Food Markets, which is building a new store in the Commonwealth Centre at Westfields. “The current in-balance between demand and availability is showing signs of moving in a positive direction and we want to position ourselves properly for this coming shift,” he said.