Overall CRE sales in Frederick County averaging over $100 million per quarter so far this year!
To say that sales of commercial/investment properties are brisk in Frederick County, Maryland, is an understatement.
Third quarter results showed another bountiful period with over 48 closings within all property types. After just nine months of activity, the 134 closings of CRE properties has already exceeded the annual totals for the previous two years and only 9 transactions shy of the 2015 total of 143.
With total sales volume thus far topping $308 million, and the annual totals for 2016 and 2015 at $306 million and $301 million respectively, this year’s total will likely surpass the record setting figure of $340 million last year.
Multifamily Tops the Chart Again
This three-month period followed the same trend as the previous two with another mega multifamily transaction topping the charts. However, this time, the uniqueness in the sale of the 228-unit Bainbridge Jefferson Place apartments was that at $56 million, the average price per unit nearly hit $250,000. Not since the third quarter of 2016 has Frederick County seen a project sell of over $200,000 per unit with the sale of 297 units at Century Clearbrook for $61 million.
Described as a community of “brand-new 1, 2 and 3-bedroom luxurious apartment homes” located at 5835 White Lake Lane, Bainbridge rental rates range from $1,200 to $2,100 per month. It was selected as a winner in Delta Associates’ 21st Annual Apartment and Condominium Industry Awards for Excellence.
Other 3rd Quarter Transactions of Note
D.R. Horton, one of the nation’s largest residential builders, purchased a 13-acre tract of land in the Westview South development off of Executive Way for $5.9 million to add their signature to that community with a plan for townhouses and single-family homes.
Sticking close to each other, the Wormald family continued their patient effort to divest themselves of office product in the original Westview Office Park (north of south, if you know what I mean) with a sale of 26,718 square feet in Wormald Corporate Center for a price of $4.5 million or $168.43 per square foot.
The next big deal that closed is also located in the same geographic area as the previous two. The 32,176 SF flex building located at 4626 Wedgewood Blvd, changed hands for $4,000,000 or $124.32 per square foot.
Bill Baisey KIA decided to make a deeper commitment to Frederick County in July, when it acquired a one-acre lot on MD RT 355 at Evergreen Point (5826 Urbana Pike) for $3,000,000.
The MacRo Deal of the Quarter
Before we close out this post, we cannot forget to note the transfer of one of highest profile properties in Downtown Frederick! At the price of $1.5 million, the century plus old 6,000 square foot building at the “Square Corner” located at 2 E Patrick Street, known as the former Citizen Bank Building (also the former Farmers and Mechanics and ultimately the PNC Bank building) has a new owner and a new use on the drawing board … you guessed it, a high-end restaurant! You can read more about this in the Fall 2018 MacRo Report, or wait a few weeks, and you’ll read a blog post dedicated to two of our most unique transactions of 2018!
Rocky Mackintosh, President, MacRo, Ltd., a Land and Commercial Real Estate firm based in Frederick, Maryland. He has been an active member of the Frederick, Maryland community for over four decades. He has served as chairman of the board of Frederick Memorial Hospital and as a member of the Frederick County Charter Board from 2010 to 2012. He currently serves as chairman of the board of Frederick Mutual Insurance Company. Established in 1843, it is one of the longest enduring businesses in Frederick County