Commercial Real Estate:
Transactions

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Virginia Business
March 2006

Sales
One of the largest commercial real estate portfolios in Northern Virginia is changing hands. The Mark Winkler Co., a private, family real estate company, has agreed to sell its holdings for a reported $2.3 billion to several developers, according to The Washington Post. Winkler has entered into a purchase agreement with Duke Realty Corp. of Indianapolis, which will buy the bulk of its 32 office properties. They include 2.9 million square feet of space at the mixed-use Mark Center in Alexandria and TransDulles Center near Washington Dulles International Airport. The deal paves the way for Duke, the country’s largest public office and industrial real estate company, to expand into the mid-Atlantic market. Duke also will gain 166 acres of undeveloped land in major business parks that could support 3.7 million square feet of future office and industrial space. Most of Winkler’s residential holdings will go to the JBG Investment Fund, an affiliate of developer JBG Cos., located in Chevy Chase. The transactions are expected to close during the first quarter.

Patriot Plaza, a 76,520-square-foot outlet mall in Williamsburg, changed owners with its recent sale to Medalist Properties 5 LLC for $6.2 million. The center is on Richmond Road, Williamsburg’s busiest retail corridor. It was sold by Chelsea Property Group, one of the largest owners and operators of manufacturer outlet centers. Based in Roseland, N.J., CPG is a subsidiary of Simon Property Group. The Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakefield investment brokerage group handled the sale for CPG.

New construction
Liberty Property Trust is building two Class A, multitenant warehouse distribution buildings at Bridgeway Commerce Center in Suffolk. Located on Harbour View Boulevard, the buildings will complete Liberty’s campus-like setting in the center. They will offer 126,000 and 168,000 square feet of space, with sprinkler systems, all-concrete construction and multiple dock loading doors. They should be ready for occupancy in 2006. The project engineer is Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., and the general contractor is ARCO Design/ Build.