Longfellow Enters Maryland With  Lab Conversion in Rockville

The company acquired the office building for $42M

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Longfellow Real Estate Partners is expanding to the I-270 corridor with the acquisition of 1 Preserve, a 191,000-square-foot office building in Rockville, Md., according to the company.

The price was not disclosed, but a source close to the deal noted it was approximately $42 million.

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Federal Capital Partners was the seller, having acquired the property in 2014 for $61.2 million.

This marks the first entry in the Maryland market for Longfellow, which has a portfolio of more than 15 million square feet of life sciences space around the country. The developer will convert the building into life sciences space.

“The I-270 corridor, also known as DNA Alley, has long been a hotbed for innovation and some of the very best companies in the nation for life-changing discoveries,” Ben Sayles, Longfellow’s managing director in the Northeast, told Commercial Observer. “Almost immediately, we are going to convert the building from office to state-of-the-art lab space that provides the framework for life science and biotech companies to have the very best innovative space for their employees and leadership.” 

The company will be making substantial upgrades to the building’s electrical and HVAC systems. It will also integrate the firm’s proprietary tenant experience platform ElevateTM, which incorporates custom programming..  

Longfellow has built an extensive portfolio in key markets such as Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and the Research Triangle of North Carolina. It looks forward to entering the Maryland/Washington, D.C., market, one of the top five markets in the nation, according to Sayles.

“What is really exciting for us is the ability to offer tenants a full building identity — this is a true rarity in top markets like this one,” he said.

Shaun Weinberg of Cushman & Wakefield (CWK) represented the seller and procured the buyer in the deal.

Requests for comment from Federal Capital Partners were not immediately returned.

Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.