Foulger Pratt, Alexandria Sell Maryland Retail Complex in 1031 Exchange

A Bethesda, Md.-based real estate firm has gotten its hands on a nearly fully leased retail complex in nearby Rockville from the likes of Foulger Pratt and Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE).

Willard Retail has paid $35.3 million for the Onelife Fitness-anchored complex, dubbed Research Row, at 1403 Research Boulevard, according to the Business Journals. A joint venture between Foulger Pratt and Alexandria sold the asset.

Research Row was acquired by Willard Retail as part of a 1031 exchange, according to the Business Journals, which allows deferment of capital gains taxes when owners trade equivalent assets. Willard shed some of its minority stake in Old Centreville Crossing, a roughly 172,000-square-foot retail plaza in Centreville, Va., for the exchange. Both Research Row and Old Centreville Crossing are 98 percent leased. 

Research Row comprises three buildings totaling about 108,000 square feet, according to Willard’s brochure for the complex. Tenants include Onelife Fitness, which Willard describes as the “most trafficked” gym in Maryland, along with Cooper’s Hawk winery and restaurant, Sola Salons, Chick-fil-A and others. 

Representatives for Willard Retail, Foulger Pratt and Alexandria did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

The sale is an expected move for Alexandria, which lately has cut back on its non-core assets in preference for its mega-campus life sciences portfolio. Earlier this month, the real estate investment trust sold a 248,000-square-foot lab in Northern Virginia to an affiliate of New Mountain Capital for $80.5 million. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.