68,000-SF Office Building Auctioned Off for $7M

COLUMBIA, MD-The 68,800-sf office building at 5457 Twin Knolls Rd. in the city’s Oakland Mills village area has been sold at auction to Washington, DC’s Douglas Development Corp. for $7.35 million. The lender for the previous owner, Principal Life Insurance Co., revealed at the beginning of the year that the property would be put on the block through Tranzon Fox. At that time, Tranzon president Steven I. Fox described the property as “a solid purchasing and investment opportunity.” Before being auctioned, 5457 Twin Knolls had been marketed unsuccessfully through various brokers.

The four-story, 20-year-old building, which sits on a 6.8-acre plot in Howard County’s Columbia Perimeter submarket, carries a current assessment value of $5.3 million. The structure is leased to near capacity, with space in the building renting for about $20.50-per-sf. Tenants include Principal Residential Mortgage, which has a 9,500-sf space and the Institute for Regulatory Science, which occupies a 4,500-sf space. Both companies renewed their leases in long-term agreements at the end of 2001.