Ballston Commons

Ballston Commons, 11-story office building, was constructed on air rights over the Ballston Commons regional mall. The building is located in the heart of the Ballston submarket and has covered access to extensive dining and retail amenities. The 175,655-square-foot office space was 100% leased with the United States Coast Guard as the primary tenant.

Challenges

• The property presented a sales challenge because of the complicated relationship between the landholder and the property rights.
• The United States Coast Guard was in the process of negotiating a buy-out with another tenant for an additional 10% of the building. The agency had a significant investment in tenant improvements in the building and required significant security measures throughout its space.

Solutions

• NorthMarq Investment Services was able to demonstrate the institutional market appeal of the property and emphasized the stability of the tenancy of the United States Coast Guard.
• Through a competitive sales process we convinced the owner of the Ballston Commons Mall that institutional investors would be interested in acquiring the building.
• We received nine aggressive letters of intent from established institutional investors that created intense and competitive three-way bidding for the property.
• NorthMarq was able to accomplish record pricing for an air rights interest.
• The building has consistently maintained and increased its value for the new owner, Forest City Enterprises..