Laurel Apartment Complex Sells for $28M

By the Editors of Commercial Property Executive

November 25, 2012

The Westgate of Laurel, a renovated apartment complex in the heart of the Baltimore-Washington corridor, was recently sold to Westgate DNB Associates, a subsidiary of Geller Associates Inc. of Roseland, N.J.

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

The Westgate of Laurel, a renovated apartment complex in the heart of the Baltimore-Washington corridor, was recently sold to Westgate DNB Associates, a subsidiary of Geller Associates Inc. of Roseland, N.J. The CBRE Washington, D.C., Multi-Housing Investment Team arranged the sale.

The Westgate of Laurel is a 201,704-square-foot apartment complex built in 1964 in Laurel, Md. The seller updated all 218 units with high-end elements, from windows to kitchen finishes, commanding a rental premium over many other local apartments.

Tenants can choose from one-bedroom apartments with a den, two- and three-bedroom units with walk-in-closets, plush wall-to-wall carpeting, side-by-side washers and dryers, and air conditioning. Community amenities include a swimming pool, chlidren’s playground, on-site daycare and free parking. Westgate of Laurel is located close to schools, shopping and public transportation, with Fort Meade, Andrews AFB, Walter Reed and the National Security Agency less than half a mile away.

Westgate DNB Associates paid $27.9 million, or $128,178 per apartment, to Westgate Apartments Investors L.L.C. for the complex. Mike Muldowney led the CBRE team of Bill Roohan, Andy Boyer, Michael Rudolph, Brian Margerum and Martha Hastings that represented the seller. At closing, Westgate of Laurel was approximately 93 percent occupied.

“The Baltimore-Washington corridor and the region around Fort Meade, the National Security Agency, Defense Information Systems Agency and U.S. Cyber Command have become a magnet for high-tech jobs. The resulting stability of the workforce continues to pump value and interest into the neighboring real estate market, as exemplified by the acquisition of this attractive asset,” said Michael Muldowney, executive vice president.

Marcus & Millichap reports that strong property performance supported an increase in transaction velocity of 20 percent from one year ago. Deal flow surged more than 30 percent in the district, and more modest increases were recorded in Maryland and Virginia. The median price of properties sold in the Washington, D.C., Metro Area rose 11 percent in the past year to $101,200 per unit. Each section of the metro area saw a rise in median price, led by a 14 percent gain in Maryland to $78,500 per unit.