Columbia Sells 100 East Pratt for $187M

Columbia Property Trust, a real estate investment trust that owns and operates Class-A office buildings concentrated in CBD locations, announced that it has completed the sale of 100 East Pratt Street in Baltimore, Maryland for $187 million. Columbia sold the iconic 653,000 square-foot office building to Vision Properties, an east coast real estate firm. The HFF investment sales team represented Columbia Property Trust in the transaction; Vision Properties' representation and full terms of the deal were not disclosed. Columbia said in a press release that it would use the proceeds of the sale to repay a $119 million short-term bridge loan and borrowings on its unsecured credit facility. The building was previously sold by Boston Properties in 2005 to Wells Real Estate for $207.5 million, and was added to the Wells REIT II portfolio, which later became Columbia Property Trust.

"This week's sale of 100 East Pratt, which was our only asset in Baltimore, represents another milestone in our ongoing transformation of Columbia Property Trust's portfolio into one that is primarily focused on the acquisition, leasing and operation of top quality office properties in the nation's high-barrier markets," said Nelson Mills, president and chief executive officer of Columbia Property Trust. "Through this sale, we achieved pricing well within our target range for the property, which reflects its overall quality and solid performance during our years of ownership. More importantly, we have now successfully sold 48 non-core properties totaling $2.3 billion in proceeds since 2011, while simultaneously investing $2 billion in prime office properties located in New York, San Francisco, Washington and Boston."

Located at the intersection of Pratt and Light Streets, 100 East Pratt Street is the long-time home of investment management firm T. Rowe Price, which occupies 65% of the building. the 28-story tower features a 2-story lobby, ground-level retail, fitness and conference center and an abutting 8-level parking structure with 940 parking spaces and direct access into the building. The building originally began construction in 1973 by Emery Roth & Sons, then completed and developed in 1992 by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The property was 98.5% leased as of December, with additional key tenants including PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Merrill Lynch and Tydings & Rosenberg.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.