Premier Selected to Manage 107,000 sf Burlington Center

Sudley Town Center

In September 2019, Premier took over management of the 107,000 square foot Sudley Town Center shopping center in Manassas, Virginia. Our client hired us about 2 months before closing so that Premier could assist in getting the property to closing, working with the lender and seller to resolve a number of complicated issues. The anchor tenant in this successful center is Burlington Coat Factory who recently signed a new long term lease. Our client, a family partnership, purchased the property as part of a 1031 exchange.

Premier Acquires 180,000 sf Value Add Walmart Center

Meadowbrook Plaza shopping center

In May 2019 Premier purchased the 183,000 sf Meadowbrook Shopping Center just outside of Richmond. This storied center has been the mainstay of the Meadowbrook neighborhood for over 50 years. Although recently experiencing significant vacancy with the loss of some major tenants, Meadowbrook still has a impressive tenant roster, including Walmart, Gold’s Gym, DaVita, Wells Fargo, Wendy’s, Firestone, Pizza Hut, and a State liquor store. This strong underlying tenancy provides an excellent current return while Premier works on a renovation plan to increase occupancy over the coming years.

Peter Vick of Divaris Real Estate sourced this off market deal for Premier. Very attractive long term, fixed rate financing was provided by Community Bank of the Chesapeake with assistance from Keith Wells of Northmarq. Equity was syndicated with Jonathan Cutler acting as a major investor. Premier Management Services, an Accredited Management Organization under IREM, will manage the property for the investment group. 

The Premier Team Is Always Advancing

Congratulations to Adam Santos, VP, for earning the designation of Accredited Commercial Manager (ACoM) through the Institute for Real Estate Management (IREM)!  Adam is already a Certified Property Manager (CPM) and past President of the area IREM chapter. 

Congratulations also to Cassandra Drinnon, Property Manager, for earning both the designation of Certified Property Manager (CPM) the designation of Accredited Commercial Manager (ACoM) through the Institute for Real Estate Management (IREM)! 

Receiving these designations takes years of after hours study, demonstrated field experience, and of course testing.  This means that our clients can rest assured that we are using best industry practices in managing their valued assets.  We’re proud to see our team members continue to advance and demonstrate their exceptional ability within the industry. 

Premier Has a New Project

Premier is pleased to announce that it has closed on the purchase of 20,000 sf of retail in the upscale West Broad Village Town Center development in Richmond’s West End.   The property was purchased from Markel / Eagle Partners.  Premier sourced this investment for the partners, who were exchanging from the sale of a residential development parcel in Washington DC (also handled by Premier).   Premier worked with the seller through some complicated tenancy issues, with the result being a successful transaction for the seller and an above market return for the purchasers.  Jonathan Cutler of Premier is also an investor in the transaction.  Premier Management Services, an Accredited Management Organization under IREM, will manage the property for the investment group.  Josh Ein of Marcus and Millichap was the broker in the transaction.  Financing was provide by Ohio National Life and sourced through Keith Wells of Northmarq.

Premier to Manage 94,000 sf Alexandria Warehouse

Premier is pleased to have been selected to manage a 94,000 warehouse property in Alexandria, Virginia.  This warehouse, leased to a national credit tenant and used as a recycling facility, was recently acquired by the Fortified Property Group (www.fortifiedproperty.com) with offices in Bethesda and Los Angeles.  Premier took over management at the time of acquisition.  Premier Management Services is an Accredited Management Organization under the auspices of the Institute of Real Estate Managers, and serves properties throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Premier Purchases 87,000 sf Deep Run Centre

On August 27, 2018, Premier acquired Deep Run Centre in Richmond, Virginia for $6,500,000.  Deep Run is an 87,000 sf retail and flex property built in 1990 and comprised of two buildings in Richmond’s West End.  Deep Run was acquired from the lender who had taken it back in a foreclosure proceeding two years ago.  The property was 35% vacant at the time of acquisition and the largest tenant had failed to renew a lease maturing in a matter of months — all of which spelled opportunity for Premier.

Will Bradley of CBRE (now Colliers) represented the seller in the transaction.  Attractive debt financing was sourced from a mid-western life company by Keith Wells of Northmarq.  Equity was provided by Jonathan Cutler and another private investor.   Premier Management Services, an Accredited Management Organization through the institute for Real Estate Managers, will manage the property.  With this acquisition, Premier owns and manages over 600,000 sf in the Richmond market.

Updating this post in February 2019, we are please to announce that Deep Run is now close to 90% leased and the major tenants have renewed.

Premier Sells 120 Apartments

Premier is pleased to announce that on June 30, 2018 it sold the Premier Village Apartments in Dover, Delaware to a New Jersey real estate investment company.  The sale price represented exactly double the acquisition price in 2009.   The property was both owned and managed by Premier and its affiliates.

At the time of acquisition from PNC Bank (as trustee), this 120 unit apartment complex was known as Generals Greene IV and was approximately 22% vacant.  The high vacancy and sub-institutional size of the property meant that Premier was able to make this purchase at an attractive price.  Debt financing was provided by Fannie Mae and equity was provided by Jonathan Cutler, the founder of Premier, and another private investor.  First Capital Realty acted as the broker for both the acquisition and the disposition.

Originally known as Generals Greene, this property was part of a larger community with a negative reputation.  Nonetheless, it was very well located across the street from the Dover Air Force Base and among the most affordable alternatives for Dover residents.  Premier began by rebranding the property, installing attractive fencing to demise it from the rest of the area, relocated the sales office, improved signage, brought in training for onsite staff, created a property website and increased advertising, and modestly improved the units on turnover.  In later years we would also paint the property with a new color scheme and add colorful awnings.  Within about 5 years, Premier Village was boasting occupancy consistently over 95% and generating 15%+ annual returns for the ownership.

Rents were raised modestly over the years, but we tried not to lose sight of our place in the community as a clean, safe, affordable place to live.  In that regard, Premier Village was truly a win/win – for the owners – and for the residents.  We are proud of that outcome.

Premier Gets New Management Assignment

Premier is pleased to have been selected to manage the headquarters building of the National Asphalt Pavement Association at  5100 Forbes Blvd in Lanham, MD.  Premier will provide facilities management for the space occupied by NAPA, as well as property management with respect to the several subtenants in the building.  Premier Management Services is an Accredited Management Organization under the auspices of the Institute of Real Estate Management, and serves properties throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Rockville Town Center Management

Premier is pleased to have been selected to manage a new, fully leased retail center in the Rockville Town Center for an out of state owner.  Tenants include Bank of America, a large school, a spa, and several restaurants.  The property also includes underground parking.  Premier Management Services is an Accredited Management Organization under the auspices of the Institute of Real Estate Managers, and serves properties throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Premier Acquires Office Park

In July 2017 Premier acquired the 8.5 acre, 68,000 sf office park known as Cloverleaf Office Park, a six building campus located in Richmond (Midlothian) Virginia.  At the time of purchase, Cloverleaf was 70% occupied, mostly by a mix of small professional and service firms.  Premier was able to acquire the property at an especially attractive price, and will promptly undertake a re-branding and cosmetic refresh.  This acquisition brings Premier’s presence in Richmond to 550,000 sf of office, retail, and medical real estate.

Premier acquired Cloverleaf from the Hamilton Real Estate Fund.  Acquisition debt was provided by Symetra, a west coast life insurance company.  Mortgage brokerage services were provided by Keith Wells at Northmarq.  Jason Guillot with Thalhimer represented the Seller.  Equity was provided by a small group of private investors led by Jonathan Cutler, president of Premier.

Property management will be handled by Premier Management Services, L.C.  Premier Management is an Accredited Management Organization (AMO) under auspices of the Institute of Real Estate Management and manages commercial real estate throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Premier Participates in Tenley Hill Acquisition

When Premier assisted a private client with the $8.5M sale of a warehouse property recently, the client sought a high quality 1031 exchange opportunity.  The retail and office space at 4725 Wisconsin Avenue in Washington DC fit the bill perfectly.  The property is 100% leased to a range of legal, PR, and professional service firms, and houses a well known language immersion preschool as well.

Premier represented the buyer and also managed every aspect of the acquisition from contract negotiation to financing to due diligence to closing.  The seller was PN Hoffman and financing was provided by Sandy Spring Bank.  The seller was represented by Rick Fernandez of The Calkain Companies.

Jonathan Cutler, Premier’s president, also took an equity stake in the property.  Premier Management Services, an Accredited Management Organization under the auspices of the Institute of Real Estate Managers, will manage the property for the ownership.

An Honor to Serve

Premier is honored to have been selected as the facilities manager for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.  The glass roofed 33,000 square foot memorial is constructed behind the historic façade at the entrance to Arlington Cemetery.  This beautiful memorial houses display galleries, offices, a theater, and often hosts military events.  Part of Premier’s duties will be the oversight of a substantial historic restoration effort in the coming year. We could not be prouder to be affiliated with an organization that pays tribute to the service and sacrifices made by women in the military throughout our history.

Premier Selected for Facilities Management

Premier is pleased to announce that it has been selected to manage two prestigious properties for the First Church of Christ Scientist.  Their new reading room, event spaces and offices at 910 16th Street recently opened to architectural acclaim.  The beautiful sculptural glass facade is complimented inside by high ceilings with tonal wood and glass.  The second property at 1782 Columbia Road also provides a reading room, office space, and several retail and office tenant suites.  Premier will provide facilities management, leasing, and property management services.

Premier Purchases 142,000 sf Richmond Office Propery

On July 13, 2016 Premier acquired the 142,000 sf office complex at 2810 N. Parham Road in Richmond, Virginia.  This property is as notable for its excellent West End location as it is for its tenant roster, which includes GSA, Xerox, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, United Lex, and Make a Wish, among others.  Premier will re-brand the property as Premier Tech Center and will be investing over $1,000,000 in improvements.  With this acquisition, Premier’s Richmond area presence grows to almost 500,000 sf.

Premier acquired Premier Tech Center from Grander Capital.  The acquisition loan was provided by Farm Bureau Life with mortgage brokerage services provided by Keith Wells at Northmarq.  Primary equity investors include Jonathan Cutler and 888 Realty Investors.  The Seller was represented by Will Bradley of CBRE.  Premier Management Services will provide property management and CBRE will provide the leasing.  The property was 86% occupied at the time of the acquisition.

Premier Medical Center Sold

Premier is pleased to announce that on May 12, 2016, the Premier Medical Center in College Park, MD was sold to a Washington real estate investor, and the transaction was very profitable for both Premier and its investors.

Premier purchased the under-performing Science Park Medical Center in 2012 from a life company lender.  Debt financing was provided by the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA), and 888 Realty Investors became a lead investor.

At the time of acquisition, the 45,000 center was almost 30% vacant and more tenants were threatening to leave.  Premier jumped in and rebranded the property, upgraded the Center cosmetically and functionally, solved some tricky ADA related problems, and brought in its own brand of high level touch to operations and tenant relations.

Results were quick to evolve.  Major tenants signed longer term renewals, several upgraded and expanded, and new tenants filled in the new renovated vacancies.  By 2015, Premier Medical Center had a new reputation and occupancy approaching 95%.  The Center was put on the market for sale with Jim Kornick of  Avison Young in late 2015 and the sale closed in May 2016.

Premier to Manage Gaithersburg Center

Premier Management is pleased to announce that it has been selected to manage the Talbot Shopping Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  This neighborhood center is shadow anchored by Food Lion and was 100% occupied at the time of acquisition.  Premier assisted its client JG Realty with all aspects of the acquisition and will now begin implementation of a modest capital improvement program.  Financing was provided by Sandy Spring Bank.

Premier Sells Richmond Apartments

In early 2014 Premier put 216 apartments under contract in Richmond, Virginia.  The property, then known as Chamberlayne Gardens, was purchased from FNMA through a servicer and financed by BB&T with assistance from Northmarq.   At the time of acquisition the project suffered from high vacancy and significant deferred maintenance.  Some of the improvements immediately undertaken included bringing wiring to code, installing laundry rooms, adding 43 video cameras for security, replacing over 1,000 windows, and establishing best practices in the management office.  The property was also renamed to Premier Gardens and a new marketing program was instituted.  Occupancy quickly began to climb, increasing over 15% in the first 16 months.   Then, in January of 2016 we received an unsolicited offer from a New York investor that we could not refuse!  Needless to say both Premier and our investors were very pleased to be able to sell this project at a substantial profit less than 2 years after first putting it under contract.

Premier Sells 74,000 sf Florida Mixed Use Center

Premier wishes to announce that it has successfully sold it’s Fort Lauderdale area mixed use retail and industrial center.  The four (4) building complex had a variety of tenants including a charter school, a gas station, an auto repair center, a restaurant, and a church.  The center, which Premier rebranded as Palm Plaza, was purchased in 2007 from General Electric and was financed by National Life of the Southwest.  The sale was handled by Douglas Mandel of Marcus and Millichap and the buyer was a German investment firm.  The center was 95% leased at the time of sale.

Cascade Partners Chooses Premier for Management

When Cascade Realty Partners purchased 3401 Columbia Pike in Arlington last September, they came to Premier for management.  According to Cascade, they chose Premier because of our deep experience in asset management and value engineering, especially in dealing with older properties.  With Bank of America as the primary tenant, they knew that tenant expectations and demands would be very high with regard to both financial accountability and maintenance of the property.  In a few short months Premier has already discovered and collected significant monies due to the Landlord, as well as begun work on several deferred maintenance issues.  In the long run, this building represents a redevelopment opportunity for the Cascade team, but for the next few years it is all about the management!

Premier VP Gets Prestigious Award

Premier Management vice president Adam Santos was recently named Certified Property Manager of the Year by The Institute of Real Estate Management Chapter 92.  Mr. Santos’ leadership and exceptional property management skills have of course been known to our clients for years!  It is with pride that we announce that he has now been recognized by the professional management community with this prestigious award.