A picture is worth a thousand barrels of oil. At left is a satellite image of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. At right is a computerized image (by my talented CBF colleague Mike Dougherty) of what an oil spill of the same size would look like at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, where offshore drilling is now proposed. Notice the threat posed by the blob's oily tentacles to the Assateague National Seashore, Virginia Beach, Ocean City and the blue crab spawning grounds of the southern Chesapeake Bay. If you ever needed a reason to oppose offshore drilling in our region, here it is... in vivid color.
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Over the last century, Rockville Pike in Montgomery County, Md., has grown, unfettered and unplanned, into a sprawling strip city — a hodge-podge of shopping centers, parking lots and gridlocked traffic that frustrates motorists and discourages pedestrians. But now, a grand makeover is planned for one section of the pike, which begins as Wisconsin Avenue in Washington and is officially State Route 355, that would create a pedestrian boulevard using the principles of the “smart growth” movement. Planners say it could be a model for transforming clogged suburban arteries into livable, walkable communities with denser development and less sprawl, an improved quality of life and a healthier tax base.
April 26, 2010 (Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, MD) – Principals of Rock Creek Property Group announced today that they have successfully raised their first investment fund to acquire and provide investment capital primarily for retail, office, multi-family and industrial properties throughout the Greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, as well as Richmond, Va., and Baltimore, Md. The $21 million fund will target Class B and Class C properties. “We’re out there proactively hunting for deals every day,” says Rock Creek’s Gary Schlager, one of the fund’s six principals along with
Andrew Glick, Bruce Levin, Alan Zuckerman, Eric West and Richard
Lane.
“We’ve developed a profitable niche over the past 10 years that does not compete with institutional investors,” Schlager says. “Instead, our fund will target acquisitions or joint ventures in the $5 million to $20 million range. Our position allows us to capitalize on profitable opportunities that are out-of-reach for smaller investors but not big enough for larger institutional investors to consider.”
Formed in 2002, Rock Creek has worked with more than 100 private investors and pension plans on individual investments in the $5 million to $20 million range. In total, Rock Creek’s principals have acquired several hundred million dollars of commercial properties, including office, industrial, medical office, multi-family, retail and urban-infill sites in and around D.C. With the equity capital already lined-up in the fund, Rock Creek can more nimbly react to opportunities. “We don’t have to go through the process of finding the equity after identifying an opportunity,” Glick says. “That’s a huge advantage in today’s economic environment, where equity and financing in many cases remain
difficult to obtain.”
Levin adds: “We can digest assets – and then manage them – extremely efficiently. We’re looking to help local entrepreneurs who may have run into problems with their developments or properties given that the capital markets are still soft.” The fund will typically commit up to $5 million per deal on transactions ranging from an outright acquisition to purchasing notes from lenders, participating in mezzanine loans and/or joint ventures, or purchasing partnerships.
“This is a total return-driven fund,” Schlager says. “The goal is not to hold on to assets forever but rather to buy properties, create value, and then exit in no more than five to seven years.”
The fund completed its first purchase in November – the 31,594-square-foot Pear Tree Village Center on Route 1 in Alexandria. Along with this existing property is a 20,000-square-foot pad site, which sits directly on the highway, that Rock Creek will either develop and lease, or sell outright. The disposition strategy for this property may include a traditional value-add leasing project or a for-sale office/retail condo-conversion. One advantage for fund investors is that Rock Creek has a deep bench. The firm employs a host of construction, administrative, marketing and research personnel, which Rock Creek shares with its related brokerage firm. The staff of each company works together in a vertically integrated manner. This gives Rock Creek significant capabilities not only in financing and investing, but also in asset management, construction, leasing, marketing, research and sales.
“We can afford these resources since we are working in unison with common interests and ownership,” Schlager says. “This provides our investors and the fund with a huge leg up versus our competition in the market.”
About Rock Creek Property Group: Rock Creek Property Group, founded in 2002, is a commercial real estate investment company based in Washington, D.C., and Bethesda, Md. Its principals own a diverse portfolio of office, industrial, multi-family and retail properties in the mid-Atlantic region. Over the years, Rock Creek’s principals have acquired several hundred million dollars worth of commercial properties. For more information, please visit us online at www.rockcreekpg.com. Media Contact: Neil Adler of D*MNGOOD®. 202-683-8975 office. 410-499-5004 cell. neil.adler@dmngood.com PICTURES: Andrew Glick and Bruce Levin.
The Montgomery County Young Republicans are teaming-up with the Rockville Pregnancy Crisis Center to do something life changing! The whole family can participate! The Rockville Pregnancy Crisis center is a non-profit medical clinic and pregnancy counseling organization providing FREE, life giving alternatives to women facing a possible unplanned
pregnancy or who need healing from a previous abortion. They come from all walks of life—the teenager who finds she is pregnant after prom night, the college woman who was date-raped, the married woman who had a one night affair, the career woman who has no time for an unplanned pregnancy, and the woman whose husband just lost his job. More than 2,500 of these women come through our doors each year.
