Real estate services firm Colliers Pinkard marketed the building on Amstar's behalf and reports that there was a great deal of interest in the class A office facility among hopeful investors.

As noted in one of its recent corporate brochures, "Colliers Pinkard conducted a comprehensive repositioning and marketing campaign in order to sell 300 E. Lombard St. in Baltimore. This campaign resulted in 14 offers and a sale at a value which exceeded its appraisal by 25%." According to official state tax records, the property has a current assessed value of $21.8 million.

A looming structure in the central business district, 300 E. Lombard was developed 20 years ago on a half-acre in the city's Inner Harbor area, just off I-395 and within close proximity to the Patapsco River. The building's premiere status has been maintained through renovations, the last of which occurred under Amstar's tenure in 2000. A four-level parking structure is among the amenities at the glass and brick-facade building, which was first known as the Baltimore Federal Building for a bank that kept its headquarters at the locale.

Today, 300 E. Lombard is nearly 93% occupied and boasts law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP as its lead tenant; the firm extended its lease on 39,000 sf to 49,000 sf under a 10-year agreement in 2002. Other tenants in the building include software company Accelera, which recently leased 11,000 sf to house its corporate headquarters, and New Jersey-based law firm McCarter & English LLP, which occupies a 10,000-sf space. Colliers Pinkard had been marketing space above the lower level for $19.75 to $21 per sf.

As for Amstar Group, current conditions were just right for selling the property. "We purchased 300 E. Lombard with the intent of repositioning the asset," Amstar Group investment manager Rob Toomey tells GlobeSt.com. "We accomplished that task and thought it would be the best time to take the building to the market. The job had been done."