The company's recent acquisition of Monument III, a 193,000-square-foot, seven-story building at 12930 WorldGate Dr. in Herndon, VA, is an example of this new approach. It acquired the building for $51 million from General Electric Credit Equities. Situated in the mixed-use Worldgate complex, construction was completed in 2007 and the building is 94% leased today by such tenants as ITT, GSA contractor DRS Technical Services, Turner Construction and IHP Capital Partners.

Another example is MRP's acquisition of a 212,000-square-foot office in Clarendon, VA, this past summer from Multi-Employer Property Trust, for $71 million. Located at 3101 Wilson Blvd., the nine-story Hartford Building delivered in 2003 and is fully leased by architecture firm DMJM, defense contractor Stanley Associates, and Georgetown University.

That was the company's first acquisition in more than two years--a departure from its development roots. MRP, though, decided that opportunities to acquire new buildings developed in the last cycle already leased or close to it were too good to pass by, principal Frederick Rothmeijer tells GlobeSt.com. "We are actively pursuing office and residential buildings that can be purchased for below replacement cost."