LORTON, VA-10555 Furnace Rd., a 90,167-square foot mixed-use office facility here, has traded for $24 million. Investors eagerly competed for the building because it is occupied by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which has seven years remaining on its lease. Titanium Real Estate Advisors was the buyer. The seller was represented by CBRE's Marc Rampulla, Randall Heilig, Marcy Owens Test, and Edward Welbourne.

There is a lack of GSA investment opportunities nationally as well as in the DC metro region, and it is causing pricing pressure on even small opportunities to say nothing of this mission-critical facility, Rampulla tells GlobeSt.com. "There is pent up capital up there trying to acquire these opportunities," he says.

For instance, the DEA only has seven years remaining on its lease, Rampulla points out. "Typically, demand is for at least ten years. There were many offers on this deal, which shows that investors are shifting criteria outside of their usual box."

CBRE suggested that the deal be approached with the assumption that DEA would take the five-year renewal option, Rampulla says, for several reasons. Besides being a mission-critical facility, it is strategically located in Northern Virginia in a Defense-oriented corridor anchored by the Pentagon, Fort Belvoir, Marine Corps Base Quantico. It is also a build-to-suit, "which speaks highly to the renewal probability," Rampulla says.

The seller is a JV between a local group and an international equity partner. This sale wrapped up the sellers' first fund, according to Rampulla. They have now started a second fund and are actively looking for deals.

10555 Furnace Rd. is located in Gunston Commerce Center, surrounded by several government agencies and contractors. It was built in 2000 and besides office space also features a laboratory and a secure warehouse, forensic and computer training facilities, radio frequency-shielded enclosures and fiber connectivity.