ROCKVILLE, MD—In what is the clearest sign yet that value-add is back in favor among investors, 1801 and 1803 Research Blvd. have traded for $18.25 million. The buildings are cumulatively 48% leased. The transaction is also interesting because Rockville is edging very close to "suburban office" territory, another category that has been slow to recover since the recession.

The two-building commercial office complex totals nearly 260,000-square feet. LLCs were the buyer and seller in this trade, with NAI KLNB's Christopher B. Kubler, in cooperation with C-III Realty Services, brokering the transaction. Both buildings have six floors of 20,000 square foot floorplates.

Despite the lower than average occupancy rate—Rockville tends to clock in at the 85% range—Kubler says there were multiple bidders for the property because of its potential.

He points to the "significant frontage and visibility from I-270" and its "strategic position within a highly-desirable office environment in a suburb of Washington, DC."

In addition, he says in a prepared statement, "we believe the strong attraction to the portfolio was stimulated by the backfill opportunity that can add value to the purchase, and its ownership by a lender entity."