WILIMINGTON, DC—Houston-based developer Medistar Corp. has expanded into the Mid-Atlantic region with its first purchase: a 264,000-square foot office building here that is 94% occupied and anchored by Farmers Insurance Exchange. The company paid $61.8 million for the five-story building, acquiring it from an entity controlled by KBS Realty Advisors. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank brokered the transaction, representing both buyer and seller.

The building, located at 3 Beaver Valley Rd., attracted multiple offers nationwide, according to NGKF's David Dolan, who arranged the deal along with colleagues Jeffrey Mack, Michael Margolis, Neal Dangello and Brett Segal. The building is close to many corporate headquarters, he said in a prepared statement and has been "maintained by a leading institutional owner with the level of amenities associated with first-class properties…" he continued.

Built in 1995, the property is located on an 18-acre site next to Brandywine Creek State Park, 25 miles south of Philadelphia.

Farmers Insurance Exchange renewed its 211,000-square-foot lease for 10 years in the fourth quarter of 2014, via NGKF. The brokerage also helped arrange a 39,121-square-foot headquarters lease with Solenis International during the first quarter of this year. Approximately 13,000 square feet remains available on the fifth floor.

The New Castle City North submarket recorded the most absorption of any Wilmington submarket last year at 270,608 square feet, according to NGKF research. Class A asking rents were also the highest of all submarkets at $29.65 per square foot.