COLUMBIA, MD-For the third consecutive year, Corporate Office Properties Trust's shareholder return of 29% for 2001 is the highest among office REITs with a $50 million-plus market capitalization.

GERMANTOWN, MD-A subsidiary of Netherlands-based Qiagen, N.V., QIAGEN Sciences, Inc. opens the doors of its $50 million US headquarters. The complex, which was two years in the making, offers 200,000 sf of space in various buildings for the biotechnology firm's research and manufacturing activities.

STAFFORD, VA-Pet owners in this southern region of Virginia welcome the area's first Petco with the grand opening of a 12,000-sf Petco Millennium Store over the weekend.

ARLINGTON, VA-The Washington Capitals submit the official site plan for their new ice hockey training facility, which would be located in the Ballston area of Arlington County and available for public use. If county officials give the go-ahead, construction on the facility--which will be located atop the Ballston Public Garage--would begin this summer and be completed in 2003.

LANDOVER, MD-In a $8.3 million deal, Lottsford Business Center changes hands from SKW II Real Estate Limited Partnership to a Kenwood Management-controlled partnership.

WALDORF, MD-With plans to begin construction of its natural gas-driven electric plant this spring, Freestate Electric LLC acquires 32 more acres in the Piney Reach Industrial Park section of the St. Charles master-planned community.

BETHESDA, MD-Sax Realty is on the lookout for freestanding buildings of about 8,000 sf on behalf of Nashville, TN-based Logan's Roadhouse restaurant chain. The 1940s-style roadhouse eatery is planning to open an unspecified number of locations in the Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC areas.

WASHINGTON, DC-The District's Council passes the Housing Act of 2001, legislation that will provide for the redevelopment and building of 7,000 units of affordable housing by 2012. The $200-million incentive program will cost $192 million, but will also produce $207million in tax revenue.