COLUMBIA, MD-General Growth Properties has handed over aone-million-sf, seven-asset office portfolio to NAI KLNB to manage.The class A portfolio, called Columbia Town Center portfolio, isbased in this submarket and has a 25% vacancy rate–or 250,000 sf ofspace available to lease. Asking rates for the portfolio range from$24 per sf, full service up to $27.50 per sf, full service. DavidFritz, Craig Morrell and Michele Kornbluth from NAI KLNB's Columbiaoffice will handle the leasing and marketing.

One strength that NAI KLNB plans to leverage is Columbia's easycommute distance from nearby Washington, DC, its suburbs and theBaltimore CBD, Fritz tells GlobeSt.com. “We will be taking aregional approach with the marketing campaign. Besides targetingthe immediate area, we will try to attract firms from Towson, MD,Northern Virginia, Downtown Baltimore, Washington, DC and SilverSpring.” Firms would be interested in relocating from the latterlocations, in particular, he says, because of the relatively higherasking rates.

The buildings are 10400, 10420, 10440, 10480, 10490 and 10500Little Patuxent Pkwy and 11000 Broken Land Pkwy. They are situatedjust off MD Route 175. Existing tenants include Miles &Stockbridge; Ferris, Baker, Watts; BusinesSuites; and AmericanExpress. These buildings were part of General Growth's$12.6-billion acquisition of the Rouse Co. in 2004. Since then, thecompany handled the leasing internally, Fritz says. “This is thefirst time this portfolio has been outsourced since itsacquisition.” Most of General Growth's offices are leased andmanaged by third parties, he adds.