URDANG Fund and Moore & Associates Acquire Silver Spring Office Complex

BNY Mellon Investment Manager Sees Compelling Investment In Washington D.C. Market

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Jan 12, 2010, 07:50 ET

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- An investment fund managed by URDANG, the real estate investment manager and part of BNY Mellon Asset Management, has acquired the 500,000 square-foot Station Square office complex in Silver Spring, Maryland, in a joint venture with developer Moore & Associates. URDANG made its portion of the acquisition through Urdang Value-Added Fund II L.P., a private real estate fund managed by Urdang Capital Management Inc.

The property was purchased from National Office Partners Limited Partnership, a joint venture of Hines, the international real estate firm, and the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). Terms were not disclosed. The property last changed hands in 2005 when it was purchased for $129.8 million. Moore & Associates, which is partnering with URDANG in the purchase announced today, was the original developer and the seller in 2005.

"We believe Station Square to be a compelling investment as it is located in a highly desirable Washington D.C. submarket, which is enjoying a resurgence in anticipation of the 2011 opening of a major transit center," said David L. Rabin, managing director of acquisitions for URDANG. "We were able to acquire it at an attractive cost and can create value in this asset by making selected key investments and re-positioning the property in the marketplace."

"We have decided to reenter the Silver Spring market as capitalization rates have risen significantly since 2005," said Lloyd W. Moore, chairman of Moore & Associates. "Silver Spring is a strong office market in a balanced urban center."

Station Square marks the fourth joint venture acquisition completed by Urdang Capital Management and Moore & Associates. The two firms own Bethesda Towers, a 540,000 square-foot office complex in Bethesda, Maryland, and two office buildings in Austin, Texas.

Notes to Editors:

Moore & Associates is an owner-managed, full-service commercial real estate investment, development, and management firm serving affiliated and independent clients. With more than 50 employees, the firm has completed $800 million in capital transaction during the past four years and currently manages two million square feet of office space.

Founded in 1987 with an exclusive focus on institutional investment grade real estate, URDANG offers a variety of strategies and products, managing approximately $1.5 billion in public real estate securities through URDANG Securities Management, Inc. and approximately $2.0 billion in debt and private equity real estate investments through URDANG Capital Management, Inc. for institutional investors and high net worth individuals throughout global markets and across public and private capital sectors. URDANG's research-driven process combines top down economic analysis and market/country selection with bottom up underwriting of properties, companies and management teams to seek high, risk-adjusted returns. It is one of the investment boutiques of BNY Mellon Asset Management.

BNY Mellon Asset Management is the umbrella organization for BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms and global distribution companies.

BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $22.1 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $966 billion in assets under management, services $11.9 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.6 trillion per day. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.

SOURCE BNY Mellon