R E T A I L

DRE leases a variety of shopping centers totaling over 775,000 square feet in metropolitan Washington, D.C., including North Pointe Center in Hagerstown, Md.

Retail Spreads in Maryland Markets

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND — From its office in Rockville, Md, Divaris Real Estate, Inc. (DRE) leases retail properties from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan market, down into Northern Virginia, and all the way up to Baltimore. One of the biggest trends that has been occurring in these areas is the continued development of the rural areas. As rental rates skyrocket in D.C. and Northern Virginia, Maryland is seeing solid growth.

For the most part, mixed-use projects have become the major trend in development — as they have across the country — and much of the newest retail activity in Maryland has been part of such projects.

“There is a shortage of good real estate in our markets with very little land that can be newly developed, so developers are building up, instead of out,” says Kenny Salzman, retail leasing agent for DRE in its Rockville office. “If you want to build a large new project, you will have to go out to the more rural areas.”

Currently, Earl Goodman, the principal of the Rockville office, Salzman and Susan McGee are representing several tenants in Greater D.C., including The 39er, Bed Bath & Beyond, Buy Buy Baby, The Curtain Exchange, Fractured Prune, H Mart, Lowe’s, Scottrade, Tandy Leather Factory and WineStyles, to name a few.

Goodman explains that keeping in constant communication with clients is the secret to providing great service, and the challenge in such a competitive market is to remain updated on all the latest trends, available space and new opportunities in the market.

“We provide our clients with market assessments which provide an overview of what is occurring in the region. We work with our retailers to understand their specific site requirements and locational criteria,” says Goodman. “Then we’ll put together a criteria sheet outlining the tenant’s requirements. This is sent to landlords and developers, as well as to their brokers, to get the tenant’s name out into the market. At the same time, we complete an in-depth survey of our market using the tenant’s established criteria to find the best fit.”

Some of the major deals the company has closed recently include five deals for Fractured Prune, and four transactions for Scottrade which were completed by Salzman and McGee. In addition to tenant representation, McGee leases a variety of shopping centers totaling over 775,000 square feet in metropolitan Washington, D.C., including the new appointment of North Pointe Center, a 28,000-square-foot property in Hagerstown, Md; Oak Ridge Center, an 18,000-square-foot development also in Hagerstown; and Langley Park Shopping Center, a retail/office development located in Langley Park, Md. Most of McGee’s portfolio is 100 percent leased, so new product is always being sought to keep her pipeline of retail tenants satisfied.