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A vacant federal office building in downtown Bethesda will be put on the Internet auction block April 30 with a bonus allowing the new owner to redevelop the site at three times the surrounding density authorized by Montgomery County zoning, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, which is marketing the property for the General Services Administration.

The 10-story property at 7550 Wisconsin Ave. offers potential buyers a prime site one block north of the Metro station. The suggested opening bid is $14 million.

"This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to acquire a unique asset in the heart of one of Washington's most preferred communities that is home to a highly skilled work force and close to highway and public transit infrastructure," said Marc Waddill of Jones Lang LaSalle in a press release.

He added that he foresees no difficulty in selling the circa-1964 building, which has sat empty since the National Institutes of Health left in 2002. Despite a recent jump in Bethesda vacancies due to an exodus of high-profile tenants, Waddill said the GSA property offers not only a great location but a density bonus for the new owner in the allowable ratio of the total floor area of the building to the total area of the site.

"It has a 9.17 [floor area ratio] that is grandfathered in while county zoning for the area is an allowable 3.0 [floor area ratio]," he said.

The 127,110-square-foot building, at the corner of Commerce Lane, is on 0.318 acres and has two levels of underground parking with space for 55 vehicles. Permitted uses in the flexible zoning district include commercial, residential, retail and hospitality uses, as well as transit-oriented development.

Online bidding is to begin April 30 and end July 2. An industry forum on this opportunity will be held April 28 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bethesda.

More information is available at www.7550wisconsin.com.

"An online auction offers a transparent and efficient online marketplace for sellers and buyers to meet and transact and is an ideal mechanism to dispose of and monetize vacant and/or underutilized properties such as 7550 Wisconsin Avenue," said George Crawford of the GSA.

FDA signs full lease for JBG makeover at Twinbrook

The JBG Cos. of Chevy Chase announced it has signed the Food and Drug Administration to occupy all of a newly completed Rockville Class A office building, which the company transformed from drab 1960s-era office and warehouse space.

Element 12420 is a 93,000-square-foot property on Parklawn Drive one-quarter of a mile south of the Twinbrook Metro station. Completed in January, it won gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

"JBG performed a major makeover of this property, delivering a building that maintains the industrial design characteristics of the Twinbrook area in a sustainable loft-style building," said Greg Trimmer, senior vice president, in a statement. "Adaptively reusing the existing building afforded us the opportunity to drastically reduce costs by reusing the structure and diverting debris from a landfill."

FDA staff will move into the rejuvenated building by the end of 2010 or early 2011.

The property was gutted and a new brick-and-glass envelope was wrapped around the original steel support structure. Element 12420 is part of JBG's ongoing redevelopment around the Metro station, where the developer has eight projects under way. The building is part of the massive Twinbrook Station mixed-use complex, where the first apartments have opened and retail will follow in June.

Maryland attorney general renews Baltimore lease

The Maryland Attorney General's Office signed a 109,635-square-foot office renewal at St. Paul Plaza in Baltimore, according to Cushman & Wakefield, which handled the deal for the landlord.

The agency will continue to occupy its space on floors 16 through 20, as well as part of the 25th floor of the center city complex. That means the plaza will remain fully leased, thanks to the Maryland Insurance Administration, which signed to take 69,151 square feet in 2008 in another Cushman deal.

The 28-story, 280,000-square-foot, Class A office building at 200 St. Paul Place was completed in 1986. Other tenants include the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Chubb Group of Insurance Cos.

"The renewal by the Attorney General is further evidence of the continued commitment of large office space users to remain in Baltimore's City Center," said Courtenay Jenkins, senior director with Cushman & Wakefield, in a statement.

Jenkins expects this trend to continue in the City Center due to the availability of large blocks of space at relatively attractive prices and the efforts of organizations such as The Downtown Partnership, which is focused on retaining and attracting businesses.

Ryland Homes buys into Crown Farm project

A new builder has bought into the Crown Farm project in Gaithersburg and developers are saying home construction will begin in late 2011.

Fraser Forbes Real Estate Services announced Monday that Ryland Homes has bought into the joint venture which is developing the property for $5.7 million. Ryland will help KB Home Maryland and Pulte Homes of Maryland bring 2,250 planned residences and 320,000 square feet of retail to the hilly farmland near Washingtonian Center.

"It's good news. We're moving forward on the Crown Farm project," said Greg Ossont, the city's planning and code administration director. "They've bought in with the option to purchase finished lots."

Sunbrook Partners, a subsidiary of Westbrook Partners, bought the 180-acre Crown Farm near interstates 270 and 370 off Fields Road in December. The joint venture deal helped to settle bankruptcy protection filings by original buyers KB Home and Centex Homes and lawsuits filed in three states by original developers Lebling Development and Jerunazargabr of Potomac.

Ryland's investment could eventually total $60 million, according to a statement from Fraser Forbes Real Estate Services.

Johns Hopkins buys former Zurich property for $15M

Johns Hopkins University has completed the $15 million acquisition of the former Zurich Insurance Co. property in North Baltimore, and will use it primarily to consolidate financial operations and information technology currently located at a number of locations.

The Zurich property, which is to undergo renovations before it is occupied later this year, has about 415,000 square feet of usable space in two buildings. Located at 40th and Keswick Road, less than a half-mile from the university's Homewood campus, the property includes 1,500 parking spaces, a cafeteria, auditorium, classrooms and meeting space.

Staff Writer Patricia Murret contributed to this report.

Commercial real estate news items may be mailed to: Steve Monroe, The Business Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877; e-mailed to smonroe@gazette.net; or faxed to 301-670-7183.