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An investment team including former basketball star Magic Johnson announced a $17.5 million assist to build a 1.6 million-square-foot planned community across from the Dorsey MARC station planned by Lutherville's Preston Capital Management.

The capital investment by Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds of Los Angeles follows the Howard County Zoning Board's approval of the project last month, creating a transit-oriented development site in Hanover that previously had been zoned for industrial use.

Under Preston's agreement with county planners, the developer would build at least 653,300 square feet of commercial space and no more than 954 apartments. Preston originally proposed 1,400 residential units and 1 million square feet of office and retail space.

The Oxford Square development would be 800 feet from the MARC station across Route 100 on a 122-acre lot where Coca-Cola had planned to build a bottling plant. The project is billed as the single largest undeveloped property zoned for transit-oriented development in the region and is intended to serve the explosion of demand for commercial and residential space driven by thousands of jobs coming to the area under the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure program.

"We are thrilled to have successfully secured new zoning for Oxford Square, which will not only enhance the value of the property, but also enable our team to fill a growing demand for high-quality affordable housing in Howard County," said David Scheffenacker, president of Preston Partners, in a statement.

"With a rapidly growing population, direct public transit access to both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and proximity to major federal government expansion sites, the property is in a prime location for community serving development," Scheffenacker said.

Preston Partners has mapped out a three-stage development plan, beginning with at least 95,400 square feet of commercial space and 477 dwelling units. Plans also call for a 20-acre school site estimated to serve nearly 700 students, plus about 2,250 parking spaces for residents and guests.

"With such a substantial need for transit-oriented housing in Hanover, our investment in Oxford Square fits squarely with [Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds'] priority to foster development in underserved communities," said K. Robert Turner, managing partner with Canyon-Johnson. "We are also excited to partner with such an experienced local operator. Preston Partners has a long track record of developing successful projects in the region and brings with it a strong team of development, leasing and finance experts with local roots."

The property is 5 miles from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and 6 miles north of Fort Meade, which is planned to grow to be the largest employer in Maryland. Expansion of the base is expected to generate demand for an estimated 9,793 new housing units and as much as 4.5 million square feet of office space by 2015.

Silver Spring condo project sold to apartment developer

After sitting vacant for more than a year, the luxury Argent condominium in Silver Spring will open next month as an affordable apartment building.

Blair Mill Affordable Associates, an affiliate of Pallas Properties and Paradigm Financial Consulting of Park City, Utah, purchased the 96-unit property from 1200 BMR Associates for $24.8 million, according to CB Richard Ellis, which brokered the deal.

Construction on the mid-rise apartment complex at 1200 Blair Mill Road began in 2007, when the condo boom had already begun to fizzle. The project was completed last year and not a single unit was sold. A partnership between the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and a private equity consortium led by Starwood Capital Group took over the loan issued by failed Corus Bank of Chicago, which itself was taken over by the FDIC in September.

Now the building will offer affordable rental units due to Montgomery County bonds and tax credits issued to the new owners.

The nine-story Argent will be the first luxury condo building transformed into 100 percent affordable housing in the county, said Richard Y. Nelson Jr., director of the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Development, in a statement.

"It's good news that someone came in to make it occupied," Nelson said. "It's a great location and the opportunity to have 96 moderate-income families have a place to live is good and consistent with the goals we have for affordable housing."

The property was purchased utilizing tax-exempt municipal bonds and equity provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch through the purchase of Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. The property will now be designated as an affordable housing property with 90 percent of the units set aside for qualifying families whose income does not exceed 60 percent of the area median income and 10 percent of the units reserved families whose income does not exceed 50 percent of the median income.

"We are delighted that Pallas Properties was able to structure the acquisition of this high-quality asset, in a fabulous upscale location, in a manner such that the rental rates offered to qualifying families will be truly affordable to low and moderate income families," said Stan Herskovitz, principal of Paradigm Financial Consulting.

The units include gourmet island kitchens with granite countertops, stainless steel finishes and ceramic tile floors, hardwood floors throughout, a rooftop terrace and underground parking. The property is within walking distance of the Silver Spring Metro station.

"Bank of America is honored to provide Pallas Properties and the Argent more than $12 million in equity financing," said Christopher Long, senior vice president at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Camp Springs MetroPlace complex put on market

Jones Lang LaSalle's Mid-Atlantic Multifamily Group has listed the MetroPlace at Town Center apartment complex in Camp Springs for sale.

The company said it was hired to market the 397-unit garden apartment property along with two other rental communities in Apex, N.C., and New Haven, Conn., with an estimated total value of $170 million.

MetroPlace, completed in 2007, is across the street from Metro's Green Line Branch Avenue station. The complex is five minutes by car from both Joint Base Andrews and National Harbor in Oxon Hill. The luxury building is about 95 percent occupied.

Staff Writer Alison Bryant contributed to this report

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