The office market has had its share of challenges in recent years. Many tenants have moved to downsize or exit buildings altogether, particularly after remote working arrangements took hold during the pandemic.
So it is not hard to imagine what the folks at COPT Defense Properties were thinking when they acquired 6841 Benjamin Franklin Drive in Columbia, Maryland, in 2024 and faced the prospect of a major tenant with just two years remaining on its 10-year lease.
But instead of becoming another office market casualty, COPT successfully signed defense industry giant Leidos to an extension through 2033 for 84,052 square feet in the building. The deal represented over 40% of the leaseable area and was the second-largest such transaction in the Baltimore metropolitan area, a feat garnering the early renewal a CoStar Impact Award as judged by a panel of independent real estate professionals in the area.
"The name of the game is retaining current tenancy in office leasing," wrote Terri Harrington, managing principal of Harrington Commercial Real Estate Services and one of the CoStar Impact Award judges.
It's an important message. Leidos is a top 10 U.S. defense contractor and a Fortune 500 company, just the kind of tenant that can serve as an anchor to draw other firms.
About the project: The Leidos building, dubbed Franklin, is in an office park known as Columbia Gateway, one of Maryland's largest hubs for defense and information technology contractors. The complex is near Fort George G. Meade, home to the National Security Agency, U.S. Cyber Command and other agencies.
What the judges said: "This renewal with a top U.S. defense contractor at a market-leading rate will help reinforce how strong the IT/Defense sector remains within this Columbia submarket," said Lacey Johansson, vice president of leasing at St. John Properties.
They made it happen: Asset management and strategy vice presidents Krysta Herring and John Hermann oversaw the effort on behalf of COPT Defense Properties. Newmark Executive Managing Director Daniel Callihan and Managing Director James Cumber represented the landlord. JLL Managing Directors Doug Seale and Peter Briskman represented Leidos.