Foulger Pratt is selling three buildings in downtown Silver Spring that serve as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization’s headquarters, Principal Bryant Foulger confirmed Friday.
The firm has owned the 1.1 million-square-foot space for 20 years, and the sale will free up funds for future expansion, Foulger said.
In the three weeks since the buildings were put on the market, the firm has gotten “a lot of interest,” he said. He declined to specify the expected pricetag but said he expects a big number, especially since the complex is inside the Beltway, is next to a Metro stop and has a long-term federal lease.
NOAA, which has been in the space for more than 20 years, signed a new 15-year lease in December. The sale will not affect NOAA’s lease, according to William Marshall, a spokesman for the General Services Administration, which manages real estate for federal agencies.
Foulger Pratt will likely continue to manage the complex, and is making $40 million worth of planned improvements to the buildings, which were agreed upon in the lease, Foulger said.
As part of the agreement, the firm is also expected to receive as much as $12 million in a Montgomery County subsidy, as long as Foulger Pratt completes the upgrades and NOAA remains in the county, according to Peter Bang, chief operating officer for the county’s Department of Economic Development.
Located at 1305, 1315 and 1325 East West Highway, the buildings are just a stone’s throw from the under-construction Silver Spring Transit Center, where Foulger Pratt, the general contractor, has been criticized for allegedly subpar concrete.
