An Honor to Serve

Premier is honored to have been selected as the facilities manager for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.  The glass roofed 33,000 square foot memorial is constructed behind the historic façade at the entrance to Arlington Cemetery.  This beautiful memorial houses display galleries, offices, a theater, and often hosts military events.  Part of Premier’s duties will be the oversight of a substantial historic restoration effort in the coming year. We could not be prouder to be affiliated with an organization that pays tribute to the service and sacrifices made by women in the military throughout our history.

Premier Selected for Facilities Management

Premier is pleased to announce that it has been selected to manage two prestigious properties for the First Church of Christ Scientist.  Their new reading room, event spaces and offices at 910 16th Street recently opened to architectural acclaim.  The beautiful sculptural glass facade is complimented inside by high ceilings with tonal wood and glass.  The second property at 1782 Columbia Road also provides a reading room, office space, and several retail and office tenant suites.  Premier will provide facilities management, leasing, and property management services.

Premier Purchases 142,000 sf Richmond Office Propery

On July 13, 2016 Premier acquired the 142,000 sf office complex at 2810 N. Parham Road in Richmond, Virginia.  This property is as notable for its excellent West End location as it is for its tenant roster, which includes GSA, Xerox, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, United Lex, and Make a Wish, among others.  Premier will re-brand the property as Premier Tech Center and will be investing over $1,000,000 in improvements.  With this acquisition, Premier’s Richmond area presence grows to almost 500,000 sf.

Premier acquired Premier Tech Center from Grander Capital.  The acquisition loan was provided by Farm Bureau Life with mortgage brokerage services provided by Keith Wells at Northmarq.  Primary equity investors include Jonathan Cutler and 888 Realty Investors.  The Seller was represented by Will Bradley of CBRE.  Premier Management Services will provide property management and CBRE will provide the leasing.  The property was 86% occupied at the time of the acquisition.

Premier Medical Center Sold

Premier is pleased to announce that on May 12, 2016, the Premier Medical Center in College Park, MD was sold to a Washington real estate investor, and the transaction was very profitable for both Premier and its investors.

Premier purchased the under-performing Science Park Medical Center in 2012 from a life company lender.  Debt financing was provided by the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA), and 888 Realty Investors became a lead investor.

At the time of acquisition, the 45,000 center was almost 30% vacant and more tenants were threatening to leave.  Premier jumped in and rebranded the property, upgraded the Center cosmetically and functionally, solved some tricky ADA related problems, and brought in its own brand of high level touch to operations and tenant relations.

Results were quick to evolve.  Major tenants signed longer term renewals, several upgraded and expanded, and new tenants filled in the new renovated vacancies.  By 2015, Premier Medical Center had a new reputation and occupancy approaching 95%.  The Center was put on the market for sale with Jim Kornick of  Avison Young in late 2015 and the sale closed in May 2016.

Premier to Manage Gaithersburg Center

Premier Management is pleased to announce that it has been selected to manage the Talbot Shopping Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  This neighborhood center is shadow anchored by Food Lion and was 100% occupied at the time of acquisition.  Premier assisted its client JG Realty with all aspects of the acquisition and will now begin implementation of a modest capital improvement program.  Financing was provided by Sandy Spring Bank.

Premier Sells Richmond Apartments

In early 2014 Premier put 216 apartments under contract in Richmond, Virginia.  The property, then known as Chamberlayne Gardens, was purchased from FNMA through a servicer and financed by BB&T with assistance from Northmarq.   At the time of acquisition the project suffered from high vacancy and significant deferred maintenance.  Some of the improvements immediately undertaken included bringing wiring to code, installing laundry rooms, adding 43 video cameras for security, replacing over 1,000 windows, and establishing best practices in the management office.  The property was also renamed to Premier Gardens and a new marketing program was instituted.  Occupancy quickly began to climb, increasing over 15% in the first 16 months.   Then, in January of 2016 we received an unsolicited offer from a New York investor that we could not refuse!  Needless to say both Premier and our investors were very pleased to be able to sell this project at a substantial profit less than 2 years after first putting it under contract.

Premier Sells 74,000 sf Florida Mixed Use Center

Premier wishes to announce that it has successfully sold it’s Fort Lauderdale area mixed use retail and industrial center.  The four (4) building complex had a variety of tenants including a charter school, a gas station, an auto repair center, a restaurant, and a church.  The center, which Premier rebranded as Palm Plaza, was purchased in 2007 from General Electric and was financed by National Life of the Southwest.  The sale was handled by Douglas Mandel of Marcus and Millichap and the buyer was a German investment firm.  The center was 95% leased at the time of sale.

Cascade Partners Chooses Premier for Management

When Cascade Realty Partners purchased 3401 Columbia Pike in Arlington last September, they came to Premier for management.  According to Cascade, they chose Premier because of our deep experience in asset management and value engineering, especially in dealing with older properties.  With Bank of America as the primary tenant, they knew that tenant expectations and demands would be very high with regard to both financial accountability and maintenance of the property.  In a few short months Premier has already discovered and collected significant monies due to the Landlord, as well as begun work on several deferred maintenance issues.  In the long run, this building represents a redevelopment opportunity for the Cascade team, but for the next few years it is all about the management!

Premier VP Gets Prestigious Award

Premier Management vice president Adam Santos was recently named Certified Property Manager of the Year by The Institute of Real Estate Management Chapter 92.  Mr. Santos’ leadership and exceptional property management skills have of course been known to our clients for years!  It is with pride that we announce that he has now been recognized by the professional management community with this prestigious award.

Premier Receives Prestigious AMO® Designation

Premier Management Services LC is extremely proud to have been awarded the Accredited Management Organization (AMO®) designation by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®). The AMO® accreditation indicates that the Company has demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism, financial performance and ethics.

About the AMO® designation

• Only 535 firms have achieved this designation internationally

• Accredited firms must pass a financial review, demonstrate integrity and stability, and demonstrate that they engage in best management practices

• Accredited firms must have Certified Property Managers in key positions

• 80 percent of accredited firms have been established for over 15 years

Premier to Manage Frederick Maryland Shopping Center

When a renowned Washington doctor invests in real estate, you know that he is going to have exacting standards when it comes to property management!  That’s why Premier is particularly honored to have been selected to manage the McCain Shopping Center in Frederick, Maryland.  Premier had to mobilize for this assignment in less than a week because closing was only days away.  We quickly discovered that there were maintenance issues, leases that were poorly documented, and no marketing program.  We are now well on our way to building value in this property through more rigorous lease documentation and collections, new vendor contracts that will save many thousands of dollars annually for our client, a targeted budget conscious repair program, and cost effective marketing strategies.  Tenants include PNC bank, an ethnic grocery store, several financial service companies, a restaurant, Boost Mobile, and Nationwide Insurance, among others.

Premier Selected to Manage 3 Building Portfolio

Premier Management has been selected to provide a full range of property management services for BNi Properties.  Assets to be managed include 2 downtown office buildings and a shopping center in Montgomery County. Together the properties total roughly 65,000 square feet and include tenants such as BB&T Bank, Universal Healthcare, University Legal Services, Clark Construction, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Adam Santos is New IREM Chapter President

Premier Management Services’ Vice President Adam Santos was recently sworn in as President of Chapter 92 of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM). IREM is an international community of real estate managers dedicated to ethical business practices and maximizing the value of investment real estate.

Mr. Santos is a Certified Property Manager (CPM®) with extensive experience in commercial asset management. Since joining Premier 8 years ago, he has been instrumental in growing Premier’s management and investment portfolio. Mr. Santos is also active in and/or serves on the board of several community associations.

Richmond Apartments Acquired, 216 Units

Today Premier is proud to announce the purchase of Chamberlayne Gardens, a 216 unit apartment complex in Richmond, Virginia.  The property is located just off of I-95 in North Richmond, and is also close to several other Premier owned and managed properties.

Premier acquired Chamberlayne Gardens from Fannie Mae, who had foreclosed on the property a year earlier.  The acquisition loan was provided by BB&T, with Northmarq providing assistance in the financing process.  Premier was represented in the transaction by Larry FitzGerald of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, and the Seller was represented by Chris Rice of NAI Eagle.  The property was just over 70% occupied at the time of the acquisition.  Premier plans to re-brand the property and make substantial capital and operational improvements.

Yuma Study Center Chooses Premier Management

Premier Management is pleased to announce that it has been selected to provide Facility Management Services to the Yuma Study Center (YSC), a 45,000 square foot historic property comprised of both apartment residences and offices located at Tenley Circle in Washington, DC.

In 2006, YSC purchased the property then known as the Convent de Bon Secours, a building which was designed in the Italianate style and built for the Sisters of Bon Secours in 1927.  YSC subsequently spent over $7 million to renovate the historic property to LEED Gold standards, building an addition, 12 residences, and world class offices in the process.

Premier will act as the owner’s representative on some remaining construction issues, and then will continue to handle all facility related maintenance and management issues for YSC on a going forward basis.

The Premier Companies Assumes Management of 467,000 SF Real Estate Portfolio

JG Realty has hired The Premier Companies (Premier) to provide property management and leasing services to the firm’s real estate portfolio, covering ten buildings in the Washington, DC area.

The management contract includes a total of 467,000 square feet, and represents a combination of retail, office and warehouse properties spanning locations from Olney, MD to Fredericksburg, VA.

Premier has been providing property and asset management services in metropolitan Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Florida for over 20 years. JG Realty is a third generation real estate investment company headquartered in Washington, DC.

JG Realty partner, Ian Golub, selected Premier because, “We sought a boutique management firm where we could talk directly with the principals and know that they are involved in the day-to-day management of the properties. In addition, after speaking with the president of Premier, Jonathan Cutler, I found that we have similar business and investment strategies.  I like the fact that Premier also owns a significant portfolio of similar buildings, so I know that they will truly understand our ownership concerns.”

Both JG Realty and Premier note that the challenge of managing this portfolio will be its diversity, since the properties vary dramatically in size, type, location, and tenant profile.

“Each of these properties will require a hands-on, individualized approach to optimize the return to JG Realty,” said Cutler. “But that sort of hands on, strategic thinking and execution is what Premier is known for in the industry.”

James Kernan, CPM, Joins the Premier Team

James M. Kernan is a Certified Property Manager (CPM®) and a licensed real estate broker in the District, Maryland and Virginia. Jim brings over 35 years of experience in property management, leasing and real estate brokerage to Premier.  Previously, Jim has held senior executive positions with Donohoe Real Estate Services, Randall Hagner,  Aldon Management, and his own real estate services company.  He is a past president of the Greater Washington Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), Chapter 8, and is a Life Member of the Greater Washington Commercial Association of Realtors Million Dollar Sales and Leasing Club.  At Premier, Jim will be Vice President of Leasing and Business Development and can be reached at 888-597-8700 x55.

College Park Medical Center Purchased

Premier recently announced the purchase of a 45,000 sf medical center just down the street from the University of Maryland in College Park. The transaction closed in November 2012. Debt financing was provided by the Army Air Force Mutual Aid Association, and represents the 7th property acquisition AAFMAA has financed for Premier and its partners. Significant equity was provided by 888 Realty Investors. Jim Kornick of Avison Young represented the seller, which was National Life. The property was 74% leased at the time of acquisition. Premier plans to re-brand the property, make numerous improvements, and increase the occupancy.

Update:  Within the first 6 months of ownership Premier has accomplished new leasing and several renewals, given the property a new look, a new name, new signage, a state of the art video system, implemented significant advertising, and prepared several suites for immediate leasing.

Fairfax Office Tower, Management Becomes Ownership

In late 2011, Premier took over management of Mosby Tower, a 113,000 sf office building across from the courthouse in Fairfax City, Virginia.  At that time, occupancy was stuck at 61%, most tenants were on one year leases, and cash flow was correspondingly challenged. Fast forward 15 months and occupancy has climbed to 81%, and with Premier’s assistance and involvement, ownership was able to negotiate a favorable buyout of the loan, place new debt on competitive terms, and recapitalize the equity stack. Closing on the refinancing occurred in October 2012, and as part of this recapitalization, Premier is proud to announce that it has become the managing partner. Special thanks are due to Robert P. Freeman, CEO of Greyfields, for giving Premier this opportunity to demonstrate our skills, and to Prime Finance for providing the new debt financing.

Rockmanor Office Park Management

In early 2012, GE Capital had a problem with a small office building in Rockville, Maryland. A loan that they had made to a local owner/user had gone bad, and now they were expecting to acquire the asset through foreclosure. Having done several transactions with Premier in the past, they called for help. Could we take over management of this property, with little or no historical data, missing copies of leases, and an uncooperative former owner . . . . and do it literally tomorrow? So the next night our crew worked until after midnight changing locks and getting ready to contact tenants with keys and explanations the next day. GE never wanted to own this property, so they promptly charged Premier with getting it ready for sale. Premier recommended to GE that they hire the regional brokerage Divaris, then went to work re-documenting leases, handling deferred maintenance, and getting the property prepared for sale.

Update:  Within 5 months the property sold to a local investor.  Premier assisted with the transaction and was subsequently hired by the new ownership to manage the property.  With Premier’s help, the new ownership has already embarked on a successful leasing program, retained all of the prior tenants, and stabilized the property.