January 14, 2015 | by Krista Brick

Gaithersburg’s Downtown Crown Sells for $162.8 Million

As bulldozers and contractors continue to build out the Crown community in Gaithersburg, an Illinois real estate investment trust bought Downtown Crown at a $162.8 million price tag.

Downtown Crown
Photo | RPAI

Retail Properties of America, Inc. is the new owner of the retail portion of Downtown Crown, in Gaithersburg, the commercial core of the city’s newest planned community, buying it from The JBG Companies and JBGR Retail. The Downtown area totals 258,000 square feet of retail space, including a neighborhood center component anchored by Harris Teeter and a lifestyle center component anchored by a variety of national and regional restaurant concepts such as Coastal Flats, Ted’s Montana Grill, Old Town Pour House and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, according to a press release from RPAI. The property opened in phases beginning in the fourth quarter of 2013 and is currently 62.7 percent occupied and 77.5 percent leased.

Downtown Crown represents the commercial core of the 180-acre Crown community, which is expected to include more than 2,200 residential units upon completion, according to the release.

RPAI described the property as being located within a “super-zip, one of the most affluent and well-educated zip codes in the country” and boasts average household income of $129,000 and population of 137,000 within a three-mile radius.

You can find more information on the sale in the Washington Business Journal.