CoreCivic buys government-leased Baltimore office for $242m

CoreCivic has acquired a 540,566-square-foot Social Security Administration (SSA) office building in Baltimore (SSA-Baltimore) for $242 million.

Located at 6100 Wabash Avenue, SSA-Baltimore was purpose built to SSA specifications in 2014 under a 20-year firm term lease expiring in January 2034, which is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government through the General Services Administration (GSA). SSA-Baltimore serves approximately 2,000 SSA employees, is located less than five miles from SSA’s federally owned headquarters in Woodlawn, and is the newest of several other properties occupied by the SSA in Baltimore.

The SSA-Baltimore property, which was constructed to attain both LEED Silver and Energy Star certifications and has a Level IV U.S. federal building security classification, consists of a main office building made up of two arcing segments with a central arcing atrium. The taller of the two segments is seven levels and the shorter is five levels. The site also contains a seven-level precast concrete parking structure, administrative court space and a single-level, stand-alone SSA field office facility. On-site amenities include a fitness center, a cafeteria and a convenience store.

The acquisition expands CoreCivic Properties’ portfolio by approximately 36 percent on a rentable-square-foot basis. Including the acquisition, the company owns 26 properties representing nearly 2.1 million square feet of real estate within its CoreCivic Properties portfolio, all used by government agencies. This portfolio complements the company’s portfolio of 44 correctional and detention facilities within its CoreCivic Safety segment and 26 residential re-entry centers within its CoreCivic Community segment, with an aggregate design capacity of approximately 69,000 beds and 13.6 million square feet of real estate. The company also manages seven correctional facilities it does not own, with a design capacity of approximately 9,000 beds and 1.7 million square feet of real estate.

JLL represented the seller.