A partnership of Manekin Corp. and members of H&S; Bakery Inc. President John Paterakis' family expects today to purchase a nine-building office and retail complex in Columbia for $6.1 million.
The sale of the 20-acre Columbia Business Center, which in July 1992 was acquired by lender Aetna Life Insurance Co. in a foreclosure auction, is the latest evidence that the troubled Howard County office market has begun to rebound.
"One of the big positives here is that the Columbia market is firming up," said Richard M. Alter, Manekin's chief executive. "This represents an opportunity to add to our existing portfolio at a favorable basis."
Mr. Alter said the purchase, Manekin's first of an existing property in 25 years, should close this morning after attorneys and representatives from both sides resolve minor details. The sale had originally been scheduled for completion yesterday.
In the past year, the 5.25-million-square-foot Columbia office market's vacancy rate has dropped a full 4 percentage points, to 14.1 percent at year-end, according to statistics compiled by real estate services firm Colliers Pinkard.
At the same time, lenders that had assumed more than 1.8 million square feet of commercial property valued at $150 million through foreclosures have shed roughly half of those assets, albeit at drastically lower prices.
Aetna, for example, took control of the 157,725-square-foot complex for $9.8 million at auction. A California real estate investment trust had owned the property, after buying out McGill Development Corp. More than $14.3 million in debt had been amassed prior to the foreclosure.
Aetna is represented in the sale by Colliers Pinkard executives Dennis P. Malone and Philip C. Iglehart, as well as Washington-based Cassidy & Pinkard.
Aetna officials did not return telephone calls for comment.
"It was Aetna's objective to resolve this situation in 1994, and we're glad that we could assist in the process," Mr. Malone said.
Insurers such as Aetna are rated annually on their success o failure in disposing of targeted assets, such as real estate. Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna holds roughly $20 billion in real estate projects and loans.
The Columbia Business Center, at 6410-6490 Dobbin Road, is about 80 percent occupied by tenants that include Martek Corp., the state Department of Motor Vehicles, Johnson Wax Co. and State Farm Insurance.
"This represents the kind of project we've traditionally built in Columbia," Mr. Alter said. "It's got dif- ferent elements that we're familiar with."
Before the purchase, Manekin had developed roughly 60 buildings in Columbia totaling 2.5 million square feet, about half of its $400 million portfolio.
The 10-year-old project also is the latest real estate acquisition of John Paterakis and his family. In the past year, Mr. Paterakis acquired the 18-story Munsey Building at 7 N. Calvert St. downtown for $450,000 and the Baltimore Travel Plaza for $4 million.
"Baking keeps us busy, but you also have to look to the future and make investments that count," Mr. Paterakis said.