Real Estate Weekly: Medifast opens two weight loss centers in Md.

Leases, news and notes from Maryland's commercial real estate industry

Posted: 10:11 am Fri, October 15, 2010
By Paul Samuel
Daily Record Associate Editor

Medifast Inc., an Owings Mills-based provider of dietary supplements and weight-control programs, announced the opening of two new Medifast Weight Control Centers in Maryland.

The Columbia center, located in the MedStar Health Building, 5565 Sterrett Place, has approximately 1,500 square feet and five private counseling rooms. The Rockville center, located in the Congressional Plaza, 152 Congressional Lane, is approximately 1,140 square feet and has three private counseling rooms and an assessment room.

The new facilities bring to six the number of weight control centers that Medifast operates in Maryland. The company owns 33 centers in Texas, Florida, Maryland and Washington, D.C., and has 20 franchised centers in Minnesota, Arizona, Alabama and California.

Smart Site projects announced
Gov. Martin O’Malley on Tuesday unveiled the locations of 16 “Smart Site” projects around Maryland.

Smart Sites are intended to promote sustainable growth and smart community revitalization. More than 2,000 permanent jobs are projected to be created through these developments. The sites include:

• A partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to prepare 11 acres for transit-oriented development at the Naylor Road Metro station in Prince George’s County.
• Two new green high schools constructed on the current site of the outdated Dundalk High School and Sollers Point Technical High School in Baltimore County.
• Infill development of nine units of work force housing in Westminster’s designated Maple Street community.

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development coordinates the Smart Sites capital projects. For a list of and details about all of the sites, go to www.green.maryland.gov/smartsites.html.

New supermarket in Glen Burnie
ShopRite held a grand opening Tuesday for its newest supermarket, an 85,000-square-foot store in Glen Burnie.

The store is located in a former Kmart in the Chesapeake Square Shopping Center, and is the first ShopRite store in Anne Arundel County. The store features a bakery, full-service butcher, fresh seafood, floral department, and natural and organic products. A full-service catering and prepared foods department is on-site, as is as a fresh-made sushi bar and Chinese buffet.

There’s also a Wi-Fi lounge attached to the café, where shoppers can take a break in overstuffed chairs and sofas in front of a cozy fireplace. The store has a designated “Meeting Place” room, which can be used for wedding and baby showers, birthday parties, corporate meetings and other types of gatherings, with available catering services.

The store’s energy-saving initiatives with HVAC, lighting and refrigeration systems qualified it for a $380,000 rebate for energy design from the BGE Smart Energy savers program. ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative based in Keasbey, N.J. that is the largest supermarket cooperative in the United States.

Architect named to judging panel
Rubeling & Associates, a Towson-based architecture and interior design firm, announced that Brian Minnich, a senior manager at the firm, was invited to be a one of six jurors for the “Learning by Design” competition, taking place in Alexandria, Va., on Oct. 21-22.

The competition will showcase the very best in the education design and construction market – from innovative pre-K to 12 schools to cutting-edge colleges and universities. Minnich was chosen through his relationship as a volunteer with the American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education subcommittee, focusing on pre-K through grade 12.

Learning by Design is a national publication that is published twice a year by Stratton Publishing & Marketing and the National School Boards Association. Next April, it will celebrate its 20th anniversary and publish a commemorative issue that will feature special editorial coverage of the most innovative concepts in education design during the past 20 years and forecast what’s ahead for the coming decade.

This Week in Leases:

• Cushman & Wakefield’s Baltimore office announced that PCA, a Consolidated Graphics company, signed a 10-year lease renewal for 75,749 square feet of office, warehouse and print production space at 15 W. Aylesbury Road in Timonium. PCA provides commercial printing services, specializing in large-scale projects produced on small- to medium-format presses. Tom Burns and Joe Casey, senior directors with Cushman & Wakefield, represented the tenant and completed the lease directly with the landlord, Diversified Investment Associates Inc.

• Merritt Properties LLC announced three lease deals this week. Afcan International Inc., an importer and exporter of clothing, leased 11,552 square feet of warehouse and office space at 4716-18 Benson Avenue in Halethorpe. Jamie Campbell, Ridgely Bowman, Vince Bagli and Steve Shaw of Merritt Properties negotiated the lease on behalf of Merritt. Dan Flamholz of Hearn Burkley represented Afcan. Contract Finishes, a commercial flooring distributor, leased 2,700 square feet of warehouse with office space at Golden Ring II, 6911 Golden Ring Road in Rosedale. Pat Franklin, Whit Levering and Lou Boeri of Merritt Properties represented the landlord. The Life Church of Towson Inc. leased 1,800 square feet of office/flex space at the Towson Business Center, 8741 Mylander Lane, in Towson. Negotiating the lease on behalf of Merritt were Pat Franklin, Whit Levering and  Lou Boeri.