Taking decisive action when good deals are offered is our philosophy and operating strategy and has been from the beginning. Columbia Business Park is a good example. On one Friday in 1997, Diane Foreman’s banker told her than Columbia Business Park was going into foreclosure. She bought it on Tuesday of the following week. In the intervening days, we evaluated the property, analyzed the investment opportunity, and made an offer.

Columbia Business Park had two buildings with 47,000 square feet of office and retail space when we bought it. We totally rehabbed the front building, which is used for retail (Columbia Business Park – Building A) and the back office building (Columbia Business Park – Building B). In 2000, Michelle Foreman Barnet built the middle building (Columbia Place), which added 32,000 square feet of office space. The same tenant has occupied the building since it was constructed.

By 2006, the value of Columbia Business Park had increased four-fold.