A tightly secured building off U.S. 17 in Stafford County sold last month for $30.3 million to a McLean-based real estate investment firm.

The FBI uses the 165,000-square-foot building at the corner of Falls Run Drive and Nelms Circle for training. There is 24-hour video surveillance, several gated entrances and a tall black fence around the 11.8-acre property.

NGP V Management LLC bought the facility from three Fredericksburg-area investors for $30,268,337. That's double the assessed value, according to the deed filed last month in Stafford Circuit Court.

An LLC composed of real estate investors and brokers Neil Sullivan and Rich McDaniel and longtime area ophthalmologist Rob Caine purchased the then-vacant building in late 2006 for $5.1 million on a speculative basis.

Sullivan, who heads the local office of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, said the group at first intended to turn the building into a multi-tenant property. They later submitted the winning bid to a request for proposals from the U.S. General Services Administration, which handles federal leasing.

Fredericksburg-based Wack General Contractor was hired to build out the interior space for the tenant. Sullivan said he and his two partners had to put some money into the property to improve its condition, but declined to say how much.

Sullivan was managing partner of the LLC and also handled the sale to the NGP V Fund. He said Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has been hired to manage the property for NGP.

"NGP" stands for "national government properties," as the firm focuses on purchasing and managing commercial real estate leased by the federal government.

Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com