$47,000,000 Drug Enforcement Administration Facility to be Developed

DEA South Fl. LLC has closed on its land purchase and construction financing for its GSA Build to Suit of a Regional Testing Laboratory for the Drug Enforcement Administration. DEA South Fl. LLC, a joint venture of Galaxy Investments and Halle Enterprises, retained Herndon, Virginia based Cambridge Development Group to perform all the development services for the project.  Cambridge previously built the Special Testing Laboratory for the DEA near Dulles Airport in 2001. Cambridge has a well established track record in doing GSA build to suits having completed six special purpose facilities in the last eight years.

After 17 months of competitive negotiation, design and permitting, Cambridge plans to commence construction in February 2010. The building will be a state?of?the?art analytical testing laboratory situated in Miami, Florida. The GSA has signed a 20?year lease for the facility. The laboratory will be constructed on approximately nine (9) acres of land within the Beacon Lakes Business Park. The Regional Testing Laboratory is one of nine regional laboratories that the DEA has around the country.

According to Andrew J. Czekaj, Manager of DEA South Fl. LLC, “the project meets all of our investment criteria in that it offers high grade credit (ie The GSA lease), combined with a long term lease and extremely attractive unleveraged yield. We are focused on yields that exceed current market irrational exuberance as reflected in deals being transacted in the mid single digit yield range. Our focus is on deals that provide attractive cash on cash unleveraged yields and that do not depend on future rental rate “run up” to justify residual value.”

The building itself is the result of an eleven-year design process between the DEA and the Army Corps of Engineers. Due to the sophistication of the facility, the construction process will take approximately fifteen months. The overall cost to develop the building is approximately $47,000,000. Cambridge has assembled a world class team to assist in the development of the project inclusive of Gaudreau Associates Architects, BE&K Building Group (A KBR, Inc. Company), Craven Thompson and ECS Limited. Construction financing is being provided by M&T Bank and was
arranged by Cambridge through Gary McGlynn of Northmarq Capital.

T. Michael Scott, Vice Chairman and President of Cambridge, states, “This project is at the confluence of our development expertise and investment focus. Taking ownership of the land and closing the construction financing is the culmination of two years work with the GSA and DEA to deliver another high?demand facility. The
U.S. is not in need of yet another office building, so our development focus continues to be more complex facilities serving a specific and perpetual need. DEA Miami will truly be a sophisticated “CSI” facility supporting our enforcement against the illegal drug trade.”

Cambridge has been retained to handle the long?term asset management of the project. Randy S. Jaegle, Chief Operating Officer of Cambridge, added, “We are very pleased to have been entrusted with not only the development but also the long term management of this facility and look forward to furthering our long standing relationship with the GSA as well as the DEA.”

Cambridge provides real estate services to institutions, investment partnerships and individual owners to comprehensively address the challenges of today’s real estate market. Since 1983, Cambridge has successfully developed over 6.2 million square feet from New Jersey to Florida. In addition Cambridge has structured the acquisition and/or disposition of in excess of 15.6 million square feet of commercial real estate as well as 390 acres of land with a total value exceeding $5.2 billion. The firm also provides property management, leasing and construction management services to approximately 2.5 million square feet of office, R&D and industrial space.