High Rise, Parking Lot Sell For $1.8M

An unidentified buyer bought a Towson high-rise and nearby parking lot for $1.8 million on Thursday, following a brief bidding war.

The high-rise, the former Suntrust Bank Building at 22 W. Pennsylvania Ave., and the parking lot at 27 W. Allegheny Ave., were sold in a partnership dissolution auction. The auction was held inside the vacant bank on the building's first floor.

A half-dozen bidders registered for the auction, according to Paul Cooper, a vice president for Alex Cooper Auctioneers. The building contains 35,500 square feet of leasable space, 29 percent of which is currently leased. The property, including the Allegheny lot, has roughly 97 parking spaces.

According to state records, the properties were bought in 2004 for $4.8 million by a limited liability company. The properties are now valued at $2.5 million.

Louis Denrich, managing partner of Hillendale Properties, owns a property on Taylor Avenue and said he was there "trying to see if I can get two buildings in Towson."

He surmised before the bidding that it would start going high. That never happened. Cooper took offers from several bidders, including Denrich, to get the property up to $1.7 million, which the owners rejected. Bidding then continued with increments as small as $5,000 and $10,000 at one point. The winning bidder declined to comment or identify himself.

Several other area developers came to watch the sale. Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce, imagined what could go there.

"I would like to see a brand new condominium building in downtown Towson, because the two new residential buildings have brought so much life to our streets on weekends," she said, adding with a laugh, "Not that my wishes mean anything."