The Meridian Group and Harrison Street Acquire 431,000-SF Office Portfolio in Chantilly's National Security Corridor

BETHESDA, MD — The Meridian Group and Harrison Street, in partnership with HLM Associates, announced Aug. 26 the acquisition of the Stoneleigh and Newbrook campuses, a five-building, 431,000-square-foot office portfolio in Chantilly, Virginia. Financial terms of the transaction were not publicly disclosed.

The portfolio is located in the Westfields submarket, which the joint venture described as one of Northern Virginia's most important national security and defense corridors. The acquisition advances what the partners characterized as a shared conviction in growing demand for modern, mission-critical facilities serving the U.S. defense and intelligence communities.

Portfolio Overview: Stoneleigh and Newbrook Campuses

The five-building portfolio spans two distinct campuses within Westfields Corporate Center. The Stoneleigh campus comprises two Class A office buildings along Westfields Boulevard: Stoneleigh I at 4800 Westfields Blvd, a 109,958-square-foot building constructed in 2006, and Stoneleigh II at 4840 Westfields Blvd, a five-story, 106,547-square-foot building. Together, the two Stoneleigh buildings account for approximately 216,500 square feet of the portfolio's total.

The Newbrook campus consists of three office buildings clustered along Newbrook Drive. Newbrook I, at 14101 Newbrook Drive, totals 69,679 square feet and was built in 1999. Newbrook II, at 14155 Newbrook Drive, is a four-story building totaling 82,859 square feet. The fifth building, Lakeside II at Westfields, located at 14120 Newbrook Drive, adds 92,024 square feet to the campus. The Newbrook campus buildings are situated a short distance from the Stoneleigh properties within the same Westfields Corporate Center complex.

The Westfields submarket has historically attracted a concentration of defense and intelligence-focused companies, and the joint venture said the portfolio is currently home to tenants in those sectors. The partners plan to invest additional capital to expand secure-facility capabilities, modernize existing infrastructure and create an environment tailored to the evolving needs of companies supporting national security missions.

Strategy: Mission-Critical and Secure Facilities

The acquisition reflects a targeted investment thesis centered on secure and mission-critical real estate — a niche that the partners argue carries distinct operational and accreditation requirements that differentiate it from conventional office product.

"Westfields is an ideal first investment for the platform we have been building," said Gary Block, chief investment officer at The Meridian Group. "We have developed significant expertise around secure facilities and the unique real estate requirements of the defense and intelligence communities. Our goal is to become a landlord of choice for both traditional government contractors and the growing universe of nontraditional defense and technology companies in the markets we serve."

Greg Borofsky, managing director at Harrison Street Asset Management, said the deal fits the firm's broader strategy of targeting specialized assets with durable, mission-driven demand. "National security real estate aligns closely with our strategy of investing in specialized assets where durable mission-driven demand and significant barriers-to-entry create compelling long-term fundamentals," Borofsky said. "We are pleased to partner with TMG and HLM to enhance this portfolio and position it to meet the evolving needs of defense and intelligence users."

Colin Madden, vice president of acquisitions at The Meridian Group, emphasized that secure facilities require expertise beyond standard office construction and operations. "Secure facilities are not simply traditional office space with additional construction," Madden said. "We have seen that they require specialized knowledge of accreditation, physical and technical security, construction, operations and the missions of the tenants occupying them. We believe combining that expertise with an institutional real estate platform creates a differentiated offering for the customers we serve."

Joint Venture Structure and Partner Roles

The transaction brings together three organizations with complementary capabilities. The Meridian Group, a vertically integrated real estate investment and development firm headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, serves as the deal's sponsor. Founded in 1993, the firm has experience across acquisitions, asset management, development, leasing, property management and capital markets, and has been building an investment strategy focused on secure and mission-critical real estate.

Harrison Street Asset Management, headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in Toronto and London, brings institutional capital to the venture. The firm manages approximately $109 billion in assets under management across real estate, infrastructure and credit strategies, and serves more than 1,100 institutional investors and more than 300 registered investment advisors across offices in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

HLM Associates rounds out the partnership with specialized expertise in the national security and secure-facilities ecosystem, including the development, accreditation and operation of facilities supporting classified government missions. The firm works with government agencies and contractors to navigate the requirements associated with secure environments.

Together, the three partners said their combined institutional real estate investment and operating expertise, paired with HLM's specialized knowledge of secure facilities and government contracting, underpins the platform's differentiated positioning in the defense and intelligence real estate market.

Market Context: Westfields and National Security Real Estate

The Westfields submarket in Chantilly sits within a broader Northern Virginia corridor that has long served as a hub for defense contractors, intelligence agencies and the technology companies that support them. While conventional office product across the region has faced occupancy pressure, secure and mission-critical facilities have seen comparatively stronger demand and constrained supply — dynamics the joint venture cited as central to its investment rationale.

The Stoneleigh and Newbrook campuses have historically attracted a mix of government contractor, technology and knowledge-industry tenants. The joint venture's planned capital investment is aimed at repositioning the portfolio to capture demand from both established defense contractors and a newer generation of nontraditional defense and technology companies operating in the national security space.

The partners described the Westfields acquisition as the first investment in a platform they intend to grow, signaling that additional transactions targeting secure and mission-critical office assets may follow.