D
eep Run III, a six‑story, 355,000‑sq‑ft tower on Mayland Drive in Henrico, was built in the late 1990s as part of Circuit City’s headquarters. After the retailer’s 2008 collapse, the building sat vacant until 2011, when Markel | Eagle Partners bought it for $12 million, invested $16 million in upgrades, added a parking deck, and secured tenants such as Travelers Insurance, United Bank and McKesson. In 2019 the property was sold to RMR Group for $56 million. When RMR’s loan matured and the asset’s value fell below the debt, Principal, the noteholder, foreclosed and auctioned the building in July. Gagan Marwaha of Marwaha Investments purchased the foreclosed property for $31 million on September 22, rebranding it as Marwaha Business Plaza.
Marwaha, who began by acquiring apartment complexes in Petersburg, has been rapidly expanding into office real estate, completing five deals worth $53 million in less than two years. At the time of purchase, Deep Run III was 84 % occupied, with 60,000 sq ft of vacant space. The anchor tenant, McKesson, occupies 119,000 sq ft and its lease expires in two years; United Bank and Old Dominion Mechanical’s leases end in 2027. Other occupants include TForce Freight, the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, OneDigital and YHB.
The new owner plans cosmetic upgrades and a remodel of the 7,000‑sq‑ft cafeteria. Within 48 hours of closing, Marwaha’s broker at Colliers received two requests for proposals from prospective tenants, indicating early market interest. “The market has responded,” Marwaha said. He estimates the building’s fully stabilized value at roughly $60 million, far above its recent $38 million assessment, citing significant value‑add potential.
Marwaha did not disclose the financing structure of the transaction. When asked about his rapid entry into the office market, he referenced Warren Buffett’s principle of buying what others fear to buy. “I see opportunity where multibillion‑dollar REITs are pulling out due to interest‑rate resets and strategic shifts,” he explained. “Class A office is trading at a heavy discount, and I believe office culture is returning.”
His confidence is reflected in recent activity: just days after acquiring Deep Run III, he spent $7 million on a second building in the Gateway Centre office park in Chesterfield, and he has another sizable local office deal under contract slated for year‑end closing.
Deep Run III’s journey—from a Circuit City hub to a vacant shell, to a revitalized office complex—continues under Marwaha’s stewardship, with plans to retain existing tenants, attract new ones, and unlock the property’s full potential.
