Fire protection contracting and engineering firm serving residential and commercial industries, to move headquarters and more than 100 employees to location at 445 Defense Highway in Annapolis

BALTIMORE, MD (January 14, 2018) – Absolute Fire Protection, Inc., a fire protection contracting and engineering firm, founded in 1989 by Daniel Mathias and Larry Cate, has signed a lease with St. John Properties, Inc. for 13,500 square feet of space within the Rt. 450 Business Park in Annapolis, Maryland. The company, which services the residential, commercial and industrial real estate and construction sectors, intends to relocate its corporate headquarters and more than 100 employees to 445 Defense Highway in early 2019. Included in the move is AFP’s affiliate company, ASE -Absolute Systems Engineering, a full-service electrical contracting company.

“The continued expansion of our business operations, and the subsequent hiring of additional employees and purchase of new equipment, has caused us to outgrow our current space and this move reflects our desire to locate closer to major highways,” explained Dan Mathias, President of Absolute Fire Protection. “Relocating into a new building will also allow us to design an environment that is attractive and compelling to work in for new employees, with the inclusion of a fitness center, modern kitchen facilities and entertainment features. We have worked with St. John Properties for more than 25 years and admire the employee-friendly amenities that St. John designed into their headquarters. We feel these resources are important to attract and retain the best in our industry.”

Absolute Fire Protection, together with its affiliate company Absolute Systems Engineering, provides a wide spectrum of services including: fire sprinkler design, installation and maintenance; fire alarm design, installation and maintenance; high efficiency lighting retrofits; solar power installations; and full-service electrical contracting associated with new construction, residential, commercial office and industrial buildings.  The companies serve throughout the Maryland, Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. areas.

“Our initial inclination was to construct a build-to-suit building for our new headquarters but, after consulting with the St. John Properties team, they outlined the economical and logistical benefits for leasing space within an existing building,” Larry Cate, Vice President of AFP, added. “The path we chose reduced overall corporate risk and placed the satisfaction of our day-to-day real estate needs into the hands of a company we completely trust.”

Rt. 450 Business Park, a two-building business community containing more than 63,000 square feet of Flex/R&D space, is situated near the intersection of Interstate 97 and MD Rt. 50. It is located less than five miles from downtown Annapolis, approximately 20 miles from Baltimore and less than 30 miles from Washington, D.C.

“The Absolute Fire Protection leadership team expressed their interest in relocating to a new facility that provided quicker access to their expanding client base in DC and Northern Virginia, while also allowing them to service their existing loyal customers in the greater Baltimore metropolitan region,” explained Richard Williamson, Senior Vice President of Leasing and Marketing for St. John Properties. “The location of Rt. 450 Business Park provided the perfect solution, and the open layout and 16 foot clear ceiling heights within 445 Defense Highway suited their operational requirements.”

St. John Properties, Inc., founded in 1971, owns and has developed more than 19 million square feet of Flex/R&D, Office, Retail and Warehouse space in Maryland, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Utah and Wisconsin. The company was named the national “2018 Developer of the Year” by NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.  For more information about the company visit sjp.mu9b0uf9-liquidwebsites.com.