Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. bought the 264,152-square-foot Free State shopping center in Bowie, Md., for an undisclosed sum.

The multifamily real estate investment trust, which made the acquisition through its New Market Properties LLC subsidiary, said the acquisition of the Giant Food-anchored property marks its entry into the Washington, D.C., metropolitan statistical area.

Free State was part of a portfolio in which Federal Realty Investment Trust boosted its ownership to 100% from 30% in January 2016.