COPT Wraps Acquisition of 3 Offices

In a $40.5 million transaction, Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) has acquired three office buildings, one in Colorado Springs, Colo., and two in San Antonio, Texas. COPT has been an active buyer for much of its history. The company acquired $165 million worth of properties in 2003, $264 million in 2004, $364 million in 2005, $180 million in 2006 and $378.6 million last year. These acquisitions–the company’s first of 2008–may mark a return to growth through acquisitions that characterized the firm from 2003 through 2007. The 3-story, class A building in Colorado Springs cost $23.2 million. Northrop Grumman Corp. occupies 100 percent of the building, which is located in the Colorado Springs Airport Business Park, known as Cresterra, adjacent to the Peterson Air force Base. COPT is Cresterra’s master developer. Overall, COPT owns 15 office buildings in Colorado Springs. Three more are under construction and two are in development. All told, the company owns 192 acres of land that will support approximately 2.5 million square feet of development. The two San Antonio buildings cost $17.3 million. Both are two stories tall and 100 percent leased, long-term, to Sears, Air Force Federal Credit Union and AFNI. COPT now owns four office buildings in San Antonio. Two more are under construction. Overall, the company owns 58 acres of land that will support about 725,000 square feet of development in the city.Founded in 1988 as a REIT called Royale Investments, the company changed its name to Corporate Office Properties Trust, went public in 1998 and began to acquire office properties. Since then, COPT has acquired more than $4 billion of suburban office assets.