First Potomac to Sell Nine Northern Virginia Assets

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

First Potomac Realty Trust

First Potomac Realty Trust is looking to sell some of its properties in Northern Virginia. The REIT says the sale is part of its strategy to further improve performance and create additional shareholder value.

First Potomac has enlisted HFF to market the properties. The portfolio totals about 1.2 million square feet and includes:

• Newington Business Park Center – a 255,600-square-foot industrial property in Lorton;
• Enterprise Center – a 188,933-square-foot office property in Chantilly;
• Gateway Center Manassas – a 102,446-square-foot business park in Manassas;
• Herndon Corporate Center – a 128,359-square-foot office property in Herndon;
• Linden Business Center – a 109,809-square-foot business park in Manassas;
• Prosperity Business Center – a 71,373-square-foot business park in Merrifield;
• Reston Business Campus – an 82,378-square-foot office property in Reston;
• Van Buren Office Park – a 106,683-square-foot office property in Herndon;
• Windsor at Battlefield – a 155,511-square-foot office property in Manassas.

The company hopes to close the sale of the nine assets by the end of the year or in the first quarter of 2016. In addition, First Potomac has engaged Sage Capital Advisors to monetize the REIT’s majority ownership interest in Storey Park, a development site in the District’s NoMa neighborhood that can accommodate as much as 712,000 square feet of mixed-use product.

“As we announced in late July, we are taking a number of specific steps to de-risk our portfolio, strengthen our balance sheet and reduce our corporate overhead,” Douglas Donatelli, CEO of First Potomac, said in a statement. “We remain committed to enhancing shareholder value through the monetization of assets and the redeployment of proceeds to repurchase shares, strengthen the balance sheet and position the company for long-term success.”

First Potomac revealed that it has identified other assets that it plans to divest and said that it will release additional details once sales brokers have been engaged. These assets, together with the nine Northern Virginia properties and Storey Park, are expected to generate proceeds of at least $200 million.