Owen Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference in New York.
Thomas discussed the company’s recent acquisition of the 1.2 million square foot Santa Monica Business Park, in Santa Monica, California. He noted that the park, which is home to large corporations, fits in well with its overall business strategy.
Boston Properties already owns the Colorado Center in Santa Monica. The acquisition of the Santa Monica Business Park means that it now owns about a quarter of the office space in the city, Thomas said. “We certainly have critical mass in that market.”
Turning to the East Coast, Thomas noted that the REIT’s largest investment in the Washington D.C. area is at Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia, “where we own a small city.”
Boston Properties recently entered into a binding lease agreement with Fannie Mae at its Reston Gateway project, which is located adjacent to the Reston Town Center metro station on the Silver Line. The metro stop is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in early 2020.
Fannie Mae will lease 850,000 square feet, making it one of the largest non-government leases signed in Virginia, according to Thomas. Fannie Mae will be the anchor tenant in a new two tower, 1.1 million square foot office complex that will be constructed adjacent to the metro. In time there will be a hotel, street retail, and an apartment building.
“Reston’s already a small city and it’s getting larger quickly,” Thomas said.
Turning to sustainability matters, Thomas stressed that “clearly for lots of reasons we think it’s the right thing to do, but it’s also economically viable.”