Columbia-based Corporate Office Properties Trust has sold all its facilities in Montgomery
County while picking up a new building in Herndon as part of a larger effort to reposition its
holdings.
The real-estate investment trust specializes in office space for the military and its contractors,
a sector bracing for spending cuts now that the wars overseas are winding down. In response,
COPT established a plan to sell off certain properties it considers less valuable.
“What’s happening with Corporate Office and all of the Washington, D.C., and U.S.
government-focused REITs is their stock is clearly in the penalty box until there’s some
clarity on the overall government budget,” said John W. Guinee, managing director at Stifel
Nicolaus. “They’re taking this opportunity smartly to sell all of their non-core or nonstrategic
assets.”
As part of its strategic selling, the company last quarter sold off four Maryland properties,
including 231,000 square feet in two buildings on West Gude Drive in Rockville and 240,000
square feet in one building on Tech Road in Silver Spring. It has continued selling this quarter,
divesting facilities in Columbia, Hunt Valley and Gaithersburg last month.
“We made some missteps in our initial marketing of the asset, both in terms of not going after
multiple channels and the way we priced the asset,” Waesche said.
Stephen E. Budorick, COPT’s chief operating officer, said in the same call that the company has
put in place an expanded marketing strategy and simplified its pricing for the data center.
David J. Cappuccio, an analyst with Gartner, said the data center industry is becoming more
competitive, forcing companies to look more closely at their pricing models and the services
they offer.
“It’s no longer enough just to build a giant white space and try to fill it up,” he said.
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