COPT Defense Properties (NYSE: CDP) (“COPT Defense” or the “Company”) announced the acquisition of a 202,000 square foot Class A building, located in Columbia Gateway at 6841 Benjamin Franklin Drive in Columbia, Maryland, for $15 million. The 7-story LEED Gold Certified building was constructed in 2008 and is 56% leased to a leading defense contractor.
Stephen E. Budorick, COPT Defense’s President & Chief Executive Officer, commented “This acquisition solidifies our position as the dominant owner in Columbia Gateway, enhances our relationship with a top 10 U.S. defense contractor, adds 202,000 square feet of modern, well-amenitized space to our 2.3 million square foot Columbia Gateway campus, and was purchased at a significant discount to replacement cost for comparable new product. Our Fort Meade/BW Corridor segment was 96.5% leased at quarter-end and this acquisition is an excellent opportunity to acquire high quality inventory, and leverage our Defense/IT franchise and strong demand from Defense Contractors, to create significant shareholder value.
With this acquisition, we now control approximately 45% of the square footage in Columbia Gateway, and 80% of the square footage leased to defense/cyber companies and the U.S. Government in Columbia Gateway. Our scale provides a unique competitive advantage to encapsulate demand, especially among the small to mid-size defense contractors, which is a crucial and growing segment of the Department of Defense contractor ecosystem.”
About COPT Defense
COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S. Government (“USG”) defense installations and missions (referred to as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company’s tenants include the USG and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in priority national security activities, and who generally require mission-critical and high security property enhancements. As of March 31, 2024, the Company’s Defense/IT Portfolio of 193 properties, including 24 owned through unconsolidated joint ventures, encompassed 22.0 million square feet and was 96.8% leased.
