In all, the portfolio was 90.2% occupied and 91.5% leased on Sept. 30, 2005. The Richmond, VA component of the portfolio, however, "produced strong performance," Sweeney said, and was 96.8% leased at the end of the quarter. The previously announced merger with Prentiss Properties is expected to close this fourth quarter or early in first-quarter 2006, and the integration of those properties and Prentiss management has begun.

Of Cira Centre, which is just over 70% preleased and set to open in Philadelphia by year-end, Sweeney said it will start 2006 37% occupied and reach between 93% and 94% occupancy by the end of 2007. Asked what percentage of its space would come from tenants already in the CBD, Sweeney said that of the anticipated 1,900 employees in the building, 1,100 would be relocating from the CBD, with the remainder from outside, and half of that remainder from outside of Pennsylvania.

Regarding lease-up of the four-building Radnor complex Brandywine acquired from Rubenstein last year, Sweeney predicted a 60% occupancy rate by the end of 2006. The company just announced a 42,000-sf retail lease for the 238,000-sf building at 555 Lancaster Ave. in Radnor, which is currently being renovated and repositioned.

Noting that his locally based REIT recently acquired two 70% leased office buildings in Conshohocken for $183 per sf, Sweeney drew a comparison between that cost and others in the area that are trading for up to $233 per sf. "We're seeing aggressive pricing in the Philadelphia suburbs at premiums never before seen," he said. As a result, Brandywine will stick to "value-added" opportunities, such as the Conshohocken properties. He also projected that Brandywine's total development spending in 2006 would be "in the $75-million range," without disclosing where that might occur.