COLUMBIA, MD—A lot of deals tend to get done at the end of the year as companies wrap up business, but Corporate Office Properties Trust seems to be counting on an especially busy fourth quarter. After selling $130 million of assets this year as of the end of the third quarter, it plans to sell or have under binding contract under $145 million by the end of the year, according to CEO Roger Waesche during the Q3 earnings conference call.

The countdown has apparently begun: On Monday COPT announced it had sold 9900, 9910 and 9920 Franklin Square Dr. in the White Marsh submarket of Greater Baltimore for $24 million, or approximately $180 per foot.

The three previously held-for-sale properties comprise 134,000 square feet and were 100% occupied at the end of September. COPT will recognize gains on sale of $7 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.

COPT, like most companies, is selling off non-core assets to invest or reinvest in its core properties. The proceeds from its outerlying assets in the Baltimore area, for example, will be recycled into its urban assets in Baltimore, such as the Transamerica Tower.

Some sales, though, were pushed out of its property holdings for other reasons as well.

At the end of October, COPT sold One Dulles Tower to Federal Capital Partners for $84 million. The 397,000-square foot property traded at $212 per square foot.

By selling the building COPT avoided re-tenanting costs estimated to exceed $40 million as well as $2 million in annual operating expenses that it would have had to absorb until a new tenant was found.

"Selling One Dulles Tower," Waesche said, "was prudent capital allocation."

Instant Insights /

COPT Plans to Sell $145M in Assets by the Year's End

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