WASHINGTON, DC-REITs such as Washington Real Estate Investment Trust and First Potomac Realty appear to be entering a stepped up cycle of acquisitions and dispositions. Recent activity points to that - as do the companies’ newly-released earnings reports.
WRIT, for instance, in the past quarter purchased two buildings at Quantico, VA; for $68 million and sold a building in Rockville, MD; for $23.4 million . "Investment opportunities in the Washington, DC market are steadily increasing, and we are pleased to be returning to the fundamental real estate business of buying and selling buildings," said George "Skip" McKenzie, president and CEO of WRIT, as he released the company’s earnings.
WRIT, he says, has entered into a new strategy of recycling capital into more modern assets inside the Beltway, near major transportation nodes, or with Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiatives or other significant employment drivers in the greater metro area.
Then there is First Potomac Realty Trust, which has not made a definitive declaration that it has embarked on a new strategy - but nonetheless is showing every sign of having done so. This past quarter for the first time it acquired a core asset in the District: 500 First St., NW, for $67.8 million. It also nabbed an office building in Oakton, VA, for $13.7 million.
During the same quarter it also sold two properties in Maryland for net proceeds of $11.4 million.
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