Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP), the largest publicly-traded owner, developer and manager of Class A office properties in the United States, provided an update on recent business accomplishments including:
- Leasing productivity: In the months of April and May the Company signed approximately 870,000 square feet of new leases and renewals including a new 12-year lease with Microsoft Corporation for approximately 400,000 square feet at Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia. This new lease builds on Microsoft’s existing presence of approximately 165,000 square feet in Reston. Microsoft joins several other companies including Facebook, Leidos, Bechtel and CACI that have recently chosen BXP’s Reston Town Center as their location of choice for attracting talent and growing their workforce in the region.
- Ongoing strength in collections: For the month of May, the Company collected more than 97% of its total rent payments from office tenants due May 1. Rent collections from all tenants, including retail, were 93% in total.
- A fortified balance sheet: The Company continues to maintain a strong liquidity position with $3.3 billion of total liquidity consisting of $1.7 billion of cash, $151 million of cash held in 1031 exchange escrow, as well as $1.5 billion available under its unsecured revolving credit facility as of May 5, 2020. This includes the net cash proceeds from the Company’s recent issuance of $1.25 billion of 3.250% unsecured senior notes.
- A Heath Security Plan for repopulating the workplace: The plan was developed by BXP’s Heath Security Task Force and provides a framework for health security at BXP’s office properties, including enhanced cleaning and disinfection, air and water quality protocols, physical distancing, screening and personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements. Since the release of the Plan in early May, the Company has conducted town halls and one-on-one sessions across BXP’s regions to support tenants’ office repopulation process which has started in Massachusetts this week.
The Company also pointed to a recent survey of 2,300 U.S. workers conducted by the Gensler Research Institute that showed that employees overwhelmingly choose the office as their preferred place to work. The survey, which was conducted between April 16 and May 4, 2020 showed that only 12% of U.S. workers want to work from home full-time. Before COVID-19, 10% of U.S. office workers had regularly worked from home, indicating a small, 2% increase in the number of workers who prefer to work-from-home five days per week. The survey also revealed that younger generations are less satisfied with the work-from-home experience, despite their technological preparedness for mobile work, and are less aware of what is expected of them and how their work contributes to their organizational goals.
The results of the survey are consistent with the sentiment Boston Properties is hearing from its customers across its regions as companies prepare for repopulation based on the timelines set by local municipalities.
“Companies and their employees recognize the importance of the office as the preferred workplace for collaboration, creativity, mentorship, productivity and creating culture. This is particularly important for sectors that rely on knowledge workers for innovation, long-term competitiveness and growth,” said Owen Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties. “We look forward to helping our customers welcome their teams back to their office as we implement our health security processes and procedures to ensure that individual workers feel safe and secure in their workplace.”
About Boston Properties
Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) is the largest publicly-held developer and owner of Class A office properties in the United States, concentrated in five markets - Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The Company is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), that develops, manages, operates, acquires and owns a diverse portfolio of primarily Class A office space. The Company’s portfolio totals 51.8 million square feet and 196 properties, including 10 properties under construction/redevelopment. For more information about Boston Properties, please visit our website at www.bxp.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by our use of the words “believes,” “budgeted,” “estimates,” “expects,” “guidance,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects” and similar expressions that do not relate to historical matters. These statements are based on our current expectations of future events. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which are, in some cases, beyond Boston Properties’ control. If our underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statement. These factors include, without limitation, uncertainties and risks related to the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, including the duration, scope and severity of the pandemic domestically and internationally; federal, state and local government actions or restrictive measures implemented in response to COVID-19, the effectiveness of such measures and the direct and indirect impact of such measures on our and our tenants' businesses, financial condition, results of operation, cash flows, liquidity and performance, and the U.S. and international economy and economic activity generally; whether new or existing actions/or measures continue to result in increasing unemployment that impact the ability of our residential tenants to generate sufficient income to pay, or make them unwilling to pay, rent in full or at all in a timely manner; the health, continued service and availability of our personnel, including our key personnel and property management teams; and the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of governmental relief in providing assistance to individuals and large and small businesses, including our tenants, that have suffered significant adverse effects from COVID-19. In addition to the risks specific to COVID-19, other factors include, without limitation, the Company’s ability to enter into new leases or renew leases on favorable terms, dependence on tenants’ financial condition, the effects of local, national and international economic and market conditions, regulatory changes and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Boston Properties does not undertake a duty to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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