WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE: DEA) (“Easterly”), a fully integrated real estate investment trust focused primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties leased to the U.S. Government, announced today that it has acquired the rights to a lease award for the re-development of a 210,373-square foot FEMA facility located in Tracy, California.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for coordinating a comprehensive response to disasters in the United States that exceed the capabilities of local and state authorities. FEMA focuses on pre-disaster preparation, protection, response, recovery and impact mitigation. The agency provides on-the-ground support as well as funds for training of response personnel throughout the United States as part of the agency’s preparedness effort.
As part of FEMA’s mission to deliver immediate, on-the-ground response in moments of disaster, FEMA maintains eight distribution centers within the United States for emergency response preparedness. These facilities house a full inventory of goods that may be needed for FEMA’s response to a disaster. Given the importance of deploying supplies quickly, FEMA strategically locates these facilities throughout the country to efficiently reach a significant portion of the population.
FEMA - Tracy, one of the eight regional distributions centers, is currently under re-development with an anticipated delivery date in the second half of 2018. Easterly has assumed all re-development activities and, upon occupancy, will commence a 20-year non-cancelable lease with the General Services Administration (GSA) on this mission critical facility.
“We are pleased to welcome a new, incredibly important tenant agency to the Easterly portfolio,” said William C. Trimble, Easterly’s Chief Executive Officer. “Just a few short months ago, we all witnessed the criticality of FEMA’s mission as a series of hurricanes crippled numerous coastal regions of the country. In times of disaster, the country relies on FEMA. We are pleased to provide FEMA with the space necessary to carry out its important mission.”
The future FEMA - Tracy property will be a single-story warehouse that sits on just over 19 acres of land and includes a blend of office, warehouse, and refrigerated space for full-time cold storage. FEMA - Tracy will further enable FEMA to serve the mission critical function of providing much needed supplies and support to U.S. citizens faced with disaster.
“With decades of development experience, Mike Ibe and his team will finalize the re-development of the FEMA - Tracy distribution facility and commence a brand new, 20-year non-cancelable lease with the GSA,” said Meghan G. Baivier, Easterly’s Chief Financial and Operating Officer. “The addition of this asset will lengthen the portfolio’s average remaining lease term, while also reducing the portfolio’s average building age.”
About Easterly Government Properties, Inc.
Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) is based in Washington, D.C., and focuses primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties that are leased to the U.S. Government. Easterly’s experienced management team brings specialized insight into the strategy and needs of mission-critical U.S. Government agencies for properties leased primarily through the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). For further information on the company and its properties, please visit www.easterlyreit.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and regulations. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “project,” “anticipate,” “position,” and other similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions and forecasts of future results. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks include, but are not limited to those risks and uncertainties associated with our business described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 2, 2017. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All information in this release is as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in our expectations.
