COPT Executes Build-to-Suit Lease with Northrop Grumman at Redstone Gateway

Two-Building, 263,000 SF Campus is Scheduled for Lease Commencement in 2H 2022

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Corporate Office Properties Trust (“COPT” or the “Company”) (NYSE: OFC) executed two build-to-suit leases with Northrop Grumman Corporation (“Northrop Grumman”), one of the largest defense contractors in the U.S. and the world. COPT will invest approximately $103 million to construct a two-building campus totaling 263,000 square feet. Lease commencement dates for both buildings are expected in the second half of 2022.

“We are excited to welcome Northrop Grumman to the Redstone Gateway community,” stated Stephen E. Budorick, COPT’s President & Chief Executive Officer. “Upon completion of their two-building campus in 2022, Redstone Gateway will consist of 2.2 million square feet supporting the missions at Redstone Arsenal. Additionally, this transaction brings our development leasing for the year to 1.2 million square feet, which exceeds our goal by nearly 20%,” he added.

About COPT

COPT is a REIT that owns, manages, leases, develops and selectively acquires office and data center properties. The majority of its portfolio is in locations that support the United States Government and its contractors, most of whom are engaged in national security, defense and information technology (“IT”) related activities servicing what it believes are growing, durable, priority missions (“Defense/IT Locations”). The Company also owns a portfolio of office properties located in select urban/urban-like submarkets in the Greater Washington, DC/Baltimore region with durable Class-A office fundamentals and characteristics (“Regional Office Properties”). As of September 30, 2021, the Company derived 88% of its core portfolio annualized rental revenue from Defense/IT Locations and 12% from its Regional Office Properties. As of the same date and including 19 properties owned through unconsolidated joint ventures, COPT’s core portfolio of 184 office and data center shell properties encompassed 21.5 million square feet and was 94.8% leased; the Company also owned one wholesale data center with a capacity of 19.25 megawatts that was 86.7% leased.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release may contain “forward-looking” statements, as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that are based on the Company’s current expectations, estimates and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the Company. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan” or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate. Although the Company believes that the expectations, estimates and projections reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions at the time made, the Company can give no assurance that these expectations, estimates and projections will be achieved. Future events and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements.

The areas of risk that may affect these expectations, estimates and projections include, but are not limited to, those risks described in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Source: Corporate Office Properties Trust