COPT Defense Acquires Land for Data Center Shell Development near Des Moines, IA and an 80,000 Square Foot Building in San Antonio, TX
October 28 2024 - 3:16PM
Business Wire
COPT Defense Properties (NYSE: CDP) (“COPT Defense” or the
“Company”) acquired a 365-acre land parcel near Des Moines, Iowa in
late September for $32 million to expand its data center shell
program. The existing zoning on the land allows for data center
development and initial plans indicate that the site can
accommodate approximately 3.3 million square feet of development,
supported by an estimated 1 gigawatt of power capacity.
Also, late in the third quarter, the Company acquired an 80,000
square foot building at 3900 Rogers Road in San Antonio, Texas for
$17 million. The building was vacant upon acquisition, and the
Company subsequently executed two leases with the U.S. Government
to occupy the entire building, which it expects to commence in the
second quarter of 2025. The Class A office building was constructed
in 2005, and is located 5 miles northwest of the Company’s
approximately 1.0 million square foot campus, which is 100% leased
and occupied.
Stephen E. Budorick, COPT Defense’s President & Chief
Executive Officer, commented, “Our land acquisition outside of Des
Moines, Iowa provides a significant opportunity for us to expand
our highly successful data center shell program to a new market.
Des Moines, the 5th largest hyperscale market in the country is
already home to several of the largest hyperscalers in the world,
which are drawn to the market given attractive land values, power
availability, with abundant access to renewable energy, access to
long-haul fiber lines, and tax incentives enacted by supportive
state and local governments. We expect this opportunity will fuel
our development pipeline in the medium to long-term, and result in
long-term accretion to FFO, AFFO, and NAV per share. Importantly,
as we build out the parcel in phases, we plan to self-fund
development of the site on a leverage-neutral basis.
“The acquisition of the Rogers Road building expands our
relationship with the U.S. Government, provides additional
operational scale given our nearby campus in San Antonio, will be
accretive when rent commences in 2Q25, and reinforces our
reputation as a trusted partner in supporting mission critical U.S.
Government and defense contractor tenant requirements.”
Please see pages 8-22 of the Company’s 3Q24 Results Presentation
for further details.
About COPT Defense
COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed
REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in
locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S.
Government (“USG”) defense installations and missions (referred to
as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company’s tenants include the USG
and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in
priority national security activities, and who generally require
mission-critical and high security property enhancements. As of
June 30, 2024, the Company’s Defense/IT Portfolio of 193
properties, including 24 owned through unconsolidated joint
ventures, encompassed 22.0 million square feet and was 96.7%
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, 2023.
Source: COPT Defense Properties
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241028783141/en/
IR Contacts: Venkat Kommineni, CFA 443.285.5587
venkat.kommineni@copt.com
Michelle Layne 443.285.5452 michelle.layne@copt.com
COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2024 to Dec 2024
COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Dec 2023 to Dec 2024