Move Over BRAC

At a luncheon for commercial real estate brokers hosted on May 25, by Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) at its newly acquired Canton Crossing Tower, COPT CEO Randall Griffin observed that while BRAC (the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005) may be heavily promoted as a big economic engine in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. region, work being done by Federal government agencies and their contractors in cyber security may prove to be a far greater economic engine and anchor for our region. He further opined that with the construction pipeline for Class A office buildings near empty, 2011-2012 could see a spike in office occupancy levels along with a corresponding spike in Class A office rents. His friendly advice to the commercial brokers in attendance was to begin focusing more on office users who are involved in cyber security.


That is news we can use!


COPT's commercial real estate broker luncheon at Canton Crossing Tower was set in a former penthouse residence on the top floor of this 17-story, 474,000 square foot office building. The luncheon provided a unique opportunity for my fellow brokers and me to enjoy the exquisite culinary offerings of the Blue Hill Tavern. We dined while peering through the floor-to-ceiling windows at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Fort McHenry, Harbor East and the working waterfront.


Landlords use broker events as marketing vehicles to let brokers experience a property that is being offered for lease. Landlords capitalize on the fact that brokers, being brokers, can seldom turn down free food, chances to win door prizes and the convenient opportunity to talk deals and market scoop with colleagues.

Rand Griffin wisely seized the opportunity to offer his thoughts on the big picture. He guessed correctly that his audience would be more interested in learning his perspective on the economy, financial markets and office markets than hearing a recitation of project details. After all, we had been mixing and mingling with the listing brokers and COPT's in-house leasing team throughout the luncheon.

Rand's expertise in the Class A office market is derived from his experiences developing and operating a large, high quality portfolio. COPT is one of Maryland's largest private office landlord, owning and operating 197 building with 13.6 million square feet. COPT owns 268 properties in six states (AL, CO, MD, NJ, PA and VA) containing over 20 million square feet. COPT's business model is to offer Class A office space to Federal government agencies having an alphabet-soup of names such as NRO, NSA, NGA, DoD, GSA, DISA and CIA. COPT derives 56% of its revenue from government agencies, 30% from government contractors and the balance from first class businesses such as CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

Thanks Rand Griffin for your insight. Your optimism is encouraging during these challenging, uncertain times.