COPT Defense Acquires Land for Data Center Shell Development near Des Moines, IA and an 80,000 Square Foot Building in San Antonio, TX

COLUMBIA, Md.--(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 5^th 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