PS Business Parks Inc. (PSB), a real estate investment trust (REIT), recently acquired Shady Grove Executive Center, a 350,000 square feet multi-tenant office business park in Rockville, Maryland for $60.0 million in cash. The property is currently 80% leased and accommodates multiple tenants. With the acquisition, the company’s Maryland portfolio increased to approximately 2.2 million square feet of office and flex space.
PS Business Parks owns, acquires, develops, and operates commercial real estate properties across eight states in the U.S. Its property portfolio includes low-rise suburban multi-tenant offices, business parks, and industrial and flex assets. Located mostly in high population markets, flex properties are a combination of warehouse and office space and can be easily configured to suit a variety of uses.
The warehouse component of the flex space is primarily used for purposes such as light manufacturing and assembly, storage and warehousing, showroom, laboratory, distribution and research and development activities. The office component of the flex space is complementary to the warehouse component and enables businesses to accommodate management and production staff in the same facility.
Since going public in 1998, PS Business Parks’ portfolio has grown from 5 million square feet to 19.8 million square feet of wholly-owned properties as of Mar 16, 2010 by applying a disciplined investment approach.
Over the years, the company has focused on investing and owning real estate in diversified markets, thereby tapping multiple industry concentrations and minimizing the risks associated with the economic down cycles.
In addition, the ability of PS Business Parks’ properties to accommodate a wide variety of uses with minimal reconfiguration has enabled it to keep its capital cost relatively low.
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