FPO Inks Lease Deal - Analyst Blog

First Potomac Realty Trust (FPO) – an industrial real estate investment trust (REIT) – recently penned a lease deal with a professional services firm for 30,036 square feet of space at its Md.-based Class A office property, Redland Corporate Center. With this transaction, the property is now 100% leased.

The Redland Corporate Center, comprising multi-storied office buildings, 520 and 530 Gaither Road, spans 348,469 square feet. The property is positioned in I-270 corridor of Montgomery County and is close to famous landmarks such as Rio Washingtonian Center, Fallsgrove Village Center and King Farm Village Center.

Notably, the asset was acquired by First Potomac in Nov 2010, in a joint venture with Perseus Realty, LLC. This was the largest premium buyout by First Potomac that year.

Redland Corporate Center's prime location and high-class amenities make it an ideal property among First Potomac's assets in the Maryland area. We expect the deal to boost the company's rental revenues and strengthen its tenant base.

First Potomac owns, manages, develops and redevelops office, business parks and industrial properties in the greater Washington D.C. region. As of Mar 31, 2013, the company's portfolio spanned about 14 million square feet. The portfolio consists of 43% office property, 23% industrial property and 34% business parks.

First Potomac is expected to release second-quarter 2013 results on Jul 25. The company has an Earnings ESP (Read: Zacks Earnings ESP: A Better Method) of 0.00% and it carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Thus, we are not so confident about a positive earnings surprise.

Some better performing REITs include DCT Industrial Inc. (DCT), DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. (DFT) and CubeSmart (CUBE). All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).