SL Green Signs 50 Leases

SL Green Realty Corp ( SLG - Snapshot Report ) , a New York-based real estate investment trust (REIT), recently stated that it has penned 50 lease agreements during the first two months of the current quarter. The lease agreements have increased the year-to-date tally to 240, spanning around 3,862,700 square feet.

SL Green signed the lease agreements for properties situated in Manhattan, which is one of its core markets. Some of the significant new lease agreements include 57,110 square feet at 3 Columbus Circle to one of its affiliates; 22,047 square feet at 641 Avenue of the Americas to Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT - Analyst Report ) ; 38,026 square feet at 125 Park Avenue to Robert Half International Inc. ( RHI - Analyst Report ) ; and 17,921 square feet at 711 Third Avenue to a subsidiary of Walgreen Co. ( WAG - Analyst Report ) .

SL Green primarily focuses on long-term lease agreements with high-class tenants. In the third quarter of 2012, the company signed around 60 Manhattan office leases with some of the renowned firms such as – Capital One Financial Corp. ( COF - Analyst Report ) and Young & Rubicam, Inc.

The company is also active on portfolio restructuring through acquisition and disposition of assets. In a separate development, SL Green along with its partner announced the sale of the ownership stakes in the Jersey Property Unit Trust (JPUT). Jersey Property owned the long-term leasehold interest in a London-based Class A office building Procession House, and sold it to an U.K. based company for $100 million.

In addition, SL Green recently made its first major residential property investment in Brooklyn. The company is set to acquire a newly constructed unoccupied residential building in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. The residential building consists of 72 apartment units and 12 townhouses. The building is positioned atop an already-acquired commercial condominium, which includes a HSBC Holdings plc ( HBC - Analyst Report ) bank, a pharmacy and a garage. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.

SL Green primarily acquires, owns, repositions and manages Manhattan commercial properties. As of September 30, 2012, SL Green owned 77 Manhattan properties totaling more than 39.3 million square feet. This included ownership interests in 27.5 million square feet of commercial properties.

We currently have a long-term Neutral recommendation on SL Green. Also, it carries a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold).