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Boston Properties (BXP) Buys Madison Centre, Expands in Seattle

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Boston Properties, Inc. (BXP - Free Report) recently announced that it has completed the acquisition of Madison Centre, a 37-story, Class A office property in Seattle’s Downtown area. The move comes as part of the company’s expansion effort in the Seattle market.

The LEED-Platinum certified building encompasses 760,000 million square feet. The deal closed in for a gross purchase price of roughly $730 million.

The acquisition marks a strategic one for Boston Properties as with a wide array of client-focused amenities and superior accessibility to public and private transit options, Madison Centre is well-poised to attract tenants.

Being one of the newest commercial high rises, this office property offers a spectacular view of the city’s skyline. At present, the property  is 93% leased and caters to 20 diverse office.

In 2021, BXP marked its entry to the Seattle market by acquiring Safeco Plaza for $465 million through joint a venture (JV) with two institutional partners. Each partner holds one-third of the JV, while Boston Properties serves as the JV’s managing member and provides customary property management, leasing and other services.  

Seattle has experienced substantial growth in jobs from the technology and life sciences sectors in recent years and has emerged as one of the top tech markets for employers and employees. This office market offers a strong potential for companies in the technology, life sciences, financial services and manufacturing sectors. Hence, Boston Properties’ expansion in the Seattle market seems prudent.

Such strategic moves of the company is likely to prove advantageous in the long-term considering the re-opening of the economy and growing demand for office spaces as the job market resumes in full swing However, in the near term, the flexible working environment, rising supply of office space and stiff competition remain concerns.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have declined 5.3% in the past three months compared with the industry's fall of 2.5%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks from the REIT sector are Prologis (PLD - Free Report) , Extra Storage Space (EXR - Free Report) and OUTFRONT Media (OUT - Free Report) .

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Prologis’ 2022 funds from operations (FFO) per share has moved 1.8% upward in the past month to $5.15. PLD presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Extra Storage Space’s ongoing year’s FFO per share has been raised 1.1% over the past month to $8.01. EXR carries a Zacks Rank #2, currently.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OUTFRONT Media’s current-year FFO per share has moved 35% northward in the past month to $2.09. OUT carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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