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Columbia Property Trust to Expand Presence in New York with Acquisition in Midtown South

March 09, 2017 12:00 AM

Under Contract to Purchase 149 Madison Avenue with Plans to Fully Reposition Building as Modern Boutique Office

ATLANTA & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CXP) has reached an agreement to purchase 149 Madison Avenue, a 127,000-square-foot office building in Manhattan, from a private family owner. Price was not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close later this year.

149 Madison is located in the heart of the NoMAD district of Midtown South on the southeast corner of 32nd Street and Madison Avenue. Built in 1916, the 12-story building is subject to a ground lease that expires in January 2018 with fully coterminous tenant leases. At expiration, Columbia will own a fee simple interest in the land and building. Columbia plans to invest significant capital to perform a comprehensive renovation of the property, including updating and upgrading its infrastructure, interior and exterior finishes, and common areas throughout.

“149 Madison offers a compelling opportunity to leverage our scale and expertise in New York at an attractive discount to replacement cost and to create value through repositioning and re-leasing the full building,” said Nelson Mills, president and CEO of Columbia Property Trust. “With over $600 million in proceeds available from our recently completed disposition program, the purchase of 149 Madison is a promising start to our plan to put capital to work in our target markets.”

Adam Popper, senior vice president for Columbia in the Eastern region, continued, “The expiration of both the ground lease and existing tenant leases at 149 Madison offer us a rare opportunity to renovate the entire building and mark to market rates on every floor, providing strong upside potential. We have already begun preparations to reposition this building over the next 18-24 months so that it will compete among the best product in the submarket.”

When completed, the acquisition of 149 Madison Avenue will be Columbia’s second asset in the Midtown South market and will provide the Company with a portfolio of five office properties totaling two million rentable square feet in the New York City area.

Eastdil Secured and Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.

About Columbia Property Trust

Columbia Property Trust (NYSE: CXP) owns and operates Class-A office buildings primarily in high-barrier-to-entry, primary markets. Our portfolio includes 16 office properties containing eight million square feet, concentrated in New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Columbia carries an investment-grade rating from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. For more information, please visit www.columbia.reit.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained in this press release other than historical facts may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We intend for all such forward-looking statements to be covered by the applicable safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in those acts. Such statements include, in particular, statements about our plans, strategies, anticipated dividends, and prospects and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Therefore, such statements are not intended to be a guarantee of our performance in future periods. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," or other similar words. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. We make no representations or warranties (express or implied) about the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements contained in this press release, and we do not intend to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Any such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors and are based on a number of assumptions involving judgments with respect to, among other things, future economic, competitive, and market conditions, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately. To the extent that our assumptions differ from actual conditions, our ability to accurately anticipate results expressed in such forward-looking statements, including our ability to generate positive cash flow from operations, make distributions to stockholders, and maintain the value of our real estate properties, may be significantly hindered. See Item 1A in the Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, for a discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented in our forward-looking statements. The risk factors described in our Annual Report are not the only ones we face, but do represent those risks and uncertainties that we believe are material to us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also harm our business.

Columbia Property Trust, Inc.
Media Contact:
Bud Perrone, 212-843-8068
bperrone@rubenstein.com
or
Investor Relations:
Matt Stover, 404-465-2227
IR@columbia.reit

Source: Columbia Property Trust, Inc.

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