CarrAmerica Realty Corp. / CRE

About CarrAmerica Realty Corp.

1850 K St. NW , Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20006
www.carramerica.com | 202-729-1700 | Founded: 1962

Industry: Real Estate | Category: Public Companies

CarrAmerica usually gets attention through its acquisitions of office buildings. In March, it was the center of attention for its deal to be acquired.
The family-run office developer made a deal to be sold for $5.6 billion to the Blackstone Group, a private partnership based in New York. Thomas A. Carr, chief executive of CarrAmerica, said the company would continue to exist as a separate operating affiliate of the Blackstone Group and remain headquartered in the District. The deal is expected to close soon.
In 2005, the office-space leasing market continued to strengthen. CarrAmerica's occupancy rates climbed to 89.4 percent at the end of the year, from 88.2 percent at the end of 2004. But the market still remained competitive because in many cases, new leases are being negotiated at lower amounts than the older, expiring leases.
CarrAmerica's business strategy calls for repositioning its older properties and acquiring other properties that can be similarly upgraded, expanding in markets with good growth potential. It has purchased four properties in Seattle, for example, including the Casey Project, an office and retail mixed-use complex in the South Lake Union area, and two office buildings in Bothell, Wash.
Locally, the company has acquired Tysons International Plaza and expects to begin the development, at a cost of $104 million, of an office building and related restoration of the historic Mount Vernon United Methodist Church in the District.
CarrAmerica is also jettisoning properties in areas where the market seems weak or where company officials believe the firm is unlikely to become a large and dominant player. The company has announced it will be departing the Chicago and Denver markets by selling its wholly owned properties in those cities. It will, however, retain One Parkway North in the Chicago area.

Chairman and CEO: Thomas A. Carr

2005 Financial Data

Revenues: $472,628,000 | Net Income: $148,719,000
Asssets: $3,152,172,000 | Earnings Per Share: $2.29
Stockholder Equity: $1,074,509,000 | Annual Dividend: $2.00
Total employees: 640 | Local employees: 406