Republic Property Trust / RPB

About Republic Property Trust

13861 Sunrise Valley Dr., Suite 410, Herndon, Va. 20171
www.rpbtrust.com | 703-880-2900 | Founded: 2005

Industry: Real Estate | Category: Public Companies

Republic's first full year as a public company became a tangle of accusations and lawsuits that have left it at odds with the chairman and vice chairman of its board of trustees.
The company went public in December 2005 largely as the owner and manager of buildings that had been developed by Republic Properties, a private company founded and still owned by Richard L. Kramer and Steven A. Grigg.
Among Republic's projects were the Portals development in Southwest Washington, Republic Square near Union Station and a number of office parks in Northern Virginia. Kramer became the chairman of the public company and Grigg its vice chairman, president and chief development officer.
Included in the work that passed from the private company to the public one was a deal to develop a new city hall, museum and library for West Palm Beach, Fla. However, a city commissioner, Raymond A. Liberti, was working for Republic Properties as a consultant during the time he was voting on the trust's project. Liberti, who was paid more than $100,000 by the private Republic, pleaded guilty in May to unrelated corruption charges. Republic and West Palm terminated the development deal.
In the fall, an investigation by the Republic Property Trust board of trustees found that Kramer and Grigg set an unwanted "tone at the top" and recommended that the two step down. Grigg was forced out of his job as president, but the two men held on to the board seats and have said that any implication of misconduct was unwarranted. Both of them have sued the trust.
This becomes particularly messy because the public company still has many ties with the two men. Kramer and Grigg together own about 8 percent of the trust. The company has options to buy high-profile properties they are developing. Kramer and Grigg were even the company's landlords — it rented space in one of the Portals buildings that it manages for them. In January, it moved its headquarters to one of its own buildings in Herndon.
Republic Properties has since taken over management and development duties for the Portals project and Republic Square from Republic Property Trust.

2006 Financial Data

Revenues: $65,952,000 | Net Income: $-4,852,000
Asssets: $596,468,000 | Earnings Per Share: $-0.19
Stockholder Equity: $186,813,000 | Annual Dividend: $0.65
Total employees: 76 | Local employees: 76