Boston Properties 10-K (2022-02-25)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

 

 

Business

 

 

General

 

BXP, a Delaware corporation, is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed REIT, and is one of the largest publicly-traded office REITs (based on total market capitalization as of December 31, 2021) in the United States that develops, owns and manages primarily Class A office properties.

 

integrated : in which many different parts are closely connected and work successfully together / including people from different races, sexes, religions, etc., especially ones who have previously been separated

 

 

 

BXP was formed in 1997 to succeed the real estate development, redevelopment, acquisition, management, operating and leasing businesses associated with the predecessor company founded by Mortimer B. Zuckerman and Edward H. Linde in 1970.

 

succeed : to achieve something that you have been trying to do or get; to have the result or effect that was intended / to be successful in your job, earning money, power, respect, etc.

 

associate with someone : to spend time with a group of people, especially people who are disapproved of

 

 

 

Our properties are concentrated in six markets—Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC. At December 31, 2021, we owned or had joint venture interests in a portfolio of 201 commercial real estate properties, aggregating approximately 52.8 million net rentable square feet of primarily Class A office properties, including nine properties under construction/redevelopment totaling approximately 3.4 million net rentable square feet. As of December 31, 2021, our properties consisted of:

 

concentrated : showing that you are determined to do something / (of a substance) made stronger because water or other substances have been removed

 

joint venture : a business or business activity that two or more people or companies work on together

 

aggregate : to put together different items, amounts, etc. into a single group or total 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We consider Class A office properties to be well-located buildings that are modern structures or have been modernized to compete with newer buildings and professionally managed and maintained. As such, these properties attract high-quality tenants and command upper-tier rental rates. Our definition of Class A office properties may be different than those used by other companies.

 

 

 

We are a full-service real estate company, with substantial in-house expertise and resources in acquisitions, development, financing, capital markets, construction management, property management, marketing, leasing, accounting, risk management, tax and legal services.

 

 

 

BXP manages BPLP as its sole general partner. Our principal executive office and Boston regional office are located at The Prudential Center, 800 Boylston Street, Suite 1900, Boston, Massachusetts 02199 and our telephone number is (617) 236-3300.

 

 

 

In addition, we have regional offices at 2800 28th Street, Suite 170, Santa Monica, California 90405, 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10022, Four Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, California 94111, 1001 Fourth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98154 and 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037.

 

 

 

(omitted)

 

 

 

Boston Properties Limited Partnership

 

BPLP is a Delaware limited partnership organized in 1997, and the entity through which BXP conducts substantially all of its business and owns, either directly or through subsidiaries, substantially all of its assets. BXP is the sole general partner of BPLP and, as of February 14, 2022, the owner of approximately 89.6% of the economic interests in BPLP.

 

entity : something that exists separately from other things and has its own identity 

 

 

 

Economic interest was calculated as the number of common partnership units of BPLP owned by BXP as a percentage of the sum of (1) the actual aggregate number of outstanding common partnership units of BPLP and (2) the number of common units issuable upon conversion of all outstanding long term incentive plan units of BPLP, or LTIP Units, for which all performance conditions have been satisfied for such conversion.

 

aggregate : a total number or amount made up of smaller amounts that are collected together

 

conversion : the act or process of changing something from one form, use or system to another / the process or experience of changing somebody's or your own religion or beliefs 

 

 

 

We exclude from (1) and (2) above other LTIP Units issued in the form of Multi-Year Long-Term Incentive Plan Awards in 2020 or later (“MYLTIP Awards”), which remain subject to performance conditions. An LTIP Unit is generally the economic equivalent of a share of BXP’s restricted common stock, although LTIP Units issued in the form of MYLTIP Awards are only entitled to receive one-tenth (1/10th) of the regular quarterly distributions (and no special distributions) prior to being earned.

 

 

 

(omitted)

 

 

 

Competition

 

We compete in the leasing of office, life sciences, retail and residential space with a considerable number of other real estate companies, some of which may have greater marketing and financial resources than are available to us. In addition, our hotel property competes for guests with other hotels, some of which may have greater marketing and financial resources than are available to us and to the manager of our one hotel, Marriott International, Inc. 

 

 

 

Principal factors of competition in our primary business of owning, acquiring and developing office properties are the quality of properties, leasing terms (including rent and other charges and allowances for tenant improvements), attractiveness and convenience of location, the quality and breadth of tenant services and amenities provided, and reputation as an owner and operator of quality office properties in the relevant market.

 

principal : most important; main

 

breadth : the distance or measurement from one side to the other; how broad or wide something is / a wide range (of knowledge, interests, etc.)

 

relevant : closely connected with the subject you are discussing or the situation you are in / the fact of being valuable and useful to people in their lives and work

 

 

 

Additionally, our ability to compete depends upon, among other factors, trends in the national and local economies, investment alternatives, financial condition and operating results of current and prospective tenants, availability and cost of capital, construction and renovation costs, taxes, utilities, governmental regulations, legislation and population trends.

 

prospective : expected to do something or to become something / expected to happen soon

 

 

 

In addition, we currently have six residential properties and may in the future decide to acquire or develop additional residential properties. As an owner, we will also face competition for prospective residents from other operators/owners whose properties may be perceived to offer a better location or better amenities or whose rent may be perceived as a better value given the quality, location and amenities that the resident seeks.

 

perceive : to understand or think of somebody/something in a particular way / to notice or become aware of something

 

amenity : a feature or service that makes a place pleasant, comfortable or easy to live in

 

 

 

We will also compete against condominiums and single-family homes that are for sale or rent. Because the scale of our residential portfolio is relatively small, we expect to continue to retain third parties to manage our residential properties.

 

 

 

(the rest omitted)