BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP), the largest publicly-traded owner, developer and manager of Class A office properties in the United States, provided an update on recent business accomplishments including:

• Leasing productivity: In the months of April and May the Company signed approximately 870,000 square feet of new leases and renewals including a new 12-year lease with Microsoft Corporation for approximately 400,000 square feet at Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia. This new lease builds on Microsoft’s existing presence of approximately 165,000 square feet in Reston. Microsoft joins several other companies including Facebook, Leidos, Bechtel and CACI that have recently chosen BXP’s Reston Town Center as their location of choice for attracting talent and growing their workforce in the region.
• Ongoing strength in collections: For the month of May, the Company collected more than 97% of its total rent payments from office tenants due May 1. Rent collections from all tenants, including retail, were 93% in total.
• A fortified balance sheet: The Company continues to maintain a strong liquidity position with $3.3 billion of total liquidity consisting of $1.7 billion of cash, $151 million of cash held in 1031 exchange escrow, as well as $1.5 billion available under its unsecured revolving credit facility as of May 5, 2020. This includes the net cash proceeds from the Company’s recent issuance of $1.25 billion of 3.250% unsecured senior notes.
• A Heath Security Plan for repopulating the workplace: The plan was developed by BXP’s Heath Security Task Force and provides a framework for health security at BXP’s office properties, including enhanced cleaning and disinfection, air and water quality protocols, physical distancing, screening and personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements. Since the release of the Plan in early May, the Company has conducted town halls and one-on-one sessions across BXP’s regions to support tenants’ office repopulation process which has started in Massachusetts this week.

The Company also pointed to a recent survey of 2,300 U.S. workers conducted by the Gensler Research Institute that showed that employees overwhelmingly choose the office as their preferred place to work. The survey, which was conducted between April 16 and May 4, 2020 showed that only 12% of U.S. workers want to work from home full-time. Before COVID-19, 10% of U.S. office workers had regularly worked from home, indicating a small, 2% increase in the number of workers who prefer to work-from-home five days per week. The survey also revealed that younger generations are less satisfied with the work-from-home experience, despite their technological preparedness for mobile work, and are less aware of what is expected of them and how their work contributes to their organizational goals.

The results of the survey are consistent with the sentiment Boston Properties is hearing from its customers across its regions as companies prepare for repopulation based on the timelines set by local municipalities.

“Companies and their employees recognize the importance of the office as the preferred workplace for collaboration, creativity, mentorship, productivity and creating culture. This is particularly important for sectors that rely on knowledge workers for innovation, long-term competitiveness and growth,” said Owen Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties. “We look forward to helping our customers welcome their teams back to their office as we implement our health security processes and procedures to ensure that individual workers feel safe and secure in their workplace.”

About Boston Properties

Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) is the largest publicly-held developer and owner of Class A office properties in the United States, concentrated in five markets - Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The Company is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), that develops, manages, operates, acquires and owns a diverse portfolio of primarily Class A office space. The Company’s portfolio totals 51.8 million square feet and 196 properties, including 10 properties under construction/redevelopment. For more information about Boston Properties, please visit our website at www.bxp.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram.