Ken Bernstein
Analyst · Bank of America. Please go ahead with your question or comment
Thanks Amy. Good afternoon, thank you for joining us. Today I will start with an overview of our third quarter results, then Jon will review our earning and other metrics. We're very pleased with our third quarter results both with respect to our existing asset performance as well as our new investment activity. In terms of our existing asset let's first look at our core portfolio performance. Our third quarter same-store NOI growth of 7.7% was the result of solid contribution throughout our portfolio. Consistent with last quarter our properties remained 97% leased and although physical occupancy was down 60 basis points since last quarter, this decline was primarily driven by value creating events including the addition of a new acquisition to our core portfolio more specifically the 92% occupied Bedford Hill shopping center as well as the recapture of approximately 16,000 square feet of below market street retail space of which approximately 85% has already been released. Looking ahead, given our portfolio's already high occupancy levels we'll continue to focus our attention on selectively recapturing underutilized and below market space, particularly within our street retail portfolio where tenant demand continues to drive market rents upward. In terms of our third quarter leasing spreads, our leasing team achieved a blended 23% spread on new leases on a GAAP basis primarily driven by activity within our street retail portfolio. Then with respect to renewals during the third quarter we achieved a respectable 8% increase in those rents, it's worth noting that all of the renewals were for space in our suburban shopping centers and furthermore the majority of these renewals were on a contractual basis. Now in terms of our core portfolio acquisition activity, during and subsequent to the third quarter we completed a $154 million of acquisitions which brings our year-to-date transaction volume to just under $300 million. As you recall 300 million was the high-end of our initial 2014 guidance so based on completed transactions as well as our current pipeline we're now increasing our 2014 core acquisition guidance to between 400 million and 500 million of which approximately 70% is projected to be high street retail. The balance will be either urban or dense suburban properties. As previously reported during the third quarter, we completed our Prince Street acquisition Soho where we utilized OP units to fund the majority of that transaction. Over the years, many luxury retailers including Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Ralph Lauren have chosen to cluster on or between Prince Street as well Spring Street where we also own two other properties. Tenant demand in this submarket remains strong with rents exceeding $800 a square foot for larger format space and a $1,000 a square foot for smaller stores. The in-place rent at the property we acquired are significantly below market, the first of these leases will reset to market in 2017 and additionally we're exploring opportunities to harvest this embedded value ahead of schedule. And once we do, the unleveraged yield is projected to be between 5% and 6% at today’s rents, and if the current trends continue it will be even higher. This is at least a 100 basis point to 200 basis points higher than the cap rate that the asset we trade today is that we're fully stabilized. In addition to aggregating assets in the nations top street retail corridors, we'll continue to add both urban as well as dense suburban properties to our portfolio. This includes our third quarter acquisition of Bedford Hill shopping center in Westchester as well as our recent acquisition of the shops at Grand Avenue which is another high performing super market anchored shopping center, this one in Queens, New York. Queens is the fourth densest County in the United States. Keep in mind that in the shopping center industry 100,000 residents within 3 mile to the shopping center is considered pretty darn dense. The shops at Grand Avenue has 100,000 residents within a 1 mile radius. And then within 2 miles, the number of residents increases to more than 0.5 million. The property's anchor Stop & Shop is the dominant grosser in the area given its size and ample onsite parking. In short, this is a welcomed addition to our traditional shopping center portfolio. Now taking a step back, it's worth discussing the significant growth of our core portfolio over the past several years. Assuming that we reached a midpoint of our current core portfolio acquisition guidance, then in less than four years we will have more than doubled the size of our core portfolio equating to a compounded annual growth rate of in excess of 20%. And for 2014 we're on track to exceed that rate, despite the fact that the base amount keeps growing. And given our still relatively small size there's no reason that we shouldn’t be able to maintain this pace. That being said our focus is not simply on getting bigger but on building a differentiated retail real-estate portfolio.
. : Turning now to our fund platform; as we previously discussed our fund acquisition activities are centered around four key strategies. First is street retail turnaround opportunities; then there is next generation street retail; third is distressed retailer; and finally opportunistic. With respect to new street retail investment subsequent to the third quarter our fund foreclosed on or entered into contract to acquire street redevelopments on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for an aggregate purchase price of just under a $100 million. The two completed acquisitions one is located on 61st Street and the other on 71st Street are part of our off Madison strategy. Today rents on Madison Avenue are generally north of a $1,000 square foot with certain front spaces commanding nearly double that. Both of our recently acquired properties are located approximately 100 feet off of Madison Avenue, providing retailers with high visibility and solid co-tenancy. Co-tenants include Barneys and Hermes at the 61st Street property, Ralph Lauren and Prada at the 71st Street property. To date several luxury retailers have already set up shop off Madison, including Monique Lhuillier and Badgley Mischka and now we're seeing other luxury retailers beginning to seek this kind of unique flagship space and recognize the attractive value proposition of an off Madison location. Including existing investments and those currently under contract, we've now allocated about 40% of fund for total capital commitments with almost two years remaining in the fund’s investment period. And even though it's a very competitive investment environment, we're going to continue to remain focused on those areas that are consistent with our core competencies. Given the continued compression in cap rates, our existing fund investments have certainly benefited as well. For example as previously announced during the third quarter we completed the sale of our two Lincoln Road portfolios separately owned by Funds III and Funds IV for 342 million. In three years or less both funds achieved internal rates of return of approximately 50% with Funds III generating an equity multiple of three times and Fund IV generating an equity multiple of nearly two times. Consistent with our Fund platforms by fixed sell mandates, we’re now exploring the opportunistic sales of our other stabilized fund assets including several high quality properties owned in Fund III. That being said, several of our funds still had a significant amount of embedded growth in them. For example at City Point, where we are 65% pre-leased on a square footage basis, that only represents 40% of the projected revenues thus we still have a significant amount of upside in a very hot market. Elsewhere in our Fund portfolio at our Lincoln Park Center property we completed the re-anchoring of the former Borders Book space do design Within Reach and Eddie Bauer and add our 3rd Avenue and 67 Street property on the Upper East Side, we fully released that property and replaced Lucky Brand Jeans on the street level with Vineyard Vines at more than double the rent. So in conclusion during the third quarter, we made steady progress across both of our operating platforms. And looking ahead, notwithstanding recent volatility in the global economy, we like how we’re positioned. First our existing core portfolio continues to produce solid internal growth, and then by selectively adding high quality street retail, urban as well as dense suburban properties primarily in live, work, play, cities. We're keeping this portfolio relevant and positioned for continued solid growth. Then at the fund level, we continue to make important progress on our existing investments while also remaining well-positioned for both new acquisitions and opportunistic sales. Finally, we continue to maintain a very safe and secure balance sheet with plenty of dry powder. With that, I'd like to thank the team for their hard work over the past quarter and turn the call over to Jon.