JBG Cos. to get big NYC foothold with merger

WASHINGTON — The prolific Washington commercial real estate developer JBG Cos. will merge with publicly traded New York REIT Inc., creating an $8.4 billion real estate company with more than 14 million square feet of commercial real estate in Washington and the Big Apple.

The new company will be called JBG Realty Trust.

JBG, which has been developing commercial real estate in the Washington market since 1960, will remain headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Its existing management team will run the newly created company.

The deal still requires approval by New York REIT shareholders. Once closed, New York REIT stockholders will own 34.8 percent of the combined company’s shares and units; JBG equity holders will own the balance.

“This combination creates a stabilized real estate platform focused on two of the world’s gateway markets,” said JBG chief executive Matt Kelly.

“We have been actively evaluating ways to bring our unique capabilities and strategy to the New York City market for some time, and believe the portfolio of the combined company will provide tremendous opportunities.”

About 78 percent of the new company’s portfolio of office buildings, retail properties and apartment buildings will be in the Washington area, with the balance throughout greater New York.

JBG’s current projects in the Washington area include two high-rises under construction in Rosslyn — CEB Tower at Central Place and Central Place Residential — the residential development The Shay, in the District, and the mixed-use development Atlantic Plumbing in D.C.’s U Street corridor.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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