William Trimble, president and CEO of Easterly Government Properties (NYSE: DEA), joined REIT.com for a video interview at REITWeek 2017: NAREIT’s Investor Forum at the New York Hilton Midtown.
Easterly acquires, develops and manages class-A commercial properties that are leased to government agencies primarily through the General Services Administration (GSA).
Trimble explained that Easterly’s investment concept is well understood by investors, despite being a new institutional asset class. “We’ve executed well since we’ve gone public, and I think we’ve got our story out there appropriately,” he said.
Trimble also commented on Easterly’s interest in properties leased by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In the last five or six years, there has been a bipartisan effort to reinvigorate the VA, according to Trimble. The department serves 22 million members of the armed forces every day and has adopted a new program of providing outpatient services to veterans, he added.
Meanwhile, Trimble said organic growth, development and acquisitions will all be important drivers of growth for Easterly going forward. He noted that with a $700 million pipeline in place, acquisitions will be the main focus for the time being. However, development opportunities are also emerging and are likely to account for a larger portion of the overall business in the long term, Trimble noted.