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Liberty Property to exit suburban office market in 2018, exec says

Liberty Property Trust plans to sell its remaining suburban office properties in 2018, with the goal of redeploying the proceeds into its accretive development pipeline and industrial acquisitions.

On an earnings call, Liberty Chairman, President and CEO William Hankowsky said these planned asset sales could bring in at least $600 million to $800 million for the company, according to a transcript.

The office properties that are targeted for disposal include the Vanguard Group Inc.-leased building at 8501 East Raintree Dr. in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the Liberty Center at Rio Salado-Building V property in Tempe, Ariz., Hankowsky said during the question-and-answer portion of the call.

The company, however, intends to hold on to the Comcast Center and the Navy Yard building in Philadelphia. It is also working on a project in Camden, N.J., and will own properties in Washington, D.C., the executive added.

In terms of its industrial portfolio, Hankowsky said Liberty aims to expand its national footprint by buying $400 million to $600 million of industrial assets and launching development projects worth $500 million to $600 million.

The diversified real estate investment trust has made significant strides in advancing its strategy of reallocating capital to targeted industrial markets. In 2017 alone, the company sold $300 million of office and industrial properties, acquired $195 million of industrial properties and delivered $690 million in new developments, the executive said.

"[R]egardless of what the financial markets are doing at any given moment, this is a great time to be in the industrial real estate business," Hankowsky said.