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Organization
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Organization

1. Organization

Boston Properties, Inc. (the “Company”), a Delaware corporation, is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (“REIT”). The Company is the sole general partner of Boston Properties Limited Partnership (the “Operating Partnership”) and at September 30, 2012 owned an approximate 88.6% (88.0% at September 30, 2011) general and limited partnership interest in the Operating Partnership. Partnership interests in the Operating Partnership are denominated as “common units of partnership interest” (also referred to as “OP Units”), “long term incentive units of partnership interest” (also referred to as “LTIP Units”) or “preferred units of partnership interest” (also referred to as “Preferred Units”). In addition, in February 2008, February 2011 and February 2012, the Company issued LTIP Units in connection with the granting to employees of outperformance awards (also referred to as “2008 OPP Units,” “2011 OPP Units” and “2012 OPP Units,” respectively, and collectively as “OPP Units”). Because the rights, preferences and privileges of OPP Units differ from other LTIP Units granted to employees as part of the annual compensation process, unless specifically noted otherwise, all references to LTIP Units exclude OPP Units. On February 5, 2011, the measurement period for the Company’s 2008 OPP Unit awards expired and the Company’s total return to shareholders was not sufficient for employees to earn and therefore become eligible to vest in any of the 2008 OPP Unit awards. Accordingly, all 2008 OPP Unit awards were automatically forfeited (See Notes 9 and 12).

Unless specifically noted otherwise, all references to OP Units exclude units held by the Company. A holder of an OP Unit may present such OP Unit to the Operating Partnership for redemption at any time (subject to restrictions agreed upon at the time of issuance of OP Units to particular holders that may restrict such redemption right for a period of time, generally one year from issuance). Upon presentation of an OP Unit for redemption, the Operating Partnership is obligated to redeem such OP Unit for cash equal to the value of a share of common stock of the Company (“Common Stock”) at such time. In lieu of a cash redemption, the Company may elect to acquire such OP Unit for one share of Common Stock. Because the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding at all times equals the number of OP Units that the Company owns, one share of Common Stock is generally the economic equivalent of one OP Unit, and the quarterly distribution that may be paid to the holder of an OP Unit equals the quarterly dividend that may be paid to the holder of a share of Common Stock. An LTIP Unit is generally the economic equivalent of a share of restricted common stock of the Company. LTIP Units, whether vested or not, will receive the same quarterly per unit distributions as OP Units, which equal per share dividends on Common Stock (See Note 12).

At September 30, 2012, there were two series of Preferred Units outstanding (i.e., Series Two Preferred Units and Series Four Preferred Units). The Series Two Preferred Units bear a distribution that is set in accordance with an amendment to the partnership agreement of the Operating Partnership. Each Series Two Preferred Unit may also be converted into approximately 1.312336 OP Units or redeemed for $50.00 of cash at the election of the holder thereof or the Operating Partnership in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the applicable amendment to the partnership agreement. The Series Four Preferred Units are not convertible into or exchangeable for any common equity of the Operating Partnership or the Company, have a per unit liquidation preference of $50.00 and are entitled to receive quarterly distributions of $0.25 per unit (or an annual rate of 2.00%) (See Note 9).

All references herein to the Company refer to Boston Properties, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, including the Operating Partnership, collectively, unless the context otherwise requires.

Properties

At September 30, 2012, the Company owned or had interests in a portfolio of 152 commercial real estate properties (the “Properties”) aggregating approximately 43.4 million net rentable square feet, including eight properties under construction totaling approximately 2.7 million net rentable square feet. In addition, the Company has structured parking for approximately 44,703 vehicles containing approximately 15.2 million square feet. At September 30, 2012, the Properties consist of:

 

   

145 office properties, including 128 Class A office properties (including seven properties under construction) and 17 Office/Technical properties;

 

   

one hotel;

 

   

three retail properties; and

 

   

three residential properties (including one property under construction).

The Company owns or controls undeveloped land parcels totaling approximately 510.7 acres. In addition, the Company has a noncontrolling interest in the Boston Properties Office Value-Added Fund, L.P. (the “Value-Added Fund”), which is a strategic partnership with two institutional investors through which the Company has pursued the acquisition of value-added investments in assets within its existing markets. The Company’s investments through the Value-Added Fund are not included in its portfolio information or any other portfolio level statistics. At September 30, 2012, the Value-Added Fund had investments in 23 buildings comprised of two office complexes in Mountain View, California.

The Company considers Class A office properties to be centrally located buildings that are professionally managed and maintained, attract high-quality tenants and command upper-tier rental rates, and that are modern structures or have been modernized to compete with newer buildings. The Company considers Office/Technical properties to be properties that support office, research and development, laboratory and other technical uses. The Company’s definitions of Class A Office and Office/Technical properties may be different than those used by other companies.