W. P. Carey Group to Fund Expansion of Sprint Call Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico
$1.45 Million Build-to-Suit Addition Will Enhance Existing Call Center and Office Facility
NEW YORK, NY – October 13, 2000 – W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC), a leader in the ownership and net leasing of corporate properties, announced today that it has closed on the funding of an expansion to an existing call center and office facility leased by Sprint Spectrum LP. The facility, located in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, is owned by W. P. Carey & Co. LLC, which manages approximately $2.5 billion of real estate assets. The total cost of the expansion will be approximately $1.45 million, including the purchase of 1.9 acres of land.
Sprint Spectrum LP owns all of the PCS licenses for Sprint PCS's nationwide wireless service, and is responsible for building the wireless network operated by Sprint and its subsidiaries. Sprint PCS, the marketing subsidiary that operates the Company's wireless business, itself consists of several subsidiaries that coordinate their efforts towards building and operating Sprint Corporation's wireless service. One of 14 call centers across the country, the Rio Rancho facility serves the Sprint PCS customer base, running 2.5 shifts per day, taking calls for 18 hours in every 24 hours. The Rio Rancho facility is currently undersized relative to the other call centers; the expansion will enable Sprint PCS to operate more efficiently.
"We've had our seventh quarter running of being the fastest-growing wireless provider in the nation and now serve more than 8 million customers," said Kathie Lehner, Sprint PCS director of the Rio Rancho call center. "This expansion will allow us to add 200 more employees to provide world-class service to our rapidly growing customer base."
The Rio Rancho facility consists of a 74,245 square foot single-story call center and office space situated on a 13-acre site located in the extreme northwestern portion of the rapidly growing Albuquerque metropolitan area. The existing call center was constructed in 1998 with funding from Carey Diversified, a member of the W. P. Carey Group. The expansion will include the construction of an additional 20,017 square feet of office space and training area, as well as the purchase of 1.9 acres of adjacent land, which will be partly used for additional parking space. The additional office space will primarily be used for classroom space to train new employees. It is estimated that construction will be completed in January 2001.
Commenting on the transaction, W. Sean Sovak, Executive Director of W. P. Carey, stated, "This transaction exemplifies our ability to develop flexible and creative solutions to meet the financing needs of both new and existing tenants such as Sprint. We structured the transaction as an amendment to the existing lease agreement to include the financing necessary for the expansion. This will enable Sprint to retain the benefits of the original off-balance sheet financing, and allows the Company to avoid funding the construction by going out-of-pocket or seeking short-term construction financing."
Founded in 1973, W. P. Carey & Co. specializes in corporate real estate financing using the corporate net lease, or sale-leaseback structure. The firm and its affiliates is one of the largest lessors of net leased corporate real estate in the nation. The W. P. Carey Group manages the largest publicly traded limited liability company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and four real estate investment trusts (REITs). Collectively, Carey manages over 33 million square feet of property in the USA and Europe. The W. P. Carey Group's properties have an aggregate value of approximately $2.5 billion.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. A number of factors could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially from those anticipated. Among those risks, trends and uncertainties are the general economic climate; the supply of and demand for office and industrial properties; interest rate levels; the availability of financing; and other risks associated with the acquisition and ownership of properties, including risks that the tenants will not pay rent, or that costs may be greater than anticipated. For further information on factors that could impact the company, reference is made to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
