The CEO of one of the biggest US office-space owners just answered a rapid-fire Q&A with a prediction that Bloomberg will be president
- Owen Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties, opened up Goodwin Proctor and Columbia Business School's 2020 Real Estate Capital Markets Conference with a discussion of the office REIT's performance and trends in the REIT space.
- The biggest applause line of the day came during a rapid-response Q&A, led by Guy Metcalfe, managing and global chairman of real estate at Morgan Stanley. Metcalfe asked Thomas who would win the presidential election. Thomas answered that it would be billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
- Thomas also provided his thoughts on WeWork, climate change, and the next city where Boston Properties will expand.
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With the Iowa caucus fast approaching, it's hard to avoid political predictions.
Owen Thomas, chief executive of Boston Properties, gave his own outlook at Goodwin Proctor and Columbia Business School's 2020 Real Estate Capital Markets Conference on Friday.
The half-day conference opened with Guy Metcalfe, managing and global chairman of real estate at Morgan Stanley, interviewing Thomas about Boston Properties, one of the largest office REITs.
Metcalfe and Thomas spoke at length about Thomas's tenure with the firm, the rising prominence of REITs investing in alternative asset classes, and the strategy behind some of Boston Properties' recent ventures.
One moment got the most crowd reaction: a rapid-fire Q&A that strayed away from the specifics of Boston Properties, and waded, for a moment, into politics. Metcalfe asked Thomas who the next president would be.
"Bloomberg," Thomas said.
The crowd, hundred strong and seated underneath 583 Park Avenue's massive chandelier and domed ceiling, clapped and yelled in support.
The question and answer session also offered insights into Boston Properties. Thomas answered that Boston Properties' next market would be Seattle. Seattle, home of Amazon and a burgeoning tech sector, had a 7% vacancy rate in office space by the end of 2019, the lowest since 2000 according to a Colliers International report.
Metcalfe asked about WeWork, and Thomas answered that the coworking company was an "unfulfilled opportunity."
Boston Properties and Rudin Management's WeWork-anchored Dock 72 office building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, opened last October, has been leasing slower than expected.
Metcalfe also asked about climate change and the environment. Thomas responded "scary" to both of them. In the face of regulatory pressures, like New York City's Local Law 97 that limits carbon emissions on a building level, and the increasing visibility of climate activism, real estate leaders have begun to highlight the potential effects of rising sea levels and climate volatility.
Robin Bell, a professor at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, led another session at the conference. Proptech's largest venture fund, Fifth Wall, announced this month it was launching a $200 million Carbon Impact Fund to fund startups that work to reduce carbon emissions in real estate.
While Thomas hasn't previously announced his prediction for president, he has a history of political giving. Since 2013, the year he became CEO of Boston Properties, he has made 31 political contributions to candidates and PACs, according to OpenSecrets.
He gave the maximum contribution of $2,700 to Hillary Clinton's 2016 election campaign and has donated to both the DNC and the Massachusetts Democratic party (Boston Properties is based in the state.) He has donated to Democratic and Republican candidates, as well as multiple PACs.
Unsurprisingly, he has donated most frequently to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts and the Real Estate Roundtable. He donated $10,000 to the Centrist Project Election Fund in 2017, a PAC that supports moderate Republicans and Democrats.
Michael Bloomberg won the 2001 election to be mayor of New York as a Republican and endorsed George W Bush at the 2004 Republican National Convention, but became an independent in 2007. He registered as a Democrat in 2018, and now pledges that he will support whoever wins the Democratic primary.