Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT)

What Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) does

Corporate Office Properties Trust, operating as COPT Defense Properties (NYSE: CDP), is a publicly traded specialty office real estate investment trust founded in 1987 and headquartered in Columbia, Maryland. The company owns, operates, and develops mission-critical office and data center facilities leased predominantly to the U.S. Government and to defense and IT contractors, with a defense/IT portfolio of 201 properties totaling 23.2 million square feet as of December 31, 2025. Its footprint is concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic (Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC), Southeast (Alabama/Huntsville near Redstone Arsenal), and select Midwest locations, anchored by master-planned campuses such as Columbia Gateway, the National Business Park adjacent to Fort Meade, and Redstone Gateway adjacent to Redstone Arsenal.

The company's core capabilities cover four lines: (1) Defense/IT + Mission Critical Properties - long-term leased office and secure space proximate to priority defense installations; (2) Data Center Development - build-to-suit single-tenant shells for hyperscale and U.S. Government customers, with 30+ data centers totaling approximately 6.3 million square feet; (3) Tenant Improvement and Buildout - interior fit-out for tailored mission-critical environments; and (4) speculative and build-to-suit Development - including 7055/7005 Columbia Gateway Drive projects. Differentiating technical attributes include secure shell design with robust power architecture, expedited 12-15 month development timelines from land acquisition, and a workforce of 150+ TS/SCI-credentialed personnel spanning leasing, development, operations, and tenant engagement functions.

COPT generates revenue almost exclusively through long-duration triple-net and gross leases of mission-critical space to federal tenants and defense contractors - effectively a recurring subscription model with multi-year contract cadence and individually negotiated pricing. The business operates a direct enterprise sales motion supported by dedicated regional leasing teams, third-party leasing partnerships (e.g., Lincoln Property Company at Airport Square), and digital channels including LoopNet listings and an investor-relations platform. The company rebranded from Corporate Office Properties Trust to COPT Defense Properties in 2023 to reinforce its narrow strategic focus on the defense/IT vertical, exiting broader commercial office exposure.

Name

Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT)

Legal name

Corporate Office Properties Trust

Website

https://copt.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT Defense Properties) is a publicly traded specialty REIT that owns, operates, and develops mission-critical office and data center facilities leased to the U.S. Government and defense/IT contractors near priority defense installations across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Defense Real Estate / Commercial Office REIT

NAICS

Office Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing (532420)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Real Estate Investment Trusts (6798)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Center Tenant Representation (BPAJALAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Office Tenant Representation (BPAJALAA)

Keywords

• Defense real estate
• Mission critical facilities
• Commercial property leasing
• Data center development
• Government office space

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Commercial Real Estate Leasing: The company generates revenue through leasing office and data center space to U.S. Government agencies and defense/IT contractors. Revenue is recurring from long-term lease agreements with properties near defense installations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) is a specialty office REIT that owns, operates, and develops mission critical commercial real estate leased predominantly to U.S. Government defense installations and defense/IT contractors. The company owns approximately 30+ data centers totaling 6.3 million square feet and a broader Defense/IT portfolio of 201 properties totaling 23.2 million square feet across Maryland, Virginia, Alabama, Washington D.C., and other U.S. locations. COPT also provides build-to-suit development, data center shell construction, and tenant improvement services tailored to government and defense customers.

Product overview

COPT Defense Properties is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that operates as a single unified business focused on owning, operating, and developing mission-critical properties near U.S. Government defense installations and for defense/IT contractors. The company's core portfolio includes Defense/IT + Mission Critical Properties, Data Center Development, Tenant Improvement + Buildout, and Development services. Their properties are organized geographically across Maryland (including Columbia Gateway with neighborhoods like Soundtrack, The Bell, The Stade, Franklin, Cirql, and Wayline), Virginia, Alabama (Redstone Gateway), Washington DC, and Texas. Columbia Gateway serves as a flagship mixed-use innovation district featuring multiple branded neighborhoods with shared amenities, while specialized developments like 7055 and 7005 offer build-to-suit options for enterprise tenants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Columbia Gateway: Maryland's premiere business hub for cybersecurity and dynamic growth featuring multiple amenity-packed neighborhoods including Soundtrack, The Bell, The Stade, Franklin, CIRQL, and Wayline
• Redstone Gateway
• National Business Park
• Advanced Gateway
• Westfields Corporate Center

Products and services

• Defense/IT + Mission Critical Properties

Quantifiable outcome

• 94.4% portfolio occupancy rate
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026Development partnership for $65 million ARLIS capital project at University of Maryland Discovery District. Four-story, 110,000 SF facility for AI, quantum applications, and national defense research. Shell completion scheduled for Q2 2027.
• Lincoln Property CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 January 2022Partnership for Airport Square portfolio leasing in Linthicum, MD. Jointly announced 24,850 SF of new leasing with five new tenants. Lincoln Property Company represented by Kyle Bell and Brent Prossner.
• WJP Restaurant GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2020Joint venture partnership for 'Feeding Our Neighbors in Need' program at Fiero Mexican Street Food located at The National Business Park. For every meal purchased, a meal is donated to the Maryland Food Bank. Target of 60,000 meals from combined Redstone Gateway and National Business Park locations.
• SkillbridgeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Skillbridge program offering service members real-world training and work experience as they transition into civilian careers.
• SPACES (Co-working)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSPACES, an international co-working company, opened a 26,000 SF suite at 4100 Market Street within Redstone Gateway development, designed for aerospace, defense, and technology collaboration.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Equinix: Global data center REIT and colocation operator; comparable in data center real estate and interconnection, though more retail/colocation-focused than COPT's single-tenant hyperscale/government model.
• Digital Realty Trust: Large-cap data center REIT that operates hyperscale and colocation facilities globally; directly comparable to COPT's data center development platform and hyperscale build-to-suit business.
• Easterly Government Properties: Publicly traded REIT that owns and leases mission-critical, single-tenant office and data center properties to the U.S. Government — the closest direct comparable to COPT's defense/government-focused portfolio.
• Iron Mountain: Specialty REIT with a growing data center segment (ALR, ITRenewals) and government records-management business; comparable to COPT in mission-critical data center development and government-adjacent customer base.

Emerging players

• QTS Realty Trust (Blackstone): Hyperscale and government-focused data center operator acquired by Blackstone; overlaps with COPT's data center and government customer segments.
• Vantage Data Centers: Privately held hyperscale data center developer backed by DigitalBridge; competes with COPT for hyperscale build-to-suit mandates in select U.S. markets.
• CyrusOne (KKR / Global Switch): Hyperscale data center operator taken private by KKR and GIP; directly comparable in the hyperscale single-tenant build-to-suit market that COPT targets.

Broad incumbents

• BXP (Boston Properties): Largest publicly traded U.S. office REIT; provides scale and valuation benchmark for COPT's conventional office assets, though BXP is CBD-focused while COPT is suburban defense-anchored.
• Liberty Property Trust (Prologis): Acquired by Prologis in 2020; historically a defense-anchored office/industrial REIT serving government contractors, providing a historical reference point for COPT's defense-tenant model.
• Alexandria Real Estate Equities: Specialty REIT focused on mission-critical life science and tech campuses; comparable in operating build-to-suit, single-tenant facilities for highly regulated end users, though in life sciences rather than defense.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/coptonline
• Facebookfacebook.com/COPTonline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/corporate-office-properties-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/coptdefenseproperties

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT)