BALTIMORE and NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Transamerica Life Insurance Company, an AEGON company, is relocating its Baltimore operations and taking 140,526 net rentable square feet at 100 Light Street (top left photo), the 35-story city skyscraper which will be known as the Transamerica Tower.
The building is owned by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lexington Realty Trust (NYSE: LXP), a real estate investment trust focused on single-tenant real estate investments.
The lease commences no later than November 1, 2011 and continues for a term of 10 years and three months, subject to two five-year tenant renewal options.
Transamerica has the option to decrease or increase the amount of leased square feet by two floors, or 31,228 square feet, prior to approval of its space plans. Assuming no adjustment in the square feet subject to the Transamerica lease, the building is expected to be approximately 72 percent leased.
T. Wilson Eglin (top right photo), Chief Executive Officer of Lexington, remarked "The addition of Transamerica as a tenant and the renaming of 100 Light Street as the Transamerica Tower successfully culminates our efforts to reposition the building as the premier Class A office property in Downtown Baltimore.
“We are extremely pleased to have procured another marquee tenant and increased leased space from approximately 26 percent to approximately 72 percent in the last 12 months."
Since it acquired its interest in the building on December 31, 2006, Lexington Realty Trust has enhanced the Transamerica Tower by adding a new parking garage across the street, conference center, cafeteria and fitness center and redesigning the plaza and lobby.
"We are pleased to renew our long standing presence in the downtown area in an iconic building, which will now be known as the Transamerica Tower. We look forward to bringing our over 700 employees in Baltimore under one roof," said Mark Mullin (middle left photo), President and CEO of AEGON USA, LLC.
"This is tremendous news for the State of Maryland and for the City of Baltimore. Transamerica Life Insurance Company's decision to keep their business in Baltimore's downtown will help boost Maryland and Baltimore City's economy," said Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (middle right photo).
"As we come through these tough economic times stronger and more quickly than other states, we continue to work together to create and save jobs, and improve the conditions under which businesses, large and small, can create and save jobs."
"I am very pleased to see another strong corporate name with global recognition added to Baltimore's beautiful downtown skyline at 100 Light Street," said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (lower left photo).
"Just like the iconic Pyramid in San Francisco, Baltimore's Transamerica Tower will be a prominent downtown landmark and a proud symbol of our City's strength as a thriving corporate center that is open for business."
"We are delighted and excited that, with the help of Lexington, one of the nation's largest insurance companies has decided to locate its future home in downtown Baltimore," said Baltimore Development Corporation President M.J. "Jay" Brodie. "This decision inspires confidence in our city's ability to retain and attract major companies."
David Gillece and David Downey of Cassidy Turley represented Transamerica. Matt Seward and John Schulze of Cassidy Turley represented Lexington Realty Trust.
Transamerica Life Insurance Company is an AEGON company. In the U.S., Transamerica is the AEGON companies lead retail brand.
AEGON is an international life insurance pension and investment organization based in The Hague, The Netherlands. AEGON companies have businesses in over twenty markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia and employ approximately 28,000 people and have over 40 million customers across the globe. www.aegon.com
