Cousins Properties Inc (CUZ) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Cousins Properties Fourth Quarter Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded on Thursday, February 8, 2024.

早安，女士們先生們，歡迎參加 Cousins Properties 第四季電話會議。 （操作員說明）謹此提醒，此通話錄音時間為 2024 年 2 月 8 日星期四。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Roper. Please go ahead.

我現在想把會議交給羅珀。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Cousins Properties Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call. With me today are Colin Connolly, our President and Chief Executive Officer; Richard Hickson, our Executive Vice President of Operations; and Gregg Adzema, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝。早上好，歡迎參加 Cousins Properties 第四季財報電話會議。今天與我在一起的有我們的總裁兼執行長 Colin Connolly； Richard Hickson，我們的營運執行副總裁；以及我們的財務長 Gregg Adzema。

The press release and supplemental package were distributed yesterday afternoon as well as furnished on Form 8-K. In the supplemental package, the company has reconciled all non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in accordance with the Reg G requirements. If you did not receive a copy, these documents are available through the quarterly disclosures and supplemental SEC information links on the Investor Relations page of our website, cousins.com.

新聞稿和補充資料已於昨天下午分發，並以 8-K 表格形式提供。在補充方案中，本公司已根據 Reg G 要求將所有非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標進行了調整。如果您沒有收到副本，可以透過我們網站 couchs.com 投資者關係頁面上的季度揭露和補充 SEC 資訊連結取得這些文件。

Please be aware that certain matters discussed today may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, and actual results may differ materially from these statements due to risks and uncertainties and other factors including the risk factors set forth in our annual report on Form 10-K and our other SEC filings.

請注意，今天討論的某些事項可能構成聯邦證券法含義內的前瞻性陳述，由於風險和不確定性以及其他因素（包括我們的年度報告中列出的風險因素），實際結果可能與這些陳述存在重大差異。10-K 表格和我們的其他 SEC 備案文件。

The company does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The full declaration regarding forward-looking statements is available in the supplemental package posted yesterday, and a detailed discussion of potential risks is contained in our filings with the SEC.

本公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因。有關前瞻性陳述的完整聲明可在昨天發布的補充包中找到，潛在風險的詳細討論包含在我們向 SEC 提交的文件中。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Colin Connolly.

這樣，我會將電話轉給科林康諾利。

Thank you, Pam, and good morning, everyone. We had a strong fourth quarter at Cousins. On the earnings front, the team delivered $0.65 per share in FFO and same-property net operating income increased 3.5% on a cash basis. We leased 453,000 square feet during the quarter with a positive cash rent roll up.

謝謝你，帕姆，大家早安。我們在考辛斯的第四節表現強勁。在盈利方面，該團隊在 FFO 中實現了每股 0.65 美元的收益，相同財產的淨營業收入以現金計算增長了 3.5%。本季我們租賃了 453,000 平方英尺，現金租金呈正增長。

For the year, we leased approximately 1.7 million square feet with a 5.8% cash rent rollout. New and expansion leases accounted for 52% of our overall leasing activity during the year. Our weighted average in-place gross rent at year-end 2023 was $46.95 per square foot, which is a 25% increase over year-end 2019. These are terrific results.

今年，我們租賃了約 170 萬平方英尺，並提供 5.8% 的現金租金。新租賃和擴建租賃占我們年內整體租賃活動的 52%。截至 2023 年底，我們的加權平均總租金為每平方英尺 46.95 美元，比 2019 年底增長了 25%。這些結果非常好。

I will start with a few observations on market fundamentals. First, the return to work in lifestyle office properties is accelerating. Our properties are full of professionals whose lifestyle is centered around collaborating in the office with their teams, at least most of the time. As a result, our parking garages are filling up and demand for our space is increasing despite higher professional layoffs.

我將從對市場基本面的一些觀察開始。首先，生活風格辦公物業的復工正在加速。我們的酒店充滿了專業人士，他們的生活方式以在辦公室與團隊合作為中心，至少在大多數時候是如此。因此，儘管專業人士裁員較多，但我們的停車場已滿，對空間的需求仍在增加。

Second, there is little to no customer or capital demand for old and tall CBD towers or suburban commodity properties. Many of these buildings will stagnate until they are repurposed or torn down. The process has already begun. Third, new supply is shutting in. The math for new development just does not work in today's higher interest rate environment. Thus, the supply of office properties across the United States is likely to contract just as demand begins to improve. The same process played out not that long ago in the retail sector.

其次，對於老舊高大的中央商務區塔樓或郊區商品房來說，客戶或資本需求很少甚至沒有。其中許多建築物將停滯不前，直到它們被重新利用或拆除。過程已經開始。第三，新的供應正在關閉。新開發的數學在當今較高的利率環境下是行不通的。因此，隨著需求開始改善，美國各地的辦公物業供應可能會收縮。不久前，同樣的過程也在零售業上演。

Remember when retail was dead, until it wasn't, market forces are now rebalancing the office market in a similar manner. In our view, a shortage of lifestyle office properties in the Sun Belt is not far off. Turning to the capital markets, asset level debt and equity for office is far less available and significantly more expensive today. The investment sales market has temporarily frozen as private players adjust to higher cap rates.

請記住，當零售業消亡時，直到它消亡之前，市場力量現在正在以類似的方式重新平衡辦公市場。我們認為，陽光地帶生活風格辦公物業的短缺已為時不遠。轉向資本市場，目前資產級債務和辦公室股權的供應要少得多，而且成本要高得多。隨著私人企業適應更高的上限利率，投資銷售市場暫時凍結。

Conversely, the public markets show signs of improvement. Coupons in the unsecured debt market, along with implied cap rates and discounts to NAVs for office REITs have all tightened in recent months. Valuations in the public and private market for office now appear to be converging. A similar dynamic occurred after the global financial crisis and proved to be an attractive investment environment for REITs.

相反，公開市場顯示出改善的跡象。近幾個月來，無擔保債務市場的息票以及隱含上限利率和辦公房地產投資信託基金資產淨值折扣均收緊。公共和私人辦公市場的估值現在似乎正在趨同。全球金融危機後也出現了類似的動態，並被證明對房地產投資信託基金來說是一個有吸引力的投資環境。

In the short term, the narrative for the office sector is likely to get worse before it gets better. Media will focus on high vacancy rates and accelerating loan defaults, and this reporting will not be wrong. However, as I said last quarter, it will be an overgeneralization that conflates commodity office with lifestyle office. At Cousins, our priority is to drive long-term earnings growth while maintaining a strong balance sheet. We have pursued that goal over the last 12 years by aggressively executing an intentional strategy to build the leading Sun Belt lifestyle office REIT, which will benefit from ongoing regional migration and flight to quality trends.

短期來看，辦公室產業的情況在好轉之前可能會變得更糟。媒體將關注高空置率和加速貸款違約，這種報告不會有錯。然而，正如我上季度所說，將商品辦公室與生活方式辦公室混為一談是一種過度概括。在考辛斯，我們的首要任務是推動長期獲利成長，同時維持強勁的資產負債表。過去12 年來，我們一直在追求這一目標，積極執行一項有針對性的策略，打造領先的陽光地帶生活方式辦公房地產投資信託基金，該房地產投資信託基金將受益於持續的區域遷移和向優質趨勢的轉變。

And we remain extremely well positioned for an eventual turn in this cycle. Today, we own the premier lifestyle office portfolio in the Sun Belt. Our lease expirations through 2025 are among the lowest in the sector. Our balance sheet is undoubtedly the best-in-class. Net debt-to-EBITDA of 5.1x is the lowest in the office sector. To be clear, the disruption from the COVID pandemic and the impact of higher interest rates have been setbacks. However, our strategy has proved resilient. Surprising to many, our property net operating income was 23% higher in 2023 compared to 2019.

我們仍然處於非常有利的位置，可以迎接這個週期的最終轉變。如今，我們擁有陽光地帶首屈一指的生活方式辦公大樓組合。我們的租賃期限到 2025 年是業內最低的之一。我們的資產負債表無疑是同類中最好的。淨債務與 EBITDA 比率為 5.1 倍，是辦公室產業中最低的。需要明確的是，新冠疫情大流行造成的破壞和利率上升的影響都是挫折。然而，事實證明我們的策略具有彈性。令許多人驚訝的是，我們 2023 年的房地產淨營業收入比 2019 年高出 23%。

Our 2024 guidance includes FFO that is flat year-over-year. We hope to outperform this and return to growth in the coming years. Let me highlight the building blocks. First, we intend to drive occupancy back over 90% in the intermediate term from 87.6% at year-end 2023. As you know, the office business can be lumpy, so this metric will bounce around from quarter-to-quarter due to a large move-out or a large commencement. However, on a multiyear basis, we are optimistic that we can return occupancy in our portfolio back to normalized levels.

我們的 2024 年指引包括同比持平的 FFO。我們希望能夠超越這一點，並在未來幾年恢復成長。讓我重點介紹一下建置模組。首先，我們打算在中期將入住率從 2023 年底的 87.6% 恢復到 90% 以上。如您所知，辦公業務可能不穩定，因此該指標將逐季度反彈，因為大型搬遷或大型開工。然而，從多年的角度來看，我們樂觀地認為我們可以將投資組合的入住率恢復到正常水平。

The return to office, Sun Belt migration, flight to quality, and the flight of capital are all trends that will support our efforts. We have multiple competitive advantages, and we plan to grow market share. Second, we intend to allocate capital thoughtfully and accretively on a stabilized basis. We have a track record of identifying creative investment opportunities and funding them with the most efficient source of capital debt, equity, property sales and JVs. As I mentioned earlier, valuations in the private and public markets appear to be converging.

重返辦公室、陽光地帶移民、品質逃脫和資本外逃都是支持我們努力的趨勢。我們擁有多重競爭優勢，我們計劃擴大市場佔有率。其次，我們要在穩定的基礎上審慎增值配置資本。我們在尋找創意投資機會並透過最有效的資本債務、股權、房地產銷售和合資企業為其提供資金方面擁有良好的記錄。正如我之前提到的，私募市場和公開市場的估值似乎正在趨同。

This creates a more compelling environment for Cousins. Near term, acquisitions appear more likely than development. We remain focused on Sun Belt properties that are or can be repositioned into lifestyle office. And while it's still early, we are in active discussions with several owners and lenders. Medium and longer term, the development of market-leading lifestyle office and mixed-use projects will remain a key part of our growth strategy.

這為考辛斯創造了一個更具吸引力的環境。短期來看，收購似乎比開發更有可能。我們仍然專注於陽光地帶的房產，這些房產是或可以重新定位為生活方式辦公室。雖然現在還為時過早，但我們正在與幾家業主和貸方進行積極討論。從中長期來看，開發市場領先的生活方式辦公室和綜合用途項目仍將是我們成長策略的關鍵部分。

Our current development and redevelopment projects will be meaningful contributors over the next few years and highlight the value of our development platform. Lastly, a decrease in interest rates would enhance our growth profile. While we obviously can't count on or control this, hopefully, rates have peaked and begin to trend downwards sometime later this year. Any such movement would positively support asset values, transaction activity and our development efforts. In closing, we are realistic about the many competing forces in the market. However, we built cousins to thrive during all market conditions.

我們目前的開發和再開發項目將在未來幾年做出有意義的貢獻，並凸顯我們開發平台的價值。最後，利率下降將增強我們的成長前景。雖然我們顯然無法指望或控制這一點，但希望利率已經達到頂峰，並在今年稍後的某個時候開始呈下降趨勢。任何此類變動都將積極支持資產價值、交易活動和我們的發展努力。最後，我們對市場上的許多競爭力量持現實態度。然而，我們打造的表兄弟能夠在所有市場條件下蓬勃發展。

And today, we are in an advantageous position relative to other office companies. We are in the right Sun Belt markets. We own a trophy lifestyle portfolio with modest near-term lease expirations. We have a fortress balance sheet with minimal near-term debt maturities, and we have a well-covered dividend. I believe we have a unique opportunity and optionality in front of us.

今天，我們相對於其他辦公公司處於優勢地位。我們處於正確的陽光地帶市場。我們擁有優質的生活方式投資組合，近期租賃到期時間適中。我們擁有堅固的資產負債表，短期債務期限極短，而且股利支付良好。我相信我們面前有一個獨特的機會和選擇。

Before turning the call over to Richard, I want to thank our employees at Cousins, who provide excellent service to our customers. Their dedication, resilience and hard work continue to propel us forward. Thank you. Richard?

在將電話轉給理查德之前，我要感謝 Cousins 的員工，他們為我們的客戶提供了優質的服務。他們的奉獻精神、韌性和辛勤工作繼續推動我們前進。謝謝。理查德？

Thanks, Colin. Good morning, everyone. Our operations team closed out 2023 with another solid quarter. This past year was marked by unprecedented economic uncertainty, so I'm very proud of our team for finishing the year strong.

謝謝，科林。大家，早安。我們的營運團隊以另一個穩健的季度結束了 2023 年。過去的一年充滿了前所未有的經濟不確定性，因此我為我們的團隊在這一年的強勁表現感到非常自豪。

To start, I have an update on WeWork. As a reminder, we have 4 WeWork locations totaling 169,000 square feet in Atlanta and Charlotte, and they represent 1.1% of our annualized rent at share. While WeWork has not formally rejected any of our leases, we are in active negotiations to modify our leases at Terminus and 120 West Trinity in Atlanta. As of today, we expect the size of both of those locations to be reduced by 1/3 or about 26,000 square feet at share and for rent to be reduced.

首先，我要先了解 WeWork 的最新動態。提醒一下，我們在亞特蘭大和夏洛特擁有 4 個 WeWork 辦公地點，總面積達 169,000 平方英尺，占我們年化租金的 1.1%。雖然 WeWork 尚未正式拒絕任何租約，但我們正在積極談判修改亞特蘭大 Terminus 和 120 West Trinity 的租約。截至今天，我們預計這兩個地點的面積將減少 1/3，即共享面積約 26,000 平方英尺，租金也會減少。

Regarding 725 Ponce in Atlanta, due to strong demand from multiple traditional office users, we have decided not to negotiate with WeWork at this location and expect the lease to be rejected. Lastly, we expect WeWork to accept the rail yard lease in Charlotte without modification. As a reminder, we are a 20% owner of 120 West Trinity and we have meaningful letters of credit supporting the leases at both 120 West Trinity and 725 Ponce. I would note our negotiations with WeWork are ongoing and have been very fluid today.

至於亞特蘭大 725 Ponce，由於多個傳統辦公室用戶的強烈需求，我們決定不再與 WeWork 在此地點進行談判，並預計租約將被拒絕。最後，我們預計 WeWork 將不加修改地接受夏洛特鐵路站場租賃。提醒一下，我們是 120 West Trinity 20% 的所有者，並且我們擁有有意義的信用證來支持 120 West Trinity 和 725 Ponce 的租賃。我要指出的是，我們與 WeWork 的談判正在進行中，並且今天非常順利。

On to results. For the fourth quarter, our total office portfolio weighted average occupancy and end-of-period lease percentages were 87.6% and 90.9%, respectively. Both metrics were down modestly sequentially and finished the year at or above where we stood in the first quarter. Our fourth quarter numbers exclude Hayden Ferry I from the operating portfolio as it is now under a full building redevelopment. Hayden Ferry I was previously 100% leased and occupied by Silicon Valley Bank, so its removal was a partial driver of the sequential occupancy and lease decline.

講結果。第四季度，我們辦公大樓投資組合的加權平均入住率和期末租賃率分別為 87.6% 和 90.9%。這兩個指標均連續小幅下降，並在今年結束時達到或高於第一季的水平。我們第四季的數據不包括 Hayden Ferry I 的營運投資組合，因為它目前正在進行全面的建築重建。 Hayden Ferry I 先前由矽谷銀行 100% 出租和占用，因此其拆除是導致入住率和租賃量連續下降的部分原因。

In the fourth quarter, our team completed 39 office leases totaling 453,000 square feet with a weighted average lease term of 7.2 years. This was our second highest quarterly square footage volume of 2023, and our total signed activity for the year was just under 1.7 million square feet, another fantastic year of leasing activity for Cousins. 20 of our completed leases this quarter were new and expansion leases, representing just over 50% of our activity. Notably, in Nashville, at our Neuhoff mixed-use development, we completed 49,000 square feet of new office leasing this quarter.

第四季度，我們的團隊完成了 39 個辦公室租賃，總面積為 453,000 平方英尺，加權平均租賃期限為 7.2 年。這是我們 2023 年第二高的季度平方英尺數量，我們今年的簽約活動總量略低於 170 萬平方英尺，對於考辛斯來說，又是租賃活動精彩的一年。本季我們完成的租賃中有 20 個是新租賃和擴建租賃，占我們活動的 50% 以上。值得注意的是，在納許維爾的 Neuhoff 綜合用途開發項目中，我們本季完成了 49,000 平方英尺的新辦公室租賃。

This brings the office portion of the adaptive reuse building to 88% and the overall project to 22% lease. We also remain encouraged by the pipeline, which includes approximately 150,000 square feet of office and retail prospects. We will also begin leasing the residential component of the project this spring. Our completed activity this quarter also included 2 important renewals with Wells Fargo at both Terminus and Northpark in Atlanta, combining for 105,000 square feet of renewed space.

這使得適應性再利用建築的辦公部分達到 88%，整個專案的租賃率為 22%。我們仍然對管道項目感到鼓舞，其中包括約 150,000 平方英尺的辦公室和零售前景。我們還將在今年春天開始租賃該項目的住宅部分。我們本季完成的活動還包括與富國銀行 (Wells Fargo) 在亞特蘭大 Terminus 和 Northpark 進行的兩項重要更新，總計更新空間面積達 105,000 平方英尺。

We also added a full floor to Apache's long-term headquarters lease at Brier Lake Plaza. Overall, I'm very pleased with the diversity of our leasing activity, both from a market and industry perspective. Regarding lease economics, our average net rent this quarter came in at $33.53 and $35.15 for the full year. This quarter, average leasing concessions, defined as the sum of free rent and tenant improvements were $8.42, which is within 5% of our third quarter run rate. As a result, average net effective rent this quarter came in at $22.46 and was $24.56 for the full year.

我們也為阿帕契位於布賴爾湖廣場的長期總部租賃增加了一整層樓。總的來說，從市場和行業的角度來看，我對我們租賃活動的多樣性感到非常滿意。就租賃經濟而言，本季我們的平均淨租金為 33.53 美元，全年平均淨租金為 35.15 美元。本季度，平均租賃優惠（定義為免費租金和租戶改善的總和）為 8.42 美元，與我們第三季度的運行率相差不超過 5%。因此，本季平均淨有效租金為 22.46 美元，全年為 24.56 美元。

For some perspective, our average net effective rent in 2023 was the highest in our history with the exception of only 2021, which included the full building lease for Domain 9 in Austin. Finally, second-generation cash rents increased again in the fourth quarter at just under 1%. Some of our lease metrics this quarter were softer compared to recent quarters, and we attribute this to the geographic mix of completed leasing activity. In short, our leasing this quarter was in buildings where net rents are generally lower than our average. For example excluding our activities with Apache Brier Lake and Wells Fargo and Northpark, second-generation cash rents increased to 5.3%. With regard to our leasing pipeline, I'm pleased to report that we have already completed about 200,000 square feet of leasing in the first quarter, of which about 70% are new and expansion leases.

從某些角度來看，我們 2023 年的平均淨有效租金是我們歷史上最高的，只有 2021 年除外，其中包括奧斯汀 Domain 9 的全部建築租賃。最後，第二代現金租金在第四季再次上漲，漲幅略低於 1%。與最近幾季相比，本季我們的一些租賃指標較為疲軟，我們將此歸因於已完成租賃活動的地理組合。簡而言之，本季我們租賃的建築物的淨租金普遍低於我們的平均水平。例如，不包括我們與 Apache Brier Lake、Wells Fargo 和 Northpark 的活動，第二代現金租金增加至 5.3%。關於我們的租賃管道，我很高興地報告，第一季我們已經完成了約200,000平方英尺的租賃，其中約70%是新建和擴建租賃。

Our overall leasing pipeline is healthy, and we are encouraged by the trends we are seeing to begin the year, especially in the early stage pipeline and our tour activity. For instance, over the last couple of months, we have toured 8 prospects representing over 400,000 square feet of aggregate demand at Hayden Ferry I in Phoenix. As always, early stage demand can take multiple quarters to translate into signed leasing activity. I also want to note that because we have so few expirations through 2026 and therefore, likely lower renewal volume to complete, this could translate into lower total volume.

我們的整體租賃管道是健康的，我們對年初看到的趨勢感到鼓舞，特別是在早期管道和我們的旅遊活動中。例如，在過去的幾個月裡，我們參觀了鳳凰城 Hayden Ferry I 的 8 個前景，代表著超過 40 萬平方英尺的總需求。與往常一樣，早期需求可能需要多個季度才能轉化為簽約租賃活動。我還想指出的是，由於到 2026 年我們的到期數量很少，因此完成的續約量可能會較低，這可能會導致總數減少。

As I just mentioned, our overall operating portfolio continues to enjoy some of the lowest near-term expirations in the entire office sector. As of the end of 2023, we only had 19.4% of our annual contractual rent expiring through 2026, including a very low 4.3% in 2024. However, as is always the case, we do have some expirations that we expect to be move-outs that are worth noting. As discussed on our last call, at the end of August of this year, we expect accruent to vacate 104,000 square feet at Domain 4 in Austin. This also happens to be our only expiration greater than 100,000 square feet in 2024.

正如我剛才提到的，我們的整體營運投資組合繼續享有整個辦公產業中短期到期時間最低的部分。截至 2023 年底，我們只有 19.4% 的年度合約租金在 2026 年到期，其中 2024 年為非常低的 4.3%。然而，一如既往，我們確實有一些到期合同，我們預計會提前-值得注意的事情。正如我們上次電話會議中所討論的，今年 8 月底，我們預計 accruent 將騰出奧斯汀 Domain 4 的 104,000 平方英尺。這也恰好是我們 2024 年唯一超過 100,000 平方英尺的到期日。

As a reminder, Domain 4 is a 157,000 square foot single-story office building on prime developable land adjacent to the main retail and entertainment corridor of the Domain. As a result, we will almost certainly limit future leasing in this building to short term as those deals in order to maintain our optionality on this land. Looking to 2025, we only have 2 customers expiring that are greater than 100,000 square feet. The first I will discuss is Bank of America at Fifth Third Center in Charlotte. Currently, leasing 317,000 square feet through the end of July 2025.

需要提醒的是，Domain 4 是一棟 157,000 平方英尺的單層辦公大樓，位於黃金可開發土地上，毗鄰 Domain 的主要零售和娛樂走廊。因此，我們幾乎肯定會將這棟建築的未來租賃限制為短期，以維持我們對這塊土地的選擇。展望 2025 年，我們只有 2 位客戶到期且面積超過 100,000 平方英尺。我首先要討論的是位於夏洛特第五第三中心的美國銀行。目前，截至 2025 年 7 月底，租賃面積為 317,000 平方英尺。

We have begun to discuss this expiration with Bank of America and have shared that they would prefer to locate Charlotte corporate employees and properties owned by the bank where possible. Based on those discussions, we view the bank as a probable move out upon expiration, though that date is still about 18 months from now. Fifth Third Center has timeless architecture, a great presence directly on Tryon Street in Uptown Charlotte and excellent access and parking. Given its good bones, we are already working to finalize plans to reenergize this property with amenities and upgrades similar to those we have successfully completed at projects across our Sun Belt portfolio.

我們已開始與美國銀行討論這項到期事宜，並表示他們更願意在可能的情況下找到夏洛特公司的員工和該銀行擁有的財產。根據這些討論，我們認為該銀行可能會在到期後退出，儘管距離現在還有大約 18 個月的時間。第五第三中心擁有永恆的建築，位於夏洛特上城區的特賴恩街 (Tryon Street)，交通便利，停車方便。鑑於其良好的骨骼，我們已經在努力敲定計劃，透過與我們在陽光地帶投資組合中成功完成的項目類似的設施和升級來重新煥發這處房產的活力。

The other 2025 expiration of size is a 112,000 square foot customer in the Domain expiring in September of 2025 nearly 2 years from now. Our Austin team has begun to engage with this customer. And while very early, the team is encouraged. Finally, looking into 2026, we have even lower overall expirations than in 2025 and only 2 customers, a little over 100,000 square feet each set to expire. We are already in discussions to potentially renew one of those customers early. In sum, even with the one larger than usual probable move out in 2025, which is about 1.5% of total portfolio occupancy and our expectations around WeWork, the tailwinds of current leasing demand, a low near-term lease expiration profile and over 730,000 square feet of new and expansion leases signed but not yet commenced that represent true absorption.

另一個 2025 年到期的面積是 Domain 中的 112,000 平方英尺客戶，將於 2025 年 9 月到期，距今近 2 年。我們的奧斯汀團隊已開始與該客戶接洽。雖然還很早，但團隊還是受到了鼓舞。最後，展望 2026 年，我們的整體到期時間甚至比 2025 年還要低，並且只有 2 個客戶（每個客戶的面積略高於 100,000 平方英尺）將到期。我們已經在討論儘早續訂其中一位客戶的可能性。總而言之，即使2025 年搬出的規模可能比平時更大（約佔投資組合總入住率的1.5%）以及我們對WeWork 的預期，但當前租賃需求的推動力、近期租賃到期情況較低以及超過730,000平方米的面積已簽署但尚未開始的新租約和擴建租約的英尺數代表了真正的吸收。

We expect to maintain our occupancy level through the end of 2024 and then hopefully begin to build occupancy by the end of 2025 and into 2026. Turning to some market-level dynamics. The U.S. continued to show some stabilization of office fundamentals, especially in the high-quality segment and the return to office is accelerating by most metrics. Leasing activity also accelerated in the fourth quarter as larger lease deals began to return to the market. According to JLL, total volume in 2023 in the Atlanta metro area totaled almost 8.8 million square feet, above levels from 2019, '20 and '21.

我們預計到 2024 年底將維持入住率水平，然後希望在 2025 年底和 2026 年開始增加入住率。轉向一些市場層面的動態。美國辦公室基本面繼續表現出一定程度的穩定，尤其是在高品質領域，而且從大多數指標來看，辦公室的回歸正在加速。隨著較大的租賃交易開始重返市場，第四季的租賃活動也有所加速。根據仲量聯行的數據，亞特蘭大都會區 2023 年的總成交量將達到近 880 萬平方英尺，高於 2019 年、20 年和 21 年的水準。

According to Cushman & Wakefield, demand remains strong for the highest quality and best located space in Midtown, which is up 19.2% quarter-over-quarter. Further, sublease activity -- sublease availability in Atlanta dipped in the final 3 months of 2023, down by 5% from the third quarter. Our Atlanta team signed a solid 217,000 square feet of leases in the fourth quarter spanning all of our submarkets. In Austin, the office market concluded the year with positive momentum surrounding leasing activity seeing the strongest quarterly level since Q2 2022 at 1.3 million square feet per JLL.

高緯環球 (Cushman & Wakefield) 表示，對中城最高品質和位置最佳空間的需求依然強勁，季增 19.2%。此外，轉租活動—亞特蘭大的轉租可用性在 2023 年最後 3 個月下降，較第三季下降 5%。我們的亞特蘭大團隊在第四季度簽署了涵蓋所有子市場的 217,000 平方英尺的穩定租賃合約。在奧斯汀，辦公室市場以圍繞租賃活動的積極勢頭結束了這一年，出現了自 2022 年第二季度以來最強勁的季度水平，每仲量聯行達到 130 萬平方英尺。

Additionally, diverging from its upward trend since early 2022, sublease availability remained stable quarter-over-quarter in Austin. At the end of the fourth quarter, our Austin portfolio was 94.4% leased, with relatively little immediate availability. As always, I want to thank our talented operations team whose hard work made 2023 a successful year. We look forward to a productive 2024 together. Gregg?

此外，與 2022 年初以來的上升趨勢不同，奧斯汀的轉租供應量較上季保持穩定。截至第四季末，我們的奧斯汀投資組合的 94.4% 已出租，即時可用的數量相對較少。一如既往，我要感謝我們才華橫溢的營運團隊，他們的辛勤工作使 2023 年成為成功的一年。我們期待共同度過一個富有成效的 2024 年。格雷格？

Thanks, Richard. Good morning, everyone. I'll begin my remarks by providing a brief overview of our results as well as some details on our same property performance. Then I'll move on to our development pipeline, followed by a quick discussion of our balance sheet before closing my remarks by providing some color around our initial '24 earnings guidance.

謝謝，理查。大家，早安。我將首先簡要概述我們的業績以及我們相同酒店業績的一些細節。然後我將繼續討論我們的開發管道，然後快速討論我們的資產負債表，然後對我們最初的 24 年獲利指引進行一些說明來結束我的發言。

As Colin stated upfront, our fourth quarter earnings were solid, and the operating metrics behind them remain strong. Second-generation cash leasing spreads were positive for the 39th straight quarter. That's almost 10 uninterrupted years of rent growth. Leasing velocity remained consistent with pre-COVID levels and same property year-over-year cash NOI increased. It was a very clean quarter. There were no unusual or nonrecurring items of note.

正如科林之前所說，我們第四季的收益穩健，其背後的營運指標仍然強勁。第二代現金租賃利差連續 39 季為正。這幾乎是10年來不間斷的租金成長。租賃速度與新冠疫情爆發前的水平保持一致，且相同房產的現金 NOI 年比有所增加。這是一個非常乾淨的季度。沒有值得注意的異常或非重複項目。

Subsequent to quarter end, we entered into a floating to fixed interest rate swap on the remaining $200 million of our $400 million term loan maturing in March of '25. The swap fixes so for a 4.67% through the initial maturity date. For the full year, we reported FFO of $2.62 per share. This is up from our original '23 guidance with a midpoint of $2.58 per share, despite a $0.01 per share negative impact from the SVB bankruptcy earlier in the year. This outperformance versus our original forecast was primarily driven at the properties.

季度末後，我們對 2025 年 3 月到期的 4 億美元定期貸款中的剩餘 2 億美元進行了浮動利率互換至固定利率互換。掉期利率在初始到期日之前固定為 4.67%。我們報告全年 FFO 為每股 2.62 美元。儘管今年稍早 SVB 破產為每股帶來了 0.01 美元的負面影響，但這仍高於我們最初的 23 年指引，中間值為每股 2.58 美元。這種優於我們最初預測的表現主要是由飯店推動的。

Full year same property NOI was a solid 4.2% on a cash basis, which was our best performance since 2019. Digging a little deeper into our same-property performance during the fourth quarter, cash NOI increased 3.5% compared to last year. Cash revenues increased 60 basis points, while expenses decreased 4.6%. Consistent with last quarter, these numbers were impacted by property taxes. In addition to our regular appeals of tax assessments, our portfolio also benefited during the second half of the year from the well-publicized tax cuts that were recently approved by Texas voters.

以現金計算，全年相同房產 NOI 穩定成長 4.2%，這是我們自 2019 年以來的最佳表現。深入研究第四季度相同房產的表現，現金 NOI 與去年相比增長了 3.5%。現金收入成長 60 個基點，而支出下降 4.6%。與上季一致，這些數字受到財產稅的影響。除了我們定期呼籲稅收評估之外，我們的投資組合在下半年還受益於德州選民最近批准的廣為人知的減稅政策。

The majority of our tax savings was in Austin, which is largely a triple net market and therefore, lower property taxes reduced both revenues and expenses during the quarter.

我們節省的大部分稅款都在奧斯汀，那裡主要是一個三重淨市場，因此，較低的財產稅減少了本季的收入和支出。

Before moving on, I also wanted to point out the continued positive trend in parking revenues we saw during the fourth quarter. Overall, total parking revenues increased another 3% over the prior quarter and were up 15% for all of '24 compared to '23. Turning to our development efforts. The current development pipeline is comprised of 50% interest in Neuhoff in Nashville and 100% of Domain 9 in Austin. Our share of the remaining estimated development costs for these 2 projects is $70 million, which will be funded by a combination of our Neuhoff construction loan and our operating cash flow.

在繼續之前，我還想指出我們在第四季度看到的停車收入的持續積極趨勢。總體而言，停車總收入比上一季又成長了 3%，與 23 年相比，24 年全年成長了 15%。轉向我們的發展努力。目前的開發項目包括納許維爾 Neuhoff 50% 的權益和奧斯汀 Domain 9 100% 的權益。我們在這兩個項目的剩餘估計開發成本中所佔的份額為 7000 萬美元，將由我們的 Neuhoff 建設貸款和營運現金流共同提供資金。

Looking at our balance sheet. Net debt-to-EBITDA is an industry-leading 5.1x. We have no significant debt maturities until July of '25. Our liquidity position remains strong with only $185 million outstanding on our $1 billion credit facility and our dividend remains well covered, with an FAD payout ratio of 72% in 2023. As a quick reminder, our current common dividend is over 10% higher than it was pre-COVID. We are in a very small number of office REITs that have actually increased their dividend since 2019.

看看我們的資產負債表。淨債務與 EBITDA 比率為業界領先的 5.1 倍。截至 2025 年 7 月，我們沒有重大債務到期。我們的流動性狀況仍然強勁，我們的10 億美元信貸額度中只有1.85 億美元未償還，我們的股息仍然得到充分支付，2023 年FAD 支付率為72%。快速提醒一下，我們目前的普通股息比以前高出10% 以上是在新冠疫情之前。自 2019 年以來，我們屬於極少數實際上增加了股息的辦公室 REIT。

I'll close by providing our initial 2024 guidance. We currently anticipate full year '24 FFO between $2.57 a share and $2.67 a share with a midpoint of $2.62. Our guidance is very clean. There are no significant onetime nonrecurring items, including unusual term fees. There are no property acquisitions, property dispositions, development starts or capital market transactions. If any of these do take place, we'll update our earnings guidance accordingly.

最後，我將提供我們最初的 2024 年指導。我們目前預計 24 年全年 FFO 介於每股 2.57 美元至 2.67 美元之間，中間值為 2.62 美元。我們的指導非常乾淨。不存在重大一次性非經常性項目，包括異常期限費用。沒有任何財產收購、財產處置、開發啟動或資本市場交易。如果其中任何一種情況確實發生，我們將相應地更新我們的獲利指引。

As Richard discussed earlier, we're in active negotiations with WeWork while nothing is finalized, our guidance is consistent with the expectations Richard outlined. We have conservatively assumed a February 1 effective date for all of these potential outcomes. Our guidance does not include any payments of our unsecured claim in the SVB bankruptcy case, which we currently estimate will be approximately $10 million. The exact amount and timing of recovery against this claim is not yet known, but unsecured SVB bonds are currently trading around $0.55 to $0.60 on the dollar. So we do anticipate there will eventually be significant value in this claim.

正如理查德之前所討論的，我們正在與 WeWork 進行積極談判，但尚未最終確定，我們的指導意見與理查德概述的期望一致。我們保守地假設所有這些潛在結果的生效日期為 2 月 1 日。我們的指導不包括 SVB 破產案中無擔保索賠的任何付款，我們目前估計約為 1000 萬美元。該索賠的具體追償金額和時間尚不清楚，但無擔保 SVB 債券目前的交易價格約為 0.55 美元至 0.60 美元。因此，我們確實預期這項主張最終將具有重大價值。

There's no impact on our '24 guidance from the potential Bank of America lease expiration at Fifth Third Center that Richard discussed earlier in the call. And while we're not providing guidance beyond '24 at this time, we anticipate the negative impact of this probable expiration on '25 and '26 numbers will be more than offset by the stabilization of several developments and redevelopments during that period.

理查德早些時候在電話會議中討論過，美國銀行第五第三中心的租賃可能到期，這對我們的 24 年指引沒有影響。雖然我們目前不會提供 24 年後的指導，但我們預計這一可能到期對 25 和 26 數字的負面影響將被該時期幾個開發和再開發的穩定性所抵消。

Bottom line, our fourth quarter results were solid, driven by strong same property performance. Our best-in-class leverage and liquidity position remains intact, and our dividend remains well covered.

最重要的是，在強勁的房地產表現的推動下，我們第四季的業績表現穩健。我們一流的槓桿率和流動性狀況保持不變，我們的股息也保持良好。

Our '24 earnings guidance is flat with '23 numbers as anticipated higher interest expense and WeWork losses are offset by forecasted increase in NOI from our existing properties as well as our new developments and redevelopment deliveries. With that, let me turn the call back over to the operator.

我們 24 年的獲利指引與 23 年的數字持平，因為預期較高的利息支出和 WeWork 損失被我們現有物業以及新開發項目和重建項目交付的 NOI 預計成長所抵消。這樣，我就把電話轉回接線生。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Jay Poskitt from Evercore ISI.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Jay Poskitt。

I was wondering if you could just be a little more specific on the timing for getting back to that occupancy to 90%. I know you kind of defined it as the intermediate term, but any more color there would be great.

我想知道您能否更具體地說明入住率恢復到 90% 的時間。我知道您將其定義為中間術語，但如果有更多顏色就更好了。

Yes. It -- as we don't provide forward earnings guidance, so we're not going to provide forward occupancy, specific forward occupancy guidance. But I think Richard walked through the building blocks of kind of the ins and the outs there. And as I said, we do feel very comfortable over a multiyear process that will drive earnings back up over 90%.

是的。因為我們不提供遠期獲利指引，所以我們不會提供遠期入住率、具體的遠期入住率指引。但我認為理查德已經了解了內部和外部的構建模組。正如我所說，我們確實對這個將推動盈利回升 90% 以上的多年過程感到非常放心。

That's helpful. And then just on a more broader view. I was wondering if you could just provide any commentary on your markets, which ones you're most excited about and which ones you're more cautious as we head into '24?

這很有幫助。然後是更廣闊的視野。我想知道您是否可以對您的市場提供任何評論，當我們進入 24 世紀時，您對哪些市場最興奮，哪些市場您更加謹慎？

Yes. It -- again, I'd say broadly speaking, the Sun Belt continues to perform very well, specifically looking at our markets and where we've seen the strongest leasing activity to date has certainly been here in Atlanta, which benefits from a very diversified customer base. And so we have a lot of great space here, and we've had a lot of success leasing it up.

是的。再說一次，我想說，從廣義上講，陽光地帶繼續表現得非常好，特別是在我們的市場上，我們看到迄今為止最強勁的租賃活動肯定是在亞特蘭大，這裡受益於非常大的多元化的客戶群。因此，我們這裡有很多很棒的空間，並且我們在租賃方面取得了巨大的成功。

And so a couple of other of our markets of note that have been, I'd say highly active has been the Tampa market continues to perform very well. It's probably the lowest vacancy rate market within our footprint today. And then out in Phoenix, we've got a lot of activity looking at Phoenix today, and I'd attribute some of that to the overall market, but also very specifically to I think what's a really exciting repositioning project we're doing out at Hayden Ferry.

因此，我想說的是，我們其他幾個值得注意的市場非常活躍，坦帕市場繼續表現良好。這可能是我們目前業務範圍內空置率最低的市場。然後在鳳凰城，我們今天有很多關注鳳凰城的活動，我將其中一些歸因於整個市場，但也非常具體地歸因於我認為我們正在做的一個非常令人興奮的重新定位項目在海登渡口。

Your next question comes from Blaine Heck from Wells Fargo.

您的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Blaine Heck。

The commentary on quarter-to-date leasing activity was helpful, but just thinking about your overall leasing pipeline, can you just talk about how much of the activity you guys are engaged in today is driven by tenants that have lease expirations and are either renewing or relocating at the same square footage or downsizing versus tenants that are either adding demand that's new to the market or expanding within the market and maybe how those proportions might be trending?

對季度至今的租賃活動的評論很有幫助，但只要考慮一下你們的整體租賃管道，你們能談談你們今天從事的活動有多少是由租約到期且正在續約的租戶推動的嗎？或者在相同的面積上搬遷或縮小規模，而租戶要么增加了市場的新需求，要么在市場內擴張，也許這些比例的趨勢如何？

Yes, this is Richard. Yes, I'd say if we look back to 2023 it was a bit of a proxy, we're still showing that of the customers we renew, they're net expanding rather than contracting but there's certainly a dynamic that's generally based on industry, maybe tech, a little bit of financial services where there is generally some reduction in space on average when a customer is renewing.

是的，這是理查。是的，我想說，如果我們回顧 2023 年，這有點像一個代理，我們仍然顯示我們續約的客戶，他們是淨擴張而不是收縮，但肯定存在一種通常基於行業的動態，也許是科技，還有一點金融服務，當客戶續約時，平均空間通常會減少。

But we feel like -- again, overall, we're in an optimistic position in stance when looking at our pipeline and looking at the product we have to lease and that we're actually seeing as well some interesting inbound activity or new to market activity in certain markets.

但我們再次感到，總的來說，在審視我們的管道和我們必須租賃的產品時，我們處於樂觀的立場，而且我們實際上也看到了一些有趣的入站活動或新進入市場的活動某些市場的活動。

I wouldn't call it robust, full-blown major primary headquarters leasing, though there's a little bit of that brewing, but we are seeing some interest in regional headquarters that are moving into particular markets, whether they be in Tampa, in Phoenix, as Colin mentioned, also here in Atlanta for certain -- but we feel like they're good, good optimistic things happening in the early-stage pipeline.

我不會稱之為穩健、成熟的主要總部租賃，儘管有一點正在醞釀，但我們看到一些地區總部對正在進入特定市場的興趣，無論是在坦帕、在鳳凰城、正如科林提到的，當然也在亞特蘭大——但我們覺得這些都是好的，非常樂觀的事情發生在早期階段。

Very helpful, Richard. And then just my second question. You guys are sitting just above 5x on a debt-to-EBITDA basis right around your kind of targeted long-term leverage goal. Can you just talk about how much dry powder you think you have for opportunistic investments? Where you'd be comfortable bringing that leverage up to you for the right opportunity? And just how much investment capacity that affords you? And also how you think about using equity or OP units in a deal to keep leverage levels down?

非常有幫助，理查德。然後是我的第二個問題。你們的債務與 EBITDA 的比率略高於 5 倍，正好符合你們的長期槓桿目標。能簡單談談您認為您有多少機會投資的乾粉嗎？您願意在哪裡輕鬆地利用這種槓桿作用來獲得合適的機會？您能承受多少投資能力？您如何考慮在交易中使用股權或OP單位來降低槓桿？

Yes, Blaine, it's -- we've got significant capacity. And it -- that leverage, low leverage profile, I think oftentimes is painted with a kind of a defensive posture, and it is defensive and certainly been provided a lot of support over the last several years. But we really do think about our balance sheet and that low leverage from an offensive perspective.

是的，布萊恩，我們擁有強大的能力。我認為，這種槓桿、低槓桿形象常常被描繪成一種防禦姿態，而且它是防禦性的，並且在過去幾年里肯定得到了很多支持。但我們確實從進攻的角度考慮了我們的資產負債表和低槓桿率。

And in years past, we've done some of our, I'd say, most interesting transactions in times of dislocation and have moved leverage up, I think, in the past as high as 5.5x or even in the high 5s, but then made it a priority to bring that leverage back down as we could. So today, if the right opportunities come along, we'll certainly take advantage of those. But really, our willingness to do so is going to be a function of opportunities that have got product that fit with our lifestyle office characteristics and are we able to do a transaction that will drive earnings and provide accretion.

在過去的幾年裡，我想說，我們在混亂時期完成了一些最有趣的交易，我認為槓桿率在過去高達 5.5 倍，甚至高達 5 倍，但然後我們將盡可能降低槓桿率作為首要任務。因此，今天，如果有合適的機會出現，我們一定會利用這些機會。但實際上，我們這樣做的意願將取決於是否有機會獲得適合我們辦公室生活方式特徵的產品，以及我們是否能夠進行一項能夠推動收入並提供增值的交易。

And so we look at that in totality, and we look at that in terms of what our sources of funding might be, whether that is debt or equity or property sales and think about that holistically, but it's focused on investing in high-quality lifestyle office and doing it in such a way that will provide accretion to our shareholders when stabilized.

因此，我們從整體上看待這個問題，我們從我們的資金來源可能是什麼的角度來看待這個問題，無論是債務、股權還是房地產銷售，並從整體上考慮這一點，但它的重點是投資於高品質的生活方式並以穩定後為我們的股東提供增值的方式進行。

Your next question comes from Camille Bonnel from Bank of America.

您的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Camille Bonnel。

Your portfolio has such a wide healthy spread between leased and occupied space. Can you quantify how much of this is commencing in 2024? And from a timing perspective, are the commencements pretty even throughout the year or back half weighted?

您的投資組合在租賃空間和佔用空間之間具有如此廣泛的健康分佈。您能量化 2024 年開始的其中有多少嗎？從時間安排的角度來看，全年的開學時間是否相當均勻，還是後半加權？

Camille, it's Richard. So -- of that 730,000 that I had in my prepared remarks, about 650, a little over that 1,000 or in '24, and that is weighted kind of early 2Q.

卡米爾，我是理查德。因此，在我準備好的發言中的 730,000 個中，大約有 650 個，略高於 24 年的 1,000 個，這是第二季度初的加權值。

Appreciate the details. And the color also on the lower leasing spreads in the fourth quarter. As we look forward, can you provide any details around the mark-to-market across leases rolling over the year?

欣賞細節。第四季租賃價差也有所下降。展望未來，您能否提供有關全年滾動租賃的按市價計價的任何詳細資訊？

Camille, it's Colin. As Richard mentioned, the mix this past quarter impacted those leasing spreads. As we look forward over the course of the year. And I guess I'd narrow our focus to the late-stage pipeline that we've got and where we've got very specific visibility and our hope is that we'll continue to drive positive rent rollouts.

卡米爾，我是科林。正如理查德所提到的，上個季度的混合影響了租賃利差。正如我們展望這一年。我想我會把我們的注意力集中在我們已經擁有的後期管道上，我們在那裡有非常具體的可見性，我們希望我們將繼續推動積極的租金推出。

Okay. And if I can sneak one more in. Just more broadly in the submarkets where you're seeing positive net absorption. Can you talk to the type of pricing power landlords or yourself have? Is there a possibility for office rents in your market to continue to grow even with the challenges for the industry?

好的。如果我能再偷偷溜進去一次的話。更廣泛地說，在子市場中，你會看到淨吸收量為正值。您能談談房東或自己的定價能力嗎？即使產業面臨挑戰，您所在市場的辦公室租金是否有可能繼續成長？

Well, I think today, it is still -- I think the market generally still favors the tenant. But I think when you really narrow your focus down into lifestyle office properties today, as I mentioned, there are a lot of market forces at play. We do see the overall supply of office in the United States coming down in real time and without any meaningful new construction and demand beginning to return, we can see that pendulum swing in the not-too-distant future for the best quality product.

嗯，我認為今天，我認為市場總體上仍然有利於租戶。但我認為，正如我所提到的，當你真正將注意力集中到當今的生活方式辦公物業時，就會有很多市場力量在發揮作用。我們確實看到美國辦公室的整體供應實時下降，並且沒有任何有意義的新建築和需求開始回升，我們可以看到在不遠的將來，最優質產品的鐘擺會擺動。

And so overall -- while today, I think rents are generally flat over the course of the next 12, 24 months. I think that, as I said, I think the market could shift and bring back pricing power to owners of lifestyle office like Cousins.

總的來說，我認為今天的租金在未來 12、24 個月內總體上持平。我認為，正如我所說，市場可能會發生轉變，並將定價權帶回給像考辛斯這樣的生活方式辦公室業主。

Your next question comes from Tony Paolone from JPMorgan.

您的下一個問題來自摩根大通的東尼保隆。

Okay. First one, just for Richard, I just want to clarify, make sure I caught your comments right. So you think occupancy at the end of 2024 in your guidance is better apples-to-apples than where you ended '23. Is that right?

好的。第一個，對於理查德，我只是想澄清一下，確保我正確地理解了你的評論。因此，您認為您的指導中 2024 年底的入住率比 23 年末的入住率要好。是對的嗎？

Generally in line.

一般都在排隊。

Okay. In line. And then, Colin, you talked about just playing offense and you have the balance sheet capacity. Can you maybe talk to what you think deals that start to emerge look like economically in terms of where you think maybe either cap rates or IRRs or whether you're going in as a debt investment, like what this might look like as it unfolds?

好的。排隊。然後，科林，你談到只是進攻，你有資產負債表能力。您能否談談您認為開始出現的交易在經濟上是什麼樣子，從您認為可能是資本化率或內部收益率，或者您是否作為債務投資進入，就像它展開時可能會是什麼樣子？

Yes. Tony, great question. As I've mentioned, we do think the -- we are seeing an increasing amount of interesting opportunities that we think are increasingly becoming more actionable. We've been very patient over the last 12, 24 months, and I think will ultimately be rewarded for that patience because I think, ultimately, as we invest the cap rates will be higher and the IRRs will be higher than they were 24 months ago.

是的。托尼，好問題。正如我所提到的，我們確實認為——我們看到越來越多的有趣機會，我們認為這些機會越來越變得更具可操作性。在過去的12、24 個月裡，我們一直非常有耐心，我認為這種耐心最終會得到回報，因為我認為，最終，隨著我們的投資，資本化率將會更高，內部報酬率也將高於24 個月時的水平前。

I think ultimately, how those pencil out, as I said, it's less of a function of a specific cap rate as it is holistically as we look at, again, investing in lifestyle office properties and funding it with the most efficient source of capital that's ultimately going to drive accretion of stabilization for our shareholders. So those metrics, it's hard to specify a specific cap rate that's not really ultimately what's driving -- will drive our investment.

我認為最終，正如我所說，這些鉛筆是如何完成的，它不是特定資本化率的函數，因為它是整體的，因為我們再次考慮投資生活方式辦公物業並用最有效的資本來源為其提供資金最終將推動我們股東的穩定。因此，這些指標很難指定一個特定的資本化率，但它並不是真正最終推動我們投資的因素。

Okay. And if I could just sneak one more in. Just on Neuhoff. I think in the past, you talked about that being product that once completed, can maybe drive a bit more traffic because it's just the nature of it, how unique it is. Just wondering if you can comment on what that looks like now and just if anything shifted either on the demand side in that market? Or just if there's any competitive supply that's getting in the way?

好的。如果我能再偷偷溜進去一次就好了。就在諾伊霍夫。我想在過去，你談到了產品一旦完成，可能會帶來更多的流量，因為這就是它的本質，它是多麼獨特。只是想知道您是否可以評論一下現在的情況以及該市場的需求方面是否發生了任何變化？或者只是如果有任何競爭性供應阻礙了呢？

No. It is the most unique property certainly in Nashville, the adaptive reuse component of it and then the mix of uses with the office, the multifamily and what will be really some compelling retail and food hall right along the banks of the Cumberland River. So we think that, that will continue to drive strong demand, and we're seeing that demand broad-based across all industry types, from professional services, marketing and advertising, to legal, financial services.

不。它無疑是納許維爾最獨特的房產，它的適應性再利用部分，然後與辦公室、多戶住宅以及坎伯蘭河沿岸真正引人注目的零售和食品大廳的混合用途。因此，我們認為，這將繼續推動強勁的需求，我們看到這種需求廣泛存在於所有行業類型，從專業服務、行銷和廣告到法律、金融服務。

We've seen very broad-based interest. And our -- I'd say, really, our goal is to drive 25,000 to 50,000 square feet of leasing a quarter and ultimately have a really attractive multi-tenant diversified rent roll at Neuhoff to complement the apartments and the retail.

我們看到了非常廣泛的興趣。我想說的是，我們的目標是每季推動 25,000 至 50,000 平方英尺的租賃面積，並最終在 Neuhoff 擁有真正有吸引力的多租戶多元化租金，以補充公寓和零售業。

Next question comes from John Kim from BMO Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 John Kim。

Colin, on your opening remarks, discussing older commodity assets being repurposed. What are you seeing in your markets as far as what they're being repurposed into? Is it another type of office like medical or lifestyle? Or is it other asset types? And is there any opportunities for Cousins to participate in this?

科林，在您的開場白中，討論了舊商品資產的重新利用。您在您的市場中看到了什麼，以及它們正在被重新調整用途？這是另一種類型的辦公室，如醫療辦公室或生活方式辦公室嗎？還是其他資產類型？那麼考辛斯有機會參與其中嗎？

Yes. John, we are starting to see that actively play out. And it's -- gosh, it's probably every week, you see a media headline about a building that is being either torn down or repurpose. We could cite some very specific examples across our markets. I'd say if I had to characterize it today, you're seeing more suburban office, commodity office product, be purchased at a very low basis and that product ultimately being torn down to be replaced with multifamily residential and mixed-use type properties. And I'd say the larger, older towers.

是的。約翰，我們開始看到這種情況正在積極發揮作用。天哪，可能每週你都會看到媒體頭條，說一棟建築物要么被拆除，要么被重新利用。我們可以在我們的市場中舉出一些非常具體的例子。我想說，如果我今天必須描述它的特徵，你會看到更多的郊區辦公室、商品辦公產品以非常低的價格購買，並且該產品最終被拆除，被多戶住宅和混合用途類型的房產所取代。我想說的是更大、更古老的塔樓。

In some cases, the cost to bring those buildings down is prohibitively expensive. And so there, you're seeing some of those assets trade at very low basis where developers are looking at converting that into either multifamily, some hospitality, some combination of both of those. I think from our perspective, we have looked at some. We'll continue to look at some of those and study. But again, I think our focus more broadly speaking, is going to be an asset that we feel have a great deal of conviction that either already are or can be converted into lifestyle office.

在某些情況下，拆除這些建築物的成本非常昂貴。因此，您會看到其中一些資產的交易價格非常低，開發商正在考慮將其轉換為多戶型、一些酒店業或兩者的某種組合。我認為從我們的角度來看，我們已經研究了一些。我們將繼續關注其中的一些並進行研究。但我認為，從更廣泛的角度來看，我們的重點將是一項資產，我們堅信，它已經或可以轉變為生活方式辦公室。

Okay. That's helpful. My second question is just a clarification on Domain 4. Is your plan to place this asset into redevelopment once accruent leaves? Or are you looking to execute short-term leases? I think that was mentioned as an option and keep it as is until you form development plans?

好的。這很有幫助。我的第二個問題只是對領域 4 的澄清。您是否計劃在應計資產離開後將該資產投入重建？還是您希望執行短期租賃？我認為這是作為選項提到的，並保持原樣，直到您制定開發計劃？

Yes. I think we're at a point where we're not ready to make that decision. As Richard mentioned, that accruent lease does expire later this year. There is one other customer in the building that's got an expiration, a year or so later. And so our intention is to definitely not sign any long-term leases in the short term. If we can find customers who want space for a very short specific period. We're absolutely open to that and if we can drive some NOI that way, we'll consider it.

是的。我認為我們還沒有準備好做出這個決定。正如理查德所提到的，應計租約將於今年稍後到期。大樓裡還有一位客戶的有效期限已到期，大約一年後。所以我們的意圖是短期內絕對不會簽任何長期租約。如果我們能找到在很短的特定時間內需要空間的客戶。我們對此絕對持開放態度，如果我們能以這種方式推動一些 NOI，我們會考慮它。

But I think we'll kind of continue to wait and see and make a decision on specifically what we do with that asset at a later date.

但我認為我們會繼續觀望，並在稍後具體決定如何處理該資產。

Your next question comes from Upal Rana from KeyBanc Capital Markets.

您的下一個問題來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Upal Rana。

Just on the 3 leases with WeWork, that you anticipate to reduce or cancel, what are your plans associated to that going forward? Yes, I'd be curious on any color there.

僅就您預計減少或取消的 WeWork 3 份租約而言，您對此有何計劃？是的，我對那裡的任何顏色都很好奇。

What are our plans on the 3 WeWork leases?

我們對 3 個 WeWork 租賃有何計劃？

Yes, with the ones that are going to be reduced and potentially canceled?

是的，那些將要減少甚至可能取消的項目？

Well, again, I think with WeWork, again, there's 3 of the leases that -- well, one in Charlotte that we don't believe will be modified. It's a very strong performer for them. Two, we are going to modify and those will shrink in space and have a reduced rent. And our hope and our view is those are in -- those 2 stores are in really strong buildings that we own today.

嗯，我再次認為，對於 WeWork，有 3 份租約——嗯，其中一份位於夏洛特，我們認為不會進行修改。對他們來說這是一個非常強大的表演者。第二，我們要進行改造，這些空間會縮小，租金也會降低。我們的希望和觀點是——那兩家商店位於我們今天擁有的非常堅固的建築中。

Our customers view them as a nice amenity to have in the building. And our hope is on the other side of the bankruptcy that WeWork emerges as a much stronger company with little to no debt and will be a terrific partner for us in those buildings. In the case of 725, Richard mentioned this earlier, from our perspective, there was just too much demand from traditional office users that were interested in that space to move forward with economics, restructured economics. So we've chosen to pass.

我們的客戶認為它們是大樓內的一個很好的設施。我們希望，在破產之後，WeWork 能夠成為一家更強大的公司，幾乎沒有債務，甚至沒有債務，並將成為我們在這些建築中的優秀合作夥伴。以725為例，理查德之前提到過這一點，從我們的角度來看，對這個空間感興趣的傳統辦公用戶有太多的需求來推動經濟、重組經濟。所以我們選擇了通過。

Okay. Got it. That was helpful. And then just on Neuhoff coming online in June, where are rents and concessions there today? And where is the current development yield relative to when you originally started construction?

好的。知道了。這很有幫助。然後，就在 Neuhoff 六月上線時，今天的租金和優惠在哪裡？目前的開發收益率與最初開始建設時相比是多少？

Yes. Neuhoff continues to perform very well. As we look at the net effect of rents without being specific, I would say that the TIs are higher than we originally expected, but so are the rents. And so the net effect of rents have been effectively flat to date. We'll -- as we move forward to finalize the project, we'll kind of continue to monitor that and if we have to give more TIs to stabilize that in a faster time line, that's certainly something that we'll consider.

是的。諾伊霍夫繼續表現出色。當我們不具體地觀察租金的淨效應時，我想說的是，TI 高於我們最初的預期，但租金也是如此。因此，迄今為止，租金的淨效果實際上持平。當我們繼續完成該專案時，我們將繼續監控這種情況，如果我們必須提供更多的 TI 來在更快的時間內穩定這一情況，我們肯定會考慮這一點。

But to date, the net effective rents have been effectively flat. The overall development yield, I'd say we certainly have had a -- would be lower than we started the project, and I'd attribute it solely to higher cost of our interest expense. That's a floating rate loan. And obviously, that SOFR has moved. And so the interest expense on that project has been higher than we originally anticipated.

但迄今為止，淨有效租金實際上持平。我想說，我們的整體開發收益率肯定會低於我們開始該專案的水平，我將其完全歸因於我們的利息費用成本較高。這就是浮動利率貸款。顯然，SOFR 已經改變了。因此該項目的利息支出高於我們最初的預期。

And if I can squeeze one more in. Richard, you mentioned Austin has been doing -- had some things -- some decent momentum here. Can you elaborate more on that? What's going on in the ground there? And what's really driving some of that momentum?

如果我能再擠進去一個。理查德，你提到奧斯汀一直在做——做了一些事情——這裡有一些不錯的勢頭。能詳細說明一下嗎？那裡的地裡發生了什麼事？真正推動這種勢頭的因素是什麼？

Well, I guess to clarify that I think I'd call Austin still less active than our other markets, so at this point, we are seeing positive dynamics as in, I'd say, the sublease listings have stabilized, and that's been a big dynamic in Austin for a little while now. So that, to me, is a nice leading indicator of things starting to potentially stabilize in turn, but it is still more quiet, let's say, than our other markets.

好吧，我想澄清一下，我認為奧斯汀仍然不如我們其他市場活躍，所以在這一點上，我們看到了積極的動態，我想說，轉租清單已經穩定，這是一個奧斯汀的動態已經持續一段時間了。因此，對我來說，這是一個很好的領先指標，表明事情開始可能逐漸穩定下來，但它仍然比我們的其他市場更安靜。

Your next question comes from Dylan Burzinski from Green Street.

您的下一個問題來自 Green Street 的 Dylan Burzinski。

Most of my questions have been asked, but I guess just going back to sort of as you guys are looking at acquisition opportunities, are there certain markets across your footprint that are currently more attractive than others? Whether it be because of just a better outlook for supply and demand? Or whether it because pricing has sort of degraded a little bit more?

我的大部分問題都被問到了，但我想回到你們正在尋找收購機會的時候，你們的足跡中是否有某些市場目前比其他市場更具吸引力？是否只是因為供需前景較好？還是因為定價稍微下降了一點？

Dylan, I'd say we'll certainly would pursue opportunities in any of our markets. We've got great confidence in all of them. They're perhaps some are, today have more strength than others. Most of that really driven by supply and the time it will take to absorb some of the new supply in certain markets. But I'd say, generally speaking, as a company over time, we would like to see our investment grow in some of the cities beyond -- or to a greater percentage beyond Atlanta and Austin.

迪倫，我想說我們肯定會在任何市場中尋求機會。我們對他們所有人都充滿信心。他們或許有些人，今天比其他人更有力量。其中大部分實際上是由供應以及吸收某些市場的一些新供應所需的時間所驅動的。但我想說，一般來說，作為一家公司，隨著時間的推移，我們希望看到我們在亞特蘭大和奧斯汀以外的一些城市的投資成長，或達到亞特蘭大和奧斯汀以外的更大比例。

And so we certainly have a lot of interest in markets like Charlotte and Nashville and Dallas and Tampa because we'd like to enhance that geographic diversification over time. But that doesn't mean that's a really compelling opportunity emerges in Atlanta or Austin, where we've got great expertise and great platforms. We'll absolutely pursue those. But I'd say over a longer period of time, I would like to see the geographic diversification enhanced just a bit.

因此，我們當然對夏洛特、納許維爾、達拉斯和坦帕等市場很感興趣，因為我們希望隨著時間的推移增強地理多元化。但這並不意味著亞特蘭大或奧斯汀出現了真正引人注目的機會，我們在那裡擁有豐富的專業知識和出色的平台。我們絕對會追求這些。但我想說，在較長一段時間內，我希望看到地理多元化有所增強。

Your next question comes from Peter Abramowitz from Jefferies.

您的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Peter Abramowitz。

One of the themes that's been emerging this quarter is either lenders or partners that are pretty willing to take on unfavorable terms just to get out of office and trim their exposure there. So just curious if you've seen any signs of that in your markets? And what's the role of distress overall in the transaction market right now?

本季出現的主題之一是，貸款人或合作夥伴非常願意接受不利的條件，只是為了下台並削減在那裡的風險敞口。所以只是好奇您是否在您的市場中看到了任何這種跡象？目前，困境在整個交易市場中扮演什麼角色？

Peter, I appreciate the question. It is -- the answer is yes, we are beginning to see that. I would say there's a couple different trends that are all kind of coming together, which is you are seeing lenders or -- and a lot of investors in real estate, trying to diversify out of their office exposure. And at the same time, you're starting to see catalysts for things to happen in that you've got a significant amount of debt maturities that are starting to occur in 2024.

彼得，我很欣賞這個問題。答案是肯定的，我們已經開始看到這一點。我想說的是，有一些不同的趨勢正在融合在一起，那就是你看到貸方或許多房地產投資者試圖將辦公室風險分散化。同時，你開始看到事情發生的催化劑，因為大量債務將於 2024 年開始到期。

And you also have increased leasing activity, which requires capital to pay tenant improvements and leasing commissions. And so that forces a conversation as who is going to fund that. And so that's all ingredients to create transaction and investment opportunities. And as I mentioned, that's why we've got some confidence that over the course of this year, we're going to begin to see much more actionable investment opportunities for Cousins.

而且租賃活動也有所增加，這需要資金來支付租戶裝修和租賃佣金。因此，這迫使人們討論誰將為其提供資金。這就是創造交易和投資機會的所有要素。正如我所提到的，這就是為什麼我們有信心在今年期間，我們將開始看到考辛斯更多可行的投資機會。

There are no further questions at this time. Mr. Connolly, please proceed with your closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。請康諾利先生致閉幕詞。

Thank you all for joining us today and your continued interest in Cousins Properties. We look forward to hopefully seeing you soon, but please feel free to reach out to our team with any questions in the interim. Have a great day. .

感謝大家今天加入我們以及您對 Cousins Properties 的持續關注。我們期待很快見到您，但在此期間如果有任何問題，請隨時與我們的團隊聯繫。祝你有美好的一天。 。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。