Boston Properties Names New Heads Of D.C. Office
One of the D.C. area's most active office developers will soon have new regional leadership.
Boston Properties announced Tuesday that Peter Johnston will retire from his role leading the office, and he will be succeeded by co-heads Pete Otteni and Jake Stroman. The transition, first reported by the Washington Business Journal, will take place May 15.
Senior Executive Vice President Ray Ritchey will continue to provide support for the region, and he will coordinate Boston Properties' national leasing teams and activity in new regions. The company is actively looking to expand to Seattle, CEO Owen Thomas revealed on the REIT's Jan. 27 earnings call.
Johnston, who serves as executive vice president for the D.C. region, has been with the company for 33 years and has held that position since January 2016. He has been responsible for more than 8M SF of development.
Otteni joined Boston Properties in 1999 and has risen through the company's development division, becoming senior vice president and head of development in 2016. He spearheaded the completion of Reston Town Center's urban core and the expansion to the next phase of the mixed-use development.
Stroman joined Boston Properties in 2004. In 2019, he became head of leasing, and last year he was promoted to senior vice president.
"Pete and Jake are proven leaders within the region and well established in the communities we serve," Ritchey said in a release. “I am delighted to support their leadership of the region and look forward to their partnership and vision for the future.”
Boston Properties has signed more major leases in the D.C. area during the coronavirus pandemic than any other landlord. The firm signed three deals last year with Microsoft, including a 400K SF lease at Reston Town Center, the largest lease in the region last year, plus another 45K SF lease at the property and a renewal at 12012 Sunset Hills Road.
Also last year, it signed a 196K SF lease with Volkswagen Group of America at Reston Town Center, and it inked a 135K SF deal with CACI International at 12021 Sunset Hills Road.
Signing a string of major D.C.-area leases last year was nothing new for Boston Properties, which also landed five build-to-suit deals between 2017 and 2018. That streak consisted of Marriott International's headquarters in Bethesda, the Transportation Security Administration in Springfield, WilmerHale in D.C., and Leidos and Fannie Mae at Reston Town Center.
