Alec Vergara

Alec Vergara asked for more color on the increase in development pursuit costs during the quarter and whether this line item is expected to continue increasing due to the growing development platform.

Answer

Alan Roth, East Region President and Chief Operating Officer, clarified that the elevated fourth-quarter pursuit costs were consistent with deep pipelines and an annual cleanup process for evaluating project viability. He stated that while teams will continue to pursue opportunities, the development platform remains very efficient, and the increase was not indicative of a structural change.

Alec Vergara asked for more color on the development pursuit costs, what led to the increase in the quarter, and if this line item is expected to structurally increase as the development platform grows.

Answer

Alan Roth, East Region President and Chief Operating Officer, stated that the elevated Q4 pursuit costs were consistent with deep pipelines and annual cleanup/write-off decisions, not a structural increase. He anticipates continued broad pursuit of opportunities and highlighted the platform's historical efficiency in managing these costs.