Paramount Group, Inc.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Paramount Group's first quarter 2025 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, May 1, 2025. I will now turn the call over to Tom Hennessey, Vice President of Business Development and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator, and good morning, everyone. Before we begin, I would like to point everyone to our first quarter 2025 earnings release and supplemental information, which were released yesterday. Both can be found under the heading Financial Results in the Investors section of the Paramount Group website at www.pgre.com. Some of our comments will be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements which are usually identified by the use of words such as will, expect, should, or other similar phrases are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect. Therefore, you should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on them. We refer you to our SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact our future operating results and financial condition. During the call, we will discuss our non-GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating the company's operating performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is available in our first quarter 2025 earnings release and our supplemental information. Hosting the call today, we have Mr. Albert Baylor, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of the company, Wilbur Pays, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and Peter Brindley, Executive Vice President, Head of Real Estate. Management will provide some opening remarks, and we will then open the call to questions. With that, I will turn the call over to Albert.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our call today. Since we last spoke, we have experienced great momentum, and I'm excited to share our first quarter results. We are off to a strong start in 2025. Yesterday, we reported core FFO of 17 cents per share for the first quarter, exceeding consensus by one cent. From an operational standpoint, we also had an outstanding quarter in leasing. We executed leases totaling approximately 284,000 square feet, marking our strongest first quarter of leasing since 2019. This momentum is a testament to the tremendous effort of our leasing team, the strength of the portfolio, and the demand for high-quality space in our submarkets. Our pipeline remains in excellent shape. and we are well positioned to continue this positive trajectory throughout the year. It is important to recognize the recent shifts in the broader economic environment as we discuss our performance. Despite these shifts, we have not experienced any disruption to our leasing activity over the past month. The resilience of our portfolio and the strategic locations of our properties continue to attract strong interest from high-quality tenants. In New York, the Manhattan office market showed significant improvement during the first quarter of 2025, as according to Cushman Wakefield, new leasing activity reached the highest quarterly total since fourth quarter 2021. This surge was driven by demand in Class A office space. which comprised approximately 82% of total activity. Within that citywide leasing, financial services tenants represented over half of new leases, 10,000 square feet and greater. We at Paramount are also seeing strong interest from a wide variety of tenants, including the financial and legal sectors. This demand reaffirms our conviction in the long-term appeal of our high-quality, strategically located space in New York's core submarkets. These market trends align well with our portfolio. We captured our fair share of leasing in New York, where we leased approximately 278,000 square feet. Additionally, we have a very robust leasing pipeline remaining. Peter will cover this in more detail shortly. During the quarter, we signed a significant new lease and subsequent expansion with Kirkland and Ellis at 903rd Avenue, totaling 179,000 square feet, improving the least occupancy of the building over 20 percentage points from 68.9 to 90.2%. This lease represents a major expansion of Kirkland and Ellis, the largest law firm in the United States by gross revenue, and the new space will support their continued growth. This transaction also underscores the improved demand profile for high-quality office space in Midtown East and highlights the strategic value of our properties. The lease strengthens our portfolio and demonstrates our ability to attract and retain top-tier tenants in competitive markets. We're already off to a good start in the second quarter with additional leasing momentum. As announced, we recently signed a significant new 121,000 square foot lease with the law firm Benesch at 13016 Avenue. This new lease, located on high floors, achieved strong rents and will bring 13016 Avenue to 90% leased. As we have emphasized in previous calls, the flight to quality remains a consistent theme in the market, with tenants increasingly focused on premier buildings in Midtown. Our portfolio is benefiting from this trend, bolstered by the Paramount Club, which continues to be a significant differentiator in the market. This amenity has proven transformative, not just in attracting new tenants, but in fostering a vibrant workplace community that enhances tenant satisfaction and retention. In San Francisco, while the market continues to trail New York, we remain optimistic about its recovery. The leasing activity in San Francisco already has started to show very positive momentum this quarter. The evolving political landscape in San Francisco is fostering a more favorable business environment. stimulating demand for office space. Our portfolio in San Francisco is well positioned to capitalize on the city's status as a hub for tech innovation and its leadership in AI-focused venture capital funding, which underscores its potential for recovery. We anticipate that tenants will continue to prioritize high-quality, well-located office space, further enhancing the appeal of our properties. Our focus remains on maintaining strong tenant relationships and securing renewals, ensuring that our portfolio is ready to meet the needs of existing and prospective tenants as demand increases. Turning to our capital allocation activities, we continue to substantiate via the private market the underlying values in our portfolio. During the quarter, we closed the sale of a 45% interest in 903rd Avenue, raising approximately $95 million in net proceeds. This transaction valued the property at $210 million, or $354 per square foot. We retain the remaining 55% interest, and we will continue to lease and manage the property. With that, I will hand over to Peter.