Prisons to Data Centers Expand Ranks of Tax-Saving REITs
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American Tower Corp.’s stock has climbed 21 percent since it converted to a real estate investment trust at the beginning of the year, making it the second-biggest REIT in the U.S. Unlike most REITs, including No. 1 Simon Property Group Inc., it doesn’t own shopping malls, office buildings, apartments or warehouses.
American Tower owns 21,592 cell-phone antennas that are used by wireless carriers throughout the country. The Boston-based company is one of a growing number of landlords for nontraditional properties such as prisons and data centers that are switching to REITs, a group whose shares have soared 59 percent in the past three years.