CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Title of Securities to be Registered		Maximum Aggregate Offering Price				Amount of Registration Fee
Shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share		$	281,750,000			$	28,373

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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)
Registration No. 333-199988

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To prospectus dated November 7, 2014)

7,000,000 Shares

Common Stock

 

We are selling 7,000,000 shares of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share.

Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol “EDR.” On November 2, 2015, the last sale price of our common stock as reported on the NYSE was $35.48 per share.

To assist us in continuing to qualify as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes, among other purposes, our charter imposes certain restrictions on the ownership of our capital stock. See “Description of Capital Stock” in the accompanying prospectus.

Investing in shares of our common stock involves substantial risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” sections beginning on page S-4 of this prospectus supplement and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, which we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

 

		Per Share				Total
Public offering price		$	35.00			$	245,000,000
Underwriting discount		$	1.40			$	9,800,000
Proceeds, before expenses, to us		$	33.60			$	235,200,000

The underwriters may also exercise their option to purchase up to an additional 1,050,000 shares of our common stock from us, at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, within 30 days after the date of this prospectus supplement.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state or other securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The shares of common stock will be ready for delivery on or about November 6, 2015.

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

BofA Merrill Lynch		KeyBanc Capital Markets		RBC Capital Markets

Lead Managers

J.P. Morgan		PNC Capital Markets LLC

Co-Managers

Baird		Piper Jaffray

 

The date of this prospectus supplement is November 2, 2015.

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Prospectus Supplement

		Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT			S-ii
SUMMARY			S-1
THE OFFERING			S-2
RISK FACTORS			S-4
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			S-6
USE OF PROCEEDS			S-8
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS			S-9
UNDERWRITING (CONFLICTS OF INTEREST)			S-10
LEGAL MATTERS			S-15
EXPERTS			S-15
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			S-15

Prospectus

		Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS			1
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			2
THE COMPANY			4
RISK FACTORS			5
USE OF PROCEEDS			5
RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES			6
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK			7
DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES			16
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS			18
DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS			19
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES AND GUARANTEES			20
BOOK ENTRY PROCEDURES AND SETTLEMENT			30
DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT OF EDUCATION REALTY OPERATING PARTNERSHIP, LP			32
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS			36
SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS			55
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION			56
LEGAL MATTERS			58
EXPERTS			58
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			58
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE			58

You should rely upon the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and any related free writing prospectus required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different or additional information. If anyone provides you with different or additional information, you should not rely upon it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where such offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein and any such free writing prospectus is accurate only as of the respective dates of these documents or such other dates as may be specified therein. Our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, funds from operations, or FFO, and prospects may have changed since those dates.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This document is presented in two parts. The first part is comprised of this prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of this offering and certain other matters relating to us. The second part, the accompanying prospectus, contains a description of our common stock and provides more general information, some of which does not apply to this offering, regarding securities that we may offer from time to time. To the extent that the information contained in this prospectus supplement differs or varies from the information contained in the accompanying prospectus or documents that we previously filed with the SEC, the information in this prospectus supplement will supersede such information.

This prospectus supplement is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC relating to the securities offered hereby. This prospectus supplement does not contain all of the information that we have included in the registration statement and the accompanying exhibits and schedules thereto in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC, and we refer you to such omitted information. It is important for you to read and consider all information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in making your investment decision. You should also read and consider the additional information incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus supplement.

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SUMMARY

This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that may be important to you in deciding whether to invest in shares of our common stock. To understand this offering fully prior to making an investment decision, you should carefully read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein. See “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus supplement. You should also carefully consider the “Risk Factors” sections in this prospectus supplement and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, which we have filed with the SEC and which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Unless otherwise expressly stated or the context requires otherwise, all information in this prospectus supplement assumes that the option to purchase additional shares of our common stock that we granted to the underwriters is not exercised.

All references to “we,” “our,” “us,” “EdR” and the “Company” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus mean Education Realty Trust, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, except where it is made clear that any such reference means only Education Realty Trust, Inc.

The Company

We are a self-managed and self-advised real estate investment trust, or REIT, organized in July 2004 to develop, acquire, own and manage collegiate housing communities located on or near university campuses. As of September 30, 2015, we owned 60 collegiate housing communities located in 21 states with 30,761 beds within 11,775 units on or near 38 university campuses, and we provide third-party management services for 21 collegiate housing communities located in 11 states with 11,542 beds within 4,093 units on or near 17 university campuses. We also selectively develop collegiate housing communities for our own account and provide third-party development consulting services on collegiate housing development projects for universities and other third parties.

All of our assets are held by, and we conduct substantially all of our activities through, Education Realty Operating Partnership, LP, or our Operating Partnership, and its wholly owned subsidiaries, including EdR Management Inc., the company through which we conduct management activities, and EdR Development LLC, the company through which we conduct development activities.

We are the sole owner of the general partner of our Operating Partnership. As a result, our board of directors effectively directs all of the Operating Partnership’s affairs. As of September 30, 2015, we owned 99.5% of the outstanding partnership units of our Operating Partnership. Our ownership interest in the Operating Partnership will increase upon consummation of this offering. See “Use of Proceeds.” The remaining Operating Partnership units are held by former owners of certain of our collegiate housing communities, including a member of our management team.

University Towers Operating Partnership, LP, or the University Towers Partnership, which is our affiliate, owns and operates our University Towers collegiate housing community located in Raleigh, North Carolina. We are the sole general partner, and as of September 30, 2015 we owned 72.7% of the outstanding partnership units of the University Towers Partnership, and the remaining 27.3% was owned by former owners of our University Towers collegiate housing community.

Our executive offices are located at 999 South Shady Grove Road, Suite 600, Memphis, Tennessee 38120, and our telephone number is (901) 259-2500. Our website address is http://www.edrtrust.com. However, the information located on, or accessible from, our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus or incorporated into any other filings that we make with the SEC.

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THE OFFERING

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For additional information regarding our common stock, see “Description of Capital Stock” in the accompanying prospectus.

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in shares of our common stock involves substantial risks. In consultation with your own financial and legal advisers, you should carefully consider, among other matters, the factors set forth below as well as in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. You should also carefully consider the rest of this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein before deciding whether an investment in shares of our common stock is suitable for you. If any of the risks disclosed in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus develop into actual events, our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, FFO and prospects could be materially and adversely affected, the market price of our common stock could decline and you may lose all or part of your investment.

This offering is expected to be dilutive, and there may be future dilution related to our common stock.

Giving effect to the issuance of shares of common stock in this offering, the receipt of the expected net proceeds and the use of those proceeds, we expect that this offering will have a dilutive effect on our expected earnings per share and our FFO per share for the year ending December 31, 2015. The actual amount of dilution cannot be determined at this time and will be based upon numerous factors. Additionally, subject to the 45-day lock up restrictions described in “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest) — No Sales of Similar Securities,” we are not restricted from issuing additional securities, including common stock, securities that are convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for common stock or preferred stock or any substantially similar securities, in the future, including through our at-the-market equity offering program. Future issuances or sales of substantial amounts of our common stock may be at prices below the offering price of the common stock offered by this prospectus supplement and may result in further dilution in our earnings per share and FFO per share and/or adversely impact the market price of our common stock.

Future sales or issuances of our common stock may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

The sale of substantial amounts of our common stock, whether directly by us or in the secondary market, the perception that such sales or other issuances of common stock could occur or the availability for future sale or issuance of shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for our common stock could materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to raise capital through future offerings of equity or equity-related securities. In addition, we may issue capital stock or other equity securities senior to our common stock in the future for a number of reasons, including to finance our operations and business plan, to adjust our ratio of debt to equity, to satisfy obligations upon the exchange of partnership units in the Operating Partnership and the University Towers Partnership or for other reasons.

Volatility and disruption in capital markets could materially and adversely impact us.

The capital markets may experience extreme volatility and disruption, which could make it more difficult to raise equity capital. If we cannot access capital or we cannot access capital upon acceptable terms, we may be required to liquidate one or more investments in properties at times that may not permit us to realize the maximum return on those investments, which could also result in adverse tax consequences to us. Moreover, market turmoil could lead to an increased lack of consumer confidence and widespread reduction of business activity generally, which may materially and adversely impact us, including our ability to acquire and dispose of assets and continue our development pipeline.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile in the future. As with other public companies, the availability of debt and equity capital depends, in part, upon the market price of our common stock and investor demand, which, in turn, depends upon various market conditions that change from time to time. Among the market conditions and other factors that may affect the market price of our common stock is the market’s perception of our current and future financial condition, liquidity, growth potential, earnings, FFO and cash distributions. Our failure to meet the market’s expectation with regard to any of these or other items would likely adversely affect the market price of our common stock, possibly materially. We cannot assure you that we will be able to raise the necessary capital to meet our debt service obligations, pay dividends to

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our stockholders or make future investments necessary to implement our business plan, and the failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on us.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to many factors, including:

Many of the factors listed above are beyond our control. Those factors may cause the market price of our common stock to decline, regardless of our financial performance, condition and prospects. It is impossible to provide any assurance that the market price of our common stock will not decline in the future, and it may be difficult for our stockholders to resell their shares of our common stock in the amount or at prices or times that they find attractive, or at all.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents that are incorporated by reference herein and therein are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements provide our current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not statements of historical fact.

These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future events, including, among other things, discussion and analysis of our future financial condition, results of operations and FFO, our strategic plans and objectives cost management, occupancy and leasing rates and trends, liquidity and ability to refinance our indebtedness as it matures, anticipated capital expenditures (and access to capital) required to complete projects, amounts of anticipated cash distributions to our stockholders in the future and other matters. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, are difficult to predict and/or could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecast in the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent uncertainty and may ultimately prove to be incorrect or false. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise may be required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or actual operating results. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to:

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This list of risks and uncertainties, however, is only a summary of some of the most important factors and is not intended to be exhaustive. You should carefully review the risks that are described under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and the other information that we file from time to time with the SEC that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. New factors that are not currently known to us or of which we are currently unaware may also emerge from time to time that could materially and adversely affect us.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that our net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $234.8 million (or approximately $270.1 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock in full) after deducting the underwriting discount and other estimated offering expenses payable by us.

We intend to contribute the net proceeds to our Operating Partnership in exchange for a number of partnership units to be issued by our Operating Partnership equal to the number of shares of common stock sold in this offering, thereby increasing our ownership interest in the Operating Partnership. The Operating Partnership intends to use the net proceeds to reduce amounts outstanding under our unsecured revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes, which may include funding our development activities or acquiring additional communities.

Our $500 million unsecured revolving credit facility matures on November 19, 2018 and accrues interest equal to a base rate or London InterBank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, plus an applicable margin based upon our leverage. As of October 30, 2015, we had $207.0 million outstanding under the revolving credit facility and the annual interest rate was 1.45%.

Affiliates of certain of the underwriters of this offering are lenders under our unsecured revolving credit facility. Accordingly, such affiliates will receive their pro rata shares of the net proceeds from this offering used to reduce amounts outstanding under our unsecured revolving credit facility. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest) — Conflicts of Interest.”

Pending application of any portion of the net proceeds, we may invest it in interest-bearing accounts and short-term, interest-bearing securities as is consistent with our intention to maintain our qualification for taxation as a REIT. Such investments may include, for example, obligations of the Government National Mortgage Association, other government and governmental agency securities, certificates of deposit and interest-bearing bank deposits.

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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

Together with the discussion of U.S. federal income tax in the accompanying prospectus, the disclosure in this section sets forth a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations that you, as a prospective investor, may consider relevant in connection with the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our common stock and our election to be taxed as a REIT. This Section supplements and to the extent inconsistent supersedes the discussion under the Section entitled “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus and is qualified in its entirety by such discussion in the accompanying prospectus.

The U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS have announced that withholding under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (as discussed in the accompanying prospectus) on payments of gross proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our common stock will only apply to payments made after December 31, 2018.

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UNDERWRITING (CONFLICTS OF INTEREST)

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated is acting as representative of each of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in an underwriting agreement among us, our Operating Partnership and the underwriters, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and the underwriters have agreed to purchase from us, the number of shares of common stock set forth opposite its name below.

Underwriters		Number of Shares
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith          Incorporated			2,450,000
KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.			1,050,000
RBC Capital Markets, LLC			1,050,000
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC			1,050,000
PNC Capital Markets LLC			1,050,000
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated			175,000
Piper Jaffray & Co			175,000
Total			7,000,000

Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the shares of common stock sold under the underwriting agreement if any of these shares are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the underwriting agreement may be terminated.

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.

The underwriters are offering the shares of common stock, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them and subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel and other conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.

Commissions and Discounts

The representative has advised us that the underwriters propose initially to offer the shares of common stock to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and to dealers at that price less a concession not in excess of $0.84 per share. After the initial offering, the public offering price, concession or any other term of this offering may be changed.

The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount and proceeds, before expenses, to us. The information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock.

		Per Share				Without Option				With Option
Public offering price		$	35.00			$	245,000,000			$	281,750,000
Underwriting discount		$	1.40			$	9,800,000			$	11,270,000
Proceeds, before expenses, to us		$	33.60			$	235,200,000			$	270,480,000

The expenses of this offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated to be $420,000 and are payable by us.

Option to Purchase Additional Shares

We have granted an option to the underwriters, exercisable for 30 days after the date of this prospectus supplement, to purchase up to 1,050,000 additional shares of common stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount. If the underwrites exercises this option, each will be obligated, subject to conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, to purchase a number of additional shares of common stock proportionate to that underwriter’s initial amount reflected in the above table.

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No Sales of Similar Securities

We, our executive officers and our directors have agreed not to sell or transfer any common stock, Operating Partnership units or securities convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for, or repayable with, common stock or Operating Partnership units, for 45 days after the date of this prospectus supplement without first obtaining the written consent of the representative. Specifically, we and these other persons have agreed, with certain limited exceptions, not to directly or indirectly, and, in each case, not to publicly disclose the intention to:

This lock-up provision applies to common stock and Operating Partnership units owned now or acquired later by the person executing the agreement or for which the person executing the agreement later acquires the power of disposition. The representative may release any of the securities subject to lock-up agreements at any time without notice.

New York Stock Exchange Listing

Our shares of common stock are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “EDR.”

Price Stabilization, Short Positions

Until the distribution of our shares of common stock is completed, SEC rules may limit the underwriters and selling group members from bidding for and purchasing our common stock. However, the representative may engage in transactions that stabilize the price of the common stock, such as bids or purchases to peg, fix or maintain that price.

In connection with this offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell our common stock in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, purchases on the open market to cover positions created by short sales and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of shares of common stock than they are required to purchase in this offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock described above. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock or purchasing shares of common stock in the open market. In determining the source of shares of common stock to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the option granted to them. “Naked” short sales are sales in excess of such option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares of common stock in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of shares of common stock made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of this offering.

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Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on the NYSE, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.

Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representative will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.

Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Shares

In connection with this offering, certain of the underwriters or securities dealers may distribute this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus by electronic means, such as e-mail. In addition, certain of the underwriters may facilitate Internet distribution for this offering to certain of their Internet subscription customers. Each such underwriter may allocate a limited number of shares for sale to its online brokerage customers. An electronic prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be available on the Internet web site maintained by each such underwriter. Other than this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in electronic format, the information on any such underwriter’s web site is not part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.

Conflicts of Interest

Affiliates of certain of the underwriters are lenders under our $500 million unsecured revolving credit facility. We intend to use a portion of the net proceeds from this offering to reduce amounts outstanding under such facility. Accordingly, each such affiliate will receive its pro rata share of the net proceeds from this offering used to reduce amounts outstanding under such facility.

Other Relationships

Some of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking, commercial banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.

In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Australia

No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”), in relation to the offering. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001 (the “Corporations Act”), and do not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act.

Any offer in Australia of the shares may only be made to persons (the “Exempt Investors”) who are “sophisticated investors” (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), “professional investors” (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act) or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the shares without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.

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The shares applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under the offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring shares must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions.

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain general information only and do not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. They do not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Canada

The shares may be sold only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the shares must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.

Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.

Pursuant to section 3A.3 (or, in the case of securities issued or guaranteed by the government of a non-Canadian jurisdiction, section 3A.4) of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the Dubai International Financial Centre

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relate to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. They must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth in such documents and has no responsibility for the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The shares to which this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relate may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus you should consult an authorized financial advisor.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong

The shares have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than (a) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance; or (b) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance. No advertisement, invitation or document relating to the shares has been or may be issued or has been or may be

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in the possession of any person for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance.

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LEGAL MATTERS

Certain legal matters and certain federal income tax matters will be passed upon for us by Morrison & Foerster LLP. Certain matters of Maryland law, including the validity of the common stock to be issued in connection with this offering, will be passed upon for us by Venable LLP. Sidley Austin LLP will act as counsel to the underwriters with respect to this offering.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements incorporated in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus by reference from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report included therein, which is incorporated herein and therein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

The financial statements of University Village — Greensboro, LLC as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed on February 27, 2015, have been audited by Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, independent auditors, as stated in their reports, which are incorporated by reference herein, and which have been so incorporated in reliance upon the reports of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are a public company and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may request copies of these documents by writing to the SEC and paying a fee for the copying cost. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for more information about the operation of the public reference room. Our SEC filings are also available to the public at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, you may read and copy our SEC filings at the office of the New York Stock Exchange at 20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10005. We also make available free of charge through our website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as well as the definitive proxy statement and Section 16 reports on Forms 3, 4 and 5. Our website address is http://www.edrtrust.com. However, the information located on, or accessible from, our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, except as described below, a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus or incorporated into any other filings that we make with the SEC.

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and the information we file subsequently with the SEC prior to the completion of this offering will automatically update and supersede this information.

We previously filed the following documents with the SEC and such filings are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement:

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All documents that we file pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus supplement and before all of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement are sold will be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement from the date of the filing of such documents, except for information “furnished” under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K or other information “furnished” to the SEC which is not deemed filed and not incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Information that we subsequently file with the SEC as aforesaid will automatically update and will, to the extent inconsistent, supersede information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and information that we previously filed with the SEC.

You may request a copy of these filings (other than exhibits, unless the exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into these documents) at no cost by writing or calling Investor Relations at the following address and telephone number:

Education Realty Trust, Inc.
999 South Shady Grove Road, Suite 600
Memphis, Tennessee 38120
(901) 259-2500

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PROSPECTUS

Education Realty Trust, Inc.

Common Stock
Preferred Stock
Depositary Shares
Warrants
Subscription Rights
Guarantees

Education Realty Trust Operating Partnership, LP

Debt Securities

 

We may offer, from time to time, one or more series or classes, separately or together, and in amounts, at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to this prospectus, the following securities:

Education Realty Operating Partnership, LP may offer, from time to time, debt securities in one or more series.

We refer to our common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, warrants, subscription rights, guarantees and debt securities collectively as the “securities.” We may offer the securities separately or together, in separate series or classes and in amounts, at prices and on terms described in one or more supplements to this prospectus.

This prospectus describes some of the general terms that may apply to these securities and the manner in which they may be offered. We will deliver this prospectus together with an accompanying prospectus supplement setting forth the specific terms of the securities we are offering and the manner in which they will be offered. The accompanying prospectus supplement also will contain information, where applicable, about certain U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to, and any listing on a securities exchange of, the securities covered by the prospectus supplement. In addition, the specific terms may include limitations on direct or beneficial ownership and restrictions on transfer of the securities offered by this prospectus, in each case as may be appropriate to preserve our status as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes.

We may offer and sell these securities to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, on a continuous or delayed basis. The securities may also be resold by selling security holders. If any underwriters, dealers or agents are involved in the sale of any of the securities, their names, and any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement with, between or among them, will be set forth, or will be calculable from the information set forth, in an accompanying prospectus supplement. For more detailed information, see “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. No securities may be sold without delivery of an accompanying prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of those securities.

Education Realty Trust, Inc.’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “EDR.”

Investing in our securities involves substantial risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 5 of this prospectus before you make an investment decision.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is November 7, 2014.

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		Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS			1
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			2
THE COMPANY			4
RISK FACTORS			5
USE OF PROCEEDS			5
RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES			6
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK			7
DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES			16
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS			18
DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS			19
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES AND GUARANTEES			20
BOOK ENTRY PROCEDURES AND SETTLEMENT			30
DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT OF EDUCATION REALTY OPERATING PARTNERSHIP, LP			32
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS			36
SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS			55
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION			56
LEGAL MATTERS			58
EXPERTS			58
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION			58
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE			58

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using a “shelf” registration process for the delayed offering and sale of securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Under the shelf registration process, we may, over time, sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings.

This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that we may offer. As allowed by SEC rules, this prospectus does not contain all the information you can find in the registration statement or the exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Statements contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials about the provisions or contents of any agreement or other document are only summaries. If SEC rules require that any agreement or document be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, you should refer to that agreement or document for its complete contents.

We will not use this prospectus to offer and sell securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement that more fully describes the securities being offered and the terms of the offering. Any accompanying prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may also add to, update or supersede other information contained in this prospectus. Before purchasing any securities, you should carefully read this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus together with the information incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein as described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus.

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

The information contained in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement to this prospectus, any free writing prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein are accurate only as of the date of such document. Our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, funds from operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

In this prospectus, unless otherwise specified or the context requires otherwise, we use the terms “EdR,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” to refer to Education Realty Trust, Inc., and the term the “Operating Partnership” to refer to Education Realty Operating Partnership, LP.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplements and the documents that are incorporated by reference herein and therein are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements provide our current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not statements of historical fact.

These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future events, including, among other things, discussion and analysis of our future financial condition, results of operations and funds from operations, or FFO, our strategic plans and objectives, including future or pending acquisitions and dispositions, cost management, occupancy and leasing rates and trends, liquidity and ability to refinance our indebtedness as it matures, anticipated capital expenditures (and access to capital) required to complete projects, amounts of anticipated cash distributions to our stockholders in the future and other matters. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, are difficult to predict and/or could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent uncertainty and may ultimately prove to be incorrect or false. You are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise may be required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or actual results. Our actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to:

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This list of risks and uncertainties, however, is only a summary of some of the most important factors and is not intended to be exhaustive. You should carefully review the risks and information contained, or incorporated by reference, in this prospectus or in any accompanying prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the “Risk Factors” incorporated by reference herein from our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports and information that we file with the SEC. New factors that are not currently known to us or of which we are currently unaware may also emerge from time to time that could materially and adversely affect us.

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THE COMPANY

We are a self-managed and self-advised REIT organized in July 2004 to develop, acquire, own and manage collegiate housing communities located on or near university campuses. As of September 30, 2014, we owned 53 collegiate housing communities located in 21 states with 29,765 beds within 11,160 units on or near 41 university campuses, and we provide third-party management services for 22 collegiate housing communities located in 10 states with 11,510 beds within 3,676 units on or near 17 university campuses. We also selectively develop collegiate housing communities for our own account and provide third-party development consulting services on collegiate housing development projects for universities and other third parties.

All of our assets are held by, and we conduct substantially all of our activities through, our Operating Partnership and its wholly owned subsidiaries, including EdR Management Inc., the company through which we conduct management activities, and EdR Development LLC, the company through which we conduct development activities.

We are the sole owner of the general partner of our Operating Partnership. As a result, our board of directors effectively directs all of the Operating Partnership’s affairs. As of September 30, 2014, we owned 99.4% of the outstanding partnership units of our Operating Partnership. The remaining Operating Partnership units are held by former owners of certain of our collegiate housing communities, including members of our management team and one of our directors.

University Towers Operating Partnership, LP, or the University Towers Partnership, which is our affiliate, owns and operates our University Towers collegiate housing community located in Raleigh, North Carolina. We are the sole general partner, and as of September 30, 2014 we owned 72.7% of the outstanding partnership units of the University Towers Partnership, and the remaining 27.3% was owned by former owners of our University Towers collegiate housing community, including one of our directors.

Our executive offices are located at 999 South Shady Grove Road, Suite 600, Memphis, Tennessee 38120, and our telephone number is (901) 259-2500. Our website address is http://www.edrtrust.com. However, the information located on, or accessible from, our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus or incorporated into any other filings that we make with the SEC.

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RISK FACTORS

Investment in any securities offered pursuant to this prospectus involves substantial risks. You should carefully consider the risk factors incorporated by reference to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for quarter ended September 30, 2014, the risk factors described under the caption “Risk Factors” in any applicable prospectus supplement and any risk factors set forth in our other filings with the SEC, before making an investment decision. Each of the risks described in these documents could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, and could result in a partial or complete loss of your investment. Although we have tried to discuss key factors, please be aware that these are not the only risks we face and there may be additional risks that we do not presently know of or that we currently consider not likely to have a significant impact. New risks may emerge at any time and we cannot predict such risks or estimate the extent to which they may affect our business or our financial performance. Please also refer to the section entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” in this prospectus.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless we specify otherwise in an accompanying prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of securities by us to provide additional funds for general corporate purposes, which may include, without limitation, the repayment of outstanding indebtedness, the construction of development properties, the acquisition of additional properties, capital expenditures and working capital. Any allocation of the net proceeds of an offering of securities to a specific purpose will be determined at the time of such offering and will be described in the accompanying supplement to this prospectus.

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RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

Our ratios of earnings to fixed charges for the periods indicated are as follows (unaudited):

		Year Ended December 31,																				Nine Months Ended September 30, 2014
		2009				2010				2011				2012				2013
Education Realty Trust, Inc.:
Combined Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges(1)			—				—				—				—				1.0				1.1
Education Realty Operating Partnership, LP:
Combined Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges(1)			—				—				—				—				1.0				1.1

For purposes of calculating the ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges, earnings consist of income before taxes, non-controlling interest and equity in earnings of equity investees, plus fixed charges less capitalized interest, plus distributed income of equity investees. Fixed charges include, where applicable, interest expense, gross before capitalized interest, amortization of debt premiums/discounts, amortization of deferred financing costs and an estimate of the interest component of rent expense. No preferred shares were outstanding during any annual or quarterly period reported above and no preferred dividends were paid.

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

General

We were formed under the laws of the State of Maryland. Rights of our stockholders are governed by the Maryland General Corporation Law, or MGCL, our charter and our bylaws. The following is a summary of the material provisions of our capital stock.

Authorized Stock

Our charter provides that we may issue up to 200,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. In addition, our charter provides that our board of directors, without any action by our stockholders, may amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue. As of November 6, 2014, there were 142,495,459 shares of common stock issued and outstanding and no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.

Common Stock

Subject to the preferential rights of any other class or series of stock and to the provisions of the charter regarding the restrictions on ownership and transfer of stock, holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to receive distributions on such stock when, as and if authorized by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor and declared by us and to share ratably in the assets of our company legally available for distribution to our stockholders in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up after payment of or adequate provision for all known debts and liabilities of our company, including the preferential rights on dissolution of any class or classes of preferred stock.

Subject to the provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on ownership and transfer of stock and except as may otherwise be specified in the terms of any class or series of common stock, each outstanding share of our common stock entitles the holder to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, including the election of directors and, except as provided with respect to any other class or series of stock, the holders of such shares will possess the exclusive voting power. There is no cumulative voting in the election of our board of directors, which means that the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock can elect all of the directors then standing for election and the holders of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any directors.

Holders of shares of our common stock have no preference, conversion, exchange, sinking fund, or redemption rights, have no preemptive rights to subscribe for any securities of our company and generally have no appraisal rights unless our board of directors determines that appraisal rights apply, with respect to all or any classes or series of stock, to one or more transactions occurring after the date of such determination in connection with which holders would otherwise be entitled to exercise appraisal rights. Subject to the provisions of the charter regarding the restrictions on ownership and transfer of stock, shares of our common stock will have equal distribution, liquidation and other rights.

Under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve, amend its charter, merge, consolidate, transfer all or substantially all of its assets, engage in a statutory share exchange, convert or engage in similar transactions outside the ordinary course of business unless declared advisable by the board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders holding at least two-thirds of the shares entitled to vote on the matter unless a lesser percentage (but not less than a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter) is set forth in the corporation’s charter. Our charter provides for a lesser percentage for these matters. Therefore, except for certain charter amendments relating to the removal of directors and the vote required for certain amendments, any such action will be effective and valid if declared advisable by our board of directors and taken or approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. In addition, Maryland law permits a corporation to transfer all or substantially all of its assets without the approval of the stockholders of the corporation to one or more persons if all of the equity interests of the person or persons are owned, directly or indirectly, by the corporation. Maryland law also does not require approval of the stockholders of a parent corporation to merge or sell all or substantially all of the assets of a subsidiary entity.

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Our charter authorizes our board of directors to reclassify any unissued shares of our common stock into other classes or series of classes of stock and to establish the number of shares in each class or series and to set the preferences, conversion and other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications or terms or conditions of redemption for each such class or series.

Preferred Stock

Our charter authorizes our board of directors to classify any unissued shares of preferred stock and to reclassify any unissued shares of common stock and any previously classified but unissued shares of preferred stock of any series. Prior to issuance of shares of each series, our board of directors is required by the MGCL and our charter to set the terms, preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption for each such series. Thus, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of common or preferred stock with terms and conditions which could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change of control in us that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest. If we offer shares of preferred stock, the accompanying prospectus supplement will describe each of the following terms that may be applicable in respect of any preferred stock offered and issued pursuant to this prospectus:

Power to Increase Authorized Stock and Issue Additional Shares of Our Common Stock and Preferred Stock

We believe that the power of our board of directors, without stockholder approval, to amend our charter from time to time to increase the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue, to issue additional authorized but unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and to classify or reclassify unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and thereafter to cause us to issue such classified or reclassified shares of stock will provide us with flexibility in structuring possible future financings and acquisitions and in meeting other needs which might arise. The additional classes or series, as well as the common stock, will be available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless stockholder consent is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded. Although our board of directors does not intend to do so, it could authorize us to issue a class or series that could, depending upon the terms of the particular class or series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control in us that might involve a premium price for our stockholders or otherwise be in their best interest.

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Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer

In order for us to maintain our qualification as a REIT under the Code, not more than 50% of the value of the outstanding shares of our capital stock may be owned, actually or constructively, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities) during the last half of a taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made by us). In addition, if we, or one or more owners (actually or constructively) of 10% or more of us, actually or constructively owns 10% or more of a tenant of ours (or a tenant of any partnership in which we are a partner), the rent received by us (either directly or through any such partnership) from such tenant will not be qualifying income for purposes of the REIT gross income tests under the Code. Our capital stock must also be beneficially owned by 100 or more persons during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made by us). For further discussion, see “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”

Our charter contains restrictions on the ownership and transfer of our capital stock. The relevant sections of our charter provide that, subject to the exceptions described below, no person or persons acting as a group may own, or be deemed to own by virtue of the attribution provisions of the Code, more than (i) 9.8% of the most restrictive of the number, voting power, or value of shares of our outstanding capital stock or (ii) 9.8% of the most restrictive of the number, voting power or value of our outstanding common stock. We refer to these restrictions as the “capital stock ownership limit” and the “common stock ownership limit” and collectively as the “ownership limits.”

The ownership attribution rules under the Code are complex and may cause stock owned actually or constructively by a group of related individuals and/or entities to be owned constructively by one individual or entity. As a result, the acquisition of less than 9.8% of our capital stock or our common stock (or the acquisition of an interest in an entity that owns, actually or constructively, our capital stock or our common stock) by an individual or entity, could, nevertheless cause that individual or entity, or another individual or entity, to own constructively in excess of 9.8% of our outstanding capital stock or our outstanding common stock and thereby result in a violation of the ownership limits.

Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, waive (prospectively or retroactively) the ownership limits with respect to one or more stockholders if (i) it obtains such representations and undertakings as are reasonably necessary to ascertain that no individual’s beneficial or constructive ownership of shares of our capital stock will result in our being treated as “closely held” within the meaning of Section 856(h) of the Code or will otherwise cause us to fail to maintain our REIT qualification, and (ii) such stockholders do not, and represent that they will not, own, actually or constructively, an interest in any tenant of ours (or a tenant of any entity owned or controlled by us) that would cause us to own, actually or constructively, more than a 9.9% interest in such tenant. Such stockholders must also agree that any violation or attempted violation of these restrictions will result in the automatic transfer of the shares of capital stock causing the violation to a charitable trust.

As a condition of any grant of a waiver from the capital stock ownership limit or the common stock ownership limit, our board of directors may require an opinion of counsel or IRS ruling satisfactory to our board of directors.

In connection with the waiver of the capital stock ownership limit or the common stock ownership limit or at any other time, our board of directors may decrease the capital stock ownership limit or the common stock ownership limit for all other persons and entities. The decreased capital stock ownership limit or common stock ownership limit will not be effective for any person or entity whose ownership of our capital stock is in excess of such decreased ownership limit until such time as such person or entity’s ownership falls below the decreased capital stock ownership limit or the common stock ownership limit, but any further acquisition of our common stock or other class or series of our capital stock, as the case may be, in excess of such capital stock ownership limit or the common stock ownership limit will be in violation of the capital stock ownership limit or common stock ownership limit. Additionally, any increase in the capital stock ownership limit may not allow five or fewer “individuals” (as defined for purposes of the REIT ownership restrictions under the Code) to beneficially own more than 49.9% of the value of our outstanding capital stock.

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Our charter further prohibits:

Any person who acquires or attempts or intends to acquire beneficial or constructive ownership of our capital stock that will or may violate any of the foregoing restrictions on transferability and ownership will be required to give written notice immediately to us (or, in the case of a proposed or attempted transaction, at least 15 days prior written notice) and provide us with such other information as we may request in order to determine the effect of such transfer on our status as a REIT. The foregoing provisions on transferability and ownership will not apply if our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to attempt to maintain our qualification as a REIT or that compliance with the restrictions is no longer required to maintain our qualification as a REIT.

Pursuant to our charter, any attempted transfer of our capital stock which, if effective, would result in our stock being owned by fewer than 100 persons will be null and void. In addition, if any purported transfer of our stock or any other event would result in any person violating the capital stock ownership limit or the common stock ownership limit or our being “closely held” under Section 856(h) of the Code or otherwise failing to qualify as a REIT, then the number of shares of capital stock in excess of the capital stock ownership limit or the common stock ownership limit or causing the violation (rounded to the nearest whole share) will be automatically transferred to, and held by, a trust for the exclusive benefit of one or more charitable organizations selected by us. In the event that the transfer to the trust would not be effective for any reason to prevent the violation, however, any such purported transfer will be void and of no force or effect with respect to the purported transferee or owner (collectively referred to hereinafter as the “purported owner”) as to the number of shares of common stock or other class or series of capital stock in excess of the capital stock ownership limit or the common stock ownership limit or causing the violation. The trustee of the trust will be designated by us and must be unaffiliated with us and with any purported owner. The automatic transfer will be effective as of the close of business on the business day prior to the date of the violative transfer or other event that results in a transfer to the trust. Shares of stock held in the trust will be issued and outstanding shares of stock of the Company. The purported owner shall not benefit economically from ownership of any shares of stock held in the trust, shall have no rights to dividends and shall not possess any rights to vote or other rights attributable to the shares of stock held in the trust. The trustee shall have all voting rights and rights to dividends or other distributions with respect to shares of stock held in the trust, which rights shall be exercised for the exclusive benefit of the charitable beneficiary. Any dividend or other distribution paid prior to our discovery that shares of stock have been transferred to the trustee shall be paid by the recipient of such dividend or distribution to the trustee upon demand, and any dividend or other distribution authorized but unpaid shall be paid when due to the trustee. Any dividend or distribution so paid to the trustee shall be held in trust for the charitable beneficiary.

Subject to Maryland law, effective as of the date that such excess shares of capital stock are transferred to the charitable trust, the trustee shall have the authority (at the trustee’s sole discretion) (i) to rescind as void any vote cast by a purported owner prior to our discovery that such shares have been transferred to the charitable trust and (ii) to recast such vote in accordance with the desires of the trustee acting for the benefit of the beneficiary of the trust, provided, however, that if we have already taken irreversible action, then the trustee shall not have the authority to rescind and recast such vote.

Within 20 days of receiving notice from us of the transfer of shares of capital stock to the trust, the trustee must sell the shares to a person or entity designated by the trustee that could own the shares without violating the ownership limits or other restrictions. Upon receiving the proceeds of such sale, the trustee must distribute to the purported owner an amount equal to the lesser of (i) the price paid by the purported owner for the shares (or, if the purported owner did not give value for the shares in connection with the event causing the shares to be held in the trust (e.g., a gift, devise or other such transaction), the market price (as

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defined in the charter) of such shares on the day of the event causing the shares to be held in the trust) and (ii) the net sales proceeds received by the trustee for the shares. The trustee may reduce the amount payable to the purported owner by the amount of dividends and other distributions which have been paid to the purported owner and are owed by the purported owner to the trustee. Any proceeds in excess of the amount distributable to the purported owner will be distributed to the charitable beneficiary. If, prior to our discovery that shares of capital stock have been transferred to the trustee, such shares are sold by a purported owner, then such shares will be deemed to have been sold on behalf of the trust and, to the extent that the purported owner received an amount for such shares that exceeds the amount that the purported owner was entitled to receive, the purported owner must pay such excess to the trustee upon demand.

Shares of our capital stock that are transferred to the charitable trustee are deemed offered for sale to us, or our designee, at a price per share equal to the lesser of (i) the price paid by the purported owner for such shares (or, in the case of a devise or gift, the market price at the time of such devise or gift) and (ii) the market price on the date we, or our designee, accepts such offer. We may reduce the amount payable to the purported owner by the amount of any distributions which have been paid to the purported owner and are owed by the purported owner to the trustee. We may pay the amount of such reduction to the trustee for the benefit of the charitable beneficiary. We have the right to accept such offer until the trustee has sold the shares of our capital stock held in the trust pursuant to the charter provisions described in the immediately preceding paragraph. Upon a sale of such shares to us, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in such shares terminates and the trustee must distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the purported owner.

All persons who own, directly or by virtue of the attribution provisions of the Code, 5% or more (or such other percentage as provided in the regulations promulgated under the Code) of our outstanding stock must give written notice to us within 30 days after the end of each taxable year stating the name and address of such owner, the number of shares of each class and series of our stock which the owner beneficially owns and a description of the manner in which such shares are held. In addition, each stockholder will, upon demand, be required to disclose to us in writing such information with respect to the direct, indirect and constructive ownership of shares of our stock as our board of directors deems reasonably necessary to determine the effect of the stockholder’s constructive ownership on our REIT status, to ensure compliance with the capital stock ownership limit and to comply with the requirements or any taxing authority or governmental agency.

Any certificates representing shares of our capital stock shall bear a legend referring to the restrictions described above.

These ownership limits could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control in EdR that might involve a premium price over the then prevailing market price for the holders of some, or a majority, of our outstanding shares of common stock (and certain other series or classes of capital stock that we may issue in the future) or which such holders might believe to be otherwise in their best interest.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC.

Material provisions of Maryland law and of our charter and bylaws

The following is a summary of certain provisions of Maryland law and of our charter and bylaws. See “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus.

The Board of Directors.  Our bylaws provide that the number of directors of our Company may be established by our board of directors but may not be fewer than the minimum number permitted under the MGCL (generally, one) nor more than 15. Any vacancy may be filled, at any regular meeting or at any special meeting called for that purpose, only by a majority of the remaining directors, even if the remaining directors do not constitute a quorum, and any director elected to fill a vacancy will serve for the remainder of the full term of the directorship in which such vacancy occurred and until a successor is elected and qualifies.

Each member of our board of directors will serve a one-year term, with each current director serving until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualifies. Our common stockholders will have no right to cumulative voting in the election of directors. Consequently, at

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each annual meeting of stockholders, the holders of a majority of the shares of our common stock will be able to elect all of the members of our board of directors. Moreover, our charter permits our stockholders to remove a director, but only for cause, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of our common stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.

Business Combinations.  Maryland law prohibits “business combinations” between a corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include a merger, consolidation, statutory share exchange, or, in circumstances specified in the statute, certain transfers of assets, certain stock issuances and transfers, liquidation plans and reclassifications involving interested stockholders and their affiliates. Maryland law defines an interested stockholder as:

A person is not an interested stockholder if the board of directors approves in advance the transaction by which the person otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. However, in approving the transaction, the board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by the board of directors.

After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between a corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:

These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if the common stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares.

The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are approved by the board of directors before the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Pursuant to the statute, our board of directors has adopted a resolution (which resolution is reflected in our bylaws) exempting any transactions between us and any other person. Consequently, the five-year prohibition and the super-majority vote requirements will not apply to business combinations involving us. Our bylaws provide that this exemption may only be revoked with the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by our common stockholders present and voting at a duly held meeting of our stockholders.

Control Share Acquisitions.  The MGCL provides that “control shares” of a Maryland corporation acquired in a “control share acquisition” have no voting rights except to the extent approved at a special meeting by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding shares of stock in a corporation in respect of which any of the following persons is entitled to exercise or direct the exercise of the voting power of shares of stock of the corporation in the election of directors: (i) a person who makes or proposes to make a control share acquisition, (ii) an officer of the corporation or (iii) an employee of the corporation who is also a director of the corporation. “Control shares” are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other such shares of stock previously acquired by the acquiror or in respect of which the acquiror is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquiror to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of the following ranges of voting power: (i) one-tenth or more but less than one-third, (ii) one-third or more but less than a majority, or (iii) a majority or more of all voting power. Control shares do not include shares that the

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acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A “control share acquisition” means the acquisition of issued and outstanding control shares, subject to certain exceptions.

A person who has made or proposes to make a control share acquisition, upon satisfaction of certain conditions (including an undertaking to pay expenses), may compel our board of directors to call a special meeting of stockholders to be held within 50 days of demand to consider the voting rights of the shares. If no request for a meeting is made, the corporation may itself present the question at any stockholders meeting.

If voting rights are not approved at the meeting or if the acquiring person does not deliver an acquiring person statement as required by the statute, then, subject to certain conditions and limitations, the corporation may redeem any or all of the control shares (except those for which voting rights have previously been approved) for fair value determined, without regard to the absence of voting rights for the control shares, as of the date of the last control share acquisition by the acquiror or of any meeting of stockholders at which the voting rights of such shares are considered and not approved. If voting rights for control shares are approved at a stockholders meeting and the acquiror becomes entitled to vote a majority of the shares entitled to vote, all other stockholders may exercise appraisal rights. The fair value of the shares as determined for purposes of such appraisal rights may not be less than the highest price per share paid by the acquiror in the control share acquisition.

The control share acquisition statute does not apply (a) to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the corporation is a party to the transaction or (b) to acquisitions approved or exempted by the charter or bylaws of the corporation. Our bylaws contain a provision exempting any and all acquisitions of shares of our stock from the control share provisions of the MGCL. The bylaws further prohibit the repeal, amendment or alteration of this bylaw provision without the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by our common stockholders present and voting at a duly held meeting of our stockholders.

Subtitle 8.  Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the MGCL permits a Maryland corporation with a class of equity securities registered under the Exchange Act and at least three independent directors to elect to be subject, by provision in its charter or bylaws or a resolution of its board of directors and notwithstanding any contrary provision in the charter or bylaws, to any or all of five provisions:

Through provisions in our charter and bylaws unrelated to Subtitle 8, we already (a) vest in the board the exclusive power to fix the number of directorships and (b) require, unless called by our chairman of the board of directors, our president, our chief executive officer or the board of directors, the request of holders of a majority of outstanding shares entitled to vote to call a special meeting. We have elected to be subject to the provisions of Subtitle 8 relating to the filling of vacancies on the board. Our charter prohibits us from electing in the future to classify our board of directors without the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by our stockholders entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.

Amendment to our charter.  Our charter may be amended only if declared advisable by the board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, other than amendments to provisions relating to the removal of directors or the vote required for certain amendments, which must be declared advisable by our board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter.

Dissolution of our Company.  The dissolution of our Company must be declared advisable by a majority of the entire board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter.

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Advance notice of director nominations and new business.  Our bylaws provide that, with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders, nominations of individuals for election to our board of directors and the proposal of business to be considered by stockholders may be made only:

With respect to special meetings of stockholders, only the business specified in our Company’s notice of meeting may be brought before the meeting of stockholders, unless otherwise provided by law.

Nominations of individuals for election to our board of directors at any special meeting of stockholders may be made only:

Anti-takeover effect of certain provisions of Maryland law and of our charter and bylaws.  The provisions of our charter regarding the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock and the advance notice provisions of our bylaws could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control in EdR that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest. Likewise, if our board of directors resolves to avail the corporation of any of the provisions of Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the MGCL not currently applicable to us (with the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by our stockholders entitled to vote generally in the election of directors in the case of the classified board provisions of Subtitle 8) or if the resolution of our board of directors opting out of the business combination provisions of the MGCL or the provision in the bylaws opting out of the control share acquisition provisions of the MGCL were rescinded (with the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the matter by our common stockholders present and voting at a duly held meeting of our stockholders), these provisions of the MGCL could have similar anti-takeover effects.

Indemnification and limitation of directors’ and officers’ liability.  Maryland law permits us to include in our charter a provision limiting the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from (i) actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or (ii) active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment and material to the cause of action. Our charter contains a provision that eliminates directors’ and officers’ liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.

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The MGCL requires a corporation unless its charter provides otherwise, which our charter does not, to indemnify a director or officer who has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of his or her service in that capacity. The MGCL permits a corporation to indemnify its present and former directors and officers, among others, against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made or threatened to be made a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless it is established that:

However, under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation may not indemnify for an adverse judgment in a suit by or in the right of the corporation or for a judgment of liability on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received, unless in either case a court orders indemnification and then only for expenses. In addition, the MGCL permits a corporation to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer upon the corporation’s receipt of:

Our charter authorizes us to obligate our Company and our bylaws obligate us, to the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law, to indemnify and, without requiring a preliminary determination of the ultimate entitlement to indemnification, pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to:

Our bylaws also authorize us, subject to approval from our board of directors or a committee thereof, to indemnify and advance expenses to any person who served a predecessor of ours in any of the capacities described above and to any employee or agent of our Company or a predecessor of our Company.

The partnership agreements of our Operating Partnership and University Towers Partnership provide that we, as the sole owner of the general partner of our Operating Partnership and the sole general partner of our University Towers Partnership, and our officers and directors are indemnified to the fullest extent permitted by law.

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DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES

General

We may issue depositary shares, each of which will represent a fractional interest of a share of a particular class or series of our preferred stock, as specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, which will more fully describe the terms of those depositary shares. Shares of a class or series of preferred stock represented by depositary shares will be deposited under a separate deposit agreement among us, the depositary named therein and the holders from time to time of the depositary receipts issued by the preferred stock depositary, which will evidence the depositary shares. Subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, each owner of a depositary receipt will be entitled, in proportion to the fractional interest of a share of a particular class or series of preferred stock represented by the depositary shares evidenced by that depositary receipt, to all the rights and preferences of the class or series of preferred stock represented by those depositary shares (including dividend, voting, conversion, redemption and liquidation rights).

The depositary shares to be issued will be evidenced by depositary receipts issued pursuant to the applicable deposit agreement. Immediately following the issuance and delivery of a class or series of preferred stock by us to the preferred stock depositary, we will cause the preferred stock depositary to issue, on our behalf, the depositary receipts. The particular terms of the depositary shares offered by any prospectus supplement and the extent, if any, to which such general provisions may not apply to the depositary shares so offered will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to such securities. You should refer to, and read this summary together with, the deposit agreement and related depositary receipt. You can obtain copies of any form of deposit agreement or other agreement pursuant to which the depositary shares are issued by following the directions described under the caption “Where You Can Find More Information” in the accompanying prospectus.

Dividends and Other Distributions

The depositary will distribute all cash dividends or other cash distributions received in respect of our preferred stock to the record holders of depositary shares relating to such preferred stock in proportion to the number of such depositary shares owned by such holders. The depositary shall distribute only such amount, however, as can be distributed without attributing to any holder of depositary shares a fraction of one cent, and the balance not so distributed shall be added to and treated as part of the next sum received by the depositary for distribution to record holders of depositary shares.

In the event of a distribution other than in cash, the depositary will distribute property received by it to the record holders of depositary shares entitled thereto, unless the depositary determines that it is not feasible to make such distribution, in which case the depositary may, with our approval, sell such property and distribute the net proceeds from such sale to such holders.

The deposit agreement will also contain provisions relating to the manner in which any subscription or similar rights offered by us to holders of our preferred stock shall be made available to the holders of depositary shares.

Redemption of Depositary Shares

If a series of preferred stock represented by depositary shares is subject to redemption, the depositary shares will be redeemed from the proceeds received by the depositary resulting from the redemption, in whole or in part, of such series of preferred stock held by the depositary. The redemption price per depositary share will be equal to the applicable fraction of the redemption price per share payable with respect to such series of preferred stock. Whenever we redeem shares of preferred stock held by the depositary, the depositary will redeem as of the same redemption date the number of depositary shares representing the shares of preferred stock so redeemed. If fewer than all the depositary shares are to be redeemed, the depositary shares to be redeemed will be selected by lot or pro rata as may be determined by the depositary.

After the date fixed for redemption, the depositary shares so called for redemption will no longer be outstanding and all rights of the holders of the depositary shares will cease, except the right to receive the money, securities or other property payable upon such redemption and any money, securities or other property to which the holders of such depositary shares were entitled upon such redemption upon surrender to the depositary of the depositary receipts evidencing such depositary shares.

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Voting Our Preferred Stock

Upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of preferred stock are entitled to vote, the depositary will mail the information contained in such notice of meeting to the record holders of the depositary shares relating to such preferred stock. Each record holder of such depositary shares on the record date (which will be the same date as the record date for our preferred stock) will be entitled to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights pertaining to the amount of preferred stock represented by such holder’s depositary shares. The depositary will endeavor, insofar as practicable, to vote the amount of preferred stock represented by such depositary shares in accordance with such instructions, and we will agree to take all action which may be deemed necessary by the depositary in order to enable the depositary to do so. The depositary may abstain from voting shares of preferred stock to the extent it does not receive specific instructions from the holders of depositary shares representing such preferred stock.

Amendment and Termination of the Depositary Agreement

The form of depositary receipt evidencing the depositary shares and any provision of the deposit agreement may at any time be amended by agreement between the depositary and us. However, any amendment that materially and adversely alters the rights of the holders of depositary shares will not be effective unless such amendment has been approved by the holders of at least a majority of the depositary shares then outstanding. The deposit agreement may be terminated by us or the depositary only if (i) all outstanding depositary shares have been redeemed or (ii) there has been a final distribution in respect of our preferred stock in connection with any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company and such distribution has been distributed to the holders of depositary receipts.

Charges of Depositary

We will pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from the existence of the depositary arrangements. We will pay charges of the depositary in connection with the initial deposit of our preferred stock and any redemption of our preferred stock. Holders of depositary receipts will pay other transfer and other taxes and governmental charges and such other charges, including a fee for the withdrawal of shares of preferred stock upon surrender of depositary receipts, as are expressly provided in the deposit agreement to be for their accounts.

Miscellaneous

The depositary will forward to holders of depositary receipts all reports and communications from EdR that are delivered to the depositary and that we are required to furnish to holders of preferred stock.

Neither the depositary nor EdR will be liable if it is prevented or delayed by law or any circumstance beyond its control in performing its obligations under the deposit agreement. The obligations of the depositary and EdR under the deposit agreement will be limited to performance in good faith of their duties thereunder and they will not be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding in respect of any depositary shares or preferred stock unless satisfactory indemnity is furnished. They may rely upon written advice of counsel or accountants, or upon information provided by persons presenting preferred stock for deposit, holders of depositary receipts or other persons believed to be competent and on documents believed to be genuine.

Resignation and Removal of the Depositary

The depositary may resign at any time by delivering to us notice of its election to do so, and we may at any time remove the depositary, any such resignation or removal to take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment. Such successor depositary must be appointed within 60 days after delivery of the notice of resignation or removal.

Restrictions on Ownership

The deposit agreement will contain provisions restricting the ownership and transfer of depositary shares. Such restrictions will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement and will be referenced on the applicable depositary receipts.

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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

We may offer by means of this prospectus warrants for the purchase of the common stock, preferred stock and/or depositary shares offered by this prospectus. We may issue warrants separately or together with any other securities offered by means of this prospectus, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from such securities. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a warrant agent specified therein or the applicable prospectus supplement. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants of such series and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or beneficial owners of warrants.

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the following terms, where applicable, of the warrants in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered:

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DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS

We may issue subscription rights to purchase one or more series or classes of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and depositary shares. We may issue subscription rights independently or together with any other offered security, which may or may not be transferable by the stockholder. In connection with any offering of subscription rights, we may enter into a standby arrangement with one or more underwriters or other purchasers pursuant to which the underwriters or other purchasers may be required to purchase any securities remaining unsubscribed for after such offering.

The accompanying prospectus supplement relating to any subscription rights we may offer will contain the specific terms of the subscription rights. These terms may include the following:

The description in the accompanying prospectus supplement of any subscription rights we offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable subscription rights certificate or subscription rights agreement, which will be filed with the SEC if we offer subscription rights. For more information on how you can obtain copies of any subscription rights certificate or subscription rights agreement if we offer subscription rights, see “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus. We urge you to read the applicable subscription rights certificate, the applicable subscription rights agreement and any applicable prospectus supplement in their entirety.

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES AND RELATED GUARANTEES

The debt securities will be issued in one or more series under an indenture to be entered into among the Operating Partnership, the Company, as guarantor, and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. References herein to the “Indenture” refer to such indenture and references to the “Trustee” refer to such trustee or any other trustee for any particular series of debt securities issued under the Indenture. The terms of the debt securities of any series will be those specified in or pursuant to the Indenture and in the applicable debt securities of that series and those made part of the Indenture by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, or the Trust Indenture Act.

The following description of selected provisions of the Indenture and the debt securities is not complete, and the description of selected terms of the debt securities of a particular series included in the applicable prospectus supplement also will not be complete. You should review the form of the Indenture and the form of the applicable debt securities, which forms have been or will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or as exhibits to documents which have been or will be incorporated by reference in this prospectus. To obtain a copy of the form of the Indenture or the form of the applicable debt securities, see “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus. The following description of debt securities and the description of the debt securities of the particular series in the applicable prospectus supplement are qualified in their entirety by reference to all of the provisions of the Indenture and the applicable debt securities, which provisions, including defined terms, are incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this section shall have the meanings assigned to those terms in the Indenture.

The following description of debt securities describes general terms and provisions of the series of debt securities to which any prospectus supplement may relate. When the debt securities of a particular series are offered for sale, the specific terms of such debt securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any particular terms of such debt securities described in a prospectus supplement are inconsistent with any of the terms of the debt securities generally described in this prospectus, then the terms described in the applicable prospectus supplement will supersede the terms described in this prospectus.

General

The debt securities of each series will constitute the unsecured unsubordinated obligations of the Operating Partnership and will rank on parity in right of payment with all of its other existing and future unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness. The Operating Partnership may issue an unlimited principal amount of debt securities under the Indenture. The Indenture provides that debt securities of any series may be issued up to the aggregate principal amount which may be authorized from time to time by the Operating Partnership. Please read the applicable prospectus supplement relating to the debt securities of the particular series being offered thereby for the specific terms of such debt securities, including, where applicable:

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As used in this prospectus, references to the principal of and premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the debt securities of a series include Additional Amounts, if any, payable on the debt securities of such series in that context.

The Operating Partnership may issue debt securities as original issue discount securities to be sold at a substantial discount below their principal amount. In the event of an acceleration of the maturity of any original issue discount security, the amount payable to the holder upon acceleration will be determined in the manner described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Important federal income tax and other considerations applicable to original issue discount securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

The terms of the debt securities of any series may be inconsistent with the terms of the debt securities of any other series, and the terms of particular debt securities within any series may be inconsistent with each other. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the Operating Partnership may, without the consent of, or notice to, the holders of the debt securities of any series, reopen an existing series of debt securities and issue additional debt securities of that series.

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Other than to the extent provided with respect to the debt securities of a particular series and described in the applicable prospectus supplement, the Indenture will not contain any provisions that would limit our ability or the ability of the Operating Partnership to incur indebtedness or to substantially reduce or eliminate our consolidated assets, which may have a materially adverse effect on our ability or the ability of the Operating Partnership to service our or the Operating Partnership’s indebtedness (including the debt securities) or that would afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event of:

Registration, Transfer, Payment and Paying Agent

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, each series of debt securities will be issued in registered form only, without coupons.

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be payable and may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange at an office of the Operating Partnership or an agent of the Operating Partnership in The City of New York. However, the Operating Partnership, at its option, may make payments of interest on any interest payment date on any debt security by check mailed to the address of the person entitled to receive that payment or by wire transfer to an account maintained by the payee with a bank located in the United States.

Any interest not punctually paid or duly provided for on any interest payment date with respect to the debt securities of any series will forthwith cease to be payable to the holders of those debt securities on the applicable regular record date and may either be paid to the persons in whose names those debt securities are registered at the close of business on a special record date for the payment of the interest not punctually paid or duly provided for to be fixed by the Trustee, notice whereof shall be given to the holders of those debt securities not less than 10 days prior to the special record date, or may be paid at any time in any other lawful manner, all as completely described in the Indenture.

Subject to certain limitations imposed on debt securities issued in book-entry form, the debt securities of any series will be exchangeable for other debt securities of the same series and of a like aggregate principal amount and tenor of different authorized denominations upon surrender of those debt securities at the designated place or places. In addition, subject to certain limitations imposed upon debt securities issued in book-entry form, the debt securities of any series may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange thereof at the designated place or places if duly endorsed or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer. No service charge shall be made for any registration of transfer or exchange, redemption or repayment of debt securities, but the Operating Partnership may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed in connection with certain of those transactions.

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the Operating Partnership will not be required to:

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Outstanding Debt Securities

In determining whether the holders of the requisite principal amount of outstanding debt securities have given any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, or waiver under the Indenture:

Redemption and Repayment

The debt securities of any series may be redeemable at the Operating Partnership’s option or may be subject to mandatory redemption by the Operating Partnership as required by a sinking fund or otherwise. In addition, the debt securities of any series may be subject to repayment by the Operating Partnership at the option of the holders. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms and conditions regarding any optional or mandatory redemption or option to repay the debt securities of the related series.

Guarantees by the Company

The Operating Partnership’s payment obligations under the debt securities will be irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed on an unsecured and unsubordinated basis by the Company. The guarantee will be the Company’s direct obligation, ranking equally and ratably with all of its existing and future unsecured and unsubordinated obligations, other than obligations mandatorily preferred by law.

Covenants

Any material covenants applicable to the debt securities of the applicable series will be specified in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Events of Default

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, an Event of Default with respect to the debt securities of any series is defined in the Indenture as being:

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As used in this section, unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, “Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which banking institutions in The City of New York are authorized or obligated by law, regulation or executive order to close.

No Event of Default with respect to any particular series of debt securities necessarily constitutes an Event of Default with respect to any other series of debt securities. The Trustee is required to give notice to holders of the debt securities of the applicable series within 60 days after the Trustee has actual knowledge (as such knowledge is described in the Indenture) of a default relating to such debt securities.

If an Event of Default specified in clause (7) above occurs, then the principal of all the outstanding debt securities and unpaid interest, if any, accrued thereon shall automatically become immediately due and payable. If any other Event of Default with respect to the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series occurs and is continuing, either the Trustee or the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of that series then outstanding may declare the principal of, or if debt securities of that series are original issue discount securities such lesser amount as may be specified in the terms of that series of debt securities, and unpaid interest, if any, accrued thereon to be due and payable immediately. However, upon specified conditions, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of that series then outstanding may rescind and annul any such declaration of acceleration and its consequences.

The Indenture provides that no holders of debt securities of any series may institute any proceedings, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the Indenture, or for the appointment of a receiver or Trustee, or for any remedy thereunder, except in the case of failure of the Trustee, for 60 days, to act after it has received a written request to institute proceedings in respect of an Event of Default from the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series, as well as an offer of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it, and no inconsistent direction has been given to the Trustee during such 60 day period by the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Indenture, each holder of a debt security will have the right, which is absolute and unconditional, to receive payment of the principal of and premium, if any, and interest, if any, and any Additional Amounts on that debt security on the respective due dates for those payments and to institute suit for the enforcement of those payments and any right to effect such exchange, and this right shall not be impaired without the consent of such holder.

Subject to the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act requiring the Trustee, during the continuance of an Event of Default under the Indenture, to act with the requisite standard of care, the Trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the Indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of debt securities of any series unless those holders have offered the Trustee indemnity or security satisfactory to it. The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee, or of exercising any trust or power conferred upon the Trustee, provided that

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the direction would not conflict with any rule or law or with the Indenture or with any series of debt securities, such direction would not be unduly prejudicial to the rights of any other holder of debt securities of that series (or the debt securities of any other series), and the Trustee may take any other action deemed proper by the Trustee which is not inconsistent with such direction.

Within 150 days after the close of each fiscal year, the Operating Partnership and the Company, as guarantor, must deliver to the Trustee an officers’ certificate stating whether or not each certifying officer has knowledge of any Event of Default or default which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would become an Event of Default under the Indenture and, if so, specifying each such default and the nature and status thereof; provided that any default that results solely from the taking of an action that would have been permitted but for the continuation of a previous default will be deemed to be cured if such previous default is cured prior to becoming an Event of Default.

Modification, Waivers and Meetings

The Indenture permits the Operating Partnership, the Company, as guarantor, and the Trustee, with the consent of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series issued under the Indenture and affected by a modification or amendment (voting as separate classes), to modify or amend any of the provisions of the Indenture or of the debt securities of the applicable series or the rights of the holders of the debt securities of the applicable series under the Indenture. However, no modification or amendment shall, without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security affected thereby:

The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the Operating Partnership, the Company, as guarantor, and the Trustee, without the consent of the holders of any debt securities, to modify or amend the Indenture, among other things:

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The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may waive the Operating Partnership’s or the Company’s compliance with some of the restrictive provisions of the Indenture, which may include covenants, if any, which are specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may, on behalf of all holders of debt securities of that series, waive any continuing default under the Indenture with respect to the debt securities of that series and its consequences, except a default which is continuing (i) in the payment of the principal of, or premium, if any, or interest, if any, on, the debt securities of that series, or (ii) in respect of a covenant or provision which cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security of the affected series.

The Indenture contains provisions for convening meetings of the holders of a series of debt securities. A meeting may be called at any time by the Trustee, and also, upon the Operating Partnership’s request, or the request of holders of at least 10% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series. Notice of a meeting must be given in accordance with the provisions of the Indenture. Except for any consent which must be given by the holder of each outstanding debt security affected in the manner described above, any resolution presented at a meeting or adjourned meeting duly reconvened at which a quorum, as described below, is present may be adopted by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series. However, any resolution with respect to any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver, or other action which may be made, given or taken by the holders of a specified percentage, other than a majority, in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series may be adopted at a meeting or adjourned meeting duly reconvened at which a quorum is present by the affirmative vote of the holders of that specified percentage in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series. Any resolution passed or decision taken at any meeting of holders of debt securities of any series duly held in accordance with the Indenture will be binding on all holders of debt securities of that series. The quorum at any meeting called to adopt a resolution, and at any reconvened meeting, will be persons holding or representing a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series, subject to exceptions; provided, however, that if any action is to be taken at that meeting with respect to a consent or waiver which may be given by the holders of a supermajority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series, the persons holding or representing that specified supermajority percentage in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series will constitute a quorum.

Discharge, Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance

Satisfaction and Discharge

Upon the Operating Partnership’s direction, the Indenture shall cease to be of further effect with respect to the debt securities of any series specified by the Operating Partnership and the related guarantee, subject to the survival of specified provisions of the Indenture, including (unless the accompanying prospectus supplement provides otherwise) the Operating Partnership’s obligation to repay such debt securities at the

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option of the holders thereof, if applicable, and the Operating Partnership’s obligation to pay Additional Amounts in respect of such debt securities to the extent described below, when:

If the debt securities of any series provide for the payment of Additional Amounts, the Operating Partnership will remain obligated, following the deposit described above, to pay Additional Amounts on those debt securities to the extent that they exceed the amount deposited in respect of those Additional Amounts as described above.

Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the Operating Partnership may elect with respect to the debt securities of the particular series either:

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in either case upon the irrevocable deposit with the Trustee, or other qualifying Trustee, in trust for that purpose, of an amount in the currency in which those debt securities are payable at maturity or, if applicable, upon redemption, and/or government obligations (as defined in the Indenture) which through the payment of principal and interest in accordance with their terms will provide money, in an amount sufficient, in the written opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants, to pay the principal of and any premium and any interest on, and, to the extent that (x) those debt securities provide for the payment of Additional Amounts and (y) the amount of the Additional Amounts which are or will be payable is at the time of deposit reasonably determinable by the Operating Partnership, in the exercise of its reasonable discretion, the Additional Amounts with respect to, those debt securities, and any mandatory sinking fund or analogous payments on those debt securities, on the due dates for those payments, whether at maturity, upon redemption, upon repayment at the option of the holder or otherwise.

The legal defeasance or covenant defeasance described above shall only be effective if, among other things:

in either case to the effect that, and based on this ruling or change the opinion of counsel shall confirm that, the holders of the debt securities of the applicable series will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the legal defeasance and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the legal defeasance had not occurred;

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In the event the Operating Partnership effects covenant defeasance with respect to debt securities of any series and those debt securities are declared due and payable because of the occurrence of any Event of Default other than an Event of Default with respect to the covenants as to which covenant defeasance has been effected, which covenants would no longer be applicable to the debt securities of that series after covenant defeasance, the amount of monies and/or government obligations deposited with the Trustee to effect covenant defeasance may not be sufficient to pay amounts due on the debt securities of that series at the time of any acceleration resulting from that Event of Default. However, the Operating Partnership would remain liable to make payment of those amounts due at the time of acceleration.

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BOOK ENTRY PROCEDURES AND SETTLEMENT

We may issue the securities offered by means of this prospectus in whole or in part in book-entry form, meaning that beneficial owners of the securities will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in the securities, except in the event the book-entry system for the securities is discontinued. If securities are issued in book entry form, they will be evidenced by one or more global securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, a depositary identified in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to the securities. The Depository Trust Company is expected to serve as depository. Unless and until it is exchanged in whole or in part for the individual securities represented thereby, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depository for the global security to a nominee of such depository or by a nominee of such depository to such depository or another nominee of such depository or by the depository or any nominee of such depository to a successor depository or a nominee of such successor. Global securities may be issued in either registered or bearer form and in either temporary or permanent form. The specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to a class or series of securities that differ from the terms described here will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we anticipate that the following provisions will apply to depositary arrangements.

Upon the issuance of a global security, the depositary for the global security or its nominee will credit on its book-entry registration and transfer system the respective principal amounts of the individual securities represented by such global security to the accounts of persons that have accounts with such depositary, who are called “participants.” Such accounts shall be designated by the underwriters, dealers or agents with respect to the securities or by us if the securities are offered and sold directly by us. Ownership of beneficial interests in a global security will be limited to the depositary’s participants or persons that may hold interests through such participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in the global security will be shown on, and the transfer of that ownership will be effected only through, records maintained by the applicable depositary or its nominee (with respect to beneficial interests of participants) and records of the participants (with respect to beneficial interests of persons who hold through participants). The laws of some states require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of such securities in definitive form. Such limits and laws may impair the ability to own, pledge or transfer beneficial interest in a global security.

So long as the depositary for a global security or its nominee is the registered owner of such global security, such depositary or nominee, as the case may be, will be considered the sole owner or holder of the securities represented by such global security for all purposes under the applicable instrument defining the rights of a holder of the securities. Except as provided below or in the applicable prospectus supplement, owners of beneficial interest in a global security will not be entitled to have any of the individual securities of the series represented by such global security registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of any such securities in definitive form and will not be considered the owners or holders thereof under the applicable instrument defining the rights of the holders of the securities.

Payments of amounts payable with respect to individual securities represented by a global security registered in the name of a depositary or its nominee will be made to the depositary or its nominee, as the case may be, as the registered owner of the global security representing such securities. None of us, our officers and trustees or any paying agent, rights agent, warrant agent, units agent or security registrar for an individual series of securities will have any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in the global security for such securities or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests.

We expect that the depositary for a series of securities offered by means of this prospectus or its nominee, upon receipt of any payment of principal, premium, interest, dividend or other amount in respect of a permanent global security representing any of such securities, will immediately credit its participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the principal amount of such global security for such securities as shown on the records of such depositary or its nominee. We also expect that payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in such global security held through such participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case

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with securities held for the account of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” Such payments will be the responsibility of such participants.

If a depositary for a series of securities at any time is unwilling, unable or ineligible to continue as depositary and a successor depositary is not appointed by us within 90 days, we will issue individual securities of such series in exchange for the global security representing such series of securities. In addition, we, at any time and in our sole discretion, but subject to any limitations described in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to such securities, may determine not to have any securities of such series represented by one or more global securities and, in such event, will issue individual securities of such series in exchange for the global security or securities representing such series of securities.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT OF
EDUCATION REALTY OPERATING PARTNERSHIP, LP

We have summarized the material terms and provisions of the Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Education Realty Operating Partnership, LP, as amended, which we refer to as the “partnership agreement.” This summary is not complete. For more detail, you should refer to the partnership agreement itself. See “Where to Find Additional Information” for information on how to obtain documents from us, including the partnership agreement. For purposes of this section, references to “we,” “our,” “us,” and “our company” refer to Education Realty Trust, Inc. in our capacity as the sole owner of Education Realty OP GP, Inc., the general partner of the Operating Partnership, or the “general partner.”

Management of our Operating Partnership

Our Operating Partnership, Education Realty Operating Partnership, LP, is a Delaware limited partnership that was formed on July 12, 2004. We are the sole owner of the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership and, as of September 30, 2014, we owned 99.4% of the units of limited partnership interest in the Operating Partnership, which we refer to as OP Units. We conduct substantially all of our business through the Operating Partnership. As sole owner of the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership, we exercise exclusive and complete responsibility and discretion in the day-to-day management and control of our Operating Partnership. We have the power to cause our Operating Partnership to enter into certain major transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions and refinancings, subject to certain limited exceptions. The limited partners of our Operating Partnership may not transact business for, or participate in the management activities or decisions of, our Operating Partnership, except as provided in the partnership agreement and as required by applicable law. Certain restrictions under the partnership agreement restrict our ability to engage in a business combination, as more fully described in “Restrictions on Mergers, Sales, Transfers and Other Significant Transactions” below.

Under the terms of the partnership agreement, the limited partners of our Operating Partnership expressly acknowledge that we, as the sole owner of the sole general partner of our Operating Partnership, are acting for the benefit of our Operating Partnership, the limited partners and our stockholders collectively. Our Company is under no obligation to give priority to the separate interests of the limited partners or our stockholders in deciding whether to cause our Operating Partnership to take or decline to take any actions. If there is a conflict between the interests of our stockholders on one hand and the limited partners on the other, we will endeavor in good faith to resolve the conflict in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners. However, for so long as we own a controlling interest in our Operating Partnership, any conflict that cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners shall be resolved in favor of our stockholders. We are not liable under the Partnership agreement to our Operating Partnership or to any partner for monetary damages for losses sustained, liabilities incurred, or benefits not derived by limited partners in connection with such decisions, provided that we have acted in good faith.

All of our business activities, including all activities pertaining to the acquisition and operation of properties, must be conducted through our Operating Partnership, and our Operating Partnership must be operated in a manner that will enable us to satisfy the requirements for being classified as a REIT.

Transferability of Interests

Except in connection with a transfer to an affiliate of the general partner or a transaction described in “Termination transactions” below, the general partner, may not voluntarily withdraw from our Operating Partnership, or transfer or assign all or any portion of our interest in our Operating Partnership.

Amendments of the Partnership Agreement

Amendments to the partnership agreement may be proposed by us, as the sole owner of the general partner, or by limited partners owning at least 25% of the units held by limited partners.

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Generally, the partnership agreement may be amended, modified or terminated with the approval of partners holding more than 50% of all outstanding units (including the units held by us as the sole owner of the general partner). As the sole owner of the general partner, we will have the power to unilaterally make certain amendments to the partnership agreement without obtaining the consent of the limited partners as may be required to:

Amendments that would, among other things, convert a limited partner’s interest into a general partner’s interest, modify the limited liability of a limited partner, alter a partner’s right to receive any distributions or allocations of profits or losses, or materially alter or modify the redemption rights described below must be approved by more than 50% of all outstanding units.

Distributions to Unitholders

The partnership agreement provides that holders of units are entitled to receive quarterly distributions of available cash as determined by us, the sole owner of the general partner, in our sole discretion.

Redemption/Exchange Rights

Limited partners who acquire units have the right to require our Operating Partnership to redeem part or all of their units for cash based upon the fair market value of an equivalent number of shares of our Company’s common stock at the time of the redemption. No limited partner, however, may require any redemption until such limited partner has held its units for not less than one year. Alternatively, we may elect to acquire those units in exchange for shares of our Company’s common stock. Our acquisition will be on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment in the event of stock splits, stock dividends, issuance of stock rights, specified extraordinary distributions and similar events. Limited partners who hold units may exercise this redemption right once per calendar quarter, a minimum of 1,000 units (or all units owned if less than 1,000 units), at any time following the one-year anniversary of such limited partner’s acquisition of its units, except when, as a consequence of shares of our common stock being issued, any person’s actual or constructive stock ownership would exceed our Company’s ownership limits, or any other limit as provided in our charter or as otherwise determined by our Board of Directors as described under the section entitled “Description of Capital Stock — Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer.”

Tax Matters

As the sole owner of the general partner, we have authority to make tax elections under the Code on behalf of our Operating Partnership. In addition, we are the tax matters partner of our Operating Partnership.

Allocations of Net Income and Net Losses to Partners

The net income or net loss of our Operating Partnership will generally be allocated to us, as sole owner of the general partner, and the limited partners in accordance with our respective percentage interests in our Operating Partnership. However, in some cases losses may be disproportionately allocated to partners who have guaranteed debt of our Operating Partnership. The allocations described above are subject to special allocations relating to depreciation deductions and to compliance with the provisions of Sections 704(b) and 704(c) of the Code and the associated Treasury Regulations.

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Operations

The partnership agreement provides that, as the sole owner of the general partner, will determine and distribute all “available cash”, which includes, without limitation, the net operating cash revenues of our Operating Partnership, as well as the net sales and refinancing proceeds, quarterly, pro rata in accordance with the partners’ percentage interests.

The partnership agreement also provides that our Operating Partnership will assume and pay when due, or reimburse us for payment of, all costs and expenses relating to the operations of, or for the benefit of, our Operating Partnership.

Restrictions on Mergers, Sales, Transfers and Other Significant Transactions

The partnership agreement provides that we, as the sole owner of the general partner of the Operating Partnership, may not merge, consolidate or otherwise combine our assets with another entity, in a transaction in which we are not the surviving entity or sell all or substantially all of our assets, or reclassify, recapitalize or change the terms of our outstanding common equity interests without the consent of limited partners holding more than 50% of the outstanding limited partner OP units other than us, unless:

provided that, if, in connection with a termination transaction, a purchase, tender or exchange offer is made to and accepted by the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, each holder of units will receive, or will have the right to elect to receive, the greatest amount of cash, securities, or other property which such holder would have received had it exercised its redemption right and received shares of our common stock in exchange for its units immediately prior to the expiration of such purchase, tender or exchange offer and accepted such purchase, tender or exchange offer; or

Term

Our Operating Partnership will continue in full force and effect until it is dissolved in accordance with the terms of the partnership agreement or as otherwise provided by law.

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Indemnification and Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the partnership agreement indemnifies us, as the sole owner of the general partner, and our officers, directors, employees, agents and any other persons we may designate from and against any and all claims arising from operations of our Operating Partnership in which any indemnitee may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a party or otherwise, unless it is established that:

In any event, we, as the sole owner of the general partner of our Operating Partnership, and our officers, directors, agents or employees, are not liable or accountable to our Operating Partnership for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived as a result of errors in judgment or mistakes of fact or law or any act or omission so long as we acted in good faith.

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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

This section summarizes the material U.S. federal income tax considerations that you, as a prospective investor, may consider relevant in connection with the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our common stock or our debt securities and our election to be taxed as a REIT. As used in this section, and except relating to discussion of our debt securities, the terms “we” and “our” refer solely to Education Realty Trust, Inc. and not to our subsidiaries and affiliates, which have not elected to be taxed as REITs for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

This discussion does not exhaust all possible tax considerations and does not provide a detailed discussion of any state, local or foreign tax considerations. Nor does this discussion address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to particular investors in light of their personal investment or tax circumstances, or to certain types of investors that are subject to special treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws, such as insurance companies, tax-exempt organizations, financial institutions, broker-dealers, persons subject to the alternative minimum tax, persons holding our stock or debt securities as part of a hedge, straddle or other risk reduction, constructive sale or conversion transaction, non-U.S. individuals and foreign corporations and other persons subject to special tax rules. Moreover, this summary assumes that our investors hold our common stock or debt securities as a “capital asset” for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which generally means property held for investment.

The statements in this section are based on the current U.S. federal income tax laws, including the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the regulations promulgated by the U.S. Treasury Department or the Treasury Regulations, rulings and other administrative interpretations and practices of the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, and judicial decisions, all as currently in effect, and all of which are subject to differing interpretations or to change, possibly with retroactive effect. This discussion is for general purposes only and is not tax advice. We cannot assure you that new laws, interpretations of law, or court decisions, any of which may take effect retroactively, will not cause any statement in this section to be inaccurate.

We urge you to consult your own tax advisor regarding the specific tax consequences to you of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our common stock or debt securities and of our election to be taxed as a REIT. Specifically, you are encouraged to consult your own tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal, state, local, foreign, and other tax consequences of such acquisition, ownership, disposition and election, and regarding potential changes in applicable tax laws.

Taxation of Our Company

We elected to be taxed as a REIT under the federal income tax laws beginning with our taxable year ended December 31, 2005. We believe that, beginning with such taxable year, we have been organized and have operated in such a manner as to qualify for taxation as a REIT under the Code, and we intend to continue to operate in such a manner. However, no assurances can be provided regarding our qualification as a REIT because such qualification depends on our ability to satisfy numerous asset, income, stock ownership and distribution tests described below, the satisfaction of which will depend, in part, on our operating results.

The sections of the Code relating to qualification, operation and taxation as a REIT are highly technical and complex. The following discussion sets forth only the material aspects of those sections. This summary is qualified in its entirety by the applicable Code provisions and the related Treasury Regulations and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof.

In connection with the filing of this registration statement, Morrison & Foerster LLP has rendered an opinion that we have been organized and have operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the U.S. federal income tax laws for our taxable years ended December 31, 2009 through December 31, 2013, and our current and proposed method of operation will enable us to satisfy the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the U.S. federal income tax laws for our taxable year ending December 31, 2014 and thereafter. Investors should be aware that Morrison & Foerster LLP’s opinion is based on the U.S. federal income tax laws governing qualification as a REIT as of the date of such opinion, which is subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis, is not binding on the IRS or any court, and speaks only as of the date issued. In addition, Morrison & Foerster LLP’s opinion is based on customary assumptions and is conditioned upon certain representations made by us as to factual matters,

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including representations regarding the nature of our assets and the future conduct of our business. Moreover, our continued qualification and taxation as a REIT depend on our ability to meet, on a continuing basis, through actual results, certain qualification tests set forth in the U.S. federal income tax laws. Those qualification tests involve, among other things, the percentage of our gross income that we earn from specified sources, the percentage of our assets that falls within specified categories, the diversity of our stock ownership and the percentage of our earnings that we distribute. Morrison & Foerster LLP will not review our compliance with those tests on a continuing basis. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the actual results of our operations for any particular taxable year will satisfy such requirements. Morrison & Foerster LLP’s opinion does not foreclose the possibility that we may have to use one or more of the REIT savings provisions described below, which may require us to pay a material excise or penalty tax in order to maintain our REIT qualification. For a discussion of the tax consequences of our failure to maintain our qualification as a REIT, see “— Failure to Qualify as a REIT” below.

If we qualify as a REIT, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the taxable income that we distribute to our stockholders because we will be entitled to a deduction for dividends that we pay. Such tax treatment avoids the “double taxation,” or taxation at both the corporate and stockholder levels, that generally results from owning stock in a corporation. In general, income generated by a REIT is taxed only at the stockholder level if such income is distributed by the REIT to its stockholders. However, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax in the following circumstances:

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In addition, we may be subject to a variety of taxes, including payroll taxes and state, local and foreign income, property and other taxes on our assets and operations. We also could be subject to tax in situations and on transactions not presently contemplated.

Requirements for Qualification as a REIT

A REIT is a corporation, trust or association that satisfies each of the following requirements:

We must satisfy requirements 1 through 4, and 8 during our entire taxable year and must satisfy requirement 5 during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months, or during a proportionate part of a taxable year of less than 12 months. If we comply with certain requirements for ascertaining the beneficial ownership of our outstanding stock in a taxable year and have no reason to know that we violated requirement 6, we will be deemed to have satisfied requirement 6 for that taxable year. For purposes of determining stock

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ownership under requirement 6, an “individual” generally includes a supplemental unemployment compensation benefits plan, a private foundation, or a portion of a trust permanently set aside or used exclusively for charitable purposes. An “individual,” however, generally does not include a trust that is a qualified employee pension or profit sharing trust under the U.S. federal income tax laws, and beneficiaries of such a trust will be treated as holding our stock in proportion to their actuarial interests in the trust for purposes of requirement 6. Our charter provides for restrictions regarding the ownership and transfer of our stock. We believe that we will issue sufficient stock with enough diversity of ownership to allow us to satisfy requirements 5 and 6 above. The restrictions in our charter are intended, among other things, to assist us in satisfying requirements 5 and 6 described above. These restrictions, however, may not ensure that we will be able to satisfy such share ownership requirements in all cases. If we fail to satisfy these share ownership requirements, our qualification as a REIT may terminate. For purposes of requirement 8, we have adopted December 31 as our year end for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and thereby satisfy this requirement.

Qualified REIT Subsidiaries.  A “qualified REIT subsidiary” generally is a corporation, all of the stock of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by a REIT and that is not treated as a TRS. A corporation that is a “qualified REIT subsidiary” is treated as a division of the REIT that owns, directly or indirectly, all of its stock and not as a separate entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Thus, all assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit of a “qualified REIT subsidiary” are treated as assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit of the REIT that directly or indirectly owns the qualified REIT subsidiary. Consequently, in applying the REIT requirements described herein, the separate existence of any “qualified REIT subsidiary” that we own will be ignored, and all assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit of such subsidiary will be treated as our assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit.

Other Disregarded Entities and Partnerships.  An unincorporated domestic entity, such as a partnership or limited liability company, that has a single owner, as determined under U.S. federal income tax laws, generally is not treated as an entity separate from its owner for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We own various direct and indirect interests in entities that are classified as partnerships and limited liability companies for state law purposes. Nevertheless, many of these entities currently are not treated as entities separate from their owners for U.S. federal income tax purposes because such entities are treated as having a single owner for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Consequently, the assets and liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit, of such entities will be treated as our assets and liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including the application of the various REIT qualification requirements.

An unincorporated domestic entity with two or more owners, as determined under the U.S. federal income tax laws, generally is taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In the case of a REIT that is an owner in an entity that is taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the REIT is treated as owning its proportionate share of the assets of the entity and as earning its allocable share of the gross income of the entity for purposes of the applicable REIT qualification tests. Thus, our proportionate share of the assets and items of gross income of our Operating Partnership and any other partnership, joint venture, or limited liability company that is taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes is treated as our assets and items of gross income for purposes of applying the various REIT qualification tests. For purposes of the 10% value test (described in “— Asset Tests”), our proportionate share is based on our proportionate interest in the equity interests and certain debt securities issued by the entity. For all of the other asset and income tests, our proportionate share is based on our proportionate interest in the capital of the entity.

Taxable REIT Subsidiaries.  A REIT is permitted to own, directly or indirectly, up to 100% of the stock of one or more TRSs. The subsidiary and the REIT generally must jointly elect to treat the subsidiary as a TRS. However, a corporation of which a TRS directly or indirectly owns more than 35% of the voting power or value of the securities is automatically treated as a TRS without an election.

Unlike a qualified REIT subsidiary, the separate existence of a TRS is not ignored for U.S. federal income tax purposes and a TRS is a fully taxable corporation subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on its earnings. We will not be treated as holding the assets of any TRS or as receiving the income earned by any

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TRS. Rather, we will treat the stock issued by any TRS as an asset and will treat any distributions paid to us from any TRS as income. This treatment may affect our compliance with the gross income test and asset tests.

Restrictions imposed on REITs and their TRSs are intended to ensure that TRSs will be subject to appropriate levels of U.S. federal income taxation. These restrictions limit the deductibility of interest paid or accrued by a TRS to its parent REIT and impose a 100% excise tax on transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT or the REIT’s tenants that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. Dividends paid to us from a TRS, if any, will be treated as dividend income received from a corporation. The foregoing treatment of TRSs may reduce the cash flow generated by us and our subsidiaries in the aggregate and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders and may affect our compliance with the gross income tests and asset tests.

A TRS generally may be used by a REIT to undertake indirectly activities that the REIT requirements might otherwise preclude the REIT from doing directly, such as the provision of noncustomary tenant services or the disposition of property held for sale to customers. See “— Gross Income Tests — Rents from Real Property” and “— Gross Income Tests — Prohibited Transactions.”

Gross Income Tests

We must satisfy two gross income tests annually to qualify and maintain our qualification as a REIT. First, at least 75% of our gross income for each taxable year generally must consist of the following:

Second, in general, at least 95% of our gross income for each taxable year must consist of income that is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, other types of interest and dividends, gain from the sale or disposition of stock or securities, or any combination of these.

Cancellation of indebtedness income and gross income from a sale of property that we hold primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. In addition, gains from “hedging transactions,” as defined in “— Hedging Transactions,” that are clearly and timely identified as such will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. Finally, certain foreign currency gains will be excluded from gross income for purposes of one or both of the gross income tests.

The following paragraphs discuss the specific application of certain relevant aspects of the gross income tests to us.

Rents from Real Property.  Rent that we receive for the use of our real property will qualify as “rents from real property,” which is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests, only if the following conditions are met:

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First, the rent must not be based in whole or in part on the income or profits of any person. However, participating rent will qualify as “rents from real property” if it is based on percentages of receipts or sales and the percentages generally:

In compliance with the rules above, we intend to set and accept rents which are fixed dollar amounts with an annual percentage increase, if any, after a certain fixed number of years based on either a fixed percentage or the “consumer price index”, and not to any extent determined by reference to any person’s income or profits.

Second, we generally must not own, actually or constructively, 10% or more of the stock or the assets or net profits of any tenant, referred to as a “related-party tenant.” The constructive ownership rules generally provide that, if 10% or more in value of our stock is owned, directly or indirectly, by or for any person, we are considered as owning the stock owned, directly or indirectly, by or for such person. Because the constructive ownership rules are broad and it is not possible to monitor direct and indirect transfers of our stock continually, no assurance can be given that such transfers or other events of which we have no knowledge will not cause us to own constructively 10% or more of a tenant (or a subtenant, in which case only rent attributable to the subtenant is disqualified).

Under an exception to the related-party tenant rule, rent that we receive from a TRS lessee will qualify as “rents from real property” as long as (1) at least 90% of the leased space in the property is leased to persons other than TRS lessees and related-party tenants, and (2) the amount paid by the TRS lessee to rent space at the property is substantially comparable to rents paid by other tenants of the property for comparable space.

Third, we must not furnish or render noncustomary services, other than a de minimis amount of noncustomary services, to the tenants of our properties other than through (i) an independent contractor from whom we do not derive or receive any income or (ii) a TRS. However, we generally may provide services directly to our tenants to the extent that such services are “usually or customarily rendered” in connection with the rental of space for occupancy only and are not considered to be provided for the tenants’ convenience. In addition, we may provide a minimal amount of noncustomary services to the tenants of a property, other than through an independent contractor from whom we do not derive or receive any income or a TRS, as long as the income attributable to the services (valued at not less than 150% of the direct cost of performing such services) does not exceed 1% of our gross income from the related property. If the rent from a lease does not qualify as “rents from real property” because we furnish noncustomary services having a value in excess of 1% of our gross income from the related property to the tenants of the property, other than through a qualifying independent contractor or a TRS, none of the rent from the property will qualify as “rents from real property.” We have not performed, and do not intend to provide any noncustomary services to our tenants unless such services are provided through independent contractors from whom we do not derive or receive any income or TRSs.

Fourth, rent attributable to any personal property leased in connection with a lease of real property will not qualify as “rents from real property” if the rent attributable to such personal property exceeds 15% of the total rent received under the lease. If a portion of the rent that we receive from a property does not qualify as “rents from real property” because the rent attributable to personal property exceeds 15% of the total rent for a taxable year, the portion of the rent attributable to personal property will not be qualifying income for purposes of either the 75% or 95% gross income test. We do not and do not intend to lease significant amounts of personal property pursuant to our leases.

Fifth, the leases must be respected as true leases for federal income tax purposes and not treated as service contracts, joint ventures or some other type of arrangement. The determination of whether our leases are true leases depends on an analysis of all the surrounding facts and circumstances. We intend to enter into leases that will be treated as true leases.

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We believe rents received under our leases generally qualify as “rents from real property” and any income attributable to noncustomary services or personal property will not jeopardize our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT. However, there can be no assurance that the IRS would not challenge our conclusions, or that a court would agree with our conclusions. If such a challenge were successful, we could fail to satisfy the 75% or 95% gross income test and thus potentially lose our REIT status.

Interest.  Interest income constitutes qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test to the extent that the obligation upon which such interest is paid is secured by a mortgage on real property or on an interest in real property. For purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests, the term “interest” generally does not include any amount received or accrued, directly or indirectly, if the determination of such amount depends in whole or in part on the income or profits of any person. However, an amount received or accrued generally will not be excluded from the term “interest” solely because it is based on a fixed percentage or percentages of receipts or sales. Furthermore, to the extent that interest from a loan that is based on the profit or net cash proceeds from the sale of the property securing the loan constitutes a “shared appreciation provision,” income attributable to such participation feature will be treated as gain from the sale of the secured property.

We may provide mortgage loans. Interest on debt secured by mortgages on real property or on interests in real property, including, for this purpose, prepayment penalties, loan assumption fees and late payment charges that are not compensation for services, generally is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. In general, under applicable Treasury Regulations, if a loan is secured by real property and other property and the highest principal amount of the loan outstanding during a taxable year exceeds the fair market value of the real property securing the loan determined as of the date we agreed to acquire or originate the loan then a portion of the interest income from such loan will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, but will be qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test. We anticipate that the interest on our mortgage loans generally would be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test.

Certain mezzanine loans are secured by equity interests in an entity that directly or indirectly owns real property, rather than by a direct mortgage of the real property. IRS Revenue Procedure 2003-65 provides a safe harbor pursuant to which a mezzanine loan, if it meets each of the requirements contained in the Revenue Procedure, will be treated by the IRS as a real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests described below, and interest derived from it will be treated as qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Although the Revenue Procedure provides a safe harbor on which taxpayers may rely, it does not prescribe rules of substantive tax law. We anticipate that any mezzanine loans that we originate typically may not meet all of the requirements for reliance on this safe harbor. Nevertheless, if we invest in mezzanine loans, we intend to do so in a manner that will enable us to satisfy the gross income tests and asset tests.

Dividends.  Our share of any dividends received from any corporation or entity treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes (including any taxable REIT subsidiary, but excluding any REIT or qualified REIT subsidiary) in which we own an equity interest will qualify for purposes of the 95% gross income test but not for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Our share of any dividends received from any other REIT in which we own an equity interest will be qualifying income for purposes of both gross income tests. Any dividends received by us from a qualified REIT subsidiary will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests.

Prohibited Transactions.  A REIT will incur a 100% tax on the net income derived from any sale or other disposition of property, other than foreclosure property, that the REIT holds primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business. Net income derived from such prohibited transactions is excluded from gross income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. Whether a REIT holds an asset “primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business” depends on the facts and circumstances that exist from time to time, including those related to a particular asset. A safe harbor to the characterization of the sale of property by a REIT as a prohibited transaction is available if the following requirements are met:

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We will attempt to comply with the terms of the foregoing safe-harbor. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with the safe-harbor provisions or that we will avoid owning property that may be characterized as property held “primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business.” We may hold and dispose of certain properties through a TRS if we conclude that the sale or other disposition of such property may not fall within the safe-harbor provisions. The 100% prohibited transactions tax will not apply to gains from the sale of property by a TRS, although such income will be taxed to the TRS at U.S. federal corporate income tax rates.

Foreclosure Property.  We generally will be subject to tax at the maximum corporate rate on any net income from foreclosure property, other than income that otherwise would be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Gross income from foreclosure property will qualify under the 75% and 95% gross income tests.

Hedging Transactions.  From time to time, we or our subsidiaries may enter into hedging transactions with respect to one or more of our or our subsidiaries’ assets or liabilities. Our or our subsidiaries’ hedging activities may include entering into interest rate swaps, caps, and floors, options to purchase such items, and futures and forward contracts. Income and gain from “hedging transactions” will be excluded from gross income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests. A “hedging transaction” means either (1) any transaction entered into in the normal course of our or our subsidiaries’ trade or business primarily to manage the risk of interest rate, price changes, or currency fluctuations with respect to borrowings made or to be made, or ordinary obligations incurred or to be incurred, to acquire or carry real estate assets or (2) any transaction entered into primarily to manage the risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would be qualifying income under the 75% or 95% gross income test (or any property which generates such income or gain). We are required to clearly identify any such hedging transaction before the close of the day on which it was acquired, originated, or entered into and to satisfy other identification requirements. We intend to structure any hedging transactions in a manner that does not jeopardize our qualification as a REIT; however, no assurance can be given that our hedging activities will give rise to income that is excluded from gross income or qualifies for purposes of either or both of the gross income tests.

Failure to Satisfy Gross Income Tests.  We intend to monitor our sources of income, including any non-qualifying income received by us, and manage our assets so as to ensure our compliance with the gross income tests. If we fail to satisfy one or both of the gross income tests for any taxable year, we nevertheless may qualify as a REIT for that year if we qualify for relief under certain provisions of the U.S. federal income tax laws. Those relief provisions are available if:

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We cannot predict, however, whether any failure to meet these tests will qualify for the relief provisions. In addition, as discussed above in “— Taxation of Our Company,” even if the relief provisions apply, we would incur a 100% tax on the gross income attributable to the greater of (1) the amount by which we fail the 75% gross income test, or (2) the amount by which we fail the 95% gross income test, multiplied, in either case, by a fraction intended to reflect our profitability.

Asset Tests

To qualify as a REIT, we also must satisfy the following asset tests at the end of each quarter of each taxable year.

First, under the “75% asset test,” at least 75% of the value of our total assets generally must consist of:

Second, under the “5% asset test,” of our assets that are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% asset test described above, the value of our interest in any one issuer’s securities may not exceed 5% of the value of our total assets.

Third, of our assets that are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% asset test described above, we may not own more than 10% of the voting power of any one issuer’s outstanding securities, or the “10% vote test,” or more than 10% of the value of any one issuer’s outstanding securities, or the “10% value test.”

Fourth, no more than 25% of the value of our total assets may consist of the securities of one or more TRSs.

Fifth, no more than 25% of the value of our total assets may consist of the securities of TRSs and other assets that are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% asset test.

For purposes of the 5% asset test, the 10% vote test and the 10% value test, the term “securities” does not include securities that qualify under the 75% asset test, securities of a TRS and equity interests in an entity taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For purposes of the 10% value test, the term “securities” also does not include: certain “straight debt” securities; any loan to an individual or an estate; most rental agreements and obligations to pay rent; any debt instrument issued by an entity taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes in which we are an owner to the extent of our proportionate interest in the debt and equity securities of the entity; and any debt instrument issued by an entity taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes if at least 75% of the entity’s gross income, excluding income from prohibited transactions, is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test described above in “— Gross Income Tests.”

We believe that the assets that we hold satisfy the foregoing asset test requirements. We will not obtain, nor are we required to obtain under the U.S. federal income tax laws, independent appraisals to support our conclusions as to the value of our assets and securities or the real estate collateral for the mortgage or mezzanine loans that we may originate. Moreover, the values of some assets may not be susceptible to a precise determination. As a result, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not contend that our ownership of securities and other assets violates one or more of the asset tests applicable to REITs.

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Failure to Satisfy Asset Tests.  We will monitor the status of our assets for purposes of the various asset tests and will manage our portfolio in order to comply at all times with such tests. Nevertheless, if we fail to satisfy the asset tests at the end of a calendar quarter, we will not lose our REIT status if:

If we did not satisfy the condition described in the second bullet point immediately above, we still could avoid REIT disqualification by eliminating any discrepancy within 30 days after the close of the calendar quarter in which the discrepancy arose.

In the event that we violate the 5% asset test, the 10% vote test or the 10% value test described above, we will not lose our REIT status if (1) the failure is de minimis (up to the lesser of 1% of our assets or $10 million) and (2) we dispose of assets causing the failure or otherwise comply with the asset tests within six months after the last day of the quarter in which we identify such failure. In the event of a failure of any of such asset tests other than a de minimis failure, as described in the preceding sentence, we will not lose our REIT status if (1) the failure was due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect, (2) we file a description of each asset causing the failure with the IRS, (3) we dispose of assets causing the failure or otherwise comply with the asset tests within six months after the last day of the quarter in which we identify the failure, and (4) we pay a tax equal to the greater of $50,000 or the highest U.S. federal corporate income tax rate (currently 35%) multiplied by the net income from the nonqualifying assets during the period in which we failed to satisfy the asset tests.

Annual Distribution Requirements

Each taxable year, we must make distributions, other than capital gain dividend distributions and deemed distributions of retained capital gain, to our stockholders in an aggregate amount at least equal to:

Generally, we must pay such distributions in the taxable year to which they relate, or in the following taxable year if either (1) we declare the distribution before we timely file our U.S. federal income tax return for the year and pay the distribution on or before the first regular dividend payment date after such declaration or (2) we declare the distribution in October, November, or December of the taxable year, payable to stockholders of record on a specified day in any such month, and we actually pay the dividend before the end of January of the following year. In both instances, these distributions relate to our prior taxable year for purposes of the annual distribution requirement to the extent of our earnings and profits for such prior taxable year.

We will pay U.S. federal income tax on any taxable income, including net capital gain, that we do not distribute to our stockholders. Furthermore, if we fail to distribute during a calendar year, or by the end of January of the following calendar year in the case of distributions with declaration and record dates falling in the last three months of the calendar year, at least the sum of:

we will incur a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the excess of such required distribution over the amounts we actually distributed.

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We may elect to retain and pay U.S. federal income tax on the net long-term capital gain that we receive in a taxable year. If we so elect, we will be treated as having distributed any such retained amount for purposes of the 4% nondeductible excise tax described above. We intend to make timely distributions sufficient to satisfy the annual distribution requirement and to minimize U.S. federal corporate income tax and avoid the 4% nondeductible excise tax.

It is possible that, from time to time, we may experience timing differences between the actual receipt of income and actual payment of deductible expenses and the inclusion of that income and deduction of such expenses in arriving at our REIT taxable income. Further, it is possible that, from time to time, we may be allocated a share of net capital gain from an entity taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes in which we own an interest that is attributable to the sale of depreciated property that exceeds our allocable share of cash attributable to that sale. As a result of the foregoing, we may have less cash than is necessary to make distributions to our stockholders that are sufficient to avoid U.S. federal corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax imposed on certain undistributed income or even to meet the annual distribution requirement. In such a situation, we may need to borrow funds or issue additional stock or, if possible, pay dividends consisting, in whole or in part, of our stock or debt securities.

In order for distributions to be counted as satisfying the annual distribution requirement applicable to REITs and to provide us with a REIT-level tax deduction, the distributions must not be “preferential dividends.” A distribution is not a preferential dividend if the distribution is (1) pro rata among all outstanding shares within a particular class, and (2) in accordance with the preferences among different classes of stock as set forth in our organizational documents.

Under certain circumstances, we may be able to correct a failure to meet the distribution requirement for a year by paying “deficiency dividends” to our stockholders in a later year. We may include such deficiency dividends in our deduction for dividends paid for the earlier year. Although we may be able to avoid income tax on amounts distributed as deficiency dividends, we will be required to pay interest to the IRS based on the amount of any deduction we take for deficiency dividends.

Recordkeeping Requirements

We must maintain certain records in order to maintain our qualification as a REIT. To avoid paying monetary penalties, we must demand, on an annual basis, information from certain of our stockholders designed to disclose the actual ownership of our outstanding stock, and we must maintain a list of those persons failing or refusing to comply with such demand as part of our records. A stockholder that fails or refuses to comply with such demand is required by the Treasury Regulations to submit a statement with its tax return disclosing the actual ownership of our stock and other information. We intend to comply with these recordkeeping requirements.

Failure to Qualify as a REIT

If we fail to satisfy one or more requirements for REIT qualification, other than the gross income tests and the asset tests, we could avoid disqualification if our failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect and we pay a penalty of $50,000 for each such failure. In addition, there are relief provisions available under the Code for a failure of the gross income tests and asset tests, as described in “— Gross Income Tests” and “— Asset Tests.”

If we were to fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT in any taxable year, and no relief provision applied, we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income at U.S. federal corporate income tax rates and any applicable alternative minimum tax. In calculating our taxable income for a year in which we failed to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we would not be able to deduct amounts distributed to our stockholders, and we would not be required to distribute any amounts to our stockholders for that year. Unless we qualified for relief under the statutory relief provisions described in the preceding paragraph, we also would be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which we ceased to maintain our qualification as a REIT. We cannot predict whether in all circumstances we would qualify for such statutory relief.

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Taxation of Taxable U.S. Stockholders

For purposes of our discussion, the term “U.S. stockholder” means a beneficial owner of our common stock that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is:

If an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes (a “partnership”) holds our common stock, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of an owner of the partnership generally will depend on the status of the owner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships and their owners should consult their tax advisors regarding the consequences of the ownership and disposition of our common stock by the partnership.

Distributions.  If we qualify as a REIT, distributions made out of our current and accumulated earnings and profits that we do not designate as capital gain dividends will be ordinary dividend income to taxable U.S. stockholders. A corporate U.S. stockholder will not qualify for the dividends-received deduction generally available to corporations. Our ordinary dividends also generally will not qualify for the preferential long-term capital gain tax rate applicable to “qualified dividends” unless certain holding period requirements are met and such dividends are attributable to (i) qualified dividends received by us from non-REIT corporations, such as any TRSs, or (ii) income recognized by us and on which we have paid U.S. federal corporate income tax. We do not expect a meaningful portion of our ordinary dividends to be eligible for taxation as qualified dividends.

Any distribution we declare in October, November, or December of any year that is payable to a U.S. stockholder of record on a specified date in any of those months and is attributable to our current and accumulated earnings and profits for such year will be treated as paid by us and received by the U.S. stockholder on December 31 of that year, provided that we actually pay the distribution during January of the following calendar year.

Distributions to a U.S. stockholder which we designate as capital gain dividends generally will be treated as long-term capital gain, without regard to the period for which the U.S. stockholder has held our stock. A corporate U.S. stockholder may be required to treat up to 20% of certain capital gain dividends as ordinary income.

We may elect to retain and pay U.S. federal corporate income tax on the net long-term capital gain that we receive in a taxable year. In that case, to the extent that we designate such amount in a timely notice to our stockholders, a U.S. stockholder would be taxed on its proportionate share of our undistributed long-term capital gain. The U.S. stockholder would receive a credit or refund for its proportionate share of the U.S. federal corporate income tax we paid. The U.S. stockholder would increase its basis in our common stock by the amount of its proportionate share of our undistributed long-term capital gain, minus its share of the U.S. federal corporate income tax we paid.

A U.S. stockholder will not incur U.S. federal income tax on a distribution in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits if the distribution does not exceed the U.S. stockholder’s adjusted basis in our common stock. Instead, the distribution will reduce the U.S. stockholder’s adjusted basis in our common stock. The excess of any distribution to a U.S. stockholder over both its share of our current and accumulated earnings and profits and its adjusted basis will be treated as capital gain and long-term capital gain if the stock has been held for more than one year.

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U.S. stockholders may not include in their individual federal income tax returns any of our net operating losses or capital losses. Instead, these losses are generally carried over by us for potential offset against our future income. We will notify U.S. stockholders after the close of our taxable year as to the portions of the distributions attributable to that taxable year that constitute ordinary income, return of capital and capital gain.

Dispositions.  In general, a U.S. stockholder will recognize gain or loss on the sale or other taxable disposition of our stock in an amount equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the fair market value of any property and the amount of cash received in such disposition and (ii) the U.S. stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in such stock. A U.S. stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in our stock generally will equal the U.S. stockholder’s acquisition cost, increased by the excess of undistributed net capital gains deemed distributed to the U.S. stockholder over the federal corporate income tax deemed paid by the U.S. stockholder on such gains and reduced by any returns of capital. Such gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. stockholder has held such stock for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss otherwise. However, a U.S. stockholder must treat any loss on a sale or exchange of our common stock held by such stockholder for six months or less as a long-term capital loss to the extent of capital gain dividends and any other actual or deemed distributions from us that such U.S. stockholder treats as long-term capital gain. All or a portion of any loss that a U.S. stockholder realizes on a taxable disposition of shares of our common stock may be disallowed if the U.S. stockholder purchases other shares of our common stock within 30 days before or after the disposition. Capital losses generally are available only to offset capital gains of the stockholder except in the case of individuals, who may offset up to $3,000 of ordinary income each year.

Other Considerations.  U.S. stockholders may not include in their individual U.S. federal income tax returns any of our net operating losses or capital losses. Taxable distributions from us and gain from the disposition of our common stock will not be treated as passive activity income and, therefore, U.S. stockholders generally will not be able to apply any “passive activity losses” against such income. In addition, taxable distributions from us and gain from the disposition of our common stock generally will be treated as investment income for purposes of the investment interest limitations.

Tax Rates.  The maximum U.S. federal income tax rate on ordinary income and short-term capital gains applicable to U.S. holders that are taxed at individual rates currently is 39.6%, and the maximum U.S. federal income tax rate on long-term capital gains applicable to U.S. holders that are taxed at individual rates currently is 20%. However, the maximum tax rate on long-term capital gain from the sale or exchange of “section 1250 property” (i.e., generally, depreciable real property) is 25% to the extent the gain would have been treated as ordinary income if the property were “section 1245 property” (i.e., generally, depreciable personal property). We generally will designate whether a distribution that we designate as a capital gain dividend (and any retained capital gain that we are deemed to distribute) is attributable to the sale or exchange of “section 1250 property.”

Additional Medicare Tax.  Certain U.S. holders, including individuals, estates and trusts, will be subject to an additional 3.8% tax, which, for individuals, applies to the lesser of (i) “net investment income” or (ii) the excess of “modified adjusted gross income” over $200,000 ($250,000 if married and filing jointly or $125,000 if married and filing separately). “Net investment income” generally equals the taxpayer’s gross investment income reduced by the deductions that are allocable to such income. Investment income generally includes passive income such as interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, rents and capital gains.

Taxation of Tax-Exempt Stockholders

Tax-exempt entities, including qualified employee pension and profit sharing trusts, or “qualified trusts,” and individual retirement accounts and annuities, generally are exempt from U.S. federal income taxation. However, they are subject to taxation on their “unrelated business taxable income,” or UBTI. Amounts that we distribute to tax-exempt stockholders generally should not constitute UBTI. However, if a tax-exempt stockholder were to finance its acquisition of our common stock with debt, a portion of the distribution that it received from us would constitute UBTI pursuant to the “debt-financed property” rules. Furthermore, social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts, and qualified group legal services plans that are exempt from taxation under special provisions of the U.S. federal income tax laws are subject to different UBTI rules, which generally will require them to characterize distributions that they receive from us as UBTI.

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Finally, in certain circumstances, a qualified trust that owns more than 10% of the value of our stock must treat a percentage of the dividends that it receives from us as UBTI. Such percentage is equal to the gross income that we derive from unrelated trades or businesses, determined as if we were a qualified trust, divided by our total gross income for the year in which we pay the dividends. Such rule applies to a qualified trust holding more than 10% of the value of our stock only if:

We will be classified as a “pension-held REIT” if:

As a result of limitations included in our charter on the transfer and ownership of our stock, we do not expect to be classified as a “pension-held REIT,” and, therefore, the tax treatment described in this paragraph should be inapplicable to our stockholders. However, because shares of our common stock are publicly traded, we cannot guarantee that this will always be the case.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders

For purposes of our discussion, the term “non-U.S. stockholder” means a beneficial owner of our common stock that is not a U.S. stockholder, an entity or arrangement taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes or a tax-exempt stockholder. The rules governing U.S. federal income taxation of non-U.S. stockholders, including nonresident alien individuals, foreign corporations, foreign partnerships and other foreign stockholders, are complex. This section is only a summary of certain of those rules.

We urge non-U.S. stockholders to consult their own tax advisors to determine the impact of U.S. federal, state, local and foreign income tax laws on the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our common stock, including any reporting requirements.

Distributions.  Distributions to a non-U.S. stockholder (i) out of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, (ii) not attributable to gain from our sale or exchange of a “United States real property interest,” or a USRPI, and (iii) not designated by us as a capital gain dividend will be subject to a withholding tax at a rate of 30% unless:

A non-U.S. stockholder generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at graduated rates on any distribution treated as effectively connected with the non-U.S. stockholder’s conduct of a U.S. trade or business in the same manner as a U.S. stockholder. In addition, a corporate non-U.S. stockholder may be subject to a 30% branch profits tax with respect to any such distribution.

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A non-U.S. stockholder will not incur tax on a distribution in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits if such excess does not exceed such non-U.S. stockholder’s adjusted basis in our common stock. Instead, the excess portion of such distribution will reduce the non-U.S. stockholder’s adjusted basis in our common stock. The excess of a distribution over both our current and accumulated earnings and profits and the non-U.S. stockholder’s adjusted basis in our common stock will be taxed, if at all, as gain from the sale or disposition of our common stock. See “— Dispositions” below. Under FIRPTA (discussed below), we may be required to withhold 10% of the portion of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits.

Because we generally cannot determine at the time we make a distribution whether the distribution will exceed our current and accumulated earnings and profits, we may withhold tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be provided under an applicable tax treaty) on the entire amount of any distribution. A non-U.S. stockholder may obtain a refund of amounts that we withhold if we later determine that a distribution in fact exceeded our current and accumulated earnings and profits.

Under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980, or FIRPTA, distributions attributable to capital gains from the sale or exchange by us of USRPIs are treated like income effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business, generally are subject to U.S. federal income taxation in the same manner and at the same rates applicable to U.S. stockholders and, with respect to corporate non-U.S. stockholders, may be subject to a 30% branch profits tax. However, these distributions will not be subject to tax under FIRPTA, and will instead be taxed in the same manner as distributions described above, if:

If our common stock is not regularly traded on an established securities market in the United States or if a non-U.S. stockholder owned more than 5% of our outstanding common stock any time during the one-year period preceding the distribution, capital gain distributions to such non-U.S. stockholder attributable to our sales of USRPIs would be subject to tax under FIRPTA. We are required to withhold 35% of any distribution to a non-U.S. stockholder owning more than 5% of the relevant class of shares that could be designated by us as a capital gain dividend. Any amount so withheld is creditable against the non-U.S. stockholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

Although not free from doubt, amounts we designate as retained capital gains in respect of the common stock held by U.S. stockholders generally should be treated with respect to non-U.S. stockholders in the same manner as actual distributions by us of capital gain dividends. Under this approach, a non-U.S. stockholder would be able to offset as a credit against its U.S. federal income tax liability resulting from its proportionate share of the tax paid by us on such retained capital gains, and to receive from the IRS a refund to the extent the non-U.S. stockholder’s proportionate share of such tax paid by us exceeds its actual U.S. federal income tax liability, provided that the non-U.S. stockholder furnishes required information to the IRS on a timely basis.

Dispositions.  Non-U.S. stockholders may incur tax under FIRPTA with respect to gain recognized on a disposition of our common stock unless one of the applicable exceptions described below applies. Any gain subject to tax under FIRPTA generally will be taxed in the same manner as it would be in the hands of U.S. stockholders, except that corporate non-U.S. stockholders also may be subject to a 30% branch profits tax. In addition, the purchaser of such common stock could be required to withhold 10% of the purchase price for such stock and remit such amount to the IRS.

Non-U.S. stockholders generally will not incur tax under FIRPTA with respect to gain on a sale of our common stock as long as, at all times during a specified testing period, we are “domestically controlled,” i.e., non-U.S. persons hold, directly or indirectly, less than 50% in value of our outstanding stock. We cannot assure you that we will be domestically controlled. In addition, even if we are not domestically controlled, if our common stock is “regularly traded” on an established securities market, a non-U.S. stockholder that owned, actually or constructively, 5% or less of our outstanding common stock at all times during a specified

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testing period will not incur tax under FIRPTA on gain from a sale of our common stock. Accordingly, provided our common stock is “regularly traded” on an established securities market, a non-U.S. stockholder that has not owned more than 5% of our common stock at any time during the five-year period prior to such sale will not incur tax under FIRPTA on gain from a sale of our common stock.

A non-U.S. stockholder generally will incur tax on gain from a disposition of our common stock not subject to FIRPTA if:

Taxation of Taxable Non-U.S. Holders of Debt Securities

Interest.  Except as set forth below, all payments of interest and principal on the debt securities made to a non-U.S. holder will be exempt from U.S. federal income tax, provided that: (i) such non-U.S. holder does not own, actually or constructively, 10% or more of the capital or profits interest in the Partnership, (ii) such non-U.S. holder is not a controlled foreign corporation with respect to which the Operating Partnership is a related person within the meaning of Section 864(d)(4), (iii) such non-U.S. holder is not a bank receiving certain types of interest, and (iv) the beneficial owner of the debt securities certifies, under penalties of perjury, to us or our paying agent on IRS Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E (or appropriate substitute form) that it is not a United States person and provides its name, address and certain other required information or certain other certification requirements are satisfied.

If a non-U.S. holder cannot satisfy the requirements described above, payments of interest will be subject to the 30% U.S. federal withholding tax, unless such non-U.S. holder provides us with a properly executed (i) IRS Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E (or appropriate substitute form) claiming an exemption from or reduction in withholding under the benefit of an applicable income tax treaty or (ii) IRS Form W-8ECI (or appropriate substitute form) stating that interest paid or accrued on the debt securities is not subject to withholding tax because it is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States.

Sale, Exchange, Retirement or Other Disposition of the Debt Securities.  Subject to the discussion below and except with respect to accrued but unpaid interest, which will be taxable as described above under “— Interest,” a non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax on the receipt of payments of principal on a debt security, or on any gain recognized upon the sale, exchange, retirement or other disposition of a debt security, unless in the case of gain (i) such gain is effectively connected with the conduct by such non-U.S. holder of a trade or business within the United States and, if a treaty applies (and the holder complies with applicable certification and other requirements to claim treaty benefits), is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the non-U.S. holder within the United States or (ii) such non-U.S. holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition, and certain other conditions are met.

If a non-U.S. holder of debt securities is engaged in a trade or business in the United States, and if interest on the debt securities or gain realized on the sale, exchange, or other disposition of the debt securities is effectively connected with the conduct of such trade or business, the non-U.S. holder generally will be subject to regular U.S. federal income tax on such income or gain in the same manner as if the non-U.S. holder were a U.S. holder. If the non-U.S. holder is eligible for the benefits of an income tax treaty between the United States and the holder’s country of residence, any “effectively connected” income or gain generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the holder in the United States. Payments of interest that are effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (and, if an income tax treaty applies, attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base), and therefore included in the gross income of a non-U.S. holder, will not be subject to the

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30% withholding tax provided that the holder claims exemption from withholding. To claim exemption from withholding, the holder must certify its qualification, which can be done by filing a properly executed IRS Form W-8ECI. In addition, if such a non-U.S. holder is a foreign corporation, such holder may also be subject to a branch profits tax equal to 30% (or such lower rate provided by an applicable treaty) of its effectively connected earnings and profits for the taxable year, subject to certain adjustments.

Information Reporting Requirements and Backup Withholding

We will report to our holders and to the IRS the amount of interest or distributions that we pay during each calendar year, and the amount of tax that we withhold, if any. Under the backup withholding rules, a holder may be subject to backup withholding (at a rate of 28%) with respect to distributions or interest unless the holder:

A holder who does not provide us with its correct taxpayer identification number also may be subject to penalties imposed by the IRS. Any amount paid as backup withholding will be creditable against the holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability. In addition, we may be required to withhold a portion of capital gain distributions to any stockholders who fail to certify their non-foreign status to us.

Backup withholding generally will not apply to payments of dividends or interest made by us or our paying agents, in their capacities as such, to a non-U.S. holder provided that such non-U.S. holder furnishes to us or our paying agent the required certification as to its non-U.S. status, such as providing a valid IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, as applicable, or W-8ECI (or any applicable successor form), or certain other requirements are met. Notwithstanding the foregoing, backup withholding may apply if either we or our paying agent has actual knowledge, or reason to know, that the holder is a “U.S. person” that is not an exempt recipient. Payments of the proceeds from a disposition or a redemption of our common stock or debt securities that occurs outside the U.S. by a non-U.S. holder made by or through a foreign office of a broker generally will not be subject to information reporting or backup withholding. However, information reporting (but not backup withholding) generally will apply to such a payment if the broker has certain connections with the U.S. unless the broker has documentary evidence in its records that demonstrates that the beneficial owner is a non-U.S. holder and specified conditions are met or an exemption is otherwise established. Payment of the proceeds from a disposition of our stock or debt security by a non-U.S. holder made by or through the U.S. office of a broker generally is subject to information reporting and backup withholding unless the non-U.S. holder certifies under penalties of perjury that it is not a U.S. person and satisfies certain other requirements, or otherwise establishes an exemption from information reporting and backup withholding.

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be refunded or credited against the holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability if certain required information is furnished to the IRS. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding application of backup withholding to them and the availability of, and procedure for obtaining an exemption from, backup withholding.

FATCA

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) imposes a U.S. federal withholding tax on certain types of payments made to “foreign financial institutions” and certain other non-U.S. entities unless certain due diligence, reporting, withholding, and certification obligation requirements are satisfied. FATCA generally imposes a U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% on dividends, interest and gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, our stock or debt securities if paid to a foreign entity unless either (i) the foreign entity is a “foreign financial institution” that undertakes certain due diligence, reporting, withholding, and certification obligations, or in the case of a foreign financial institution that is a resident in a jurisdiction that is treated as having an intergovernmental agreement to implement FATCA, the entity complies with the diligence and reporting requirements of such agreement, (ii) the foreign entity is not a “foreign financial

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institution” and identifies certain of its U.S. investors, or (iii) the foreign entity otherwise is excepted under FATCA. If we determine withholding is appropriate, we may withhold tax at the applicable statutory rate, and we will not pay any additional amounts in respect of such withholding. FATCA withholding became applicable on July 1, 2014 with respect to dividends and interest from our stock and debt securities. However, under delayed effective dates provided for in the Treasury Regulations and other IRS guidance, FATCA withholding will not become applicable until January 1, 2017 with respect to gross proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our stock or debt securities.

If withholding is required under FATCA on a payment related to our common stock or debt securities, holders of our common stock or debt securities that otherwise would not be subject to withholding (or that otherwise would be entitled to a reduced rate of withholding) generally will be required to seek a refund or credit from the IRS to obtain the benefit of such exemption or reduction (provided that such benefit is available). You are encouraged to consult your own tax advisor regarding the effect of FATCA on an investment in our common stock or debt securities.

Tax Aspects of Our Investments in Our Operating Partnership and Other Subsidiary Partnerships

The following discussion summarizes the material U.S. federal income tax considerations that are applicable to our direct and indirect investments in our subsidiaries that are taxed as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, each individually referred to as a “Partnership” and, collectively, as the “Partnerships.” The following discussion does not address state or local tax laws or any U.S. federal tax laws other than income tax laws.

Classification as Partnerships

We are required to include in our income our distributive share of each Partnership’s income and allowed to deduct our distributive share of each Partnership’s losses but only if such Partnership is classified for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a partnership rather than as a corporation or an association treated as a corporation. An unincorporated entity with at least two owners, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, will be classified as a partnership, rather than as a corporation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes if it:

Under the check-the-box regulations, an unincorporated entity with at least two owners may elect to be classified either as an association treated as a corporation or as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If such an entity does not make an election, it generally will be taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Our Operating Partnership intends to be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and will not elect to be treated as an association treated as a corporation.

A publicly traded partnership is a partnership whose interests are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof. A publicly traded partnership generally is treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but will not be so treated if, for each taxable year beginning after December 31, 1987 in which it was classified as a publicly traded partnership, at least 90% of the partnership’s gross income consisted of specified passive income, including real property rents, gains from the sale or other disposition of real property, interest, and dividends, or the “90% passive income exception.” The Treasury Regulations provide limited safe harbors from treatment as a publicly traded partnership. Pursuant to one of those safe harbors, interests in a partnership will not be treated as readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof if (1) all interests in the partnership were issued in a transaction or transactions that were not required to be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and (2) the partnership does not have more than 100 partners at any time during the partnership’s taxable year. In determining the number of partners in a partnership, a person owning an interest in a partnership, grantor trust, or S corporation that owns an interest in the partnership is treated as a partner in such partnership only if (1) substantially all of the value of the owner’s interest in the entity is attributable to the entity’s direct or indirect interest in the partnership and (2) a principal purpose of the use of the entity is to permit the partnership to satisfy the 100-partner limitation. If any Partnership does not qualify

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for any safe harbor and is treated as a publicly traded partnership, we believe that such Partnership would have sufficient qualifying income to satisfy the 90% passive income exception and, therefore, would not be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

We have not requested, and do not intend to request, a ruling from the IRS that any Partnership is or will be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If, for any reason, a Partnership were treated as a corporation, rather than as a partnership, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may not be able to qualify as a REIT, unless we qualify for certain statutory relief provisions. See “— Gross Income Tests” and “— Asset Tests.” In addition, any change in a Partnership’s status for U.S. federal income tax purposes might be treated as a taxable event, in which case we might incur tax liability without any related cash distribution. See “— Annual Distribution Requirements.” Further, items of income and deduction of such Partnership would not pass through to us, and we would be treated as a stockholder for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Consequently, such Partnership would be required to pay income tax at U.S. federal corporate income tax rates on its net income, and distributions to us would constitute dividends that would not be deductible in computing such Partnership’s taxable income.

Income Taxation of the Partnerships and Their Partners

Partners, Not the Partnerships, Subject to Tax.  A partnership is not a taxable entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Rather, we are required to take into account our distributive share of each Partnership’s income, gains, losses, deductions, and credits for each taxable year of the Partnership ending with or within our taxable year, even if we receive no distribution from the Partnership for that year or a distribution that is less than our share of taxable income. Similarly, even if we receive a distribution, it may not be taxable if the distribution does not exceed our adjusted tax basis in our interest in the Partnership.

Partnership Allocations.  Although an agreement among the owners of an entity taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes generally will determine the allocation of income and losses among the owners, such allocations will be disregarded for tax purposes if they do not comply with the provisions of the U.S. federal income tax laws governing partnership allocations. If an allocation is not recognized for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the item subject to the allocation will be reallocated in accordance with the “partners’ interests in the partnership,” which will be determined by taking into account all of the facts and circumstances relating to the economic arrangement of the owners with respect to such item.

Tax Allocations With Respect to Contributed Properties.  Income, gain, loss, and deduction attributable to appreciated or depreciated property contributed to an entity taxed as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes in exchange for an interest in such entity must be allocated for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a manner such that the contributing owner is charged with, or benefits from, respectively, the unrealized gain or unrealized loss associated with the property at the time of the contribution (the “704(c) Allocations”). The amount of such unrealized gain or unrealized loss, referred to as “built-in gain” or “built-in loss,” at the time of contribution is generally equal to the difference between the fair market value of the contributed property at the time of contribution and the adjusted tax basis of such property at that time, referred to as a book-tax difference.

A book-tax difference attributable to depreciable property generally is decreased on an annual basis as a result of the allocation of depreciation deductions to the contributing owner for book purposes, but not for tax purposes. The Treasury Regulations require entities taxed as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes to use a “reasonable method” for allocating items with respect to which there is a book-tax difference and outline several reasonable allocation methods.

Any gain or loss recognized by a partnership on the disposition of contributed properties generally will be allocated first to the partners of the partnership who contributed such properties to the extent of their built-in gain or loss on those properties for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as adjusted to take into account reductions in book-tax differences described in the previous paragraph. Any remaining gain or loss recognized by the partnership on the disposition of the contributed properties generally will be allocated among the partners in accordance with their partnership agreement unless such allocations and agreement do not satisfy the requirements of applicable Treasury Regulations, in which case such allocation will be made in accordance with the “partners’ interests in the partnership.”

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Under the “traditional method,” as well as certain other reasonable methods available to us, built-in gain or loss with respect to our depreciable properties (i) could cause us to be allocated lower amounts of depreciation deductions for tax purposes than for economic purposes and (ii) in the event of a sale of such properties, could cause us to be allocated taxable gain in excess of the economic gain allocated to us as a result of such sale, with a corresponding tax benefit to the contributing partners.

Basis in Partnership Interest.  Our adjusted tax basis in any Partnership interest we own generally will be:

Loss allocated to us in excess of our basis in a Partnership interest will not be taken into account for U.S. federal income tax purposes until we again have basis sufficient to absorb the loss. A reduction of our allocable share of Partnership indebtedness will be treated as a constructive cash distribution to us, and will reduce our adjusted tax basis in the Partnership interest. Distributions, including constructive distributions, in excess of the basis of our Partnership interest will constitute taxable income to us. Such distributions and constructive distributions normally will be characterized as long-term capital gain.

Sale of a Partnership’s Property.  Generally, any gain realized by a Partnership on the sale of property held for more than one year will be long-term capital gain, except for any portion of the gain treated as depreciation or cost recovery recapture. Our share of any Partnership’s gain from the sale of inventory or other property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of the Partnership’s trade or business will be treated as income from a prohibited transaction subject to a 100% tax. See “— Gross Income Tests.”

Possible Legislative or Other Actions Affecting Tax Consequences

Prospective holders should recognize that the present U.S. federal income tax treatment of an investment in us may be modified by legislative, judicial or administrative action at any time and that any such action may affect investments and commitments previously made. The rules dealing with U.S. federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department, resulting in revisions of regulations and revised interpretations of established concepts as well as statutory changes. Revisions in U.S. federal tax laws and interpretations of these laws could adversely affect the tax consequences of your investment.

State and Local Taxes

We and/or you may be subject to taxation by various states and localities, including those in which we or a stockholder transacts business, owns property or resides. The state and local tax treatment may differ from the U.S. federal income tax treatment described above. Consequently, you should consult your own tax advisors regarding the effect of state and local tax laws on an investment in our common stock or our debt securities.

SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS

Information about selling securityholders, where applicable, will be set forth in a prospectus supplement, in a post-effective amendment or in filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference.

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

Unless otherwise set forth in an accompanying prospectus supplement to this prospectus, we may offer and sell these securities to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, on a continuous or delayed basis. Any such underwriter, dealer or agent involved in the offer and sale of the securities will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we do not name a firm in the prospectus supplement, the firm may not directly or indirectly participate in any underwriting of those securities, although it may participate in the distribution of securities under circumstances entitling it to a dealer’s allowance or agent’s commission. In addition, we may sell securities directly to investors on our own behalf in those jurisdictions where we are authorized to do so.

Our securities, including common and preferred stock, may also be sold in one or more of the following transactions: (i) block transactions (which may involve crosses) in which a broker-dealer may sell all or a portion of such shares as agent, but may position and resell all or a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; (ii) purchases by any such broker-dealer as principal, and resale by such broker-dealer for its own account pursuant to an accompanying prospectus supplement; (iii) a special offering, an exchange distribution or a secondary distribution in accordance with applicable New York Stock Exchange or other stock exchange, quotation system or over-the-counter market rules; (iv) ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which any such broker-dealer solicits purchasers; (v) sales “at the market” to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange or otherwise, for such shares; and (vi) sales in other ways not involving market makers or established trading markets, including direct sales to purchasers.

For each offering of our securities hereunder, the accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials will describe the specific plan, including (i) the terms of the offering and the specific plan of distribution; (ii) the name or names of any underwriters, dealers, agents or direct purchasers; (iii) the purchase price of the securities; (iv) any delayed delivery arrangements; (v) any commissions paid to agents and any underwriting discounts, commissions or other items constituting underwriters’ compensation; (vi) any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and (vii) any other applicable terms of the specific offering.

Underwriters may offer and sell the securities at a fixed price or prices which may be changed, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. We also may, from time to time, authorize dealers or agents to offer and sell the securities upon such terms and conditions as may be set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement. In connection with the sale of any of the securities, underwriters may receive compensation from us in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions and may also receive commissions from purchasers of the securities for whom they may act as agent. Underwriters may sell the securities to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents.

Any underwriting compensation paid by us to underwriters or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any discounts or concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers, will be set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement. Dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions.

In compliance with the guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, the maximum discount or commission to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker-dealer may not exceed 8% of the aggregate offering price of the securities offered hereby. It is anticipated that the maximum compensation to be received in any particular offering of securities will be less than this amount.

Underwriters, dealers and agents may be entitled, under agreements entered into with us, to indemnification against and contribution toward certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Unless otherwise set forth in an accompanying prospectus supplement, the obligations of any underwriters to purchase any of the securities will be subject to certain conditions precedent, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of such securities, if any are purchased.

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Underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us and our affiliates in the ordinary course of business.

If indicated in an accompanying prospectus supplement, we may authorize underwriters or other agents to solicit offers by institutions to purchase securities from us pursuant to contracts providing for payment and delivery on a future date. Institutions with which we may make these delayed delivery contracts include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and others. The contracts will be subject only to those conditions set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement, and the prospectus supplement will set forth any commissions we pay for solicitation of these contracts. The underwriters and other agents will not have any responsibility with regard to the validity or performance of these delayed delivery contracts.

In connection with the offering of the securities hereby, certain underwriters, and selling group members and their respective affiliates may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the applicable securities. Such transactions may include stabilization transactions effected in accordance with Rule 104 of Regulation M promulgated by the SEC pursuant to which such persons may bid for or purchase securities for the purpose of stabilizing their market price. The underwriters in an offering of securities may also create a “short position” for their account by selling more securities in connection with the offering than they are committed to purchase from us. In such case, the underwriters could cover all or a portion of such short position by either purchasing securities in the open market following completion of the offering of such securities or by exercising any overallotment option granted to them by us. In addition, the managing underwriter may impose “penalty bids” under contractual arrangements with other underwriters, which means that they can reclaim from an underwriter (or any selling group member participating in the offering) for the account of the other underwriters, the selling concession with respect to securities that are distributed in the offering but subsequently purchased for the account of the underwriters in the open market. Any of the transactions described in this paragraph or comparable transactions that are described in any accompanying prospectus supplement may result in the maintenance of the price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. None of such transactions described in this paragraph or in an accompanying prospectus supplement are required to be taken by any underwriters and, if they are undertaken, may be discontinued at any time.

We may sell the securities in exchange in whole or part for consideration other than cash. This consideration may consist of services or products, whether tangible or intangible, and including services or products we may use in our business; outstanding debt or equity securities of our company or one or more of its subsidiaries; debt or equity securities or assets of other companies, including in connection with investments, joint ventures or other strategic transactions, or acquisitions; release of claims or settlement of disputes; and satisfaction of obligations, including obligations to make payments to distributors or other suppliers and payment of interest on outstanding obligations. We may sell the securities as part of a transaction in which outstanding debt or equity securities of our company or one or more of our subsidiaries are surrendered, converted, exercised, canceled or transferred.

Education Realty Trust’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “EDR.” Any securities that we issue, other than common stock, will be new issues of securities with no established trading market and may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange, quotation system or over-the-counter market. Any underwriters or agents to or through which securities are sold by us may make a market in such securities, but such underwriters or agents will not be obligated to do so and any of them may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of or trading market for any securities sold by us.

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LEGAL MATTERS

Certain matters of Maryland law, including the validity of the common stock to be offered by means of this prospectus, will be passed upon for us by Venable LLP. Certain federal income tax matters will be passed upon for us by Morrison & Foerster LLP.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of the Company incorporated in this prospectus by reference from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

The financial statements of University Village — Greensboro, LLC as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012 included in Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 filed April 11, 2014 have been audited by Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, independent auditors, as stated in their report, which is incorporated by reference herein, and which has been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

The consolidated financial statements of the Operating Partnership incorporated in this prospectus by reference from the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 7, 2014 have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are a public company and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may request copies of these documents by writing to the SEC and paying a fee for the copying cost. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for more information about the operation of the public reference room. Our SEC filings are also available to the public at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, you may read and copy our SEC filings at the office of the New York Stock Exchange at 20 Broad Street, New York, New York 10005. We also make available free of charge through our website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as well as our definitive proxy statement and Section 16 reports on Forms 3, 4 and 5. Our website address is www.edrtrust.com. However, the information located on, or accessible from, our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, except as described below, a part of this prospectus or incorporated into any other filings that we make with the SEC.

This prospectus is only part of a registration statement on Form S-3 we have filed with the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933 and therefore omits some of the information contained in the registration statement. We have also filed exhibits and schedules to the registration statement which are excluded from this prospectus, and you should refer to the applicable exhibit or schedule for a complete description of any statement referring to any contract or other document. You may inspect or obtain a copy of the registration statement, including the exhibits and schedules, as described in the previous paragraph.

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus and the information we file subsequently with the SEC prior to the completion of this offering will automatically update and supersede this information.

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We previously filed the following documents with the SEC and such filings are incorporated by reference into this prospectus:

We also incorporate by reference into this prospectus additional documents that we and the Operating Partnership may file with the SEC under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, from the date of this prospectus until all of the securities offered by this prospectus have been sold or we and the Operating Partnership otherwise terminate the offering of these securities, including all filings made after the date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement; provided, however, that information “furnished” under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K or other information “furnished” to the SEC is not deemed filed and not incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus. Information that we and the Operating Partnership subsequently file with the SEC will automatically update and may supersede information in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus and information previously filed with the SEC.

You may request a copy of these filings (other than exhibits, unless the exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into these documents) at no cost by writing or calling Investor Relations at the following address and telephone number:

Education Realty Trust, Inc.
999 South Shady Grove Road, Suite 600
Memphis, Tennessee 38120
(901) 259-2500

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7,000,000 Shares

Common Stock

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

BofA Merrill Lynch
KeyBanc Capital Markets
RBC Capital Markets
J.P. Morgan
PNC Capital Markets LLC
Baird
Piper Jaffray

November 2, 2015