Whether it's developing and managing great properties like the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, 5 Times Square in New York City or The Prudential Center in Boston, or working with the board of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Properties' Ed Linde has shown a taste for the classics. Recently, he took a few minutes to talk to Portfolio about some of the ways he has orchestrated the company to garner some well-deserved accolades.

Portfolio: How has concentrating on selective central business districts (CBDs) such as Boston, Washington, D.C., New York and San Francisco, contributed to Boston Property's success?
Linde: We've always followed that strategy because we feel that is the best way for us to be effective. We concentrate on those markets where there are very high and significant barriers-to-entry. And where we're really dealing with 24-hour cities and environments in which people not only like to work but also like to live. By choosing those kinds of markets, we're right at the sweet spot of the kind of companies for whom we create space.

Portfolio: Boston Properties has extensive holdings in the Dulles-Reston, VA area. Are suburban areas like Reston important for Boston Properties, considering that the company tends to focus on the CBDs in the big cities?
Linde: It is true that I think roughly 75 percent of our holdings are in the CBDs, but we've never shied away from doing suburban development as long as it's in the right suburban submarket. And we look for the same kinds of characteristics in those suburban submarkets as we do in the CBD. Reston, for example, has really become almost a downtown for that section or geographical area of Northern Virginia. And to get near or within the Reston Towne Center, one faces the same kinds of barriers-to-entry problem that you do in a CBD.

We don't want to be holders of commodity-type projects or products, which can be duplicated. We really are looking for special niches and when we find them in a place like Reston, we're going to exploit them.

Portfolio: Boston Properties was involved in the bidding on some "trophy" properties recently including the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan and the Bank of America in San Francisco, but either withdrew or was outbid. Did it turn out that these properties were too much of a risk considering their high price tags?
Linde: I don't think risk is the right term. In fact, you can argue that properties like those have relatively low risk because they are key assets in 100 percent locations. But the reason that we didn't pursue them was really a question of return. We felt that it would not be a wise use of our investors' money—including our own money, since we are large investors in the company. We just didn't see the same kind of upside that we might see, for example, in the development business or in acquiring other assets that might have more upside potential going forward.

Portfolio: The majority of the Boston Properties management team has stayed with the company for 20 years or more. How do you manage to hold onto these top performers?
Linde: When you're working at Boston Properties, I think you are forced to operate at the top of your game, and that's the kind of a challenge that the people in our management team want in their careers. There's nothing more exciting than being involved in a development project like the towers at Times Square or in the management of assets like the Embarcadero Center or the Prudential Tower. Or for that matter, in doing development at the heart of the Northern Virginia suburbs in Reston. So, that's not to say that it hasn't been very financially rewarding for people to be in Boston Properties but I think it's also extremely rewarding on a professional basis.

Also, I think that the camaraderie that the team has been able to develop over that period of time makes it very desirable for us to stay together and continue to have a great amount of fun doing what we do.

Portfolio: Could you elaborate a little bit on how your similarities and differences in style with Mort Zuckerman have enhanced your working relationship and made the company more successful?
Linde: Mort and I have had a very successful time together for more than 30 years because we do approach things differently and have distinct responsibilities. Mort spends more of his time in conceptualizing and strategizing and helping to play a lead role as we do new deals and move into new ventures, whereas I'm more involved in the day-to-day operations of the company. On the other hand, I think both of us are fully involved in every aspect of the business and we've never had difficulty in jointly deciding what the appropriate action is for Boston Properties to take.

Portfolio: You serve as a Trustee on the Boston Symphony Orchestra. What has drawn you to that?
Linde: Well, I love classical music and find it eternally rewarding to be involved in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It is I think one of the most important cultural institutions in Boston and I think it helps make Boston what it is. Boston is where I make my home and where I raised my family. I want to have the opportunity to give something back to the community and so it's nice to be involved in the Boston Symphony. And I've been involved in other ways in the community as well. I'm the past chairman of the board of the Beth Israel Hospital of Boston. I am also involved in various activities at my alma mater, MIT.

Portfolio: Any other recreational hobbies that help you unwind?
Linde: Well, I love the outdoors and so I spend a lot of time, depending upon the season, either on my bike or my feet hiking or skiing or snowshoeing. And I also have an interest in horses and horseback riding.