CBRE To Open First Hana On East Coast With JBG Smith In National Landing
The coworking concept CBRE launched in late 2018 has chosen the same neighborhood as Amazon HQ2 for its first East Coast location.
JBG Smith announced Tuesday it signed a 39K SF lease with Hana, a CBRE subsidiary, at 2451 Crystal Drive in Arlington's Crystal City neighborhood.
The lease includes a revenue sharing agreement with the landlord, a JBG Smith spokesperson said, and Hana members will be integrated into JBG Smith's customer experience network. CBRE plans to have the location open within the year.
Hana opened its first coworking space in Dallas in August, and it has announced additional locations in London and Irvine, California. Hana CEO Andrew Kupiec told The Wall Street Journal early last year he plans to expand to 25 markets over the next three to four years.
The concept features a mix of three different offerings: a private office suite option called Hana Team, a conference room and event space offering dubbed Hana Meet, and a traditional coworking space branded as Hana Share.
The company's growth comes as coworking leader WeWork — which has a large coworking operation and one of only two WeLive locations in another JBG Smith building a few blocks away — is slowing its leasing pace and reportedly looking to back out of some deals after its failed IPO in August.
A host of other coworking providers, including Industrious, Convene, Spaces and Knotel, have grown their D.C.-area footprints, making the market for coworking members increasingly competitive.
JBG Smith Executive Vice President Dave Ritchey told the Washington Business Journal the REIT issued a solicitation for flexible workspace providers shortly after the November 2018 Amazon HQ2 announcement.
In Tuesday's announcement, JBG Smith highlighted the financial strength and tenant relationships Hana benefits from as a subsidiary of CBRE.
"We believe Hana's unique approach to adaptable workspaces and highly amenitized office space aligns perfectly with industry trends and is complementary to National Landing's existing offerings, as well as JBG Smith's overall portfolio," Ritchey said in a release.
Ritchey added that bringing in the coworking space gives JBG Smith's other tenants the ability to scale with flexible offices. The company owns a large portfolio in the newly christened National Landing neighborhood, where Amazon has begun moving its employees into leased space as part of its second headquarters.
The tech giant received approval last month for HQ2's first phase of ground-up development, which JBG Smith is managing while building a host of its own mixed-use projects planned for the neighborhood.
The 11-story 2451 Crystal Drive, where Hana is opening, features a recently renovated lobby, a fitness center, a child care facility, a café and a bike storage room. It sits about a half-mile from the Crystal City Metro station.
"Hana is thrilled to partner with JBG Smith for our first East Coast location at National Landing surrounded by fantastic amenities available to Hana members and a drastic transformation occurring in the neighborhood," Kupiec said in a release. "We believe our unique flexible space solution, coupled with National Landing's array of live, work and play offerings, will provide Hana clients a premier workspace to attract and retain top talent."
