This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet: Alarm.com Expands HQ To 245K SF
Property security company Alarm.com signed a long-term renewal and expansion of its headquarters in Tysons, bringing its space at 8281 Greensboro Drive to 245K SF.
The deal represents a 57K SF expansion from its previous space and three times its initial lease of 82K SF in 2014, according to Avison Young, which represented the tenant. The expansion makes Alarm.com the sole tenant in the building, part of The Meridian Group's The Boro mixed-use development near the Greensboro metro station.
Avison Young principal Bill Evans represented Alarm.com, while CBRE's Terry Reiley represented the landlord.
The deal was Northern Virginia's largest office lease in the third quarter, during which the market recorded 257K SF of negative net absorption, according to CBRE. According to Avison Young, 62% of Nothern Virginia tenants have downsized their offices since 2020 by an average of 39%.
"While many companies in Northern Virginia are scaling back, Alarm.com is doing the exact opposite — they’re growing, expanding their office space, and investing in their home state of Virginia," Evans said in a statement. "During uncertain economic conditions, it is truly motivating to see a company like Alarm.com thrive. Clients like these add to the vibrancy of our economy and fuel optimism for the future of commercial real estate."
LEASES
A government agency is planning to occupy a full office building a few blocks west of the White House. U.S. Agency for Global Media inked a lease for 290K SF at Eastbanc’s 1875 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The lease is for 15 years, Eastbanc announced. The property was classified as vacant last November after the longtime anchor tenant, law firm WilmerHale, departed. The 13-story property was built in 2006 and designed by Shalom Baranes Associates.
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Technical service company Saalex is moving its headquarters from California to D.C. Saalex, which services the aerospace, defense and federal sectors, is moving into 1 M St. SE, the National Association of Broadcasters building in the Navy Yard. The company is taking 2,300 SF, Cresa Senior Vice President LaMean Koroma told Bisnow. Koroma represented the tenant.
Saalex's press release on the move says the new location will allow it to "more effectively collaborate with federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and NASA, while also gaining closer access to policymakers and industry leaders."
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Education technology company 2U, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, relocated its headquarters from Prince George's County to Northern Virginia. It took an undisclosed amount of space at JBG Smith's 2345 Crystal Drive in Crystal City. The firm, which also named a new CEO last week, occupied more than 300K SF at 7900 Harkins Road in Lanham.
SALES
Shoreham Capital purchased a 227-unit apartment building adjacent to Four Mile Run in Arlington. The South Florida-based firm paid $51M for the property at 955 S. Columbus St., Commercial Observer reported. The seller was Alexandria-based Capital Investment Advisors, according to county property records. The firm had paid $43.5M for the two 1950s-era properties in 2014, the Washington Business Journal reported.
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Student housing developer Landmark Properties is under contract to acquire the College Park Towers complex near the University of Maryland in College Park, the Washington Business Journal reported Friday. The six-story buildings at 4330 Hartwick Road and 4313 Knox Road total 204 units. Landmark, which built the Standard at College Park student housing project nearby, plans to redevelop the buildings into nine- and 10-story towers with around 601 units.
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Indiana University is under contract to acquire a 1960s-era office building at 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW in Dupont Circle for a new D.C. campus, Bisnow first reported Thursday. The Big 10 school is buying the building from Johns Hopkins University, which had some of its D.C. programming there before moving to the former Newseum building. Indiana plans to use the building for offices, classrooms and dorms for around 40 students.
MILESTONES
Douglas Development announced a pair of milestones this week for apartment projects in the D.C. area. The developer finished construction on Addison Row Phase 2 in Prince George's County, and it completed The Glade on Laurel in Takoma Park.
The Addison Row building at 4780 Addison Road in Capitol Heights totals 327 apartments. CBG Building Co. and Finley Design Architects worked on the project, and Greystar will manage the units. The Takoma Park building at 6896 Laurel St. NW has 83 units, also managed by Greystar.
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An 11-story, 167-unit apartment building in Bethesda began leasing this week. Willow Bridge Property Co., which is managing the building for developer Potomac Development Group, announced Thursday that move-ins will begin later this month for the building at 4909 Auburn Ave. Part of Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle neighborhood, the building's exterior was designed by BCT Design Group, and Gensler did the interior design.
