Blackboard Is Moving Out Of D.C.
Blackboard, one of D.C.'s largest homegrown technology companies, is leaving the District less than three years after moving into its new headquarters.
The education technology company announced Wednesday it would relocate its headquarters to Reston, consolidating its D.C. and Reston offices into a space at the Plaza America complex.
The move comes after Blackboard in April listed its entire 70K SF D.C. headquarters space on the market for sublease. Blackboard moved into the space at 1111 19th St. NW in 2016 after considering options in D.C. and Northern Virginia. The deal it reached included financial incentives from the District and its lease runs through 2028.
The company already occupied an office at Plaza America, a mixed-use complex on the Dulles Toll Road less than 1 mile from Reston Town Center. Its announcement did not detail how much space it would add to that office to accomodate the D.C. employees, and it did not discuss its existing D.C. lease or the status of its financial incentives.
Blackboard spokesperson Heather Phillips, in an email to Bisnow, said the company is subleasing a portion of its D.C. space and keeping some until it completes the build-out of its Plaza America office in Q4. She declined to answer additional questions regarding incentives and square footage.
In its latest search, Blackboard said it evaluated office space throughout the D.C. region and considered factors such as value, transportation access and lifestyle amenities.
"We are excited to bring our Metro D.C. area workforce together into a new global headquarters in the vibrant Northern Virginia tech corridor," Blackboard CEO Bill Ballhaus said in a release.
