How Well Is Your Building Wired?

DC is full of beautiful, historic buildings, whose architecture ranges from neoclassical to federal-style. But the inhabitants of those office buildings are more concerned with whether they can order today’s lunch on their smartphone.  

NY-based WiredScore entered the DC market a few months ago to offer landlords and office building owners a way to certify if their building was properly wired for today’s workplace needs. So far the organization has certified 46 of DC’s office buildings, spanning 11.3M SF. One of the first and only DC buildings to achieve Platinum Wired Certification is the 102-year-old Homer Building (above). To be certified means that the building has multiple fiber providers, it has proper conduit and dedicated telecom rooms, capacity for additional providers and robust distribution of cabling.

Biz dev director Michael Burke, who launched WiredScore’s DC operation, says the real estate industry has struggled to keep up with lightening fast changes in technology. Michael, who spent several years as a tenant/landlord rep scrambling to provide tech specs to prospective tenants, says at least half of the buildings that go through the initial certification test fail. WiredScore, launched in NY three years ago, is working with DC area real estate firms like Akridge and Washington REIT. Michael says it’s the first and only company in DC so far that certifies on the basis of connectivity.