How 6 DC Tech Companies Take Up Space

DC area companies lease a whopping 273M SF of space, and tech companies have some of the biggest footprints. We looked at how six of them occupy space in the region:

Neustar

Local presence: Three in Sterling; one in McLean and one in DC.
Local employees: 690
Local SF: 250k

Neustar, which provides cloud-based information services, moved into its Sterling HQ at Ridgetop III in 2010, taking 92k SF until 2020. Spokeswoman Lara Wyss says the company has been consolidating its offices by moving more locations into urban settings in LEED-certified buildings like its San Fran office (above). It means better talent attraction and retention and a smaller overall carbon footprint. 

MicroStrategy

Local presence: Tysons
Employees: 951 
Local SF: 233k

MicroStrategy, a provider of software platforms founded by Michael Saylor (above) in the late ‘80s, has been at its corporate HQ in Tysons since October 2010 and will be there until at least 2020, when its lease expires. The company’s building is one of the iconic buildings in the heart of Tysons. MicroStrategy went through some rightsizing earlier this year, shedding 19k SF, which it said it never used, as part of its restructuring plan.

K12

Local presence: Herndon
Local employees: 850
Local SF: 176k

K12, which sells an online grade school curriculum, grew quickly in Herndon, yet the space wasn’t added or built in the most efficient way, says finance VP Mike Kraft. K12 is in the midst of "evaluating its needs and potentially reconfiguring its space." In the meantime, it’s using hoteling and has replaced offices with more open space.

Cvent

Local presence: Tysons
Local employees: 675
Local SF: 130k SF

Cvent designed its Tysons HQ with input from employees across all departments (and CEO Reggie Aggarwal gave VA Gov. Terry McAuliffe a tour of Cvent's new space last August). The result was over 70 glass-walled conference rooms and open breakout areas with themes like “beach retreat.” The rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art video conferencing technology so employees can collaborate with Cvent employees around the world. A large lounge area on the main floor provides a free soda fountain, custom coffee drinks and over 30 Keurig coffee machines. Ping pong tables and video games are provided for mental health breaks.

Blackboard

Local presence: DC, Reston and Chantilly
Local employees: 450
Local SF: 109k

The 20-year-old edtech firm recently announced it would move its DC HQ to 1111 19th St, a 72k SF space. The company recently opened a 9,200 SF office in Reston, which serves as a model for how Blackboard would like to design its 30 global offices—a mix of open work and collaborative spaces, private offices, and lots of conference rooms. Blackboard VP Michael Stanton says the new HQ will have a client engagement center, which will allow clients to experience products more visually.

Booz Allen Hamilton

Local presence: DC, Crystal City, McLean, Herndon, Alexandria, Rockville, Fairview Park, Virginia Square and Skyline.
Local employees: 11,000
Local SF: 1.2M

Booz Allen's SF has dropped over the past five years as the company uses more hoteling and new workplace design strategies. Some of the changes have included private/semi-private work areas, collaboration space, privacy booths, touchdown space, quiet zones and lounge areas. The company, which provides management consulting, technology and engineering services, says the changes are designed to improve employee engagement, and are helping manage organizational changes and real estate expenses.