Background
In March 2008, the General Services Administration (GSA) awarded a 521,000 square foot, 15-year lease for the Department of Justice (DoJ) to occupy Two Constitution Square. GSA expanded the lease to 575,790 square feet in November 2008. The project is a joint development of StonebridgeCarras of Bethesda, Maryland and Walton Street Capital of Chicago, Illinois. Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers represented the owners in securing this lease award, the largest office lease in the District since the Department of Transportation leased 1.4 million square feet at the Southeast Federal Center project in 2003.

Located at 145 N Street, NE, Two Constitution Square is a12-story, 590,000 square foot office building situated in the NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) submarket of Washington, DC. Constitution Square’s first phase of development, which will total 1.6 million square feet, broke ground on April 7, 2008 and will deliver in 2010. In addition to Two Constitution Square, the first phase will also include One Constitution Square with 340,000 square feet of speculative office space, a residential building with 440 apartment units, and 80,000 square feet of retail space including a 50,000 square foot Harris Teeter grocery store.

Our leasing team began working with StonebridgeCarras on the Constitution Square project in October 2006. Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers handled all aspects and direction for the GSA Solicitation for Offer (SFO) submission, working closely with StonebridgeCarras on the design, development and branding for the project.

In May 2007, GSA initially received 11 proposals for the new DoJ space. Best and final proposals were due in September 2007, at which time GSA narrowed the contest down to 8 finalists. After ten months of deliberation, GSA awarded the DoJ lease to Constitution Square in March 2008 and expanded the lease to 575,790 square feet in November 2008.

Challenges

• This was a very large space requirement that would consolidate multiple DoJ offices currently located in the Central Business District (CBD) and East End. Because the DoJ employees in these offices are situated in amenity-rich areas, they had high expectations for access to services. Therefore, it would be difficult for these employees to embrace an emerging neighborhood.
• The SFO had stringent requirements for price and location. Each requirement was graded on a point system by GSA. Some of the categories included: (1) travel distance to the other DoJ offices, (2) distance to Metrorail, (3) on-site amenities, (4) ceiling heights, (5) sustainability features, (6) availability of parking and (7) access to natural light.
• The DoJ was late in sending out the SFO, yet no additional time was given for submittals and the DoJ’s occupancy date was not delayed.
• Because the SFO process was behind schedule, design decisions needed to be made without the benefit of knowing who the lead tenant would be or the project would need to be stalled.
• Since the NoMa submarket is in the early development phase, the DoJ needed to have a clear picture painted of what the neighborhood would look like once it was developed.

Solutions/Benefits to the Client

• Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers was able to demonstrate the ownership’s commitment to NoMa and to the project. The Team made a collaborative decision to move forward with the commencement of construction of 1.6 million square feet of development concurrently, including retail, residential and office space. Prior to groundbreaking in April 2008, both the Harris Teeter grocery store and Hilton Garden Inn were under contract in the new development. These two wins were instrumental in demonstrating that NoMa was no longer an emerging market.
• From the beginning, Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers coached the ownership to provide a private sector quality product to accommodate the DoJ’s desire for a first-class building. They responded by offering a rooftop terrace, a LEED Gold design, an abundance of underground parking, access to natural light on all four sides of the building, a single-user HVAC system, efficient floor plans and ceiling heights, and trophy-quality architecture.
• Since the ownership was committed to the project, they made a decision to move forward with the design, development and construction without a lease. However, they took into consideration the design requirements that were in the SFO. This gave the DoJ the ability to move in 2010, their original occupancy date.
• Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers oversaw the development of a 3-D, fly-through animation, which was submitted with the SFO. The animation depicted in detail the Constitution Square neighborhood and the interior of 145 N Street. This gave GSA and the DoJ a level of detail that enabled them to fully understand what the completed Constitution Square development would entail and how it would relate to the neighborhood, including its close proximity to the New York Avenue Metrorail stations and major arteries leading to the other DoJ hubs in Washington, DC.

Integrated Services
Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers has a rich history with Constitution Square, which gives us a competitive advantage in providing leasing and marketing services to the project. In February 2006, we arranged the sale of the Constitution Square land, representing its previous owners, Leucadia National Corporation and Akridge Real Estate Services. We were successful in demonstrating to developers that this site was a unique opportunity to own one of the last remaining underdeveloped sites in the city in an emerging area. During the sale process, we became thoroughly familiar with the property. Furthermore, StonebridgeCarras and Walton Capital, the new owners, have hired Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers to handle the property management for the entire project.