The team behind the Silver Spring, Maryland, office complex, Station Square, embraced the market’s flight-to-quality trend and invested in significant renovations to attract a 20,588-square-foot lease that has garnered a CoStar Impact Award, selected by an independent panel of local industry professionals.
EnCompass, a women-owned consulting firm, signed the 11-year lease at 1100 Wayne Ave., a 165,000-square-foot office at the 1 million-square-foot Station Square plaza.
Located just outside Washington, D.C., Silver Spring has struggled with disproportionately high office vacancy rates compared to its more urban neighbor. In 2019, media company Discovery Inc. moved to New York City, leaving Montgomery County, Maryland, for the first time since its founding in 1985. In doing so, it vacated about a half-million square feet of office space located a block east of Station Square. The result was an uptick in the market vacancy rate of nearly 10 percentage points, which has remained at that high plateau thanks to the pandemic.
Station Square’s Utah-based owner, Bridge Investment Group, came onto the scene just before Discovery’s exit, acquiring the office complex in 2018. Since then, it has invested roughly $5.5 million in renovations. Bridge has added amenities and flexible workspace, as well as external facade enhancements, a centralized patio and renovated lobbies. It is also in the process of building out two retail spaces for coffee shops.
As companies continue to downsize their footprints to reflect their consolidated in-office workforce, they are looking for higher-quality properties because they can afford higher rents on smaller spaces. Bridge’s significant investments to keep the 1980s-era offices modern have been key in attracting tenants such as EnCompass, the company said.
About the property: Station Square includes 10- and 14-story buildings, as well as the 12-story 1100 Wayne Ave. office. The complex is less than a mile from D.C.’s border and one block from the Silver Spring Metro stop, which connects to the city.
What the judges said: “Encompass delivered an impactful multiyear deal that exemplifies how repositioned office space with high-end amenities, and close proximity to transit can be a major draw in attracting workers back into the office,” said Malaika Scriven, vice president of planning and development at the National Landing Business Improvement District in Arlington, Virginia.
They made it happen: Bridge’s team included Brian Tretinik, Jeff Shaw and Ana Fannon. A team from Cushman & Wakefield, comprising Gwen Dominguez and Ben Powell, represented Bridge. A team from The Tenant Agency, comprising Mike Alcamo and Maxwell Forrest, represented EnCompass.
