With an extensive track record of corporate sustainability, it only made sense for EA Engineering, Science, and Technology to choose the most environmentally friendly option it could when it came to relocating its upstate New York office.
The environmental consulting firm, which provides a range of services from ecotoxicology reports to coastal resilience work, signed on for more than 15,400 square feet at Washington Station, a LEED-certified office building in the heart of downtown Syracuse, New York. Along with being part of a flurry of deals for the property at 333 W. Washington St., EA's 10-year lease was among the largest to be signed for the area last year, a distinction that earned it a 2025 CoStar Impact Award, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
With features such as a green roof for surface water management and advanced energy management technology, the nearly 123,500-square-foot building was the perfect fit for EA's corporate ethos: improve the quality of the environment.
The firm's "commitment to environmental stewardship and innovation makes them an ideal tenant for our building," said Michael P. Falcone, the chairman and CEO of Pioneer Cos., the property's landlord. He added that the consulting firm's new office will be able to support its growth in the Syracuse area as well as its expanding operations.
With a little more than 30 million square feet, Syracuse's office market is just a fraction of nearby markets such as New York or Boston. About 3.5 million square feet of that total inventory is considered to be high-end space, which has made the upper end of the market especially competitive among tenants looking to land space in the nicest and newest options. Rents at Washington Station command an average of more than $26.60 per square foot, according to CoStar data, almost double the regional average of roughly $17 per square foot.
Tenants are willing to pay for it. Along with EA, firms such as Harris Beach, Mooney Marketing Group and Diversified Capital Management, among others, have all signed deals at the property within the past year, according to CoStar data, boosting Washington Station's occupancy up to fully leased.
About the project: Even though it was developed a decade and a half ago, Washington Station is still considered one of the newest properties for the Syracuse market. The multitenant, LEED Silver-certified building has easy access to all of the city's downtown amenities as well as multiple transit routes. Its "green roof" was one of the first in the region, and the building's design includes both a rain screen and glass curtain wall to maximize its efficiency.
What the judges said: The long-term lease with EA "was the most impactful for the community," said CoStar Impact Awards judge Aidan Cleghorn, a partner at commercial real estate firm BellCornerstone. "It brings people and energy into an area of Syracuse that needed a win."
They made it happen: Harry Harkaway with Harkaway Commercial represented landlord Pioneer Cos. in the deal with EA, while the environmental consulting firm worked with Cresa's Todd Stevens.
CoStar Market Manager Coleman Applegate contributed to this report.