Realtor building on Capitol Hill nears completion

Construction of the National Association of Realtors building on Capitol Hill is in its final stages, and the association expects delivery of the strikingly beautiful building in early March. NAR will complete the interior, which should be done by September. The structure will house the Washington, D.C., operations of the Chicago-based association.

The glass-wrapped, green triangular building is located at 500 New Jersey Ave., just two blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The dome of the Capitol can easily be seen from the clear glass offices on the southern front of the building. And it will be the first newly constructed building in the city of Washington to meet “green” standards–high levels of environmental performance as set by the U.S. Green Building Council, according to a press statement.

The building contains more than 93,000 net rentable square feet. NAR staff will occupy the top four floors and the second floor, using about 40,000 square feet, with the balance of the floor space leased. A rooftop facility of about 3,000 square feet will be used for social gatherings and congressional receptions. The building also will have 66 underground parking spaces.

The $15 million down payment for the building construction came from a special reserve fund established seven years ago when NAR sold its property on Fourteenth Street, NW. Total cost of the project, including land acquisition and construction, is $46 million.

By owning its own building, NAR will eventually incur no occupancy costs and generate additional revenues from rents when the building is fully leased. NAR considers the building an excellent investment and expects to save more than $500,000 a year. NAR currently leases space at 700 Eleventh Street, NW.

Groundbreaking on the class A, 12-story, modern environmentally sustainable building began in October 2002. The site, a reclaimed “brownfield” (contaminated ground) previously occupied by a gas station, was environmentally cleaned up under NAR oversight. The removal crew dug out and hauled away more than 24 feet of dirt to approved waste sites before construction began.

The developer of the project is Washington-area developer Lawrence N. Brandt Inc., and SMB Architects, PC, also of Washington, D.C., is the record architect for the project. Development consultant services and project management services were provided to NAR by CarrAmerica of Washington, D.C.

The National Association of Realtors is a trade association representing more than 972,000 members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.