Award of Excellence
Best Washington DC Office Over 150,000SF

Executive Summary

Midtown Center features two full-height curtain wall office towers, totaling 865,000 SF that are connected by a sweeping public plaza, which allows customers and pedestrians to interact with approximately 45,000 SF of exceptional street retail space. This LEED® Gold programmed building boasts suspending bridges that connect the East and West office towers. Before the completion of the two office towers in 2018, this 90,000 SF site served as the headquarters of The Washington Post for over 50 years. Just four blocks north of the White House and other signature landmarks, Midtown Center borders two of the city’s primary thoroughfares at the hottest new central destination, offering customers easy access to the building and surrounding commuting arteries; bike lanes; bus routes; and two blocks for Metro’s Blue, Orange and Red lines. Surrounded by over 3,500 nearby hotel rooms, and bordered by the bustling 14th Street Corridor, tenants and visitors alike will find themselves in a dynamic work environment full of vibrant activity in the heart of the city.

On the original parcels of land, now combined to make Midtown Center at 1100 15th Street N.W., there once stood four buildings. After the signing of Midtown Center’s anchor tenant, the developer and general contractor set an aggressive timeline of two years to demolish the pre-existing buildings, excavate the site, and satisfy the tight occupancy schedule of the anchor tenant. The second tower would be delivered six months after the first. To meet deadline, the general contractor committed to around-the-clock construction; the architect partnered with an experienced designer to design, fabricate, and install the unique patterned glass curtain wall (which includes multiple elevations of 3D panels and pre-patinated copper cladding); and the project team designed a phased occupancy plan. The general contractor planned nine months of intensive pre-construction and operations; performed both core-and-shell construction, and designed tenant interior fit-outs to ensure the tenant’s occupy deadline was met.

Throughout the demolition, excavation, and construction process, the entire team coordinated with neighboring tenants and businesses to address their major concerns of noise, and traffic pattern adjustments to ensure minimal impact to their businesses and the neighborhood. The three 50-ton glass and pre-patinated copper tunnel bridges in the courtyard of Midtown Center are a central feature to the design of the two towers and could not have been successfully executed without structural planning and meticulous engineering. The three structural steel “tunnel” bridges span more than 110 feet across the site’s courtyard, connecting the East and West towers with an interior walkway (inside the bridges) and an exterior walkway (on top of the bridges, in open air). The engineering team designed a steel platform to support the 550-ton crane needed to lift the load of the top steel chords of the bridges. Extensive modeling and review of expansion joints were required to ensure that the system was compatible with differential movement between the bridges and tower glass.

Midtown Center achieved LEED Gold certification. In addition to the LEED® Gold qualifications met during construction, building operations also contributed to Midtown Center’s sustainability efforts. These efforts include the cistern that uses the cooling tower makeup water and recycles that water to use in the building to increase the water usage efficiency, and extensive vegetated green roof in the occupiable terrace on level 14, which adds trees, shrubs, and perennials to the terrace.

Midtown Center’s focus is a European-style public plaza with a garden oasis in the center of the city. It was inspired by the historic L’Enfant city plan, which will serve as a gathering place for shoppers, tenants and pedestrians alike. The diagonal thoroughfares that run across 15th and L Streets N.W. draw pedestrians into the central space of the building allowing diagonal cross-traffic from 15th and L Streets N.W. to create a vibrant retail environment. The combination of a 15,000 SF retail plaza fronting L Street, with a less formal 10,000 SF retail alley fronting 15th Street, creates a unique mix of formal and informal dining experiences for our customers and is a fresh concept for Washington D.C.’s retail and commercial office experience. Other amenities include three levels of below-grade parking; a 9,300 SF fitness center; a 1,300 SF bike room; a state-of-the-art rooftop conference center which is the city’s first ground-up occupiable penthouse space; 45,000 SF of destination-oriented retail; and an alley that will be activated with unique programming. The building owner has announced the signing of two new retail leases including Michelin Star chef Nicholas Stefanelli and Blue Bottle Coffee.