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Awards of Excellence 2021
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The Meridian Group
1901 L Street

1901 L Street
Award of Excellence
Best Renovations - Building Renovation

Project Team

The Meridian Group - (Owner + Developer)
FOX Architects - (Architect)
Grunley Construction - (General Contractor)
CBRE - (Broker)
The Meridian Group - (Project Management)

Project Description

The new owners acquired the 216,00-sq.-ft. office building, 1901 L Street, in 2017 with the intent of completely renovating the building and creating a best-in-class trophy asset in the heart of Washington, D.C. With an unbeatable location in the heart of D.C.’s business district with easy access for commuters and “Restaurant Row” at its doorstep, the asset was already in a great position to embody the “live, work, play” lifestyle.

The owner’s broker team helped facilitate a successful off-market transaction. At the time of purchase 1901 L St. was an outdated eight-story building primarily occupied by non-profits and associations. Along with the architects, the owner developed a $50 million renovation plan that reflects the effort that the team put into designing every detail of the building to create an exceptional tenant experience. They didn’t want to just build another trophy asset – they wanted to design a building that exceeded the market’s expectations. After several months of working with the existing tenants to vacate the building, the new owners commenced in what would be a 24-month long construction period to transform 1901 L Street.

Avoiding the “glass box” trap that DC has seen in the trophy market over the last several years was front of mind for ownership and the architect during the design of the new building. The design incorporated a mullion less glass design and bay projections alongside the 19th & L St. sides of the building that not only solidified the building’s architectural distinctiveness from its neighbors, but also allowed tenants flexibility in their layout and the ability to program up to nine windowed offices per floor.

The new renovations can be seen in every feature of the building. Three new floors were added to the building that have generous ceiling heights and wide column spacing, allowing tenants to better program their spaces. Sustainable and high-end finishes such as marble, wood veneer, polished plaster walls, and bronzed brush stainless steel elevators were added throughout the building. The architecturally impressive double height, 3,000-sq.-ft. corner lobby is a powerful statement, visible through multi-story glass panels with a hand-crafted artistic feature wall. The new penthouse space provides tenants with dedicated indoor and outdoor entertainment space, including three rooftop decks totaling 2,500 sq. ft., a coffee bar, conference space and catering kitchen – all of which create an ideal space for collaborative meetings and hosting clients.

At the time of its designing, 1901 L St. was one of the first office buildings in DC that had the opportunity to take advantage of new regulations that allowed for occupiable penthouse space. Simultaneously, their broker team was in leasing discussions with a law firm who would ultimately become the building’s anchor tenant: Winston & Strawn. Through creativity and nimbleness, ownership was able to pivot on the penthouse design during construction and craft a solution that provided the tenant with exclusive penthouse space but preserved the ability to offer a unique amenity for all tenants in the building.

1901 L St. NW will be the largest WELL Certified building not only in D.C., but also in all of Maryland and Virginia. The building’s certification and emphasis on health and wellness sets a new standard in the office market as tenants continue to re-evaluate the workplace of the future given today’s challenging environment.

The building delivered in April 2020 with an exceptional 70% prelease rate, highlighting the success of the renovations and creating a best-in-class asset that Washington, D.C. tenants were drawn to.

THANK YOU TO OUR AWARDS SPONSORS
Clark Construction Company Brandywine Realty Trust Glass Jacobson The Tower Companies Trammell Crow Company Trammell Crow Company


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