Brookfield Inks 43 KSF Lease in DC

A global law firm renewed its agreement at the downtown property.

An exterior photo of 799 Ninth St. in downtown Washington, D.C.
799 Ninth St. came online in 2001 and went through cosmetic renovation in 2014. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

International law firm Nixon Peabody LLP has renewed its lease at 799 Ninth St. NW in Washington, D.C., extending its 43,000-square-foot commitment. Brookfield Properties owns the 10-story, 204,028-square-foot Class A building in the city’s downtown. JLL represented the landlord, while Newmark negotiated the deal for the tenant.

The law firm initially signed a 15-year lease with Brookfield for 65,000 square feet across three floors in December 2013, according to media reports at the time. The firm’s lease at 401 Ninth St. NW was expiring in 2015 and Nixon Peabody chose 799 Ninth after considering more than 20 other buildings in D.C. and Northern Virginia, the Washington Post reported. Information on when the law firm reduced its current space at the building was not available at press time.


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Brookfield Properties acquired 799 Ninth in 2012 from AEW Capital Management for $106 million and fully renovated the property, which was built in 2001. One of the top 10 LEED-certified office buildings in Washington, D.C., the property received LEED 2009 Existing Buildings Operations & Maintenance Gold certification and Platinum certification in May 2019. In 2018, it earned the Energy Star label.

JLL’s Executive Managing Directors Doug Mueller and Evan Behr, alongside Senior Vice President Thomas Myers, represented the landlord in the lease extension signing. Executive Managing Directors Bill Anderson and Edwin Clark of Newmark worked on behalf of Nixon Peabody.

A sustainable property

Located in the East End submarket adjacent to the 2 million-square-foot mixed-use CityCenterDC development, the building is one block from three Metro lines. It is a 100 percent electric building and by the end of this year, the property will be powered by 100 percent zero-emissions electricity sourced from nuclear power plants.

These efforts are part of Brookfield Properties’ broader commitment to transition its entire U.S. office portfolio to clean electricity by 2026. The transition to zero-emissions power at 799 Ninth will completely eliminate direct carbon emissions at the property and allow tenants, including Nixon Peabody, to report zero Scope 2 emissions associated with their leased office space.

The building also includes D.C.’s first community solar project, a solar installation that was part of a green lease between Nixon Peabody and Brookfield Properties. The installation includes rooftop solar arrays, a terrace-level setup and the district’s first vertically mounted solar wall, with beehives from Brookfield’s urban beekeeping initiative. The project has evolved into New Partners Community Solar, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by pro bono legal services from Nixon Peabody.

Tenants at 799 Ninth St. NW

In addition to its green initiatives, 799 Ninth’s amenities include a fitness center, rooftop terrace, EV chargers and bike storage. The property has 10,563 square feet of ground-floor retail space including eateries Boqueria, Poke Papa and Five Guys. The building also has 156 parking spaces in a subterranean garage.

The office property has 21,900-square-foot floorplates. Other tenants include the U.S. Department of Treasury, WorkChew, BDO, Spencer Stuart, American Investment Council, American Gaming Association and another global law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, according to CommercialEdge.

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