Carr Properties Inks HQ Relocation at DC Trophy Building

August 23, 2024

Brokerage Mid-Atlantic News Office More Washington D.C.

The deal brings the office property to 80 percent occupancy.

Signal House, a 10-story office building in Washington, D.C. — Signal House is rising 10 stories in the city’s Union Market District. *Image courtesy of CommercialEdge*

Carr Properties has signed a long-term lease for nearly 16,000 square feet of space at Signal House, a 10-story, Class A office building in Washington, D.C.’s Union Market District. The tenant is KIPP DC, a public school system which will move from its current headquarters to the 228,000-square-foot property.

Transwestern represented the tenant, while an Avison Young team negotiated on behalf of the landlord. The deal brings Signal House to 80 percent occupancy. KIPP DC will occupy a portion of the property’s ninth floor, with move-in scheduled for fall next year. Notable tenants at Signal House include TikTok, Industrious, NeighborWorks America, Starr Restaurant Group’s El Presidente.

Completed in 2021 and designed by Gensler, Signal House is a prime office building at 1255 Union St. NE. The property features five passenger elevators, floorplates between 18,112 square feet and 24,038 square feet, on-site bike lockers, a conference room that can host up to 100 people, a lounge area, a rooftop terrace and 150 vehicle parking spots, according to CommercialEdge. Additional amenities include a DJ booth, recording studio and rooftop terrace.

Signal House is close to the NOMA-Gallaudet Metro station and Washington Union Station, while being 3 miles from downtown Washington, D.C., 6 miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and within 29 miles of Dulles International Airport.

Transwestern’s team of Senior Vice President Kamis O’Farrell Lawrence and Executive Vice President Michael Goldman negotiated on behalf of the tenant. Avison Young’s Principals Jonathan Wellborn and Eli Barnes represented the landlord. The same team, together with Senior Vice President Lauryn Harris and Carr Properties’ Senior Vice President of Leasing Kaitlyn Rausse, are the exclusive leasing brokers for the remaining space at Signal House.

Leasing deals at trophy office assets

A recent CommercialEdge report shows that Washington, D.C.’s office vacancy rate reached 16.2 percent as of July, below the national rate of 18.1 percent. The metro’s average asking rent stood at $40.45 per square foot, outperforming similar markets such as Atlanta ($32.02 square foot) and Seattle ($36.89 per square foot).

This month, Carr Properties signed a 340,000-square-foot leasing agreement at Midtown Center, a 867,000-square-foot Class A+ office mid-rise in downtown Washington, D.C. The tenant, Fannie Mae, is downsizing from a 713,500-square-foot footprint at the same property, where it started its commitment nearly a decade ago.

In the same period, law firm Brown Rudnick signed a full-floor lease at 1900 North St., another trophy office in the metro. The 256,000-square-foot Class A office asset is owned by Germany-based Commerz Real AG, part of Commerzbank Group.