EY Goes for Platinum

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

1775 Tysons Blvd.

EY (formerly Ernst & Young L.L.P.) becomes the first to commit to Lerner Enterprises’ speculative office building at 1775 Tysons Blvd. in Tysons, Va., and it’s a big commitment. The assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services company has signed a lease for 125,000 square feet at the 476,000-square-foot suburban Washington, D.C., project.

EY is in expansion mode and will relocate employees from its offices in Greater Washington to 1775 Tysons, where it will add more than 460 jobs to the local workforce over a three-year period. The company’s new home is currently under construction in Lerner’s The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II, a 117-acre master planned development. Kohn Pederson Fox Associates is the architect behind the 17-story tower, which has already garnered attention for being the first office building in Tyson designed to qualify for LEED Platinum certification. The trophy property ticks all the boxes for EY.

“In order to create an environment that supports our people and fosters high performance teaming, we need state-of-the-art offices that bring our people together,” Kevin Virostek, greater Washington managing partner of EY, said in a prepared statement. “Relocating to The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II will provide EY with a dynamic workspace that will allow our people to thrive and provide exceptional client service.”

However, setting up shop at Tysons II, or anywhere else in Virginia, was not a foregone conclusion when EY commenced its expansion plan; sites in Maryland and Washington, D.C., were also considered. Virginia went into courtship mode with offerings that included a $1.3 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund, as well as funding and services from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program to support the company’s training pursuits. But it wasn’t just the incentives that attracted EY; there was also the matter of market location.

“We are excited to see the changes that are already underway in the Tysons community,” Virostek told Commercial Property Executive. The revitalization of the area, which allows people to both live and work, is very exciting for both our firm and our people. We are proud to be a part of this movement and have the opportunity to be in one of the most innovative buildings that has been developed in the area.”

Lerner, which was represented in the lease transaction by commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield’s Brian Tucker, Moe Hamilton and John Dragelin, has been having a really good year at Tysons II. In April, the real estate company announced that it had signed Capital One to a 136,000-square-foot lease at 1750 Tysons Blvd.

Lerner expects general contractor Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. to complete construction of 1775 Tysons later this year.