Meridian, Rockefeller Partner on DC-Area Office Tower

By Barbra Murray,

Rendering of The Boro Tower

The Meridian Group, developer of the $825 million The Boro mixed-use project in Tysons, Va., has brought aboard a new partner on a portion of the development. Meridian selected Rockefeller Group to co-develop Boro Tower, a 437,000-square-foot trophy office building, in a 50/50 joint venture.

The Gensler-designed Boro Tower, located at 8350 Broad St. within close proximity of the new Greensboro Metro station, will be part of the first phase of The Boro, a mammoth 15-acre project that will ultimately feature approximately 1.8 million square feet of office space; 1,500 apartments and condominium units; 316,000 square feet of retail space; and a hotel. Boro Tower will be the first office facility to be erected at the Washington, D.C.-area mixed-use destination.

“We expect Boro Tower to set new standards for quality while enhancing the workplace experience for class-A office users in the market,” Daniel Moore, executive vice president and head of urban development for Rockefeller Group, said in a prepared statement.

A HOT TICKET IN A COOL MARKET

Class A office users in the area have already expressed a strong interest in Boro Tower, which broke ground in the third quarter of 2016. The building is presently 20 percent pre-leased. In June, Tegna committed to 46,000 square feet, paving the way for the relocation of the media company’s headquarters to the top three floors of the 20-story high-rise. The following month, law firm Hogan Lovells inked a lease for 44,500 square feet. Both businesses will be leaving their current homes in neighboring McLean, Va.

Meridian and Rockefeller expect more big names to grace the Boro Tower’s tenant roster. “Boro Tower is drawing considerable interest from a number of blue-chip companies and organizations,” Gary Block, chief investment officer with The Meridian Group, said in prepared remarks.

Boro Tower may be just the project to help boost the lackluster Tysons office sector. In the second quarter of 2017, the Tysons submarket recorded negative absorption of approximately 180,000 square feet, according to a report by CBRE Group, the commercial real estate services firm charged with marketing Boro Tower.

Meridian and Rockefeller plan to complete development of Boro Tower in 2019.

Image courtesy of Gensler