The Meridian Group Lands HQ Deal at NoVa Campus
A tech company has signed one of the market’s largest office leases this year.
In one of the largest office lease transactions in Northern Virginia so far this year, Alarm.com has increased its corporate headquarters space at The Boro in Tysons, Va., by 30 percent. The Meridian Group is the property’s owner.
The transaction, arranged by Avison Young, was a long-term renewal lease of 189,000 square feet and a new lease for an additional 57,000 square feet for a total of 246,000 square feet.
With the expansion, Alarm.com, a technology company specializing in property security, will be the sole tenant of the building at 8281 Greensboro Drive. The firm’s latest expansion marks a 300 percent increase in office space since its initial 82,000-square-foot lease signed in 2014.
Founded in 2000, Alarm.com has grown into a global leader in property security space while pioneering cloud, IoT and AI technologies at its Northern Virginia location. The company now employs more than 2,000 people in North America and around the globe.
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In February 2022, Alarm.com expanded its research and development division at the Tysons office with the addition of 180 jobs. That expansion was made possible through the Virginia Jobs Investment program, a state-funded service providing consultative services and funding to companies creating new jobs supporting employee recruitment and training. At that time, Alarm.com had about 700 employees at 8281 Greensboro Drive. The new lease will also enable Alarm.com to expand its research and development program there.
Alarm.com was represented by Bill Evans, principal at Avison Young’s Tysons office. Terry Reiley, a CBRE executive vice president, represented The Meridian Group.
‘Intricate deal’
Evans, who has worked with Alarm.com since its inception, said the transaction “wasn’t your typical real estate deal.”
“This was an intricate deal because there were several moving parts that we had to navigate during an unstable interest rate environment,” Evans told Commercial Property Executive. “Alarm.com was transitioning from being one of TMG’s five tenants in the building to being a single-tenant full-building user, which necessitated a large Tenant Improvement Package.”
Evans said that required terminations and accommodations to be made for existing tenants elsewhere in the five-building complex.
“In the end, all parties were able to collaborate and negotiate an old school deal that was a win-win for Alarm.com, TMG and the Tysons Boro submarket,” Evans concluded.
In addition to Alarm.com and TMG, the team included Starwood Capital and took two years to craft a solution.
Defying market trends
Evans noted Alarm.com’s expansion comes at a time when many companies in Northern Virginia are scaling back their office space. Avison Young data shows 62 percent of Northern Virginia tenants have downsized their office space by an average of 39 percent since 2020.
According to a company statement, Alarm.com has tested various collaboration models over the past few years and concluded they are at their best when their teams are working together in person most of the time.
Steve Trundle, Alarm.com CEO, noted in prepared remarks that the company was pleased by the support from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office and the Commonwealth of Virginia on a number of its initiatives including apprenticeship programs. Trundle said that also played a role in the firm’s decision to work with its real estate partners to renew its commitment to the Tysons location as the company continues to grow.
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