Media Contact: Alan Heymann (202) 741-2136
WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of Real Estate Services (DRES) announced today it will move both the headquarters of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and the Department of the Environment (DDOE) to a new office building near the New York Avenue Metrorail Station in Northeast’s emerging NoMA neighborhood.
“Our job is to make sure we negotiate a deal that delivers real value for the District of Columbia,” said Robin-Eve Jasper, DRES director. “We reviewed a number of potential options and this one –on top of a Metro station in one of the city’s rapidly emerging markets – was clearly our best option.”
The moves will reduce the amount of space the agencies occupy by at least 20 percent. DRES’s newly implemented Workplace Design Guidelines were used to more efficiently use the space and standardize office furnishings.
Together, the District agencies will lease 200,000 square feet of office space at 1200 First Street NE – about 121,000 square feet for DCPS and 79,000square feet for DDOE. DCPS’s current least at 825 North Capital Street NE expired in August. DDOE is operating out of leased space in two separate sites and the move will bring the agencies operations under the same roof.
This recent move is part of a larger strategy by the District to reduce the District’s portfolio of leased space. In Fiscal Year 2010, the District will vacate approximately 170,000 square feet of leased space, resulting in millions of dollars in cost savings. Across fiscal years 2009, 2010 and 2011, the District will vacate more than 700,000 square feet of leased space.
The agencies are scheduled to move into the new building in February.