WASHINGTON, DC-First Transit, a public sector provider of transit services, has signed a long-term lease for 32,501 square feet of space at 1710 17th St., NE here. The company is doubling its space requirements as it services the city’s Circulator Bus contract, according to Newmark Knight Frank principal Lisa Benjamin, who represented First Transit in the transaction.

The tenant is moving from Prince George’s County to occupy the DC-based facility, she tells GlobeSt.com. Nordlinger Investment Corp. owns the asset and was represented by John Uhar of Uhar & Co. The lease terms were around $12 per square foot. 

Located on 2.1 acres, the building will be used as office/flex/maintenance space. First Transit liked the space and its additional acreage because it will be able to park its buses there and offer employee parking, Benjamin says.

The building was configured in the early 1990s into a two-story office layout with three drive-in bays. It also has a separate two-bay oversized repair garage of 2,230 square feet.

Industrial space--or even office/flex--is becoming more difficult to find in the District, largely because most of it has been re-zoned for higher-density use such as retail or residential. This particular building did not remain empty after its previous tenant, Brinks Security, vacated, Benjamin notes. “In fact we scurried to get them out in time for First Transit.”