SAN DIEGO—Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. hosted a commemorative project kickoff ceremony at 11055 Roselle St. here Monday, appropriately on 9/11, for its groundbreaking on the redevelopment of the future 8,000-square-foot national headquarters for the Honor Foundation—an organization that was created exclusively for Navy SEALs and the US Special Operations community. Alexandria, an urban-office REIT focused on collaborative life-science and technology campuses in primary US innovation cluster locations, is generously donating the project to the foundation.

Daniel Ryan, EVP-regional market director of Alexandria's San Diego office, tells GlobeSt.com, “From flexible training and co-working spaces to an open kitchen and gaming area, we partnered closely with the Honor Foundation team to design an inspiring and innovative headquarters environment that will exceed the needs and expectations of the organization and the brave Navy SEALs and US Special Operators who participate in THF's critically important transition and professional development programs. It has been a great privilege to design the THF headquarters, and we are proud to welcome them to an active community, which is currently home to Copa Vida, Rush Cycle and Bottlecraft.”

Alexandria is known for its leading-edge office designs, including, as we recently reported, the Alexandria at Torrey Pines creative-office development here, which was given the “Healthy Place for Business” award in 2016 from ULI as a “cool place” and a healthy place to work in San Diego's suburbs.

The THF headquarters house transition programs are tailored for the US Special Operations community and offer co-working spaces for SEAL entrepreneurs, executive coaching office hours, industry mentorship opportunities as well as other special business networking events for the Operators in Transition and the greater San Diego business community. With full-time campuses in San Diego and Virginia Beach, by December of 2017, THF will have helped nearly 300 families from the Navy SEAL and Special Operations Forces community successfully transition through its unique 120-hour, 15-week transition program. The Navy SEAL Foundation is a founding partner of THF.

Following Alexandria's record-breaking fundraising efforts earlier this year, led by CEO Joel Marcus as chair of the Navy SEAL Foundation's Ninth Annual Benefit Dinner in New York on March 2, the REIT is now providing the mission-critical headquarters for THF in partnership with the Navy SEAL Foundation. The headquarters will create a collaborative and innovative home for THF, where the organization will offer programs and events to help transition Navy SEALs and other US Special Operators into the private-sector workforce.

Upon completion, the headquarters will offer an open and flexible floor plan with ample natural light and will feature conference, event and co-working spaces as well as a lounge and a gaming area. Alexandria has designed every aspect of the headquarters with the US Special Operations Forces community in mind.

Monday's kickoff ceremony featured City of San Diego officials and military veterans, along with Alexandria executives Marcus and Ryan. Also speaking were Joe Musselman, founder and CEO of THF; City of San Diego Councilmember Barbara Bry; and retired Rear Admiral (SEAL) Garry Bonelli, chairman of the board of the Navy Seal Foundation.

Ryan's remarks were especially fitting to the date of the ceremony, 9/11. “Our build-out of the headquarters for THF is a mere token of our gratitude for the courage, dedication and sacrifice that our elite forces demonstrate, without hesitation, every day, in defense of our country.”

Instant Insights /

Honor Foundation HQ Holds 9/11 Kickoff

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