Penzance Secures 175,000 SF Prelease in Arlington

ARLINGTON, VA-Penzance has secured a prelease with CNA for a 280,000-square-foot building it is building here. The company had been working on the prelease for some time, Tom Ikeler, managing director of Capital Markets for Penzance, tells GlobeSt.com. “Now that we have them we will turn our attention to other possible tenants.”

Ikeler declined to discuss asking rates for the mixed-use building, which is being developed at 3001-3003 Washington Blvd., one block from the Clarendon Metro Station. This is a relocation—not an expansion—for CNA, a not-for-profit research and analysis organization. It is moving from its current location at 4825 Mark Center Dr. in Alexandria, VA.

Earlier this week, the project received site plan approval from the Arlington County Board. The project will consist of two separate buildings. One will be a 10-story, 200,000-square-foot office building attached to an 8-story, 80,000-square-foot building. Approximately 600 CNA employees will occupy the majority of the 10-story office building.

The project will also have 28,000 square feet of retail on the first floors of the buildings. CNA will move in when the building delivers in early 2014.

Rob Copito of Jones Lang LaSalle and Matt Siegel and Dan Rasmussen of UGL Equis represented CNA. Herb Mansinne and Bob VeShancey of Jones Lang LaSalle represented Penzance in the lease transaction.

Penzance also plans to turn its attention to another nearby project, Ikeler says—the repositioning of 1500 Wilson Blvd. in Rosslyn—within the next 60 days. It will be adding a new front entrance, new main lobby and making other upgrades to bring the class B building to B+ status, he says. The full building tenant, the Defense Department, will be vacating much of its space at the end of the year in order to comply with set back standards.

“We plan to re-tenant the building with companies that want to be in Rosslyn but don’t want to pay for class A rental rates,” Ikeler says. The Department of Defense will maintain 15,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet in the building. Asking rates will be $10 to $15 per square foot lower than class A rates, or somewhere in the mid $40s per square foot.