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| 901 E St. NW in Washington, DC. The Pew Charitable Trusts hopes to fill the building with other nonprofits. |
With support from the District of Columbia, The Pew Charitable Trusts is planning to turn its Washington headquarters building at 901 E Street NW into a downtown haven for nonprofits.
Pew, one of the nation’s largest philanthropies, acquired the 250,000-square-foot property early last year for $155 million and said it would lease nearly all of the building to not-for-profit groups. It is offering steeply discounted rents to lure those organizations to the 10-story property, which is already considered a highly attractive downtown destination.
This week Pew selected Woodmark, an affiliate of J Street Cos., to lease and manage the property. Geoff Kieffer, a principal of the firm, is leading the marketing team, while Harold Nelson is handling management.
Woodmark is targeting the end of year to have the building fully committed, although the firm will need to work aggressively to keep that timetable, Kieffer said.
“The only companies that are moving right now have a lease rolling over. It’s going to be an opportunity for tenants that have the right timing,” he said.
Both Pew and the district, which share the goal of bringing more nonprofits into the district, are investing heavily in the plan. Kieffer described it as a “partnership to attract and keep nonprofits in the business core of the city.”
The district’s revenue bond program issued tax-exempt bonds to help finance the purchase of the property, while Pew has upgraded the building for a run at LEED certification and is close to finishing a new state-of-the-art conferencing facility that spans three floors.
Pew is occupying about 90,000 square feet in the building. The other tenants so far are the American Cancer Society, which has been at the property for several years, and the National Wildlife Federation and an undisclosed nonprofit, both of which signed leases during the second half of last year.