1015 18th Street, NW Washington, DC

Background:

1015 18^th Street, NW, was a well-located, mid-block building that provided commodity office space to central-business-district office tenants since the 1970s.  Upon its sale in 2018, the new owner planned to transition the property to a class-A building in a rapidly improving marketplace and competitive set.

Challenge:

The building had ‘good bones’, including garage parking and good window line despite its mid-block positioning.  However, the HVAC was antiquated, the lobby was underwhelming, the windows were single pane and tinted, and the building did not offer tenant amenities.

Result:

Donohoe Commercial Real Estate was hired by the new owner to oversee the wholesale renovation.  Most striking was the replacement of the existing metal and precast curtainwall system with a new structural silicone glazed curtainwall, resulting in floor-to-ceiling glass.  Additional improvements included a mechanical retrofit to chilled beams along the new curtainwall as well as new entrance canopy.  The lobby renovation involved removing structural components to create a two-story open lobby.  Finally, DCRE advised the owner about taking advantage of new zoning regulations allowing habitable space on the penthouse level and proceeded to oversee construction of a new steel structure for housing conference rooms, a fitness center and an adjacent observation deck.