Friday, Aug. 22, 2008
The Tower Cos. and Lerner Enterprises have opened their new Rockville headquarters, a 200,000-square-foot property they are touting for its green building design.
"After almost six decades in the industry, our company continues to embrace modern concepts that go beyond the expected and are ahead of the competition and we believe 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard delivers a world-class downtown corporate experience with an uptown address," Mark D. Lerner, a principal of Lerner Enterprises, said in a statement.
The building is neither downtown nor uptown but smack in the beyond-the-Beltway suburbs next to an Interstate 270 exit. Bus shuttle service will be available to Metro rail, with the Rockville station more than 2 miles away.
So far, Tower and Lerner are the only announced tenants. Lerner will occupy 46,000 square feet when it moves in October and Tower has announced plans to take 23,000 square feet.
Leasing is being handled by Diamond Property Co. of McLean, Va.
The nine-story glass tower was designed by architects Kishimoto, Gordon, Dalaya PC of Rosslyn, Va., to win the U.S. Green Building Council's platinum certification under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. Compared with typical offices, the building is designed with a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system that is 30 percent more efficient and will reduce energy consumption by 41 percent and water consumption by 48 percent.
The building also is touted as a showcase for Vedic design principals to promote worker productivity and health, as advanced by the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who introduced the Beatles and other celebrities to transcendental meditation.
"The best buildings are those that make us feel good and at their highest can elevate your success," said Jeffrey S. Abramson, a partner of The Tower Cos. "Tower's vision transcends beyond green to creating super-charged healthy environments that are assets for the business, generate return on rent and become a rewarding work experience."
The building is part of the larger Tower Oaks community, a 200-acre mixed-use site that is to eventually include 2.5 million square feet of commercial, residential, retail and hotel space.
New refrigerated warehouse planned at Port of Baltimore
Merchants Terminal Corp. broke ground Wednesday on a 155,000-square-foot refrigerated distribution center in the Port of Baltimore where auto workers once built small trucks and mini-vans.
The $25 million facility will occupy part of the former General Motors assembly plant that closed in 2005. Duke Realty of Indianapolis bought the 184-acre site in East Baltimore last year for $56.6 million. The company plans a 10-year, $160 million mixed-use project that will include warehouse, industrial and office space.
The Merchants building is one of 16 planned for the new 2.8 million-square-foot Chesapeake Commerce Center. The new distribution center will be built with environmentally friendly materials, will employ high-tech temperature control systems to minimize its carbon footprint and is designed to accept solar panels.
Merchants president Harry Halpert said the new chilled warehouse will support efforts to lease the Port's Seagirt Marine Terminal to a private operator.
Shoney's makes way for
office building in Silver Spring
All signs of the former Shoney's in Hillandale are gone, replaced by a 55,000-square-foot office building nearing completion by The Duffie Cos., which has its headquarters next door.
The property, in the northern end of Silver Spring at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and the Capital Beltway, features silver LEED certification and a 24,000-square-foot garage. Duffie, which owns the neighboring Hillandale Shopping Center, acquired the vacant Shoney's in 2004.
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