Tower and Lerner show off new headquarters

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

Tower and Lerner show off new headquarters

Rockville building gets top ‘green' certification

by Sonny Goldreich | Special to The Gazette

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Rendering courtesy of Lerner Enterprises

Ground has been broken on this hotel project for the Fallsgrove area in Rockville, with opening expected in December 2009. Lerner Enterprises of North Bethesda is building a two-tower hotel totaling 199 rooms including the 112-room Hilton Garden Inn and 87-room Homewood Suites by Hilton. The 135,000-square-foot, six-story Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton will share a common area that will connect the two hotels. The architect is Gordon & Greenburg Architects of Cabin John and the general contractor is Herman Stewart of Lanham, according to Lerner information.

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.