The future of downtown D.C. office buildings is stylish
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Photo courtesy of Skanska. Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
A rare office building under construction in downtown Washington right now offers a look at what some developers are pursuing to lure workers back: Instagrammable design.
What's happening: The project at 17th and M St. NW joins a growing cohort of stylish spaces across the country — dubbed by the New York Times as "The Envy Office" — tasked with enticing employees to get off their couches and back into conference rooms.
Why it matters: With downtown still suffering from empty cubicles and low foot traffic, developer Skanska's 11-story building will test whether Equinox-esque gyms, cozy rooms, and warm wood tones are keys to the return-to-work puzzle.
🔎 Zoom in: The 17xM project, which is 56% leased and expected to open in the second quarter of this year, is heavy on light-filled rooms, private terraces, and stylish accents.
- Amenities are "an intentional extension of the 'inside out' concept, designed to augment personal wellness, enhance your experience, and enhance your day."
- The building includes a penthouse conference room and a plant-filled green wall that is two stories high.
The intrigue: 17xM's design also caters to the corner-office crowd, maximizing the number of offices with windows.
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an anchor tenant, and UBS has also signed on.
Conceived before the pandemic, the building's design was tweaked to include tech like touchless elevators and air quality monitoring.
📣 What they're saying: "Tenants are looking for a more hospitality environment," Mark Carroll of Skanska told Axios on a recent tour.
- The architect Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates has worked on buildings at The Wharf and Hudson Yards in New York.
Zoom out: Teleworking remains popular in D.C., especially because many federal agencies have not returned to the office in a major way.
- Mayor Muriel Bowser last week announced that in-person work for local agencies will dial up from three days to four.
- Before the December holidays, the D.C. metro office occupancy rate was just under 50%, according to Kastle's metrics that rely on key fob entries to its office buildings.
