Another Day, Another 200,000 SF for NoMA

WASHINGTON, DC-Fresh on the heels of a 167,000-square-foot lease by the IRS, the NoMa submarket has scored another win: the District is leasing 200,000 square feet at 1200 First St., NE. The building, called Capitol Plaza I, is owned by an affiliate of the Polinger Co. DC’s Department of Real Estate Services says it will move both the headquarters of the District of Columbia Public Schools and the Department of the Environment to the 12-story, 291,838-square-foot office building.

DCPS will take 121,000 square feet; 79,000 square feet will be occupied by DDOE. The moves will reduce the amount of space the agencies occupy by at least 20%. DCPS’s current least at 825 North Capital St., NE expired in August. For its part, DDOE is leasing space at two separate sites–this move will consolidate the agency’s operations.

This transaction is part of a larger initiative underway in the District to reduce its leased space. In 2010, the District plans to vacate approximately 170,000 square feet of leased space. All together, in fiscal years 2009, 2010 and 2011, the District expects to have vacated more than 700,000 square feet of leased space.