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BUSINESS NEWS COLUMBIA PROPERTY TRUST AND HICKOK COLE REVEAL THE NEWLY TRANSFORMED 80 M STREET, WITH THREE NEW FLOORS OF MASS TIMBER SPACE Columbia Property Trust, Inc. announced it has completed an innovative three-floor expansion atop 80 M Street in Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Riverfront district. The 108,000-square- foot overbuild is D.C.’s first commercial office space constructed from environmentally friendly mass timber and is proving to be one of the most attractive office environments in the submarket. Columbia worked with D.C.-based architectural firm Hickok Cole, construction manager DAVIS Construction, and engineering consulting firm Arup to design and plan the unique mass timber expansion plus an expansive suite of new and improved amenities that, together, are driving leasing activity and helping 80 M Street attract and retain a prominent and diverse roster of tenants. In addition to a new 5,000-square-foot penthouse lounge
and terrace, the renovation reimagines the building’s entry and lobby with a more welcoming and contemporary design and significantly enhances the ground-floor amenity program. These efforts have helped Columbia secure 140,000 square feet of new leases and renewals at the Capitol Riverfront office building since the start of the project. This lease activity is highlighted by the previously announced deal with American Trucking Association, which is moving its headquarters to 60,000 square feet in 80 M’s expansion space. ATA will join bp America, a leader in helping the U.S. and the world reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner, which recently signed a long- term agreement to take 15,000 square feet within the mass timber expansion. Columbia also signed a new long- term lease with Walmart Inc., which will occupy 21,000 square feet of office space at mid-building. “We have transformed 80 M Street from top to bottom to give our tenants an
unrivaled Capitol Riverfront experience,” said David Cheikin, Columbia’s executive vice president – East Coast. “Integrating an innovative design, a distinctive blend of materials and finishes, and a rich package of amenities into our reinvention of 80 M has proved to attract a range of companies seeking the highest quality office environments.” Thomas Corrado, associate principal at Hickok Cole and lead architect on the 80 M Street project, continued, “The 80 M Street expansion is a direct result of a forward-focused partnership and a shared commitment to reduce the built environment’s footprint. This milestone project truly embodies Hickok Cole’s research to reality approach, serving as a testament to the impact of sustainable design and delivering an office experience unlike any other in the District.” Hickok Cole is a forward-focused design practice connecting bold ideas, diverse expertise, and partners with vision to do work that matters.
company name and logo on them. Develop an incentive scheme that rewards those who share the most good news about your company on social media. Insist that your offices maintain super high standards for cleanliness and organization, both inside and out. Do things as a team for selected charities and, of course, promote, promote, and promote! This is how you do it! 5. Do they think the preponderance of employees there feel the same way they do? Apply for Zweig Group’s Best Firms to Work For award. Apply for other best workplace awards. Manage and share your Glassdoor ratings and drive them up. Get people telling stories of something positive that has happened recently as a part of every company meeting. And if you find out you have a negative employee at any level of the organization, either turn them around or get them out – quickly. They are a cancer that can spread, and you can’t afford that. None of this stuff is expensive or that difficult to do. You can make all of it happen. And if you do, I have complete confidence that over time, you will see a steady stream of good people wanting to work for your firm, lower staff turnover rates, higher productivity, higher rates of job satisfaction on any polling you do, and more clients wanting to work with your company. All of this comes from improving your organizational self-image. For you, as a leader, this should be at the top of your priority list. There are just too many benefits for you to ignore this! Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.
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to do something properly that was essential to your reputation? If so, promote it. Look for examples and stories where you and your people did the right thing, in spite of what could be short-term negative financial consequences – and promote the heck out of these stories inside and outside the company. “For you, as a leader, this should be at the top of your priority list. There are just too many benefits for you to ignore this!” 3. Do your people feel like winners instead of losers? Share the financial results with everyone regularly and cut in every employee on some share of the profits. Get on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing privately held companies. Apply for Zweig Group’ Hot Firm award. Collect and share the stories of new clients and new projects won with your people – every single day. Show how you have historically climbed the ENR Top 500 Design Firms list. Spread the news about your people’s new registrations and awards won, as well as their other accomplishments. Promote all of these things so there is a constant stream of good news about how your firm and your people are winning. 4. Do your people exhibit pride in their workplace? Give out tons of swag. Provide shirts, jackets, hats, notebooks, notepads, stickers, and more to your people with your
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THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 3, 2022, ISSUE 1459
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