This morning, we snapped the StreetSense gang at its soon-to-open HQ at 3 Bethesda Metro Center, where the retail gurus recently signed a 19k SF lease. Build-out has begun, and it should be ready for a July move in for the firm's 80-plus employees, CEO Marc Ratner tells us. It won't be a far move for StreetSense--it's currently across the street at 4500 East-West Hwy.
Here's Marc (far right) with colleagues Eric Burka, Alex Crawford, Kristina Crawley, Brian Taff, and Guy Silverman. Alex, who helped design the new space, tells us it will include 1,000 SF of pop-up retail, where everything from full-service chefs to a yoga studio will set up shop periodically and demonstrate the firm's retail capabilities. StreetSense also plans to open the pop-up space for both public and private events, Alex says.
Marc says the firm has physically outgrown the old space and looks forward to livening up the Metro Center plaza, where WMATA is also renovating bus bays and 3 BMC owner Brookfield is performing a garage rehab. It's been a long time coming for the former food-court space (bottom right), which has been vacant for eight years, Alex tells us. (If there's any leftover teriyaki chicken, best leave it be.)
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