The Meridian Group is in the thick of repositioning an East End office building for north of $100M, but it plans to kick-start another, smaller-scale renovation project in the heart of D.C's central business district this year.
Meridian is hoping to start a $20M repositioning project in September at 1400 L St. NW, a 175K SF office building it bought in 2016, the Washington Business Journal reports. The building will be rebranded as The Aleck, with the modernization efforts being designed by District-based Hickok Cole.
While not at the scale of its current repositioning project, the $142M transformation of 700 K St. into the Equinox-anchored Anthem Row, The Aleck represents Meridian's continued bet on its ability to rise above the general malaise of D.C.'s office market. It signed Baker Botts to a 103K SF lease at Anthem Row earlier this year.
The Aleck's name is a reference to Alexander Graham Bell, the telephone inventor who had a lab nearby.
“You typically don’t see office buildings with names like that, but we wanted this building to be a little bit different,” Meridian Vice President Wil Machen told the WBJ. “We want the building to not be pretentious. It’s not a trophy building. We want it to be a building that tenants are comfortable with.”
The renovation would create a new indoor/outdoor terrace on the third floor above an expanded, two-story lobby. It will also add a 5,300 SF fitness center and a bike room, according to the WBJ.
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