Apr 20 2013
At its annual commercial real estate awards dinner last night, the Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS® (GWCAR) named Akridge the Washington area's Developer of the Year. Akridge was further honored when its most recent project, 7550 Wisconsin Avenue, was named Project of the Year.
The 2012 Developer of the Year distinction marks the second time in the past ten year that GWCAR has honored Akridge with the award. This recognition serves as a testament to Akridge's long history of developing complex, high-quality projects in the Washington area and its commitment to future development. Akridge currently has over 10.5 million square feet in its development pipeline, including Half Street, Burnham Place, and 1200 Seventeenth Street.
Akridge's most recent project, 7550 Wisconsin Avenue, is the first new office construction delivered to the downtown Bethesda market in over a decade. Akridge and its joint venture partner, Rockwood Capital, LLC, deployed forward-thinking and sustainable concepts to complete this ambitious project in late 2012. The 120,000 square foot, Class A commercial office property, located one block from Bethesda's Red Line Metro station, transformed a dated structure from 1964 into an all-glass building designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. The original structure was purchased in an on-line auction from the federal government in 2010 and swiftly gut-renovated by the Akridge-Rockwood team. The new building boasts an amenity package unparalleled in the downtown Bethesda market, complete with efficient floorplates, floor-to-ceiling windows, a full-service fitness center with locker rooms and towel service, and a Client-only rooftop terrace, the first for an office building in the area.
"We are proud to deliver such a high-quality, sustainable project in downtown Bethesda. We believe the building affords prospective Clients the opportunity to work in a convenient, vibrant location, with all the modern-day amenities that 7550 Wisconsin Avenue has to offer. We would like to thank GWCAR for their acknowledgement and awards," said Matthew J. Klein, President of Akridge.