A First Look at the Proposed Office Redevelopment of Metro's DC Headquarters

• March 10th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

Nearly two years after the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) put its headquarters site at 600 5th Street NW (map) up for ground lease proposals, we are getting the first look at the concept planned for the office redevelopment.

Stonebridge and Rockefeller Group are planning to deliver 420,000 square feet of office space above 14,000 square feet of retail to the site. The existing building would be stripped to its concrete core and reused in order to mitigate any impacts on the Red Line tunnel that runs through the below-grade garage. The design architect is Pickard Chilton. 

The proposed development would also add three floors to the existing structure and would regrade the site to eliminate the current sunken plaza. The new building would have setbacks starting at the 11th floor and would use a screening style and limestone color palette to reference other existing building architecture surrounding Judiciary Square. There will also be space for outdoor dining along the northwest and south sides.

WMATA is expected to vacate the current headquarters by December 2022, putting construction about two years away and delivery in 2025. The Commission of Fine Arts will review the concept later this month. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a-first-look-at-the-proposed-office-redevelopment-of-metros-dc-headquar/17981.