NPR to Relocate to NoMa

For immediate release
NoMA BID news media contact: Leslie Braunstein
703/234-7762
info@lhbcommunications.com

NPR contact: Andi Sporkin
202/513-2320
asporkin@npr.org

NPR to Relocate to NoMa in Washington, D.C.
D.C. Mayor Fenty Announces Media Organization’s Acquisition of Former C&P Warehouse

Washington, D.C., March 5, 2008... Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty today announced that NPR, the longtime Washington-based broadcast and digital media company, will relocate from Penn Quarter to the city’s NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood just north of the U.S. Capitol. NPR has acquired the 165,000 square foot building at 1111 North Capitol Street, N.E. from J Street Development of Washington, D.C. Built in 1927 as a warehouse for the old Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, it is currently used as warehouse space by the Smithsonian Institution.

The seller had planned a Class A office redevelopment, preserving over 78,000 SF of the original historic structure including frontages on North Capitol and Pierce Streets. NPR will retain the façade and portions of the structure, and integrate it with a new ten-story office tower. All of NPR’s 600 Washington-based journalism, multimedia, business and executive activities will be housed in this new facility, with occupancy planned for 2012. The new headquarters will include a 60,000 SF space for NPR News’ extensive broadcast and multimedia operations and a public space for live shows and events.

NPR was represented by Vernon Knarr, Art Greenberg, Julie Rayfield, and David Perlstein of Studley.

By the time NPR opens its new headquarters, NoMa will be well on the way to realizing the vision of a 24/7 mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood with an extensive array of shops, restaurants, and entertainment choices. NoMa offers a wide range of transportation options including the New York Avenue Metro station, Amtrak and Metro service at Union Station, and the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

"NPR is a Washington icon," Mayor Fenty said. "Their decision not only to stay in the District but to build their new headquarters in one of our most important emerging neighborhoods says a lot about how far we've come in transforming our city."

NPR Chief Executive Officer Ken Stern said: "Since we began in 1970, NPR has had deep roots in and a strong commitment to the Washington community. We are thrilled to be part of the revitalization of the NoMa neighborhood and to serve as an anchor for the rich mix of businesses, media organizations and residential life it promises to bring to our city." Added Elizabeth Price, President of the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID): “As a nationally recognized media organization, NPR brings further cachet to the NoMa market. Not only is Noma headquarters for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but it also is becoming a media hub with the presence of CNN, XM Radio, and now NPR.”

NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. Private developers have invested approximately $1.5 billion to date with plans to develop over 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the area covered by the NoMa BID over the next ten years. The BID provides daily street and sidewalk cleaning, safety ambassadors, marketing, events, and other services to make NoMa a clean, safe, and vibrant neighborhood for businesses, residents, and visitors. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Website at http://www.nomabid.org.

Since its launch in 1970, NPR has evolved into a leading multimedia company, award-winning primary news provider and dominant force in American life. NPR produces and/or distributes nearly 1500 hours of programming weekly. This includes more than 150 hours of news, information, talk, entertainment and cultural shows for the 800-plus NPR Member public radio stations around the country, reaching an audience of 26 million weekly listeners. NPR also programs two 24/7 public radio channels for Sirius satellite radio, five 24/7 music multicast channels for HD Radio and a 24/7 NPR Worldwide program stream reaching listeners in more than 100 countries. The NPR website, http://www.npr.org, offers extensive original video and audio content, hourly newscasts and free audio streaming of current and archived NPR programs. The NPR Music website, launched in November 2007, is a free, comprehensive music discovery destination featuring live performances, studio sessions, features, interviews, reviews and blogs. NPR programs produced in Washington, D.C. include Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Talk of the Nation, Tell Me More, All Songs Considered, Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday. NPR.org, NPR Music and NPR Podcasts are also based in Washington.