Among the 10 largest tenants looking for space over 100,000 square feet:
• Government agencies like the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency, which is seeking 1 million square feet in Northern Virginia to consolidate 2,500 workers now spread over four offices in the region. The Coast Guard is also looking for half a million square feet and the Department of Defense for 471,000 square feet in Northern Virginia; and the Justice Department is searching for roughly half a million square feet in the District.
• Contractor SRA International Inc. , which makes software for such government clients as the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Defense and the Internal Revenue Service, is looking for 300,000 square feet in the Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City areas.
• BAE Systems North America Inc., a designer and maker of military aircraft, submarines and radar, needs 200,000 square feet in Fairfax.
• General Dynamics Corp., which makes warships and planes, is looking for up to 200,000 square feet to consolidate some of its offices in the region.
The newspaper reported the information came from brokerages Cushman & Wakefield Inc., Spaulding & Slye Colliers, Staubach Co. and Trammell Crow Co.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the defense and security industries boomed as government spending in these areas rose.
The surprise in the list of the 10 largest tenants seeking space, Cushman & Wakefield reported, is the predominance of the General Services Administration, the real estate agency for the federal government.
Because so many tenants need large chunks, tenants are having to search years in advance of when their leases expire. The recession and the tech crash a few years ago slowed construction, and thus there now aren't many new buildings coming online.
In the District, there are only nine buildings with more than 100,000 square feet available; Maryland has six; and Northern Virginia has 22, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
With the limited options for space in the District, rents are getting into the $60 a square foot range — far more than the $40 landlords were getting in the mid-1990s. In Northern Virginia, rates have jumped to $25 per square foot from $17 a decade ago.
