Gramercy District will be the first smart city in the region and one of the first in the country.
The mixed-use development is located within close proximity to Washington Dulles International Airport.
A more than $500 million development will soon begin taking shape just outside of Washington, D.C., “Gramercy District” is a smart city project by 22 Capital Partners, a venture builder private entity company.
According to Vicki Bendure of Bendure Communications, the group recently started taking reservations for space in the first mixed-use building, which will include approximately 350 luxury apartments, up to 44,500 sq. ft. of retail and 55,000 sq. ft. of co-working office and innovation partner space. In addition, there will be more than 40,000 sq. ft. of connected open plaza and courtyard.
“The project is focused on creating technology infrastructure and platforms first so owners have been focused on getting technology partners signed on,” she said.
22 Capital Partners announced the project team for Gramercy District in August. It includes the Tishman Construction unit of AECOM, a premier, fully-integrated global infrastructure firm headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif.; TRINITY Group Construction, headquartered in Herndon, Va.; DVA Architects, Gaithersburg, Md.; Greystar, for preconstruction consulting and property management services; Bowman Consulting Group; McGuire Woods, PC; and Benton Potter & Murdock, PC.
“We've put together a team known for their expertise in the design and construction of commercial, residential and retail developments, who are forward thinking, ready to embrace how technology can improve our city's overall experience,” said Tom McConnell, executive vice president of Gramercy District. “Creating a seamless integration of technology and real estate infrastructure design from the start of the construction, combined with a holistic approach to development is the most critical piece when designing a smart city.”
Dan McQuade, group president of AECOM's Construction Services, noted that the project highlights the transformative role that cutting-edge technology is playing in today's building.
“We are thrilled to be at the forefront of constructing a new wave of smart cities,” he said. “Particularly noteworthy about Gramercy District is that this project brings together marquee partners from many industries to build innovations that will better the way a community lives, works and socializes.”
According to McConnell, the goal is to integrate the 22 CityLink Platform with existing real estate protocols to create a “Smart City In-a-Box.” Gramercy District will be the first smart city in the region and one of the first in the country.
Instead of lumping technology into vertical applications like smart retail, intelligent buildings, connected health, etc., 22 CityLink breaks up the smart city into layers and pillars and takes a horizontal approach, looking at the total consumer experience across all aspects of the smart city. “By separating bandwidth, connectivity, applications, data and intelligence into layers, 22 CityLink is able to create a foundation for sustainable development and constant improvement,” said Dave Ladouceur, CEO of Denver-based software company Neon Mobile and strategic advisor for 22 CityLink. “The pillars are where data is aggregated into functional areas and includes our smart city components: smart building, smart education, smart energy, smart engagement, smart finance, smart healthcare, smart mobility, smart operations, smart retail and smart safety.”
22 CityLink announced in January that JKH Holdings, in addition to being selected as a technology partner, will move its global headquarters to Gramercy District. The company joins a growing list, which includes Microsoft, Avaya, Center for Innovative Technology, George Washington University, Neon Mobile and FedBid.
22 Capital Partners is a venture builder company and global private equity firm investing in commercial real estate, technology and clean and renewable energy.
Gramercy District's 2.5 million sq.-ft. property abuts the Dulles Greenway (Route 267) — the major highway connecting central Loudoun County to Fairfax County, Arlington and Washington, D.C. The mixed-use development is located within close proximity to Washington Dulles International Airport and is at the future Silver Line Ashburn Metro Station, opening in late 2019.
“It brings together, in one location, the convergence of leading edge technology and integrated construction techniques,” said Minh Le, managing partner of 22 CityLink. “The vision for the future of our cities is becoming a reality, and we'll be demonstrating it at Gramercy District.”
For more information, visit www.22CapitalPartners.com.
Brenda Ruggiero
Brenda Ruggiero has written for CEG for over 20 years. She lives near the town of Accident in far western Maryland. Her favorite assignments so far involved interviews with Survivor’s Boston Rob and hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut. Both were involved in construction at one time.
Brenda holds a BA in Mass Communication with a writing focus from Frostburg State University and minors in Public Relations and Political Science. She works full time as a staff writer for a weekly newspaper, the Garrett County Republican. She enjoys feature writing the most, which gives her the opportunity to talk to people and share their stories.
Brenda and her middle school sweetheart, Reuben, have been married for over 34 years and have three grown children and four cats.
Read more from Brenda Ruggiero here.
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