CEB to Anchor New ‘Central Place’ Office Tower

The Corporate Executive Board Company (CEB) announced today it will occupy 350,000 square feet on 15 floors of the planned Central Place office building in Rosslyn — allowing construction on the building to move forward.

The building will be renamed CEB Tower and is expected to be completed by 2018, when CEB will move from its current headquarters in the Waterview building, a block away at 1919 N. Lynn Street. CEB estimates the move will bring 800 new jobs to the area by the time the move is complete.

The move was announced two days after the Arlington County Board approved an amended sign ordinance that allows developers to apply for signage above 50 feet high. The signs were previously prohibited in the two-block radius in which CEB Tower will be located.

Sweetening the pot: $4.5 million in grant money from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, a matching pledge of infrastructure improvements from Arlington County, and $5 million from the Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant.

“This Agreement would not have been possible without the exceptional partnership of the Commonwealth and Arlington County,” CEB Chairman and CEO Tom Monahan said in a press release. “The Governor’s office and our local government representatives clearly demonstrated why Virginia is a great state for business. Under their leadership, we are confident in Arlington’s future as a business hub and thrilled to be a landmark business in — and significant economic contributor to — the Rosslyn community.”

“While it’s too early to size precisely the economic impact for 2018 and beyond, their partnership and leadership notably support our strategy for continued growth and margin expansion,” Monahan added.

Before the office tower is complete, Central Place’s developer, the JBG Companies, is expected to wrap up construction on its 31-story residential tower next door in 2017. The twin, 390-foot skyscrapers are expected to have ground floor retail and observation decks.

“CEB is exactly the type of business Arlington needs as we move forward as a leader in the innovation economy,” Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette said in the county’s release. “Today’s announcement is a shining example of how the new initiatives we’ve implemented this year are increasing Arlington’s economic competitiveness and ensuring our place as a leading community for technology businesses of the future.”

CEB moved to Rosslyn from D.C. six years ago.

“Virginia has proudly served as home to CEB since its move from the District in 2008,” Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said in a statement. “A new global headquarters and investment of this magnitude are tremendous testaments to the confidence the company has in Arlington County and the Commonwealth as it grows its presence internationally, and creates the workspace and technology for jobs of the 21st century.”

Photo via The JBG Companies