Bechtel, CBRE & Boston Properties

The 2019 Virginia Lease Transaction of the Year is ...

Bechtel’s presence in Reston, Virginia was spread among multiple buildings throughout a total of 483,970 rentable square feet. Through their headquarters relocation, the firm wished to consolidate their overall footprint and improve collaboration through co-location, while positively impacting the bottom line.

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Bechtel understood being located on the site of a future metro site was meaningful in the long-term, but the ability to retain a robust parking ratio was key for the needs of their employee population. Bechtel also had a strong desire to maintain signage rights at their current location, recognizing the benefit of leveraging the branding opportunity within the Reston/Dulles corridor.

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One of the key complexities of the transaction was that Bechtel had an existing lease obligation at Reston Overlook that did not expire until mid-2022. CBRE and Bechtel worked closely with the landlord, Boston Properties to make this space available to a third-party tenant, enabling Bechtel to relinquish this space early and facilitate their consolidation. Simultaneously, Boston Properties was working with the third-party tenant to relinquish space in another building at Reston Town Center. Through excellent communication and teamwork, all three parties arrived at a winning scenario despite the pressure of a compressed timeline. Boston Properties was represented inhouse by Jake Stroman, Erin Cotter and Sam Orr. CBRE’s Cathy Delcoco, Meredith Lapier and Don Lutt represented Bechtel.

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CBRE and Bechtel ultimately executed a transaction that allowed Bechtel flexibility to align business needs, the opportunity to contract short-term (up to 18% of the space in 2020), and future contraction and termination options. By reducing their footprint and taking advantage of workplace efficiencies, Bechtel will recognize savings in excess of $5,000,000 annually.