Education Tech Firm Blackboard Relocating DC-Based Global HQ to Northern Virginia
By Christina sturdivant-Sani January 2, 2019 5:48 pm
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Blackboard is moving its global headquarters to Northern Va., from Washington, D.C., according to a press release from the education technology firm.
The company will consolidate its current D.C. and Northern Virginia offices into one space at 11720 Plaza America Drive in Reston, Va. Blackboard’s Virginia office is already housed at the building, called Plaza America, but the merge will entail the buildout of an entirely new space, according to a Blackboard spokeswoman, who said the lease was signed on Dec. 28, 2018.
“The new office space offers a rich and dynamic environment for our employees as well as convenient access to dining and shopping and easy access to major commuter routes, public transportation and Dulles International Airport,” Blackboard CEO Bill Ballhaus said in a prepared statement.
Bringing together the D.C. area employees will also “create a new, exciting and more vibrant work environment that will continue to fuel a culture of creativity, innovation and collaboration,” Blackboard said in the release, which did not state the square footage of the new space or number of employees that will be relocated.
The move comes four years after Blackbaord leased 71,000 square feet at 1111 19th Street NW in D.C., according to the Washington Business Journal, which first reported the global headquaters relocation. The D.C. office came with the benefit of a tax rebate for firms that signed large, long-term leases, “valued at half the company’s tenant improvement costs, or a maximum of $5 million over five years,” WBJ reported.
The D.C. and Virginia employees will move into the new office in the fourth quarter, according to the Blackboard spokeswoman, who would not disclose the asking rent at Plaza America or if brokers were involved in the deal.
