Not-For-Profit Government Contractor
Project Type: HQ Asset Value Maximization Strategy
Space Use: Office, R&D, Lab
Location: Northern VA & New England
Project Size: 6 million SF
Services Provided: Real Estate Occupancy, Asset Value Maximization Strategy
A US not-for-profit institution (“Institution”) was established in the late 1950s to advance national security in new ways and serve the public interest as an independent adviser. The Institution continues to deliver on that promise every day, applying their systems-thinking approach to provide solutions that enhance the US people’s national security and way of life.
The Institution’s complex organization consists of a team of approximately 10,000 employees located across six continents with headquarters in Virginia and a New England State. The Institution’s real estate portfolio includes both owned and leasehold assets with a variety of uses including office, SCIF, R&D, lab, manufacturing, and storage.
Due to the size and age of the organization, its facilities vary in age, from newly delivered, build-to suit, high-rise buildings, to 1960s low-rise product in various stages of obsolescence. The Institution’s long-standing approach to real estate had been to acquire/land bank developable land then build customized facilities as the need arose, while backfilling the older facilities with less critical programs. This approach led to siloed teams, inefficient and underutilized facilities, and increased costs related to the maintenance of its older generation facilities.
In 2019, JM Zell was engaged to analyze the Institution’s use and occupancy of its existing portfolio and value key assets (including developable land, obsolete office, and lab buildings, etc.) within the context of its business strategy and the real estate market. JM Zell then created a set of actionable recommendations based on its findings to achieve leadership’s goals of improving continuity across the organization, facilitating collaboration amongst its program teams, increasing overall space utilization, making the best use of its undeveloped density, reducing real estate redundancies, and increasing efficiencies from both an operational and capital perspective.
JM Zell delivered the strategy to the not-for-profit in 2020, gaining consensus from its key stakeholders. The long-term action plan continues to be implemented today.
If you are interested in learning more about how JM Zell can assist you in achieving your business and operations goals through real estate, please contact us here.