Press

New and Expanded Leases Affirm Demand for Well-Appointed, Hospitality-Infused Office Buildings

Marx Realty (MNPP), a New York-based owner, developer and manager of office, retail and multifamily properties across the United States, announces it has signed 16,000 square feet of new leases including two new tenants and a significant expansion at The Herald office building. Auburn University’s nonpartisan think tank McCrary Institute will occupy a 5,000-square-foot space in an eight-year lease and legislative and public policy strategy firm August Strategy Group has signed on to a 3,200-square-foot, six-year lease while a confidential government affairs agency has nearly doubled its footprint, expanding by 7,800 square feet at The Herald.
“The Herald building is a timeless icon and continues to attract the best tenants in the market,” said Craig Deitelzweig, CEO of Marx Realty. “Our repositioning here brought back its historic elegance and infused every space with Marx Realty’s signature office hospitality experience. The sophisticated design sensibility at The Herald has driven incredible leasing velocity as top-tier tenants seek office spaces with a welcoming sensory experience that fosters connection, creativity and collaboration.”
Marx Realty pioneered the hotel-like aesthetic in DC with its repositioning of The Herald office building. Located at 1307 New York Avenue, The Herald was originally constructed in 1923 and acquired by Marx Realty in 2020. The 114,000-square-foot building showcases a distinct Beaux Arts style, and the design team infused every space with a high-end hotel-like sensibility. Each intricate detail pays homage to the building’s past as the former home to the offices and printing presses of the Washington Times-Herald where the legendary Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis (then Bouvier) began her career as the “Inquiring Camera Girl,” both as a photographer and reporter.
The Herald blends a New York club-like vibe with a decidedly DC design sensibility and has effectively blurred the lines between office and hospitality. The sensory experience starts at the entry with its intimate foyer opening to an expansive lobby designed to evoke its newspaper office and production heritage. Adorned with walnut wood, copper accents, plush seating areas, and soaring ceilings, the building and its design details capture Jackie O’s timeless grace and sophistication mimicking the fashionable textures and colors for which she was so well known. A uniformed doorman attends oversized wooden entry doors as The Herald welcomes tenants and guests with mood music and Marx Realty’s signature scent.
The Herald boasts an expansive suite of amenities including a 40-seat boardroom, European-style café, and the Bouvier Lounge – a meticulously curated 8,800-square-foot club floor featuring historic photos, artwork, newspaper printing memorabilia and a fireplace. Additionally, the Marx Mobile, a 2023 Tesla Y, is available to tenants via the MarxConnect app and gives tenants access to a house car similar to what one might experience at the world’s finest hotels. The well-appointed fitness center, Press Fitness, offers boxing facilities, private workout rooms featuring individual pelotons, Hydrow rowers, and Mirror fitness system with historically significant and bold, modern artwork throughout.
McCrary Institute has grown its DC footprint, adding this space to its existing tenancy at 101 Constitution; the firm was represented by Greg Culver of CBRE. August Strategy Group will relocate from Alexandria, VA; the firm was represented by Caroline Bour of CBRE.
The Herald is the result of the ongoing collaboration between Marx Realty and Studios Architecture, continuing the hospitality-meets-office repositioning success at 10 Grand Central and 545 Madison Avenue, both in New York City.
The tenant roster at The Herald includes government and public affairs firms LSG and CGCN, financial services firm FS Vector and commercial real estate industry group SIOR (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors). Proper Cloth, a bespoke menswear brand that offers custom tailored menswear, opened its first DC showroom last year in the ground-floor retail space at The Herald.
About Marx Realty
Marx Realty is a division of Merchants’ National Properties (MNPP). Founded in 1915, its current portfolio of properties includes over 5 million square feet of commercial office, retail and residential space as well as five mixed-use projects currently under development. Marx Realty is vertically integrated and involved in all phases of real estate management, development, construction and leasing. The company’s assets comprise 67 properties in 17 states.