NPR has acquired a site for its new world headquarters.
The address is 1111 North Capitol Street NE in the District of Columbia. Washington has been NPR’s home for all of its 38 years. The network has occupied its current building since 1992.
The decision is a loss for officials in nearby Silver Spring and Montgomery County, Md.
From the statement from NPR:
“NPR has been located in D.C. since it was founded in 1970, and based in the city’s Penn Quarter neighborhood since 1992. This acquisition will relocate NPR’s 600 Washington-based staff to the new D.C. business improvement district of NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue), an emerging area that has begun redevelopment into a multi-use community.
“The façade and portions of the current four-story 1111 North Capitol Street property — constructed in 1927 for the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company and listed on the historical registries of both the District and the U.S. government — will be retained and be integrated with a new 10-story office tower. All of NPR’s Washington journalism, multimedia, business and executive activities will be housed in this new facility, with occupancy planned for 2012. This will include a 60,000 square foot space for NPR News’ extensive, award-winning broadcast and multimedia operations and a public space for live shows and events.”
NPR said it “began its search for a new headquarters 19 months ago and initially identified over 100 sites in 35 locations throughout D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Following extensive analysis, this list was narrowed down to 1111 North Capitol Street and a location in Silver Spring.”
