Monday Properties Unveils New Rosslyn Rooftop As Latest Salvo in Amenities Race

First came 1812 N. Moore St.'s 24th-floor sky lounge. Then followed the Observation Deck at CEB Tower. And now comes the rooftop deck at 1100 Wilson Blvd. with its own sweeping skyline views in Rosslyn.

Monday Properties hosted a VIP event for real estate brokers Wednesday evening to showcase the 6,200-square-foot indoor-outdoor space atop the 31-story building, part of the two-building The Towers. It is being unveiled as landlords in Rosslyn and across Greater Washington seek to up their communal spaces to appeal to tenants who increasingly want more than just office space to attract and hang onto employees.

The rooftop space has been more than three years in the making.It was designed by OTJ Architects as an amenity space for all of the tenants in The Towers, while a second rooftop deck was carved out of space atop 1000 Wilson for exclusive use by Sands Capital. Austin Freeman, senior vice president of asset management for Monday, said landlords can no longer afford to stand pat and hope their buildings will remain competitive with new construction. What's more,most tenant prospects these days want to know what else is in the buildings they are considering.

"It’s a shift in the market where, when we do tours now with tenants, it’s about not only the space but where are they going to go collaborate?" he said. "Where are they going to go take a break?Where are they going to take their laptop? Where are they going to have a drink after work? Where are they going to work out? And for us, we’re not checking the box here, we're doing it at a high, high level in terms of the actual service."

The rooftop deck was created from what had previously been unused space. Accessible by its own elevator, repurposed from one of the building's freight elevators, it features both indoor and outdoor space connected by folding Nana Walls. While it hasn't officially been declared open for business, John Wharton, senior vice president of leasing at Monday, said he's already received reservation requests from tenants Raytheon and the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.

Wednesday's event was catered by restauranteur Fabio Trabocchi, who plans to open a restaurant on the ground floor at 1100 Wilson with wife, Maria, next year. The new restaurant and terrace are the latest improvements to The Towers, following the creation of a living wall in the main entrance to 1000 Wilson Blvd., and Monday also plans a new fitness center to open in the recently shuttered The Great Eatery.

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