Who knows what to make of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos's $250 million purchase of The Washington Post? By all accounts, the decision caught the reporters of one of the world's greatest newsrooms seemingly unawares. "We hope it marks a beginning, because we know it marks an end," writes The Atlantic's James Fallows, in a trenchant post considering what the decision means for the future of journalism. Slate's Dave Weigel has more to say about Bezos and what his buy might mean. (Bezos bought the paper, not Amazon; so all jokes aside, don't expect a WaPo subscription to come with your Prime account any time soon. Although: Who knows!)
At the same time that the newspaper's future seems both firmer and yet more uncertain than ever, the newspaper is looking for a new office headquarters to call home. In the midst of yesterday's drama, the Post's Jonathan O'Connell previewed several potential new Washington homes for the Capital City's paper of record.
None of the compiled proposals is a sure thing (details and designs are both subject to change). Given today's news, the question looms larger than ever. One thing is clear: Were The Washington Post newspaper to move to any of these proposed buildings—and note that the parent company would remain in its downtown location at 15th and L Streets NW—the newspaper would be taking up root in a transitional neighborhood. Three of the locations discussed by O'Connell are in NoMa, Washington's newest office-park area, while the other three are located along the Capitol Riverfront, Washington's next office-park area.
1005 First Street NE.
Designed by HKS Architects, the 712,000-square-foot Storey Park development at 1005 First Street NE—a new NoMa office building that will replace the old Greyhound bus terminal—would include 65,000 square feet of retail space.
690 Water Street SW.
The Washington Post could wind up as an anchor tenant at 690 Water Street SW for the $1.5 billion redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront being master-planned by EE&K a Perkins Eastman Company—one of the largest development plans under way in Washington.
Half and M Streets SE.
Just around the corner from Nationals Ballpark, HOK (with StreetSense and Esocoff and Associates) is designing a mixed-use development featuring more than 700,000 square feet of office space across two buildings anchored by 25 M Street SE, plus some 75,000 square feet of retail.
88 M Street NE.
The Davis Carter Scott–designed building for 88 M Street NE features 320,000 square feet of office space and 5,600 square feet of retail, connected by an open plaza space. The project—located in the NoMa neighborhood, a stone's throw away from the new NPR headquarters—is designed to meet LEED Platinum standards.
New York and Florida Avenues NE.
The SK&I–designed residential tower associated with the property at New York and Florida Avenues NE, Elevation, is rapidly rising. Gensler is designing the attendant office space of the Washington Gateway Project, whose New York Ave.–facing building is pictured.
1015 Half Street SE.
Designed by WDG, 1015 Half Street SE is a 10-story building featuring 380,000 square feet of office space. The LEED Gold–certified building includes 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and a garden rooftop terrace with views of the U.S. Capitol and Nationals Ballpark.
For what it's worth, back in May, Amazon proposed a plan designed by NBBJ to build three domes to house the company's Seattle headquarters. Whether Bezos will look at his new project with the same architecturally adventurous eye remains uncertain.
Proposed biodome design for Amazon headquarters.
Update: Michael Patrick, AIA, worked for Gensler when the firm designed the office building at New York and Florida Avenues NE. His new firm, Patrick and Anderson, is not working on the project. The caption has been updated to reflect the fact.
