Despite the fact that K Street is synonymous with high-powered lobbyists, a competitive real estate market and a lack of showcase properties have pushed some lobbyists to other parts of the District during the last 10 years.
“You’ll find them all over the city,” said Vernon Knarr, senior managing director for Studley Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage firm active in the D.C. market. “I don’t think there’s a real congregation of lobbyists. It’s a misnomer these days.”
Lobbyists have actually traditionally congregated on three main thoroughfares — K Street, Pennsylvania Avenue and Connecticut Avenue — according to real estate experts, but several factors, including one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country, have pushed them elsewhere.
“They’re generally looking for Class A space and because the market is extremely tight in Washington you can’t really say, ‘We’re going to go to Connecticut,’ ” said Patrick Marr, executive vice president of commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis. “So where a lot of people have ended up in the last 10 years is in what we call the East End submarket around Metro Center.”
While there are no figures available that specifically track where lobbyists are leasing, experts said it has more to do with convenience than address. For example, when Pennsylvania Avenue closed to traffic about 10 years ago, many lobbyists relocated east of the White House in order to have easier access.
“They’re goal is to get to the Capitol and the White House as fast as they can,” Knarr said. “It used to be you’d zip right down Pennsylvania Avenue. You just can’t do that anymore.”
But for some lobbyists, the address will always matter and a K Street “resurgence” may not be far away. As an increasing number of developers update older properties, many lobbyists who strayed might be back. In fact, rents on K Street, Connecticut and Pennsylvania can generally command 5 percent to 8 percent more than buildings just a few blocks away, according to Marr.
“To some, having the K Street address is very important,” he said. “Washington is all about panache.”
