DCdesignBlog

Northrop Grumman Moving HQ to Washington, DC

Defense Contractor Relocating from Los Angeles by 2011

Northrop Grumman Corp. said Monday that it is relocating its corporate headquarters to the Washington, DC, area. The defense contractor is making the shift to accommodate its government customers and expects to select a site by the spring. The move is slated for summer 2011. "As a global security company with a large customer base in the Washington, DC, region, this move will enable us to better serve our nation and customers," noted Wes Bush, who took over as president and CEO of Northrop Grumman from Ronald Sugar on Jan. 1. Currently headquartered at 1840 Century Park East in Los Angeles, Northrop is eyeing up several potential locations in the Washington, DC, area and determining where it can find the best incentives. Maryland, home of rival contractor Lockheed Martin, is a possibility. Virginia, home to competitor General Dynamics, is also in the running. Additionally, the company is looking at locations directly in the District. Any of these prospective areas would be an attractive option for Northrop, which currently occupies approximately 2.5 million square feet of Class A office space in the area, according to CoStar information. Most of that space is in Virginia, including two leases of more than 300,000 square feet each in Reston and Herndon. Northrop also occupies about 140,000 square feet at 1000 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, where it keeps its corporate government relations office. Northrop plans to employ about 300 people at the new headquarters, some of which will be transplants from Los Angeles. However, the security company said in a statement that it would maintain a major presence in California, where it employs about 30,000 people at its research, development and manufacturing facilities. Its Aerospace Systems sector remains based in Redondo Beach. Northrop Grumman has approximately 40,000 employees in the Washington, DC, region, and about 120,000 employees worldwide. The company occupies 151,800 square feet in its Los Angeles headquarters, according to CoStar data.

Source: http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=B03A26E44503756D9C4DE9E42D3515ED&ref=100&iid=164&cid=A6724F8C401422B891D6863D9B6B9374