Capital One Headquarters Campus

Client

Capital One; Jones Lang LaSalle
Location

McLean, VA
Size

595,000-SF; 525,000-SF Garage

Office Buildings

Awards

ACI Outstanding Concrete Structure
AIA DC Presidential Citation, Sustainable Design
NAIOP Northern Virginia Award of Excellence, Best Build-to-Suit
WBC Craftsmanship Award, HVAC

Project Brief

As natives to the DC region, we’ve had the privilege of constructing countless high-profile properties. And there is one national corporation that took our local brand and really put us on the map — that’s Capital One.

Nearly 15 years ago, Capital One bought a 29-acre plot and sought out a partner to construct its new headquarters. Needless to say, this high-profile job was highly competitive, but Capital One liked our approach and felt we were the right cultural fit. So they trusted their instincts and went with the local contractor — believing that we would be the best team player, and they were right.

Hear More About It

Building Capital One’s headquarters was a true game-changer for DAVIS. It demonstrated that we could handle large-scale projects, which is why I credit Capital One with having a tremendous impact on our company’s growth.

Mike Pittsman, Executive Vice President, DAVIS

Big Project, Big Deal

Everything about the project was large — the building, the team, and the amount of coordination. In fact, at the time, the original Capital One headquarters was our largest undertaking: a 14-story building with a separate nine-level parking structure, plus a complete interior build-out with high-tech components and high-end finishes throughout. The top two floors were designed for the company’s C-suite executives. These levels feature an internal ornamental staircase, a decorative metal-and-glass ceiling, stone floors, and hardwood wall paneling.

Proactive Power Planning

Almost from the very beginning of the project our schedule was challenged — when we encountered a large, live electrical duct bank right in the middle of our excavation. This duct bank was one of the major power sources feeding the Tysons area inside the beltway; and it ran right through the Capital One site and continued to Route 123. Unwilling to jeopardize our timeframe, we found a way to continue our work while waiting for Virginia Power to remove the piping and wires. Through careful planning as well as close coordination with the power company and Capital One, our team dug around the live duct bank for several months, and ultimately installed a new one outside of the excavation area. This proactive approach enabled us to complete the project on time, despite encountering this early roadblock.

From one source of power to another, Capital One’s IT systems had to be activated months ahead of the building’s opening — enabling the IT staff to properly wire the space before employees moved in. To make this possible, we built-out the IT and data centers first, so that the Capital One IT staff could start their work while we finished ours. In this atypical situation, we upheld the highest standards of safety — even if it meant the IT team had to wear hard hats while activating computers, servers, and phones.

The Partnership Continues at 470 Feet

After our successful completion of the original headquarters tower, Capital One has continued to entrust us with numerous construction projects across their campus. From the addition of an atrium and 400-seat lecture hall, to on-site recreational facilities, our DAVIS team remains connected.

Perhaps most notably, we recently broke ground on a new tower that is scheduled to open in 2018. When complete, the building will be 31 stories tall — making it the tallest building in the Washington area, and the second tallest structure (behind only the Washington Monument). As we embark on this next phase, we look forward to taking Capital One to new heights. They’ve certainly elevated our company’s growth, and we’re proud to provide a space for their own growing workforce.

HQ photos by Tom Crawe and Jeffrey Totaro; Lecture Hall photos by Ballog Photography