Washington, D.C., June 25, 2008… A private-sector environmental firm and a Federal government agency have leased a total of 44,660 square feet at the Capitol Plaza I building, located at 1200 1st Street, N.E. in Washington D.C.’s NoMa neighborhood, just one block from the New York Avenue Metro station.Point Carbon, based in Oslo, Norway, has leased 9,887 SF on the building’s third floor. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leased 34,773 SF comprising the entire second floor and part of the third floor. Both new tenants, the first in the 12-story building, plan to occupy their new space in November of 2008. Joe Michel of CBRE represented the landlord in both lease transactions; Marc Shandler of McBride Real Estate represented Point Carbon.

Point Carbon is a leading international provider of independent news, analysis and consulting services for European and global power, gas and carbon markets. The company serves some 18,000 clients in over 150 countries, including energy companies, financial institutions, and governments. Point Carbon has offices in Oslo, Kiev, Malmö, London, Tokyo, Boston, and Washington D.C.; it will be relocating to Capitol Plaza I from its current Washington location.

Designed by renowned architect Shalom Baranes and owned by an affiliate of The Polinger Company, Capitol Plaza 1 offers 293,000 rentable square feet of Class A office space, with dramatic Capitol and city views from the upper floors. Capitol Plaza I recently hosted the highly successful Artomatic 2008 event with some 1,000 artists and performers and over 50,000 visitors.

“Despite the current slowdown in the market, we are now seeing increased activity in NoMa following the high-profile leases by the U.S. Department of Justice, NPR, Harris Teeter, and others,” said John Gordon of The Polinger Company. ‘NoMa is growing with a diverse base of office and retail tenants,” said Elizabeth Price, President of the NoMa Business Improvement District. “With over 20 LEED-rated buildings under development and great public transit, NoMa is the perfect location for a firm like Point Carbon with its international environmental focus.”

NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington DC. Private developers have invested approximately $1.5 billion to date with plans to develop over 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. The BID provides daily street and sidewalk cleaning, safety ambassadors, marketing, events, and other services to make NoMa a clean, safe, and vibrant neighborhood for businesses, residents, and visitors. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Website at http://nomabid.wpengine.com.