Meet DC’s newest incubator: Accelspace

What happens to startups when they’ve outgrown coworking, but aren’t ready a whole office suite? There’s an incubator for that.

Accelspace is #dctech’s latest incubator, aimed at high-growth, mid-level, startups. Currently the incubator has offices in downtown D.C. and Crystal City.

In their D.C. office at 1725 Desales Street, Accelspace is leasing to TransitScreen, among other startups. We met up with the company’s director of Smart City Partnerships, Charles Lancaster, at TransitScreen’s open office party last week to learn more.

“We are rebranding our portfolio to be the real estate company that provides boutique services to the tech community,” said Lancaster of how Accelspace fits into the vision of its 65-year real estate parent, Gould Property Company.

Accelspace Team: Left to right: Charles Lancaster, Executive Director; Christopher Peli, Design Architect, Ron Ngiam, Design Architect, Jessica Kelley, Director of Leasing. (Courtesy photo)

The services in question are tech office “suites” for companies with 15-30 staff, Lancaster explained to us later in an e-mail. According to him, Accel’s Desales building has one available, and the Crystal City office has five. The suites also come with perks like discounted hotel rates, free airport parking, and access to massage studios.

In the future, Accelspace may attract outside companies into D.C. Lancaster wrote that Accelspace is looking to house international firms, “looking for a ‘Soft Landing’ complete with hotel rooms and corporate apartments” and Silicon Valley satellite teams “looking for a 3-5 year occupancy,”

“WeWork is college. We are graduate school,” Lancaster said, later describing Accelspace as a kind of “Post-WeWork Innovation Lab.”

Lancaster was not about shy about distinguishing Accel from the incubating powerhouses in town. Others are “high signal,” he said, adding that they can “overpower the brand of your company that you’re starting with [them].” He referenced the absence of Accel signs at TransitScreen’s event. “We’re nowhere. That’s our brand. To be invisible, or to promote our clients.”

Invisible or not, TechWeek attendees will have a chance to meet at Accelspace. The org is hosting two events tonight at 600 Massachusetts Ave., including a panel showcasing startup and rooftop reception.