Microsoft plans Arlington sales hub

Microsoft is growing a presence in the D.C. area. The latest sign came Tuesday, as the tech giant indicated it signed a new lease in Arlington for a sales hub.

In a LinkedIn post, Microsoft President of U.S. Regulated Industries Toni Townes Whitley said the space inside Commonwealth Tower at 1300 Wilson Blvd. in Rossyln will serve to “unite” sales teams in the region.

It’ll serve as a DMV Sales Headquarters, and include team members from the global sales and marketing team as well as the federal team which Townes Whitley oversees. It will also have a technology center, as well as “state-of-the-art customer facilities and innovative employee workspaces.”

“It is built to help us engage with customers more personally, using our latest technologies to help them reimagine the digital transformation efforts of their organizations and agencies,” Whitley said in the post.

Commercial Observer reports that the lease with Tishman Speyer is for 180,000 square feet. Construction is set to begin this summer, and it is expected to open to employees in mid-2022.

Microsoft previously made a Northern Virginia real estate splash in the pandemic with the May announcement of a hub for software developers in Reston. That space is expected to open this summer.

In 2019, the company was awarded the $10 billion JEDI cloud computing contract from the U.S. Department of Defense after stiff competition among tech giants like Amazon, which is building out its HQ2 in Arlington. The win was affirmed in September after a Pentagon investigation.

The new offices are a sign that the Big Tech presence in D.C. isn’t just for lobbying anymore.