Oblon, Spivak Breaks Ground on New Building — Will Neighbor U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

The intellectual property law firm Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C. ceremonially broke ground today for their new headquarters in Alexandria, Va. Prior to a luncheon celebration, representatives from both the firm and developer Monument Realty made remarks, and then donned hardhats to shovel dirt before an audience of more than 100. The intellectual property law firm is leasing 205,300 square feet of Crescent at Carlyle, to be located at 1940 Duke Street. Construction for this 210,000 square foot building has begun, and is estimated to be finished by December 2002. "We are pleased to finally and officially celebrate the work on the physical structure, after long months of planning," said Marvin Spivak, Oblon, Spivak's managing partner. "We look forward to watching the progress." "We're proud to add Oblon Spivak to our list of clients in the Northern Virginia market. Their new headquarters' proximity to the new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was a key factor in their selection of this location, and we are pleased that our site could offer us the chance to provide a build-to-suit development solution to their unique real estate and facilities requirements," said Jeff Neal, a principal with Monument Realty. National real estate leasing brokerage firm Transwestern Commercial Services, one of the largest, full-service, national commercial real estate firms in the country, worked with Oblon, Spivak in their search for a premier location. Monument Realty LLC is developing the site in partnership with Apollo Real Estate Advisors and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, and the architectural firm Spector, Knapp & Baughman is heading up design of the office’s internal space. Fleet National Bank provides construction financing. For each of the past three years, Oblon, Spivak has surpassed the 3,000 number for obtaining U.S. patents in a single year; in 1998, the firm became the very first intellectual property law firm to reach this achievement. The firm also continues a winning streak of ten consecutive years as the leader in obtaining U.S. patents. For more than 30 years, Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt in Arlington, Va., has remained one of the largest boutique firms in the United States specializing exclusively in intellectual property law. The firm assists clients with a full range of intellectual property services, including litigation matters in the Federal Circuit, the I.T.C., the U.S. Supreme Court, and in all district courts. Monument Realty is an owner of and manages the development and operations of over three million square feet of Class A office space in the Washington Metro area. The company has been one of the most active developers in the region since its founding in October 1998 by Jeffrey T. Neal and Michael J. Darby, and was selected by the Greater Washington Commercial Association of Realtors as the Developer of the Year for 2000. Other projects include a four-phase development in the Monument office park at Worldgate and three phases at Presidents Park, both in Herndon, VA, Quincy Tower in Shirlington, and Ballston Tower and Ballston Point in Arlington, VA.