More than building homes

Traveling around the Mid-Atlantic, you are bound to see one of the luxury home communities beautifully developed, designed and built by Winchester Homes. Throughout Maryland and Virginia, the company is committed to delivering fully customizable and top-of-the-line homes to its customers. It was a bit ironic, then, that they themselves operated out of a conventional and dated office space. So in 2018, Winchester processed a one-time termination option in their lease and seized the opportunity to relocate early. This allowed them to completely design a new home of their own, an office that embodied their changing image and spoke to their future.

Winchester Homes

When Winchester and the JLL tenant representation team of Pete Briskman and Brandon Copeland kicked off the project they knew exactly what they were looking for: an open and modern office with plenty of amenities for all employees to enjoy. They wanted a fresh and inviting environment, one that energized team members and made them excited to come to work each day. Their top requirement, however, was the most challenging.

Winchester needed a new headquarters location to accommodate a 6,000-square-foot design center, outfitted with every element and fixture to showcase sample work to customers. Typically, these design centers are offsite, but with a modern building the Winchester team was able to include the center within their headquarters space for greater efficiency and collaboration. To avoid potential pitfalls possible with an unconventional project like this, Pete and Brandon quickly involved Justin Gore, JLL’s Vice President of the Project and Development Services team. Justin advised them that this requirement would demand evaluating potential buildings based on their HVAC systems and infrastructure to ensure that the distinct needs of an in-office showroom. The teams got to work. After an in-depth search, the teams agreed 12435 Park Potomac Avenue was the best match.

Once the lease was signed, it became a race against the clock. Winchester needed to vacate its current space within months or incur a stiff penalty, so JLL hit the ground running to ensure an expedient timetable, but not without its challenges . In this case, typical HVAC systems shut off during non-operating hours such as nights and weekends; for Winchester, these are the exact times customers come to the office and design studio. To resolve this, Justin and the team negotiated a supplemental HVAC system installation to support the design studio, delivering on time and $400,000 below budget. From the outset through project close, the JLL and Winchester teams collaborated like a family with a common goal to complete the project successfully.

 With elimination of perimeter offices, Winchester’s new space is flooded with natural light and creates a sense of openness amongst the team. Flexible workstations fill the window line while executive offices are clustered at the center of the space, improving efficiency and effectiveness for teams who work closely together. While some employees expressed angst coming into a more open layout, they immediately noticed how much easier it was to collaborate upon moving in and engaging with the space. Teamwork was the hallmark of this project, creating a successful transition for Winchester and maintaining the team’s eye on the prize. Today, Winchester has an office they are proud to call home, a place that allows them to do their best work and help customers craft their dream homes.