Liz Doerr (left) and Jill Lemon of Sandbox. (Courtesy Sandbox)
One of a local consulting firm’s clients is now also its landlord.
Sandbox, founded in 2018 by Liz Doerr and Jill Lemon, has outgrown its former office space in Shockoe Bottom and now operates out of 316 W. Broad St. in the Arts District.
The property is owned by Mercer Street Partners, a New York investment firm that bought the building recently and is also a client of Sandbox. Sandbox ended up in the space after its client approached the local consulting firm seeking help in locating a tenant for the building.
While Sandbox didn’t have any leads, the firm happened to be in need of a bigger office space itself and a lease agreement was inked, company co-founder and partner Jill Lemon said.
Sandox has moved into 316 W. Broad St.
The new landlord-tenant relationship follows two years of the firms working together, with Sandbox supporting Mercer’s recruiting efforts.
“We have the need and they have the need,” Lemon said. “We have led multiple searches for them for their New York City office, and have over time established a pretty solid working relationship.”
The consulting firm, which Doerr and Lemon co-founded in 2018, has been operating out of the West Broad space since June. Sandbox previously operated for four years out of Startup Virginia, a business incubator inside the Michael Wassmer 1717 Innovation Center in Shockoe Bottom.
Sandbox provides recruitment, capital raise support and business operations support among other services to startups. As Sandbox continues to grow, it was determined that the Startup Virginia arrangement wasn’t adequate anymore.
“Our business model is such that we’re a very collaborative culture. Having a dedicated space for our team to interact was very important,” Doerr said.
After hiring five people in early July, Sandbox had a 17-person team by the end of the month, with plans to increase the company’s headcount to 20 by the end of the year. Doerr said they were looking for two financing and accounting people, as well as a manager to join the team.
Sandbox anticipates leasing the two-story building near the Quirk Hotel for at least two years. Around the time of Mercer’s acquisition of the property late last year, the firm shared plans with BizSense to offer the property as an office space with an eye to eventually pursue a multi-family redevelopment project at the property.
Among Sandbox’s neighbors on the block are art supplies store Supply next door, and art gallery 1708 Gallery across the street.
Liz Doerr (left) and Jill Lemon of Sandbox. (Courtesy Sandbox)
One of a local consulting firm’s clients is now also its landlord.
Sandbox, founded in 2018 by Liz Doerr and Jill Lemon, has outgrown its former office space in Shockoe Bottom and now operates out of 316 W. Broad St. in the Arts District.
The property is owned by Mercer Street Partners, a New York investment firm that bought the building recently and is also a client of Sandbox. Sandbox ended up in the space after its client approached the local consulting firm seeking help in locating a tenant for the building.
While Sandbox didn’t have any leads, the firm happened to be in need of a bigger office space itself and a lease agreement was inked, company co-founder and partner Jill Lemon said.
Sandox has moved into 316 W. Broad St.
The new landlord-tenant relationship follows two years of the firms working together, with Sandbox supporting Mercer’s recruiting efforts.
“We have the need and they have the need,” Lemon said. “We have led multiple searches for them for their New York City office, and have over time established a pretty solid working relationship.”
The consulting firm, which Doerr and Lemon co-founded in 2018, has been operating out of the West Broad space since June. Sandbox previously operated for four years out of Startup Virginia, a business incubator inside the Michael Wassmer 1717 Innovation Center in Shockoe Bottom.
Sandbox provides recruitment, capital raise support and business operations support among other services to startups. As Sandbox continues to grow, it was determined that the Startup Virginia arrangement wasn’t adequate anymore.
“Our business model is such that we’re a very collaborative culture. Having a dedicated space for our team to interact was very important,” Doerr said.
After hiring five people in early July, Sandbox had a 17-person team by the end of the month, with plans to increase the company’s headcount to 20 by the end of the year. Doerr said they were looking for two financing and accounting people, as well as a manager to join the team.
Sandbox anticipates leasing the two-story building near the Quirk Hotel for at least two years. Around the time of Mercer’s acquisition of the property late last year, the firm shared plans with BizSense to offer the property as an office space with an eye to eventually pursue a multi-family redevelopment project at the property.
Among Sandbox’s neighbors on the block are art supplies store Supply next door, and art gallery 1708 Gallery across the street.
Congrats Liz and Jill! Great news. With VPM breaking ground this week for its new HQ nearby, I think this area west of Foushee is poised for a reinvestment renaissance.