DPR Construction held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open their new office in Innsbrook. (Photos courtesy DPR)
A demolition job for a former neighbor in Innsbrook laid the groundwork for a larger local office for DPR Construction.
The California-based general contracting firm has nearly doubled the size of its Richmond-area office with a move to and renovation of the former ECPI University building at 4305 Cox Road.
The 15,000-square-foot space is almost twice the size of DPR’s former office in the Technology Pointe I building at 5500 Cox Road. It also includes new spaces such as phone booth rooms, conference rooms and amenities.
DPR built out the space, which was designed by SMBW.
DPR is leasing the space from ECPI, which still owns the 24,000-square-foot building after relocating its operations in 2022 to the Thalhimer office complex on Broad Street west of Innsbrook.
Emily Covey, DPR’s Richmond business unit leader, said the company had outgrown its 8,000-square-foot office when it was hired by ECPI to gut and decommission its building to get it ready to be put on the market.
Emily Covey
“While we were demoing it, our team came to the leadership and said, ‘This would be a great office. We should look at leasing this,’” Covey said. She added that the lease is for just over 10 years.
“We have been in Innsbrook for over 20 years and have happily been in this location, but were out of space,” she said. “We were in a suite within a larger building and didn’t have growth potential within the space.”
Covey said the bigger setup also allows for better flow between work and lounge spaces, the latter of which includes a wine bar with a custom inlay depicting the James River that was built and designed by DPR staff.
“The way that our office was configured, in order to get to any kind of entertainment space, you were going right through everybody’s work spaces, so it just wasn’t as conducive for entertaining and having some of the larger trainings and meetings that we have with all of our employees,” Covey said.
DPR worked with architect SMBW to design the space, which fills the front two-thirds of the former ECPI building. Covey said about 10,000 square feet in the building remains for another tenant or potential expansion.
“We have first right of refusal and are eyeing potential growth, but didn’t need it right away,” she said.
DPR staff started work on the project six months ago.
DPR handled the build-out, which including the polished concrete floors, drywall, ceilings, accessories package, and all of the doors, frames and hardware. DPR subsidiary EIG Electrical Systems handled the electrical work for the project, which got underway six months ago.
The $3 million project was facilitated by the building’s location within the Innsbrook Technology Zone, which Henrico is in the process of expanding across the county. The technology zone program offers incentives to foster development and location of tech businesses in Innsbrook and other areas in the county.
In DPR’s case, the program waived building permit fees, said Anthony Romanello, Henrico EDA director. Romanello described DPR’s new location as “trophy” office space, meaning it includes amenities on top of traditional work areas.
Of DPR’s project, Romanello said, “It helps reinforce the narrative that there is a market for good, quality office space.”
The 15,000-square-foot space includes phone booth rooms and conference rooms.
Headquartered in California with locations across the country and in Europe and Asia, DPR has 11,000 employees companywide and 250 in the Richmond market. The new office has desk space for 56 staffers. Covey said most local crew members are based at its job sites. Office staff moved into the building in September.
The company is currently working on data centers for QTS at Henrico’s White Oak Business Park and for Chirisa in Chesterfield’s Meadowville Technology Park. DPR’s projects have also included work for VCU Health, Bon Secours, Meta and UVA.
DPR’s former home at 5500 Cox Road is among a portfolio of office buildings that Henrico-based Lingerfelt sold for nearly $119 million in 2022 to an affiliate of Seminole Trail Management. The Charlottesville-based firm focuses on apartments, which Lingerfelt secured approvals for to allow infill developments on those properties.