WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics, specializing in multifamily and single family residential, office, industrial, retail, hospitality and land property sectors, announced today the planned expansion of its research and technology center in Richmond, Virginia. The new corporate campus is expected to bring together over 3,000 employees to collaborate on cutting-edge technologies and research in support of the real estate industry. Over the next five to ten years, the planned growth would make CoStar Group the largest technology company and one of the largest private employers in Richmond.
The new facility in Richmond will centralize CoStar Group’s technology, research, operations and sales talent in a city that offers a vibrant culture of innovation, a rich pool of qualified graduates from great Virginia universities, like Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Virginia Tech, and an excellent quality of life. Teams based in Richmond will work in evolving areas such as advanced drone imagery, 3D visualization, forecasting, machine learning, econometrics and photogrammetry. In addition, CoStar’s marketing, research, sales and content development teams are expected to benefit from integration and scale as they support CoStar Group’s continued growth in the years ahead. After considering a variety of expansion alternatives, CoStar selected Richmond based on the availability of high-quality talent, efficiencies of scale with existing operations and state and local support for the project.
“Under Governor Northam Virginia was named the best state to do business in the 2021 CNBC rankings,” said Andrew Florance, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CoStar Group. “Our decision to double down on investing in Virginia is driven by our confidence that with Governor-elect Youngkin’s successful commercial experience, Virginia will be open for business. With such strong support from both the Commonwealth of Virginia and the city of Richmond, CoStar Group is incredibly excited to make Richmond a hub that attracts the country’s top data scientists, real estate economists and software developers. We look forward to bringing thousands of our colleagues from across the country and from around the world to Richmond for training, advanced research and collaborative product development.”
The planned corporate campus, situated on the James River, will itself reflect the spirit of innovation and collaboration that are central elements of CoStar Group’s culture and success. The 750,000 square feet of area of the two new planned buildings combined with CoStar Group’s current building at 501 S. 5th Street, will create a fully integrated campus of over one million square feet. The campus is expected to include a new 26-story LEED Platinum targeted office tower and a six-story, mass timber multipurpose building to be used as a campus hub for employee and community amenities. With CoStar Group’s commitment to sustainability, the project incorporates on-site energy generation, energy-efficient building systems and enclosures, and a reduced carbon footprint. Plans for the campus hub include conference space, fitness and wellness amenities, an auditorium, 50,000 square feet of occupiable green roof terraces, retail and a variety of restaurants and dining options. CoStar Group’s new campus plans incorporate over 2.65 acres of outdoor green space.
The unique stepping design elements of the new building architecture rise with the hillside overlooking the James River, with a series of elevated green terraces on both buildings taking advantage of open views in all directions. The dynamic cascading composition of the project’s architecture is inspired by and complementary to the buildings’ extraordinary site at the fall line of the James River in Richmond. Plazas and retail areas within the project will front Tredegar St. facing Richmond’s Browns Island Park as a dramatic addition to one of the city’s most treasured riverfront destinations. Overall, the project is beautifully designed to amplify the success of current and future cultural and civic events held along the river.
About CoStar Group, Inc.
CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics, specializing in multifamily and single family residential, office, industrial, retail, hospitality and land property sectors. Founded in 1987, our suite of online services enables clients to advertise, sell and lease their properties, analyze, interpret and gain unmatched insight on commercial and residential property values, market conditions and current availabilities. CoStar is the industry-leading commercial real estate information, analytics and news platform. STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the global hospitality sector. Ten-X provides a leading platform for conducting commercial real estate online auctions and negotiated bids. LoopNet is the most heavily trafficked commercial real estate marketplace online. Apartments.com, ApartmentFinder.com, ForRent.com, ApartmentHomeLiving.com, Westside Rentals, AFTER55.com, CorporateHousing.com, ForRentUniversity.com and Apartamentos.com form the premier online apartment resource for renters seeking great apartment homes and provide property managers and owners a proven platform for marketing their properties. Homesnap is an industry-leading online and mobile software platform that provides user-friendly applications to optimize residential real estate agent workflow and reinforce the agent-client relationship. Homes.com offers real estate professionals advertising and marketing services for residential properties. Realla is the UK’s most comprehensive commercial property digital marketplace. BureauxLocaux is one of the largest specialized property portals for buying and leasing commercial real estate in France. CoStar Group’s websites attract hundreds of millions of unique monthly visitors. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar maintains offices throughout the U.S. and in Europe, Canada and Asia with a staff of approximately 4,800 worldwide, including the industry’s largest professional research organization. For more information, visit www.costargroup.com.
This news release includes "forward-looking statements" including, without limitation, statements regarding CoStar Group's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These statements are based upon current beliefs and are subject to many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements, including the risk that CoStar Group’s business, expansion, construction and growth plans and needs change; the risk that the expansion plans do not create or result in the expected benefits or result in CoStar Group becoming the largest technology company and largest private employer in Richmond; the risk that timing for construction and occupation of the new office space and hiring and retention of additional employees may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic or other unforeseen circumstances; the possibility that the Company is unable to or does not create the number of jobs or invest the amounts expected; the risk that the Company is unable to hire or retain the number of employees currently expected or to fill the number of jobs created; the risk that city and state legislative approvals are not obtained timely or at all; and the risk that the costs of the expansion are higher than anticipated. More information about potential factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those stated in CoStar Group's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in CoStar's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, each of which is filed with the SEC, including in the "Risk Factors" section of those filings, as well as CoStar's other filings with the SEC available at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements are based on information available to CoStar on the date hereof, and CoStar assumes no obligation to update such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
