Gould Property Launched $25 Million Office Renovation

The 401 Ninth St. NW office building in Washington is undergoing upgrades to attract new corporate tenants.

Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Commercial

Screen-print poster illustration of a modern office building facade with a rooftop terrace, rendered in a vintage graphic style. — Gould Property Co. has launched a $25 million renovation of its 401 Ninth St. NW office building in Washington to attract corporate tenants. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Gould Property Co. has begun a $25 million renovation of its 440,000-square-foot office building at 401 Ninth St. NW in Washington. The project aims to modernize the property, which is rebranded as 401 on Ninth, following the exit of BXP in 2025.

Why it matters

The renovation addresses a competitive local market by creating high-quality, contiguous floor space intended to attract top-tier corporate tenants. This project responds to a limited supply of premier office space in Washington's East End.

The 440,000-square-foot building is currently 65.6% leased, significantly behind the broader D.C. trophy office building market vacancy rate of 8.3%. Gould Property Co. plans to offer 175,000 square feet of contiguous top-of-building space by the third quarter of 2029.

The players

Gould Property Co.

The private real estate developer and investor overseeing the current modernization and rebranding of the 401 on Ninth office asset.

Troutman Pepper

The law firm vacating 80,000 square feet of office space on the top two floors of the building.

BXP

The real estate investment trust that exited its ownership stake in the 401 Ninth St. NW property in 2025.

The details

The project involves a complete overhaul of the lobby and the development of a two-level conference center. Crews are also constructing a new fitness center and an indoor-outdoor penthouse amenity space known as The Solarium. These upgrades are designed to provide the large contiguous floor plates that are currently in high demand among major corporate and legal tenants.

September 2026: Renovation work began on the property.
Fall 2027: The renovation project is expected to be complete.
Q3 2029: Contiguous top-floor space becomes available at 401 on Ninth.

The Home Front

This renovation highlights the ongoing effort by local developers to reposition aging office assets to compete in the flight-to-quality trend. It marks a departure from standard maintenance, focusing instead on high-end amenities to capture demand in a market with low trophy office vacancy.

Residents in the East End should prepare for ongoing construction activity around 401 Ninth St. NW throughout the next year. If you are a commercial tenant searching for office space in the area, monitor the availability of the new top-floor units as the 2029 release date approaches.

The takeaway

Large-scale commercial redevelopments often signal a shift in neighborhood property usage and long-term investment priorities. Keep an eye on major renovation completion dates as they often correlate with shifts in local area traffic and nearby property demand.