Bleeding Cool: UberOffices Expands Beyond Arlington

UberOffices, the worksharing space that hosts a variety of startups in Rosslyn, has expanded beyond Arlington — and looks to continue to grow.

UberOffices opened a new location in Tysons Corner this summer and has plans to open a location in Dupont Circle in October.

"We don't operate with a normal headquarters," UberOffices co-founder Raymond Rahbar told Patch in an email. "We actually operate like many of our members. Our headquarters is where we need to be that day!"

UberOffices, now settled into the first floor at 1400 Key Blvd. in Rosslyn, currently houses 47 businesses in its 10,000-square-foot space.

The Tysons Corner location is about twice as big and already 45 percent full. Companies there tend to be a bit further along and have more employees, Rahbar said.

"Tyson's is one of the best business parks in America," Rahbar stated. "… It's a really diverse economy that isn't based on just Government Contracting (though, that doesn't hurt)."

He cited recent data that indicates more than 1,200 tech companies are based in the Tysons Corner area alone. Tysons also is home to the corporate headquarters of Booz Allen Hamilton, CVent, MITRE Corp., Capital One, Freddie Mac, Gannett, Hilton Worldwide, ITT Exelis, MicroStrategy, Primus Telecom, SAIC, Space Adventures, Spacenet and Sunrise Senior Living.

"People always think of Tyson's as a suburb that doesn't set trends. But in fact, it actually has some of the coolest offerings you can't find in NYC or LA," Rahbar stated. "For example, the first Apple Store in the world was in Tyson's Mall. Not near its headquarters in the Bay. Not in NYC. Not in LA. But in Tyson's mall. There is a reason for that."

UberOffices has nine employees and is currently in the process of hiring for its Tysons location and future expansion into DC.

UberOffices rents space to companies as small as one or two people at a rate designed to help keep the cost of real estate from being a hurdle the young startups can't surpass.

A single desk at the Rosslyn location costs $300 a month. A seven-person office with a window is $3,500 a month. Rent includes high-speed Internet and other amenities — which includes standard office fare plus Super Nintendo, foosball and corn hole.

Rahbar declined to talk about the Dupont Circle location for the time being. According to the company's website, the next location "will be the biggest, baddest coworking office space in Washington, DC."

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