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ROSENBERG A+I A R C H I T E C T U R E + I N T E R I O R S
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Republished from The Washington Construction News, January 2003, Pages B7-B8

Where Real Estate meets Architecture
Architect’s real estate background adds value to practice of architecture

by EMILY SALMON – The Washington Construction News Special Feature

Scott Philip Rosenberg, AIA, president of Rosenberg A+I, P.C., credits his former boss, B. Franklin Kahn, with giving him the edge that has allowed him to carve out a niche among architecture firms. He gave me the sense that by learning about the other disciplines that it took to make a building, beyond design and construction, that I would become a better architect," Rosenberg said.

Kahn was cofounder and former chief executive officer of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, now located in Rockville, Md. For four years, Rosenberg worked at WRIT, learning about leasing, property management, acquisitions, finance, zoning and law. He learned income and expenses–"everything you don’t learn in architecture school," he said.

Buffington Office Bldg., Olney, Md.

Rosenberg took his mentor’s encouragement to attend night school at Johns Hopkins University while spending days at WRIT. "That program exposed me to people in all fields of real estate: bankers, brokers, developers, property and asset managers, contractors, accountants and lawyers," Rosenberg said.

The long workdays and all-nighters paid off. He came out with a master’s degree in real estate development.

And something more. "It made me an architect who thinks like a developer," Rosenberg said.

Northern Gate Office Bldg., Chantilly, Va.

Making this multifaceted view work for him, Rosenberg joined architect Jim Maleady in 1996 to form Maleady + Rosenberg, a uniquely diversified architectural firm. In July 2002, he bought out his partner and renamed the firm to Rosenberg A+I, P.C.

The result is a firm where real estate meets architecture.

As he runs the day-to-day operations of his Gaithersburg, Md., firm, Rosenberg looks at buildings from more than an architect’s perspective. Like a chess player, Rosenberg is always thinking several moves ahead, with his eye on more than one facet of the game.

While he designs the project, he is also looking at it from an investor’s angle. "What is my client’s goal?" he asks. "Will they sell it or own it long-term?" Rosenberg’s synergy preserves architectural elements necessary to attract and retain tenants while maximizing the profitability of his clients.

Michelle West & Scott P. Rosenberg

Rosenberg pulls out one of his architectural plans as an example. "A leasing agent may have a tenant interested in renting the front part of a building," he said, with his pen flying over the trace paper to reinforce his thoughts. "But that’s useless if the remaining rear suite configuration will be impossible to lease or get a permit."

"It’s one thing to design space," Rosenberg explained. "It’s another to know the long term effects of what you’ve designed." Rosenberg stressed his hands-on approach. "I’m proactive," he said. "I’m not waiting for answers to find me; I’m going to find them."

Rosenberg A+I’s clients are a mix of developers, real estate trusts, managers, brokers, small businesses, contractors and government agencies. Rosenberg can point to a diversified portfolio of his firm’s projects throughout Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. They include office buildings, retail centers, restaurants, industrial and institutional projects, day care centers and health care facilities. These projects have been new buildings, capital renovations and tenant improvements.


Fontina Grille, Rockville, Md.

Take a look at some of their recent work. Fontina Grille at King Farm in Rockville, Md., is a 4,000-square-foot Italian cafe and grille built by Hardy Construction. This 120-seat restaurant was planned into a tight floor plate, yet it maintains a warm, open feel. It has just won Rosenberg A+I a 2002 design award from the American Institute of Architects Potomac Valley Chapter. Rosenberg is quick to credit Michelle West, who runs the firm’s interior architecture department. West spent time with Rosenberg at WRIT before rejoining him at the firm.


35 K Street, NE, Washington, DC

35 K Street, NE, in Washington highlights one of Rosenberg A+I’s areas of expertise: adaptive reuse. The firm took a three-story block industrial warehouse with no windows and transformed it into a full-service mental health facility for the District of Columbia. Gutting the interior and installing windows all around, the design brought natural light into what became 30,000 square feet of office space. It was built by Dietze Construction.

Before and after at 821 Howard Road, SE, Washington, DC

Rosenberg talks with pride about 821 Howard Road, SE, in Washington, also built by Dietze. He gets excited as he shows the before and after pictures of a decrepit, abandoned 15,000-square-foot warehouse. Rosenberg salvaged the warehouse and designed a two-story, 10,000-square foot addition. The warehouse building became a mental health facility for children and adolescents previously scattered around the District. "The two-story addition for the operations of the agency added value to the financial package," he said.


Wells Robertson House, Gaithersburg, Md.

Closer to home, Rosenberg points outside his office window in Olde Towne Gaithersburg to the Wells Robertson House, a Victorian mansion, now transitional housing for adults recovering from substance abuse, for which the firm designed a six-room addition–another award winner for the firm, this time from the City of Gaithersburg for 2000 Best Historical Renovation.

Buffington Bldg., Olney, Md. Open MRI, Rockville, Md. Circle School Add'n, Germantown, Md.

Other recent notable projects have included the three-story Buffington Office Building in Olney, Md., Rockville Open MRI Center, and an addition to the Circle School Great Seneca Academy in Germantown–all built by Keller Brothers. The Buffington Office Building was built using historic motifs with its brick patterning, arch windows and colonial front porch.


Rosenberg A+I is now working on a variety of projects throughout the metropolitan region: a master planning mixed-use project in Frederick, Md., another MRI center in Olney, retail centers in Ashburn, Va., and Edgewater, Md., and an Italian grille, "Amada Amante," in Rockville, Md., which Rosenberg anticipates will be the firm’s next interiors showcase.

He said the personal touch is the hallmark of his firm, which does many small and mid-sized projects. "If our firm were larger," Rosenberg said, "I would lose touch with the client." He adds, "Our communication helps the client make informed decisions to keep the project moving."

Reflecting back on the Howard Road project, Rosenberg says, "I was just glad that I got to be a little piece of the puzzle to help get the center open." "These buildings become my children. I want to be involved in their upbringing."

By having the real estate experience, Rosenberg’s buildings should grow up to be big and strong investments for his clients.

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