The Winder Building is a five-story historical building of approximately 63,750 SF with a basement. This project will upgrade various building systems with the goal of achieving significant energy reduction. The project will include the HVAC replacement of the existing 2-pipe system with a new 4-pipe system, the demolition and installation of an air barrier on all exterior walls, relamping of corridor wall sconces and miscellaneous energy improvements.

This historical building is the headquarters of the Office of the United States Trade Representative. It is located at 600 17th St., NW in Washington, DC and is a pre-Civil War building of historic significance that narrowly escaped demolition in an urban renewal city program in the 1970s. The Winder Building, named after its builder William H. Winder, was Washington’s first “skyscraper” when it opened for business in 1848.

The government purchased the building in 1854 for $200,000. Originally designed as office space for the U.S. Army and Navy, the building has housed a variety of government tenants over the years, including a military arms museum. In 1969, the Winder Building was declared a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. At the time of its nomination and appointment to the National Registry of Historic Places, the National Capital Planning Commission described the Winder Building as “one of the few remaining pre-Civil War office buildings in Washington, probably the earliest and least altered one in existence.”