Assembly

A new community of creative businesses is now housed in the restored 400 Granby Street. Developed as a “campus” for creators and technology innovators, Assembly opened in Spring 2021.

The five-story office campus is “a space designed to connect ideas and the people who make them,” according to the Assembly website. Drew Ungvarsky, CEO of GROW, a digital innovation agency, said, “As we considered GROW’s expansion, we thought to align to a broader purpose: strengthen our city, advance our industry and plant a flag for our community that no one can miss.”

Assembly occupies three historic Granby Street buildings: the Ames & Brownley building, c. 1919, later Rice’s Department Store; Sears & Roebuck; and an adjacent warehouse. Since 1992, the buildings housed multiple City departments, which have been relocated.

Among Assembly's occupants are GROW, Work Program Architects (the project's designers), Lynch Mykins (now IMEG), 757 Startup Studios, Orbis, Istoria, Three Ships Coffee Roasters, and RISE (Resilience Innovations).

The buildings' restoration preserved their original architectural beauty and revealed unique, historically significant design details in the process. Inside, cubicles and walls were removed to create open, collaborative spaces. The first floor serves as Assembly’s “living room,” with a reception area, coffee shop, meeting room, open desks, and conversation spaces. GROW occupies the second floor. The third and fourth floors contain larger suites, a library, and podcast room, while the fifth-floor event space opens to a roof deck. Shared amenities include a central atrium, conference room, wellness space, game room, bike storage, and gathering areas designed to encourage collaboration.

The project includes two phases: the 50,000 SF Ames & Brownley building, completed in June 2021, and the 53,000 SF Sears buildings (in progress). Together, they offer world-class design that supports collaboration, shared resources, and programming.

Awards:
2021 AIA Virginia Architecture award