Northrop Grumman Follows Trend With Purchase 

WASHINGTON, DC-After months of speculation and anticipation, Northrop Grumman decided to buy a building for its soon-to-be established headquarters operations here: 2980 Fairview Park Dr., a 14-story building owned by ING Clarion Partners that is partially occupied by Verizon. The purchase price hasn’t been recorded yet. 

The decision to buy came as something of a surprise to the market, which had been led to believe Northrop would lease the space. “I think its decision represents its commitment to the region,” Cassidy Turley’s Kevin Thorpe tells GlobeSt.com. In general, he says, buying versus leasing–even in the current helter skelter environment–comes down to an individual company’s situation and balance sheet.