FCC, Capitol Hill Accessibility Motivates NAB Move
NAB is pursuing a relocation to the Capitol Riverfront area to be closer to Congress and the FCC, said a spokesman. “For NAB lobbyists to be stuck in a cab for an hour a day trying to get to and from Capitol Hill is not an effective use of our time.” The current location was ideal when the FCC was at 1919 M St. NW, he said. The FCC moved to its current location on 12th St. SW in 1999. Some media industry executives said it’s very common for trade associations to move closer to government locations.
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There have been rumblings about an NAB move for quite some time, some industry executives said. Many telecom firms and associations were located near the FCC’s old location, an industry executive said. “That downtown stretch doesn’t make as much sense anymore.” Everybody used to walk to the FCC from NAB, another industry executive said. “Now they probably spend 20 minutes in cabs going back and forth.” Going to the NAB is a bit of a pain now, the exec added.
The association’s property at 1771 N St. NW is valued at about $17.1 million, a D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue report said. Its land area is 14,100 square feet, it said. “They're sitting on a lot of valuable real estate, and they're one of the few trade associations that owns their building,” an industry executive said. “They can sell that real estate."
NAB also expects the new location to create an opportunity for policymakers to visit and see broadcast technology that is demonstrated at the association, said the spokesman. “There are so many opportunities that we have to sort of show off the future of our business.” NAB is still in the process of deciding whether it will move into an existing building or build a new place from the ground up, he said.
The association’s Form 990 shows that it has seen a slight increase in revenue, with $45.3 million in 2010, followed by $47.9 million in 2011. Revenue according to the form filed with the IRS dropped from $55.9 million in 2008 to $47.3 million in 2009, the form said.