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The Washington Post has decided to keep its headquarters at the One Franklin Square building in downtown D.C. for at least 13 more years, Bisnow has learned.

The company signed a lease renewal at the prominent Hines-owned building near the McPherson Square Metro station at 1301 K St. NW, where it moved eight years ago, documents filed with the D.C. Recorder of Deeds Tuesday show. A source with knowledge of the deal confirmed to Bisnow the newspaper is keeping its entire footprint in the building.

The deal represents a win for a central business district that has faced a series of high-profile departures in recent months.

The Washington Post is located at Hines' One Franklin Square in downtown D.C.

The new lease expires Dec. 13, 2037, according to the documents, with an option to extend five years. The newspaper's initial lease at the building ran through 2031, according to previous reports.

The Post opened at the 612K SF property with 250K SF in December 2015 and had expanded to 306K SF by 2021.

The Post occupies the fourth through ninth floors in the west tower, the sixth through ninth in the east tower and a portion of the ground floor behind the lobby, according to the documents.

The Washington Post didn't respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Hines declined to comment.

The move to Franklin Square was monumental for the Post, which had been at its previous home just a few blocks away since 1950 but signed a lease to move to Hines’ building in 2014.

That decision came shortly after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos acquired the Post. The newspaper had previously considered leaving downtown for the fast-developing NoMa neighborhood in Northeast D.C. before Bezos opted to remain downtown and relocate to One Franklin Square, the Post reported in 2015.

The newspaper has faced challenges over the last year, initiating buyouts in October to cut its staff by 240. The Post announced it met its goal in December.

The ground floor of One Franklin Square features Compass Coffee and SoHo Cafe & Market. Law firm Reed Smith LLP renewed a nearly 80K SF lease at the property in 2016, set to expire in 2027. Law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP signed a 49K SF lease through 2032. The Washington Post has signage rights for the property.

Hines put One Franklin Square up for sale or recapitalization in August 2021, but it has remained the owner of the property.

The Post’s renewed commitment to downtown D.C. comes as some of its neighbors have decided to vacate their spaces in the area.

At the redevelopment of the Post's former headquarters site, Carr Properties' Midtown Center, Fannie Mae opted to vacate its 720K SF lease early in 2029, Bisnow first reported last month. It remains unclear if the company will stay in the District after the expiration.

Meanwhile, CoStar plans to move later this year from its home at 1331 L St. NW, two blocks from One Franklin Square, to a 31-story office tower it purchased this month in Arlington, Virginia's Rosslyn neighborhood.

Downtown D.C. is also facing the potential loss of the NHL's Capitals and the NBA's Wizards after Monumental Sports & Entertainment in December announced plans to relocate the teams to a new arena in Alexandria's Potomac Yard. That project still needs approval from the Virginia Legislature.

D.C. also faces record-high office vacancy of 21.2%, as many tenants have decided to downsize their footprints since the onset of the pandemic, relocate to the suburbs and shift to hybrid work.

American University pubcaster WAMU Washington, DC (88.5) abruptly shut down DCist, with a pop-up message appearing on the online publication before being redirected to the website of the news/talk station.

“Thank you for visiting and supporting DCist. Since 2018, it has been a part of WAMU 88.5, the Washington region's public media and NPR member station,” the message read. “As of February 23, the site will no longer publish new content. Please visit WAMU.org for local news and programming. You will be automatically redirected to WAMU.org in 15 seconds.”

“The shift away from digital publishing will allow WAMU to focus on its core radio products, as well as new digital audio opportunities like podcasts and live events,” WAMU GM Erika Pulley-Hayes told Axios. "We're making the choice to invest in what we're better at than anyone else in this town, and that's audio."

"We feel like this is the best way for us to engage and build loyalty," WAMU Chief Content Officer Michael Tribble added.

Peter Cherukuri, Vice Chair of WAMU's Board of Advisers, remarked, "Too many media companies fail by trying to be all things to all people, leaving their value proposition diluted and weakened."

As a result of DCist being shuttered, 15 positions have been eliminated, however, WAMU says new positions will be added, mostly audio techs and producers. Plans are to introduce a new, local radio program and create a new app, Axios reports.

The sudden shutdown was preceded by “a curt email on Thursday,” according to a post on the X account WeMakeWAMU, which is run by union members of the staff.

“This morning, @wamu885 management informed us they are laying off 15 vital people from our organization. These individuals are the lifeblood of our journalism. Our hearts are broken. We can’t believe we are losing our colleagues and friends,” the post began. “We are also devastated to report that management is shutting down @DCist.”

The union members said the Thursday email was “followed by a short Friday morning announcement” which “undid years of work. That’s thousands of daily stories, countless hours of work, and many, many, community voices… all gone.”

WAMU plans to expand the presence of one of its most popular hosts Kojo Nnamdi, who anchors the weekly “The Politics Hour” program. According to Axios, the station plans to capitalize on the program with an expansion of its political division across the District, Maryland, and Virginia. WAMU will also invest more in arts and culture reporting.

The Washington, D.C., area is preparing to wake up to a winter wonderland on Saturday.

Up to a few inches of snow are expected to fall overnight into Saturday, Storm Team4 says.

Much of the D.C. area will be under a winter weather advisory. A winter storm warning will be in effect for areas north and west expected to get the largest snowfall. Here's a full list of weather alerts.

Snow is set to arrive late Friday and move out by 7 or 8 a.m. Saturday.

Prince George's County Public Schools canceled athletics and activities and will close facilities on Saturday due to the weather.

If you want to build a snowman or hit up a sledding hill, get moving early. Sunshine will be back on Saturday afternoon to melt a lot of the snow.

Early Sunday, slippery sidewalks and black ice on roads could slow down travel. But all-day sunshine will melt most of the lingering snow. Monday's weather looks great for your Presidents Day plans, like visiting Mount Vernon or Alexandria's George Washington Birthday Parade.

Enjoy this snowfall: With March just two weeks away, there’s more than a 50-50 chance that this will be the last significant snowfall of the season, Storm Team4 Meteorologist Chuck Bell said.

How much snow could fall?

This storm will be more of a nuisance than a blockbuster.

There’s a 99% chance that we see at least an inch of snow, Bell said.

Overall, a few inches of snow are likely. Storm Team4 predicts:

Weather radar

Winter storm warning

A winter storm warning will be in effect from 11 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday for western Loudoun County, Virginia, and Frederick County, Maryland.

Heavy snow is expected, and travel could become very difficult in those areas, the National Weather Service said.

Winter weather advisory

A winter weather advisory is in effect from 10 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday, The National Weather Service said.

The advisory covers much of the D.C. area:

Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.

Many D.C.-area outdoor music venues just dropped their summer concert lineups — meaning it's time to plan which tickets you want to buy.

Why it matters: Bringing a picnic to Wolf Trap or taking the Rally Bus to Jiffy Lube are something of a D.C. summer rites of passage.

Here's what you need to know before summer concert season begins:

Merriweather Post Pavilion

The Columbia music venue kicks off its warm-weather season April 21 with a performance by New Orleans group Tank and the Bangas and the Howard County Youth Orchestra.

Other shows we're pumped for:

Zoom in: For some shows, only lawn chairs without legs are allowed, and you can't bring coolers with outside food or drinks.

Wolf Trap

The venue, operated in part by the National Park Service, launches its summer series June 1 at its outdoor amphitheater, the Filene Center. The first show: A singing extravaganza featuring several area choirs. (Audience participation encouraged!)

Other shows we're pumped for:

Plus: The Out & About Festival on June 22 celebrates LGBTQ+ artists and allies, with performers like Brittany Howard, Jenny Lewis, and Okan.

Zoom in: Picnics and drinks (alcoholic and non) are allowed, although bevvies must be poured into covered Wolf Trap cups. Lawn chairs and blankets are also OK.

Jiffy Lube Live

Summer season at the Bristow amphitheater begins with Neil Young and Crazy Horse May 11.

Other shows we're pumped for:

Zoom in: The venue has a clear bag policy, and while you can bring in some snacks, water, lawn chairs, and blankets, no coolers or alcohol are allowed.

The Model United Nations (MUN) team flew to Washington D.C. to attend the North American Invitational Model United Nations (NAIMUN) on Presidents’ Day Weekend, from Feb. 15-18. The tournament was hosted by Georgetown University at the Washington Hilton in Dupont Circle, where students participated as delegates in a large-scale and immersive conferences, discussing global issues and offering different perspectives on international affairs. NAIMUN is the largest student-run Model United Nations conference in the world, with over 3,300 delegates in attendance each year.

Liv Kriger ’25 and Editor-in-Chief Averie Perrin ’24 received a Verbal Commendation for their representation of Bangladesh in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Zoe Kramar ’24 earned an Honorable Mention in a crisis committee, and Owen Huang ’24 won a Book Award for outstanding research.

Kramar said that leading up to the conference, the MUN team dedicated time to research for their position papers and prepping answers, while also strengthening their public speaking, leadership and diplomacy skills at conferences along the way.

“HWMUN has been preparing for NAIMUN all year, learning procedure and honing skills at various other conferences we’ve had this year,” Kramar said. “For D.C. specifically, we had to research our topics, write an essay about our country’s position and prepare some solutions to a problem.”

Kramar said that despite spending the majority of the trip at the conference, she was able to share quality time with her fellow delegates exploring the city.

“Most of our time was spent in committee, but I think the most valuable lesson I learned was how to make the most of even a few free hours with friends in a new city,” Kramar said.

Huang said that the highlight of the tournament involved discovering a spy within his committee, which was centered on the 1993 Taiwan National Development Conference, allowing him to use quick thinking skills to take advantage of the situation.

“The most memorable moment came when a Chinese spy was found in our committee and subsequently fled into hiding in the conference hotel,” Huang said. “We had a competition with the committee representing the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party to track him down, and my five-man group representing Taiwan ended up finding him just two minutes into the hunt. This victory gave Taiwan the upper hand in our negotiations, and the five of us were immortalized as heroes of the Republic.”

Huang said the skills he has picked up from MUN will benefit him in his future.

“Given my interest in international relations, I think Model UN will have a sizable impact on my academic and career pursuits,” Huang said. “It’s taught me many lessons in diplomacy, leadership, research and building relationships with peers from around the world.”