By Alejandro Lazo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 10, 2007

Volkswagen of America's secret hunt for a new U.S. headquarters began last November in a conference room at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in downtown Washington.

It was there, at the European automaker's District offices, that Volkswagen executives heard a two-hour pitch from the real estate firm that would eventually be hired to handle the search -- one founded by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach.

Throughout the process, only five executives from Staubach's namesake firm knew the identity of their client, even though up to 25 employees in several cities worked on the project. That secrecy was maintained until Thursday's public announcement that Volkswagen would move its U.S. headquarters from Auburn Hills, Mich., to Herndon.

Executives at Staubach Co. involved in the search used personal cellphone numbers and e-mail addresses to discuss their progress. When traveling with Volkswagen executives, Gregory Y. Lubar, a senior vice president at Staubach, would reserve up to 10 hotel rooms under his name at a time. The search had the internal code name "project vision."

The real estate company with which Volkswagen eventually signed a lease -- Tishman Speyer -- did not know who their future tenant would be throughout negotiations conducted this summer.

" 'We can't tell you who it is, but you will be very satisfied once you know,' " Jim Evans, managing regional director for Tishman Speyer in the District and Northern Virginia, said Staubach executives told him. "Based on that, and in the trust in the individuals and the company, and our relationship, we said, 'Let's go ahead, and let's work out a deal.' "

Staubach specializes in finding space for large businesses. Often, such moves are kept quiet to avoid tipping off competitors and provoking turmoil within the company seeking new space.

Although it is based in Addison, Tex., Staubach has strong connections to Washington. Roger Staubach attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, where he won the Heisman Trophy. He founded the firm in 1977, near the end of his playing days with the Cowboys. As the business expanded, a second office was opened in Tysons Corner in 1987. A District office followed in 1993. The firm has 68 offices in North America and about 1,500 employees.

"We started in Dallas, but it is critical for what we do to have a strong presence in New York, Washington, Chicago," Roger Staubach said in a telephone interview. "We are positioned very well."

When Staubach stepped down as chief executive in June, Greg O'Brien, the company's Washington regional president, took over. Rather than move to Dallas, O'Brien decided to run the company from Washington, for business and personal reasons.

The company has helped find new headquarters for the Bureau of National Affairs, the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants and Booz Allen Hamilton, the government contracting giant, Lubar said.

"We have worked extensively with Staubach, and they are certainly aggressive in seeking the best possible terms for their client, but they are also sophisticated enough to understand that the final outcome has to be a win-win for the tenant and the landlord," said Raymond A. Ritchey, an executive vice president of Boston Properties.

Staubach's Washington office, which oversees a region from Northern Virginia to Boston, is the biggest source of its revenue, about 10 percent. The company made about $440 million in 2006, Roger Staubach said.

It was O'Brien, who received the initial phone call from a Volkswagen of America representative in early November, indicating that the automaker was considering a major move.

Shortly thereafter, a team of representatives from Staubach -- led by Lubar and Robb Johnson, a regional president -- gave their presentation.

Volkswagen hired the company in December. What followed were months of analysis. Multiple factors were assessed, including demographics, airport access, state and local taxes, and the kinds of economic incentives that different jurisdictions could offer.

The team whittled down a long list that included several major metropolitan centers east of the Mississippi River to a more manageable group of 14. From those, three were chosen.

During visits to prospective locations, the Volkswagen representatives used only their first names and did not tell brokers for other real estate companies who they were. The list was finally narrowed to Herndon.