Children's National and CoStar Group Partner to Open Bunny Mellon Healing Garden for Patients and Families

CoStar Employees Contributed to Outdoor Healing Space Coming to Life

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Apr 28, 2017, 09:26 ET

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Official today, children receiving treatment at Children's National Health System can now safely enjoy the outdoors in the hospital's 7,200-square-foot Bunny Mellon Healing Garden, while still accommodating their medical needs as hospital patients. CoStar Group's CEO and employees proudly donated $2.1 million to this project – dedicated to the First Ladies of the United States – which represents the largest, employee-supported philanthropic effort in the company's history.

Inspired by the story of a Children's National patient whose last request was to go outside – an extremely complex and difficult undertaking for many patients due to the severity of their conditions – and the heroic effort of the care team to honor her wish, CoStar Group launched an employee giving campaign to fund the building of a Healing Garden at Children's National. The employees of CoStar shared in the enthusiasm for the project and raised more than half a million dollars towards building the rooftop garden. CoStar Group Founder and CEO Andrew Florance – who, with his wife, Heather, served as co-chair of the Healing Garden project – personally matched the gifts made by CoStar employees and exceeded that match, by donating $1 million in support of the garden.

"Standing in this Healing Garden is one of the most inspiring and humbling experiences of my life," said Andy Florance. "The fact that the CoStar family came together to help children experience the restorative power of fresh air and trees is simply extraordinary. It is also remarkable that the Garden is dedicated to the First Ladies of the United States. The support given by every living First Lady, to this day, underscores the Garden's significance and the lasting impact it will have. We are proud to partner with Children's National, and to have a role in bringing an oasis of hope from a mere vision to this stunning reality."

This philanthropic effort is the realized vision of the company's CoStar Builds program, where employees volunteer extensively and contribute financially to help improve, sustain and brighten the communities in which they live and work. Costar Group was recently named a recipient of the Washington Business Journal Citizenship Award, reflecting CoStar's active promotion of philanthropy and volunteerism among employees in addition to ongoing involvement of the CEO and senior leadership in the company's social initiatives.

About CoStar Group, Inc.
CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) is the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. Founded in 1987, CoStar conducts expansive, ongoing research to produce and maintain the largest and most comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. Our suite of online services enables clients to analyze, interpret and gain unmatched insight on commercial property values, market conditions and current availabilities. LoopNet is the most heavily trafficked commercial real estate marketplace online with nearly 11 million registered members. Apartments.com, ApartmentFinder.com, ApartmentHomeLiving.com, Westside Rentals and Apartamentos.com form the premier online apartment resource for renters seeking great apartment homes and provide property managers and owners a proven platform for marketing their properties. Through an exclusive partnership with Move, a subsidiary of News Corporation, Apartments.com is the exclusive provider of apartment community listings across Move's family of websites, which include realtor.com®, doorsteps.com and move.com. CoStar Group's websites attracted an average of over 33 million unique monthly visitors in aggregate in the first quarter of 2017. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar maintains offices throughout the U.S. and in Europe and Canada with a staff of approximately 3,200 worldwide, including the industry's largest professional research organization. For more information, visit www.costargroup.com.