Convene at Tysons II Introduces New Paradigm in Conference Centers

NEW YORK and TYSONS, Va., April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Convene, the nation's fastest growing network of conference centers, has arrived in Northern Virginia opening its newest venue - Convene at Tysons II (www.convene.com/Tysons) - located at 1800 Tysons Boulevard in Tysons, Virginia.

As its first conference center location outside New York City, Convene has transformed the former site of the Monterrey Fish Grotto restaurant into a world class business conference and corporate event center with dramatic 20-foot floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a range of flexible, state-of-the-art meeting rooms that can accommodate groups from two to 150 people. Designed by Fox Architects, the award-winning architecture and interior design firm based in the nation's capital, Convene at Tysons represents a new paradigm in corporate meeting facilities with innovative conference rooms, integrated audio-visual resources, and in-house catering - all based on Convene's human-centered design process that facilitates the most productive professional meetings.

"Convene at Tysons marks the launch of our national expansion initiative here in the dynamic Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C. region. We expect to enter other markets over the next 18 to 24 months," said Chris Kelly, president and co-founder, Convene. "Our 'all-inclusive' philosophy and productivity driven spaces are designed to make meetings easier to host and more effective in serving their intended purposes for a broad range of organizations including corporations, associations, government agencies and non-profit organizations. Among the many groups who have already embraced our services, we are especially honored to have partnered with Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business to host its first off-campus, evening MBA program that will begin in the fall of 2014.  Its move is indicative of the growing demand for variable-cost based real estate solutions like those that Convene offers for meetings, conferences and events."

Cvent, a leading cloud-based enterprise event management platform, is one of the first organizations to take advantage of Convene at Tysons Corner before its formal opening. 

"We have hosted three internal events at Convene's new conference center," said Eric Eden, vice president of marketing at Cvent. "The location stands out from other conference venues in the greater Washington, D.C. area because of its technologically advanced design, modern decor and all-inclusive meeting offerings. We hope to host additional internal trainings at Convene later this year."

Convene to Offer Managed Catering Services to 1800 Tysons Blvd Tenants
Eighteen hundred Tysons Boulevard, owned by Lerner Enterprises of Rockville, Md., one of Washington, D.C.'s largest private real estate developers, is a 320,000 square foot, 13-story "Class A" office building featuring a nine-level, connected parking garage and a pedestrian bridge connecting to Tysons Galleria and adjacent office buildings.  PwC is the building's signature tenant and also one of Convene's steady clients in New York.

"We are excited to welcome Convene as one of our newest world-class amenities within The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II," said Mark D. Lerner, a principal of Lerner and developer of 1800 Tysons Boulevard.  "Executives and corporate users will find Convene as a destination service and their addition to 1800 Tysons Boulevard only broadens our appeal as the address for business in Tysons, Virginia."

According to Ryan Simonetti, Convene's CEO and co-founder, "One of the principal reasons we decided to come to the D.C. metropolitan area was at the behest of clients, like PwC, who wanted to have access to Convene's conference center facilities and integrated services. When we first discussed coming to Tysons, we were encouraged by PwC and Lerner Enterprises to consider offering our catering services to all building tenants at Tysons.  Providing Convene's catering services as part of a managed services offering has been a top priority on our 'to do' list, and now for the first time, we will be offering this services to all of our building's tenants.  This means that any tenant at 1800 Tysons Boulevard can order, 24 hours in advance, freshly prepared breakfasts, lunches or dinners – online or by phone – from Convene's kitchen and have it delivered to and set-up in their offices at a level of quality and convenience that can only be provided from an onsite kitchen.

Convene is simultaneously expanding its managed catering services offering to its 32 Old Slip location in New York's financial district with other locations to follow.

Founded in 2009 as Sentry Centers by two young entrepreneurs, Christopher Kelly and Ryan Simonetti, the company rebranded as Convene in February of 2013. Its four locations in Manhattan offer a combined 132,000 square feet of space making it the largest network of dedicated conference centers in New York City.

In its over four years of operation, Convene has already served close to two-thirds of all New York-based Fortune 500 companies; its meetings rooms can accommodate groups ranging from two to 300 people. Last year, Convene hosted a total of 1,300 corporate meetings with 65,000 meeting participants. Its team has quickly grown to over 100 members with revenues that exceeded $18 million in 2013.

Last year, Convene was named by Crain's New York Business as the fastest growing company in New York City with a three year growth rate of 3,463 percent.  Convene's co-founders Mr. Kelly and Mr. Simonetti were separately recognized as finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of the Year® 2013 Award in New York.  In January 2014, Forbes Magazine recognized Convene as one of the 100 most promising companies in America among high-growth, privately-held companies with annual revenue under $250 million.

For more information about Convene at Tysons, visit http://convene.com/Tysons/ or call 888-730-7307.

About Convene
Convene (www.convene.com) is the leading developer, owner and operator of urban day conference centers in the United States.  Its full suite of business services includes meeting and collaboration space rental, "room service building catering," audiovisual and conference planning support.  Offered through various lease, joint venture and management arrangements, the company partners with landlords and tenants to enhance the quality of commercial office buildings and improve the workplace experience through better service and space design.

Contacts:
Emily Simmons / Rick Anderson / Henry Feintuch
Feintuch Communications
212-808-4904 / 718-986-1596 / 212-808-4901
[email protected]

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SOURCE Convene