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Diamond View II Tenants Spend Every Day at the Ballpark
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Have you ever dreamed of looking out your office window and seeing the Durham Bulls playing baseball on perfectly manicured grounds? For the tenants of Diamond View II, this isn’t just a dream. Situated between left field of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and the Durham Performing Arts Center, the Diamond View II office building has an expansive view of the field.
Capitol Broadcasting Company designed the five-story 150,000 square feet Class-A building to get the most of the ballpark view. Instead of closed off offices, the floors have open layouts with huge glass windows facing the ballpark.
Smith Breeden Associates Inc., a global asset management firm, is one of Diamond View II’s anchor tenants. Smith Breeden has 50,000 square feet of space in the building along with numerous balconies that overlook the field.
Hank Kinsley, senior vice president and head of external communications, said his favorite things about being in Diamond View II are “being next door to the baseball stadium, seeing the green grass, hearing the game, and trying to catch a foul ball- all of those things that come with being literally part of the baseball stadium.”
So how do workers focus on the fast paced world of securities trading during Durham Bulls day games?
Kinsley said, “It’s not a negative distraction. We may be in a meeting and hear the roar of the crowd, and people peek over their shoulders to see what happened. But on our floor, we sit on the other side of the building.”
The trading floor, which is on the side of the field, hasn’t seen a problem either.
Greg Palmer, senior vice president and trader, said it is “a welcomed distraction. I like watching batting practice and an occasional ball that hits the window. And I like being in the downtown area for the restaurant options.”
Diamond View II opened in 2008 as part of the revitalization of downtown Durham. Diamond View II is situated next to its sister building, Diamond View I, in the heart of the American Tobacco Historic District.
The downtown location has impressed clients and serves as a great place to take out of town prospects and clients.
Kinsley said, “Clients are impressed by this facility and the American Tobacco Campus. There is a lot of historic character here, and a lot of people like the fact that there is the baseball stadium next door.”
Smith Breeden is also a corporate sponsor and big fan of the Bulls. Last summer, it partnered with the Bulls for “Bring a Book to the Game Night”. Any fan that brought a new children’s book to the Bulls box office received a free ticket to the game. The collected books were donated to local libraries in the Triangle. Smith Breeden is planning on doing this event again this summer on August 8, 2009.
Thanks to DBBC Intern Jennifer LaBrosse for this capcom story.
