PN Hoffman is shedding the initials of co-founder Pete Nazelrod as the District-based developer looks to make a name for itself outside of Greater Washington.
The company, which broke ground earlier this year on the second phase of its multibillion dollar The Wharf in Southwest D.C., is rebranding as Hoffman & Associates. Founder and CEO Monty Hoffman said the move wasn’t meant to disrespect his former partner, whom he considers his best friend, but rather to dispense with the inevitable question of what does the “PN” stand for as the company looks to expand its footprint in places like Raleigh, North Carolina, where it has a major redevelopment in the works.
Nazelrod hasn’t been a full-time part of the company for more than a decade — though he came back for about two-and-a-half years as a consultant on The Wharf — but Hoffman retained the company’s first initials over the years.
“I just continued with the name really in honor of him, and if we were just in D.C., I probably wouldn’t change it, but since we’re moving into other markets people are asking, ‘What’s the PN for?,'” Hoffman said. Of the new name, he said: “It just goes with a variety of adjustments we’re making in the organization to better brand and position us for transformative projects, projects that are just a little more complex but provide good investor returns.”
Hoffman plans to open a new office in Raleigh, from which it plans to seek out other projects in that neck of the woods, and it will oversee its $250 million Seaboard Station project from there.
Hoffman & Associates has major plans to redevelop Seaboard Station in Raleigh with ground-floor retail and apartments and lodging above.
Also among the adjustments, Paul Nasetta, a principal and chief operating officer, quietly retired in January, Hoffman said. That has created the opportunity for others at the company to take on more roles, including Maria Thompson as senior vice president of construction and John Bradley as senior vice president of construction field operations.
Locally, the developer has other projects in the works including its West Falls Church redevelopment with EYA and Regency Centers (NASDAQ: REG), and it was tapped earlier this year by D.C. United to tackle development at the foot of Audi Field in Buzzard Point.