Washington, DC- Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announces today a final decision by technology firm, CoStar Group, to relocate its headquarters from Bethesda, Maryland to the District as the firm reveals its chosen location and the purchase of 1331 L Street, Northwest in downtown Washington.

The purchase of the 170,000 square foot office property from the Mortgage Bankers Association was aided by an incentive package assembled by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. In addition to the firm's likely use of the Net 2000 legislation created to attract technology firms, the District passed legislation that allows for $6.1 million of property tax abatements over 10 years in exchange for a commitment by the company to hire 100 District residents. CoStar's business model includes an ongoing training program for entry-level professionals.

"CoStar is an ideal candidate for our aggressive business attraction program, said Deputy Mayor, Valerie-Joy Santos. "A growing, thriving company, CoStar is also in the technology industry, a target industry in our program, and importantly, the firm offers workforce development program as part of their business model."

About CoStar

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ CSGP) is the number one provider of information, marketing and analytic services to commercial real estate professionals in the United States as well as the United Kingdom.

The firm's suite of services offer online access to a comprehensive database of commercial real estate information including space available for lease, comparable sales information, tenant information, properties for sale, property information for clients' web sites, industry professional directory, analytic information, data integration, property advertising and industry news--throughout the United States as well as in the United Kingdom and France.

Founded in 1987, CoStar has approximately 1,400 people working for the company worldwide, including the largest professional research organization in the industry.