AvalonBay's "Hipster" Apartment Building Aims for December Move-In

AvalonBay's "AVA H Street" apartment building (which is not actually on H Street - it's at 318 I Street, NE) is set to go vertical any day now, a critical milestone for one of the more unique projects in the booming H Street corridor.

"All the dirt's out of the hole, and they're pouring slabs," said Jeff Wood, development manager at AvalonBay. "We're on schedule for first occupancy in December of this year." The building will be entirely residential, with no ground floor retail.

AVA H Street will offer 140 rental units of "pretty sick apartments," according to the project's Facebook page. Jonathan B. Cox, Senior Vice President of Development at AvalonBay, previously told DCMud the building would be "more contemporary and a more unique architectural style than what's now on the market." Though he was coy at the time about the architect behind the building, it's since emerged that KTGY Group is spearheading the design, and the latest renderings, with their colorful facades and prominent branding, do indeed look more unique that most of what's on the market right now. Blake Dickson represented Avalon in the purchase.

AvalonBay acquired 318 I Street through a lender sale, after original owner Broadway Development lost the property (as well as the adjacent Senate Square) through foreclosure in 2009. AvalonBay, a Ballston-based real estate investment trust (REIT), has posted huge profits in recent quarters by taking advantage of depressed property values to accumulate parcels, and by catering to a rental market that remains strong due to the flagging economy. A recent Wall Street Journal story described AvalonBay's strategy as "hipsters and suburbia" - and if the H Street NE address wasn't a giveaway, AVA's Facebook postings ("so rad!" "awesome!" "sick!") make it eminently clear that this building targets the former group.

AvalonBay had planned to build two more apartment buildings near the future Tysons West metro station, but that project ground to a halt after county officials' request for transportation improvement funds were deemed too high by AvalonBay management. (They did proceed with another Tysons project, the 354-unit Avalon Park Crest.)

AVA H Street broke ground back in November, and is just one of a dizzying number of projects in the immediate area, the biggest of which is the Steuart Investments mixed-use behemoth. It's hard to believe, when you see the flurry of construction on H Street today, that just a handful of years ago over twenty percent of H Street storefronts were vacant - a rate that has been reduced nearly to zero in less than a decade. And when the long-discussed streetcar is up and running, the boom will kick into another, even higher, gear.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Read More

Today in Pictures - Meridian at Mt. Vernon Triangle

Paradigm and Steuart Investments are nearing completion on the Meridian at Mt. Vernon Triangle, a 390-unit rental building at 425 L St, NW. The apartment building rises fourteen stories above three levels of below-grade parking. Along with the typical amenities like a gym, roof deck, common rooms, the building will also feature a hybrid and electric car refueling stations. The building broke ground in October of 2010.

The apartment building was designed by Architecture Collaborative, Inc., while Collins & Kronstadt of Silver Spring holds the title of architecture of record. Developers expect final completion by this fall, but will have competition from the new Donohoe apartment building just across the street.








Washington D.C. real estate development news

Read More

AvalonBay Plans Apartment Building Near H Street Corridor

AvalonBay, a Ballston based corporation that as been augmenting its apartment portfolio throughout the greater Washington DC area, is under contract to purchase and develop nearly a full block just off the H Street corridor. Jonathan B. Cox, Senior Vice President of Development of AvalonBay, confirms that 318 I Street, NE, is currently under contract with the plan of building 140 rental apartments, with ambitions to break ground by the year's end. The site is just one block north of the spot where Steuart Investment Co. has announced plans to build a Giant grocery store and 215 apartments.
Although the size is modest, paired with Steuart's building the added density could help develop viable retail for H Street's western end, which has been stagnant compared to the Atlast District at the opposite end. "We really like the H Street Market," said Cox. "We are investing in it because we think its unique enough to separate from NoMa." The space will only house residential space. "We don't believe retail is viable in this location on I Street," said Cox.

The developer has chosen an architect but remains mum about the plans for now. What we do know: "It's not a typical D.C. architect," said Cox. "I think it'll be more contemporary and a more unique architectural style than what's now on the market." AvalonBay has also been buying and building, including the Avalon Park Crest, a 354-unit building planned for Tysons with construction to start later this year.

318 I Street NE, which AvalonBay will acquire by a lender sale, had been owned by Broadway Development, but had gone into foreclosure in 2009, around the same time Broadway lost Senate Square next door. The lender acquired the property in July of 2009 for $1.69 million. The space currently houses the vacant site of Uptown Baker, eight underground gasoline storage tanks were removed from the property in 2005.

Washington, D.C. real estate development news

Read More