The project is three to five years out from construction, Matt Klein, Akridge president, tells GlobeSt.com. "We are just now embarking on the process of getting through the entitlement process for the project and that will take some time." Once that is complete and an architect has been identified, "then I think we will be able to look at a more concrete construction schedule."
Akridge conceived the project some four years ago, he says, when it acquired the land from GSA. "We saw it as an incredible location next to one of the most remarkable landmarks in DC as well as its economic development potential." Basically right now, he says, the site is a cavern or hole in the ground with railroad tracks. Once complete the project will bridge two economically disparate parts of the city.
Union Station, one of the city's busiest metro stops, will be incorporated into the project's use, Klein says. "I fully expect it will have a complete inventory of various uses, including office, residential, hotel and retail. We are about to embark on this process with the stakeholders involved and affected by this project."
The multi-party closing depended on the cooperation of many public and private entities including the GSA, Amtrak, the Union Station Redevelopment Corp., the Federal Railroad Administration, AEW on behalf of Union Station Venture, and the DC Department of Transportation, according to the company's press release.
Akridge also has a financial partner lined up for the project, which Klein declined to name.
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Erika Morphy
Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.
