(Read more on the multifamily market.)
WASHINGTON, DC-The first apartment building to go up in the NoMA submarket has just broken ground. The Cohen Cos. will deliver the first phase of Union Place, an approximately $300-million development, in mid-2009. Altogether some 700 units will be developed along the city block of Third and K Street, NE.
The first phase will deliver 212 apartments, 30 of which will be designated as affordable housing. This is a voluntary contribution by the developer as it is not requesting state or federal funding for the project, Cohen Cos. president Ronald J. Cohen tells GlobeSt.com. "But we could not have done otherwise, given the building's namesake." The phase one development will be called "the Loree Grand" in honor of Luree Murray, a well-known community activist here who founded the Near Northeast Citizens Against Crime and Drugs civic association more than 20 years ago.
The first phase will also include an interior courtyard open to the public during the day, a child care center, underground parking that will provide one space for every apartment, a green roof, a fitness center, and about 4,000 sf of ground-level retail space. The second phase will include an outdoor/indoor swimming pool opening into the courtyard, as well as deliver the additional 500 or so units. It has not been decided yet, Cohen says, whether phase two of the project will be divided into two mini phases--delivering 250 units in each cycle--or if the builder will develop all 500 units at once. "It depends on the leasing activity for phase one," he says.
All together, Union Place will offer seven different floor plans ranging from junior one-bedroom units starting at 516 sf to two-bedroom-plus-den units of more than 1,400 sf. Rental rates for the 850,000 sf development, are still being determined, Cohen says. Cohen began assembling the land for Union Place in 1988--long before the area was declared a BID this year--eventually buying some 42 separate properties, 20 of which were abandoned and subsequently demolished.
Elizabeth Price, president of the NoMA BID, tells GlobeSt.com that the submarket is taking on all the trappings of a real residential neighborhood thanks to this residential development and those that are gearing up to break ground over the next six months. Other developers adding residential units to the area include MRP Realty, in its Gateway Project (200 or so units), Archstone-Smith at First M St. (roughly 500 units) and Camden (some 600 units). Eight percent of MRP Realty's project will be affordable housing, she adds.
Another plus for NoMA's future residents: Price reports that a grocery chain has signed on as a tenant at the Constitutional Square mixed-use project at First and M streets. The name of the chain will likely be released in the fall.
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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.
