All the new apartment construction in-and-around the convention center in Washington DC is another example of sterile neighborhood development sweeping through our cities in a rush to create profitable 24-hour environments. You can see the same approach in downtown Toronto and downtown Los Angeles, in Houston and Atlanta as well as other major markets. The idea prompting this new development is to build high-end apartments near office districts and satisfy demand for convenient lifestyles sought by upwardly mobile millennials and well-heeled older executives looking for pied-a-terres. In fancily appointed apartments with various gym amenities and providing concierge services you can be steps from work instead of stuck in traffic during time-sucking daily commutes.
At Washington's City Center, condominium residences in sleek mid-rise boxes start selling in the million dollar range. Filling adjacent office buildings, major law firms and lobbyists have moved east from redoubts in the traditional K Street corridor now closer to where they can conduct business on Capitol Hill. The likes of Burberry and Hermes showcase stores here, stylish restaurants with signature chefs draw lunch and dinner crowds, and the nearby Metro stops are some of the busiest in the city.
Simply, it's been a total makeover, a stupendous transformation at the core of the area south of New York Avenue between the White House and Union Station. Developers have turned a once “don't-go-there” zone of dilapidated buildings and trash-strewn lots, into a sought after commercial center with affluent residents owning and renting apartments in spanking new buildings.
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Jonathan D. Miller
A marketing communication strategist who turned to real estate analysis, Jonathan D. Miller is a foremost interpreter of 21st citistate futures – cities and suburbs alike – seen through the lens of lifestyles and market realities. For more than 20 years (1992-2013), Miller authored Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the leading commercial real estate industry outlook report, published annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has lectures frequently on trends in real estate, including the future of America's major 24-hour urban centers and sprawling suburbs. He also has been author of ULI’s annual forecasts on infrastructure and its What’s Next? series of forecasts. On a weekly basis, he writes the Trendczar blog for GlobeStreet.com, the real estate news website. Outside his published forecasting work, Miller is a prominent communications/institutional investor-marketing strategist and partner in Miller Ryan LLC, helping corporate clients develop and execute branding and communications programs. He led the re-branding of GMAC Commercial Mortgage to Capmark Financial Group Inc. and he was part of the management team that helped build Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Inc. (subsequently Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.) into the leading real estate advisor to pension funds and other real institutional investors. He joined the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. in 1981, moving to Equitable Real Estate in 1984 as head of Corporate/Marketing Communications. In the 1980's he managed relations for several of the country's most prominent real estate developments including New York's Trump Tower and the Equitable Center. Earlier in his career, Miller was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. He is a member of the Citistates Group and a board member of NYC Outward Bound Schools and the Center for Employment Opportunities.
