Washington DC’s First Modular Multifamily Breaks Ground

WASHINGTON DC – Community Three and Rooney Properties have broken ground on Washington DC’s first modular apartment building, Modo.

For the multifamily project, 44 custom-designed modular boxes have been lifted into place by a crane, after being shipped from Pennsylvania. The boxes encompass 16 of Modo’s 17 three-bedroom apartments.

Each three-bedroom apartment will feature built-in custom closets, shelving and desks, as well as a pre-installed jumbo flat-screen television.

The development additionally feature a lobby, a single penthouse apartment with a private outdoor terrace and 3,000 square feet of street-level retail space. The property will offer an automated entry system for smartphone access both to the building and the apartment units.

Construction has now commenced on the building’s green roof deck, which will feature seating and grilling areas.

“The design is both trendy and environmentally conscious, including high-efficiency appliances and HVAC for lower utility costs, LED lighting, reclaimed wood flooring, and eco-friendly subway tile.” states Dave Yampolsky, SVP of Community Three.

Located near the Georgia Ave. – Petworth metro station at 3701 New Hampshire Ave., Modo’s site serves as the former home of Sweet Mango restaurant.

“The Gen Z market is very environmentally conscious and communal; they generally prefer having roommates to living alone,” says Grant Epstein, Community Three president. “They are just starting out on their careers and need quality housing at a reasonable cost, but also value great design and useable outdoor space. Modo’s purposeful configuration responds to this need by mitigating the high cost of living in a sought-after ‘A’ neighborhood in DC.”

The project’s shipping and placement process of the modular boxes took place over eight days. The modules arrived onsite, 80% finished.

Epstein adds, “We were looking for more efficient and environmentally-friendly alternatives to typical construction types. Modular construction can reduce construction time by almost one-third, while generating far less onsite construction waste. Construction components typically exposed to the elements – such as windows and wood framing – are built with higher quality because they are assembled indoors. As a result, these modular units offer superior insulation, weather barriers, sound attenuation, and indoor finishes compared with those constructed traditionally.”

Community Three and Rooney Properties worked with the Modular Mobilization Coalition to select VBC Construction as the project’s modular contractor. VBC Construction also partnered with Simplex Homes as the modular fabricator and Eric Colbert & Associates as the project’s architect.

Urban Pace will begin pre-leasing the apartments in March 2021.

The project’s financing was provided by EagleBank.

Community Three’s onsite construction team, Northpoint Construction commenced building the project’s concrete and steel podium in April, to support the modular apartment units.

“The decision to use modular construction was not undertaken lightly,” Epstein says. “It took more than a year of analysis requiring acute attention and extensive understanding of new processes. Working closely with the District of Columbia government to coordinate an inspections process for this type of construction was paramount.”