Is The Wharf already upping values on the Southwest Waterfront? It's too early to say, but two big investors have teamed up to plunk down $67M for a prime site nearby.

Mill Creek Residential Trust's Sean Caldwell (left, with MRP's Fred Rothmeijer) tells us his firm has just partnered up with John Hancock to purchase the View at Waterfront, a two-tower, 256-unit IM Pei-designed apartment complex next to Arena Stage (and across the street from The Wharf) in Southwest. We're told they're planning common-area renovations. The purchase comes with two vacant development sites on which the firms will construct two buildings and up to an additional 290 units. Sean hopes to break ground in about 18 months, and it should deliver right as phase one of PN Hoffman/Madison Marquette's $2B mixed-use Wharf project begins to come to life.

NYC-based juggernaut the Related Companies was the seller. Though Mill Creek is one of the region's most active multifamily developers, the deal marks the firm's first acquisition of an existing property in the DC area. Sean tells us that while his team spent over a year scouring the market, the Southwest Waterfront "was highest on our list," due to the presence of the Wharf, the Waterfront Metro, and the neighborhood's emerging nature: "The Southwest Waterfront will really be a new landmark for Washington, DC." HFF repped Mill Creek in the acquisition and helped procure John Hancock as an equity partner. CBRE repped the Related Companies.