National Harbor has a glimmering conference center, tons of new office and retail space, and that beautiful waterfront view. (Not to mention Bobby McKeys--which is both our favorite dueling piano bar and our least favorite place to take a piano lesson.) But an apartment complex has eluded the development. Until now.

We snapped a couple of company namesakes, Bozzuto Group chairman Tom Bozzuto and Peterson Cos chairman Milt Peterson, at the groundbreaking for The Esplanade, National Harbor's first apartment community. The firms are co-developing the 262-unit property, which will cost about $70M and deliver in 2015. Tom touted National Harbor's status as a 24/7 downtown community, which "most downtowns in America strive to be."

Peterson VP Stuart Prince (whom we snapped behind Prince George's county exec Rushern Baker) tells us even though The Esplanade will compete with many other apartment communities under construction, "the time was right" to get going. He says the complex should benefit from employment growth in National Harbor due to more office users and the Tanger Outlets under construction.

Here's a rendering. Future residents could be joined by a proposed MGM Casino at National Harbor, which MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren hopes will be open by July 1, 2016, as he told the crowd at our recent Bisnow Lodging Investment Summit.