This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet: Affordable Building Targeting Passive House Certification Opens
An affordable housing development that aims to be the “greenest multifamily building in D.C.” opened this week.
Jonathan Rose Cos. and its development partners, Somerset Development Co. and Housing Up, cut the ribbon on a 125-unit affordable apartment building in Columbia Heights on Thursday.
The Faircliff and its neighboring building, Crescent Communities’ 197-unit Novel 14, replaced an 80-unit garden-style apartment building at 2641 14th St. NW. In 2021, residents of the former community, Faircliff Plaza East, voted unanimously to move forward with the project, and 80% of those residents are moving back into the redevelopment.
“Amidst an ongoing housing crisis in Washington, D.C., we are proud to provide such high-quality, affordable housing to more than 100 families — and quadruple the number of units at this site,” Jonathan Rose Cos. President Jonathan Rose said in the release.
The Faircliff is targeting Passive House and LEED Platinum certifications. It has a solar-integrated green roof, electric charging stations for 19 parking spaces, and carbon-injected concrete that the developers say captured over 6.5 million kilograms of carbon within the building’s structure.
Its amenities include a courtyard with a playground, a fitness center, a rooftop event space and a community center, and it will provide a variety of resident services.
LEASES
Groom Law Group is moving from its White House-adjacent home to Georgetown. The law firm is taking 39K SF at Global Holdings Group's Washington Harbour on the waterfront. It's filling some of the space left behind by Kelley Drye & Warren, which moved to The Wharf. Groom plans to move in late 2027. JLL’s Mac Hall, Evan Behr and Jeanette Ko represented the landlord. JLL’s Elizabeth Cooper and Lauren Nalls represented Groom.
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Marx Realty has signed 16K SF of new leases at downtown office building The Herald at 1307 New York Ave. NW. The McCrary Institute, Auburn University’s nonpartisan think tank, signed a 5K SF lease with an eight-year term. Public policy consulting firm August Strategy Group inked a 3,200 SF lease with a six-year term. And a confidential government affairs agency is taking 7,800 SF, nearly doubling its footprint at the property. CBRE’s Greg Culver represented the McCrary Institute, and CBRE’s Caroline Bour represented August Strategy Group. Marx acquired The Herald, the historic home of the Washington Herald Examiner, in 2020 and invested more than $40M to renovate the 114K SF office building.
MILESTONES
Carr Properties got the green light from the Arlington County Board to proceed with an office-to-residential conversion in Clarendon, it announced this week. Carr plans to redevelop the 40-year-old office building at 3033 Wilson Blvd. into 309 apartment units with 6K SF of ground-floor retail. Carr aims to break ground in early 2026 and complete construction in 2027. SK+I Architecture is designing the building, and Edit Lab at Streetsense is working on the interior design.
SALES
Carr Properties has offloaded a 228K SF office building in Bethesda. Bethesda-based Peel Properties purchased Carr’s 4500 East West Highway for $35M earlier this month, according to Maryland property records. Peel, the real estate business of the family behind office security firm Datawatch Systems and custodial company Red Coats, also owns the 174K SF office property next door. Carr developed 4500 East West in 2014.
FINANCING
Republic Properties Corp. has secured the financing it needs to construct a 356-unit apartment building at 1301 Maryland Ave. SW. The local developer announced it received $195M for the project — $137M from Kennedy Wilson and $58M from Pearlmark — and is planning to inject $65M of its own equity. Construction is expected to begin this year and finish in 2027. The building is the final phase of Republic's Portals complex in Southwest, a mixed-use development engineered through a public-private partnership with D.C. that is set to total 3M SF.
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The owners of a 240K SF office building on K Street are launching a $25M renovation of the property. Majority owner Rafael Etzion and partner Altus Realty are providing equity for the renovation to match new funding from lender Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. The effort is designed to spur leasing for the building's more than 100K SF of vacancy. Gensler is the architect for the renovation, and Newmark’s Doug Mueller and Ed Clark are leasing the space.
