Archstone Begins Construction on Newest Apartment Community in NoMa
Community to feature 469 apartments, world-class amenities
DENVER – July 13, 2010 – Archstone — a leader in apartment investment, development and operations—announced today that it has begun the development of its newest apartment community, Archstone NoMa, in the NoMa neighborhood in downtown Washington DC.
Located one block from the New York/Florida Avenue/Gallaudet University Red Line Metro Stop, three blocks from Union Station and a short walk from the U.S. Capitol at the corner of First and M streets N.E., the community will provide much needed residential housing for the thousands of employees currently working in NoMa.
“We are committed to developing high-quality apartment communities in great locations that create long-term value and positive returns for our neighborhoods, lenders and investors,” said Al Neely, Archstone’s chief development officer. “Downtown Washington DC, is among the most underserved markets for high-quality apartment rental housing in the U.S. Because of that, we believe this will be a great addition to the NoMa area as well as a tremendous success for Archstone.”
The first phase of the apartment community will feature 469 Class A apartment homes, an extensive amenity package and a 421-space parking garage. Among the amenities planned are a rooftop pool, fitness center, library, meeting rooms, resident theater, outdoor movie area and more.
“Our community will be an excellent addition to what is already an outstanding neighborhood in the NoMa district of Washington DC,” said Rob Seldin, Archstone’s senior vice president of development for the East region. “The District Government and the NoMa Business Improvement District have done a tremendous job in guiding the transformation of NoMa into one of the most vibrant and attractive locations for new investment and development in the U.S., and Archstone is proud to be playing an important role in helping further that strategic vision.”
CWCapital is providing the construction and permanent financing, which is insured under HUD’s Section 220 loan program, for the first phase of the two-phase project. CWCapital SVP, Andrea (Dee) McClure, who both originated and structured the project financing, feels, “fortunate to have been able to work with Archstone and FHA in structuring and executing this transaction. The combination of an outstanding transit-oriented location with Archstone’s development and management expertise, is unique. We look forward to the start of construction and to seeing this project through to completion.”
“This project represents progress and is a source of pride on many fronts. Not only will Archstone advance the D.C. government’s smart-growth objectives of bringing rental housing into critical transit-oriented locations, but through the utilization of the HUD-insured loan program, we will also be creating and sustaining critical local employment in the sector of the economy most hard hit during the economic downturn,” said Neil Brown, Archstone’s executive vice president of development for the Eastern U.S. “In addition to the hundreds of new construction jobs generated by the project, Archstone’s strategic investment will help meet the strong housing demand generated by the thousands of new employees, in the more than 2 million square feet of commercial space that has been leased in NoMa, over the past two years.”
Archstone anticipates opening first units of the Washington DC apartments by mid-2012 with the leasing office opening as early as the first quarter of 2012.
About Archstone
Archstone is a recognized leader in apartment investment and operations. The company's portfolio is concentrated in many of the most desirable neighborhoods in and around Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Boston. Archstone strives to provide great apartments and great service to its customers—backed by service guarantees. As of March 31, 2010, the company owned or had an ownership position in 433 communities located in the United States and Europe, representing 81,354 units, including units under construction. Utilizing this tremendous amount of expertise and institutional knowledge, Archstone now also offers comprehensive advisory services to owners and lenders who want to maximize the value of their assets through Archstone Real Estate Advisory Services.