A frozen development project, evidenced by the snow-covered concrete slab at 2707-2711 Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria, is showing signs of thawing now that construction may start again this spring. Alexandria's The Lofts at Del Ray Village, a three-story, 14,096 s.f. development, was supposed to resuscitate the vacant lot beginning last May. Almost a year later, the foundation is poured, but the rest of the live/work project remains incomplete. Now developer/architect Gaver Nichols says, the project could get back on track within the next two months and could complete by the end of 2010.
The problems began about six months ago when a local lender suddenly lost its enthusiasm for all things real estate. That left Nichols and his development partners with a poured foundation and no financing to go beyond that. Nichols says carefully that "the project is moving slowly due to financial constraints" but that he and his partners are raising collateral and doing everything they can to begin building. "I have been working on this site for almost ten years, since I approached the guy about the dirt," said Nichols, "it's a labor of love."The Lofts’ top two floors will be four, two-bedroom units, ranging in size from 2,053 to 2,949 s.f. The ground-floor will include 4,500 square feet of office space (plus basements), giving tenants the opportunity to work from home, though they will not be required to use the commercial space. Last May, Nichols described the project: “Conceptually, it’s like the traditional neighborhood warehouse that’s been renovated with a modern top." Except this is brand new construction - an entirely different ball game- and architect Nichols has earned his development stripes during a difficult time for even an established developer.
Alexandria real estate development news
8 comments:
We'll keep our fingers crossed. This will be another terrific addition to this end of the Del Ray neighborhood. Hopefully they'll resume before mosquito season starts again as last summer it became quite a breeding ground.
Another nice project. Especcially like the roof line.
Is this apartment or condo?
The live in units will be for sale not rental.
Why does the story say they'll be rental units?
Anyone know what pricing will be?
It says the bottom floor (retail spaces) will be for rent. Upstairs residential units will be for sale. I don't think prices have been released yet.
Nice but it really needs planting or some means of making the 1st floor feel like they have privacy. I worry that commercial use nonwithstanding, as we've seen in other new projects, without separation people will be inclined shut the blinds 24/7, resulting in a dead wall. Always bad for livability and the streetscape.
I appreciate that this project will help cover up that awful house to the south.
Is there a mailing list for updates on these units?
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