Onyx Apartments

 

Faison, a Charlotte-based developer with a big stake in the DC condo market, having developed the Whitman and 1010 Mass, partnered with Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund (i.e. Magic Johnson), a major fund for urban redevelopment projects, to build the Onyx, a 14-story residential tower at First & L Sts, within the Capitol Riverfront BID. Construction began in November 2006 and finished in early 2009. Calling it Onyx on First, Faison developed 266 residential units over a four-level underground parking garage with approximately 210 parking spaces, with a striking glass/brick exterior. The majority of units, designed to attract entry-level professionals, are small, and originally sold as a condominium, ranging from the high $200k's to the high $300k's with an average size of 725 s.f., but in early 2008 converted to an apartment building. Onyx residents have a public courtyard, game room, bike room, floor-to-ceiling windows, and pool. The name "Onyx on First" is a play on the address and the nearby baseball stadium, and 1 block from Metro. Designed by Esocoff & Associates. 

Washington DC commercial real estate news

1010 Mass Condos

1010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20001

1010 Mass condos is a 14-story, 163-unit condominium, developed by Rock Creek Properties (RCP), North Carolina-based Faison and the Carlyle Group. Sales began October 2005; first settlements began early Summer, 2007, and the project sold out by late 2008. Located in between Shaw and downtown DC, 3 blocks from Metro (Mt. Vernon), 1010 Mass has 8700 s.f. of ground floor retail, a rooftop lap pool and patio with superb views, and overlooks the new DC Convention Center and Massachusetts Avenue, taking the place of a small office building that had been on site. The underground garage houses space for 169 cars, i.e. only one per unit. Prices ranged from $400k to $1.5m; parking was available to purchase at $37,500. Faison also built the Whitman condos nearby. Architectural design by Esocoff & Assoc., Glen Construction performed construction, but went bankrupt after completing about 80% of the building.

Washington DC real estate development news

Capitol Riverfront Showcase This Weekend

With passage of the stimulus bill now behind us, the Capitol Riverfront BID (CRBID) is teaming with local artist collective Artomatic and starving artist patrons, The Pink Line Project, to highlight a trio of residential properties along the Southeast Waterfront this coming weekend. Entitled “Luck of the Draw,” the festival/marketing showcase will include art installations and live music coincidentally located at three prominent nouveau Southeast developments: the Cohen Companies’ Velocity Condominiums, JPI’s Axiom at Capitol Yards, and Faison’s Onyx on First.

The free public festivities kick off this Friday, February 13th at 6 PM and run through Sunday, February 15th. Residential units and lounges at the three aforementioned properties will be populated with “photography, installation art, graffiti artists, live music, and DJs and dancing;” we can only presume that there might be a few agents on hand (wink wink) to facilitate the transition from the dance floor to the sales office. Talk about mixed-use.

The cross-pollinating event will also serve a prelude to the CRBID’s 2009 partnership with Artomatic, which will be holding a 10^th anniversary party of their very own in the Capitol Riverfront in just a few months. Artomatic had previously teamed with competing development district, NoMA, for their 2008 exhibition.

"With our 2007 Artomatic we began working with the Business Improvement Districts...and found partnering with the BIDs as a perfect way for Artomatic to better engage the neighborhoods we were in and better leverage our outreach and marketing efforts for our event," said Artomatic representative and featured artist, Patrick Oberman.

Onyx on First Opens Its Doors

It's time for another ballpark area opening: The Onyx on First by Faison Development and Canyon-Johnson will open its doors Monday. The developer has been giving small tours of the fourteen-story, 266 unit apartment building at 1st and L Streets, SE for the last few weeks, but will officially open the leasing office next week. The $60 million project, near the Navy Yard metro, offers units sized from studios to two bedrooms.

Onyx apartments feature floor-to-ceiling windows, stainless steel appliances, stained concrete floors and full size washer-dryers. The community, which sits two blocks from the Nationals Stadium, includes a roof deck with a pool, WiFi in common areas, a fitness center, 24-hour concierge service and a clubroom with billiards.

Designed by Esocoff and Associates, the project was originally planned as a condominium building with prices in the high $200 and $300,000's, but went rental earlier this year. Construction began in November 2006. RAM Partners, LLC is the property management company.

Onyx on First to Break Ground by Start of November

According to developers Faison and Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds (yes, that Magic Johnson), the Onyx on First - a 14-story, 226-unit condominium located at 1st and L Streets NE, just one block form the new Nationals ballpark - is expected to break ground by the end of October. This $100 million project, which will rise next to Opus’ planned 13-story office building at this location, will also feature a four-level underground parking garage with approximately 210 parking spaces and 65 storage spaces. Pricing is expected to start in the upper $200,000 range to the high $300,000s, with units averaging 725 sf. Completion is expected sometime in 2008, when the new ballpark should be ready.

Washington DC real estate development news

Apartments Just a Fly Ball Away

With construction of the new Nationals ballpark moving full speed ahead in Southeast along South Capitol Street, a number of new apartment buildings within spitting distance of the field have recently been announced. First up is Camden Property Trust's 1325 Capitol SW project (pictured), located right across the street from the National's stadium between N and O Streets. The $99 million, 210,000-sf apartment project will be nine stories tall and contain 244 units, mostly one bedrooms with an average apartment size of 860 sf. Construction is expected to start Summer 2007. Camden (the owner) has yet to select a developer. Next up are two apartment projects from residential developer JPI: 70 and 100 I Street, a $210 million project with two towers containing nearly 700 units (completion is scheduled for late 2008); and 901 New Jersey Avenue, a $75 million, 238-unit apartment building set for the block now housing the Nexus Gold Club, a "gentlemen's" club (so, uh, I was told...). 901 New Jersey is set to being construction in 2007 with a late 2008 completion date. Finally, there is Faison's planned residential tower at 1st and L Streets SE. This will be a 14-story, 266-unit tower. Construction started last month, and the tower is expected to be done in late 2008. Make sure to glance to your left when driving down South Capitol – you can tell your kids you remember it when it was all empty lots and run-down warehouses....

Flats at Blagden Alley Cancels Condo Plan

Walnut Street Development confirmed today that they will halt sales for their most recent condo development in DC following disappointing interest. The project, a 45-unit condominium one block from the new Convention Center, named the Flats at Blagden Alley, was to house artist lofts and office condos in addition to the residential units. A WSD spokesman cited "a change in the market" and said that the developer, which has not yet received final condo certification from DC, will continue with the building and finalize condo approval but target the rental market, leaving open the possibility of condo sales closer to the Fall 2007 completion date - or thereafter. The project, designed by Eric Colbert, is still slated to break ground early this Fall. Sales began in late Spring, reportedly selling only 2 out of the 45 units. Numerous condo projects in the immediate area have recently completed, and Faison Development is in the final stages of building its 185-unit condo project directly across the street, where more than two-thirds of the units have sold.