Crescent Falls Church Construction Complete, Minor Finishing Touches Await

A representative of Texas-based Hanover Company confirmed that construction teams have nearly wrapped up the Crescent Falls Church project and the building received their Certificate of Occupancy earlier this summer. This is Hanover's second major development in the Metro area, having completed Ashton Judiciary Square in 2009. The 6-story, 214-unit Crescent, a mixed-use and multi-family residence in Arlington near the East Falls Church Metro, was delivered only ever so slightly behind schedule, originally set to finish earlier this spring. Given that the developers planned to start leasing this summer, and now report the building 25% leased, there is plenty for Hanover to celebrate in a downmarket summer that has seen many more groundbreakings, affordable housing plans, and proposal extension requests than ribbon cuttings. The finished community neighbors the Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) and Falls Church Park, but the area surrounding East Falls Church Metro remains underutilized - largely a commuter zone, often simply passed over by shoppers on the way to Tysons. This development is part of a larger effort by Arlington and Falls Church officials to encourage denser redevelopment that will help transform the vicinity into a more urban, mass-transit friendly locale.

The new building is stockpiled with the standard amenities: private screening room, concierge, daily hot beverage service, two courtyards – one with a fire-pit and outdoor grilling and dining areas, and the other with dual-sided fireplace and outdoor grilling and dining areas. Like Hanover's previous venture in Penn Quarter, the apartment building focuses heavily on a variety of sustainable features. Developers believe that its metro location, recycling center, technical features, "oversized" bike room, and underground parking garage with priority for low-emission vehicles will help the building receive LEED certification upon review.

Hanover's nationwide record of apartment construction and operation likely helped the company muster proper financing and get this project completed. Other projects originally expected to be delivered on a similar time-line continue to limp along through the recession with little material progress to show for their efforts. Akridge's nearby Gateway development, set for the 500 block of N. Washington Street and unveiled way back in 2006, has yet to get off the ground. Delayed by the economic downturn, developers continue to bicker with city officials over the ratio of commercial (offices and retail) to residential square footage. Akridge is proposing one 73-foot, 5-story office building with 71,000 s.f. of office space and 12,000 s.f. of retail, coupled with a slightly shorter second 5-story building, this one offering 200 units (averaging 800 s.f. in size) and 2,500 s.f. of ground floor retail space. Their current plans offer a 70-30 percent split between residential and commercial, but officials look to push developers closer to a 50-50 setup.

Hekemian's "Northgate" development, a mixed use project, including 124 rental apartments, on the N. Washington St. side of the old Pearson Funeral Home, also had an initial expected completion date in 2010, but continues to trudge through the final site plan approval process and futilely fish for financing packages. A site plan amendment to incorporate the approved North Washington streetscape design is currently under consideration; it is unknown when construction will start.

Falls Church real estate development news

Crescent Falls Church

Falls Church will soon have a new high-end, mid-rise apartment building, when construction on the new Crescent Falls Church finishes next spring. The 6-story, 214-unit Crescent is a new mixed-use and multi-family residence near the East Falls Church Metro, which its developers now say will finish in the spring of 2010 and to begin leasing next spring or summer. Located mid-way between the District and Tysons Corner just off I-66, the new community will sit adjacent to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) and Falls Church Park, and across from the Westlee, a condo completed in 2006. The area was the focus of a study that began in 2007 that aimed to improve the metro site's land use, recently dominated by parking lots, and connect it better with the city of Falls Church. Given its proximity to DC and rare undeveloped metro locale, planners have sought a more urban landscape and transport integration The Crescent will apply for LEED certification upon completion, in the hope that its metro location, recycling center and technical features will secure the status. The Crescent's planned attractions will include a private screening room, concierge, daily hot beverage service, two courtyards – one with conversational firepit and outdoor grilling and dining areas, and the other with dual-sided fireplace and outdoor grilling and dining areas - and each unit should have a view of green space. Developers also plan an "oversized" bike room - intrepid residents could even ride the W & OD and Custis trail into DC - and underground parking garage with preference for low-emission vehicles. Crescent Falls Church is being built by Texas-based Hanover Company, which has a sizable record of apartment building construction and operation, though the Crescent is only its second DC area foray, having completed Ashton Judiciary Square, one of DC's more design conscious apartment communities, earlier this year in DC's Penn Quarter. The project site had been purchased from K. Hovnanian Homes, which had begun the project as the Easton condo project.

Falls Church commercial real estate news

Judiciary Square Apartment Building Opens

The Judiciary Square corner of Washington DC's Penn Quarter now has one more residential building, and one less vacant lot. The Hanover Company, a private, Houston-based real estate firm, introduced its latest apartment building in Penn Quarter last week, adding a touch of high-end to the downtown rental market. The Ashton at Judiciary Square, at 750 3rd Street, NW, opened its doors as one of downtown's few upscale buildings, and with construction nearly complete, units will be ready for occupancy beginning this week. The 12-story glass building holds just 49 necessarily spacious apartments and a parking garage, with amenities to match: marbled foyer with inlaid tile, 24-hour concierge, NYC-worthy interior design, nearly 10 foot ceilings, and a choice of interior styles throughout the building. The rent will set you back a bit - $4332 per month to start (less if you factor in the standard one-month-free deal) - but the leasing team is already scheduling moving vans for its first occupants - "finance types, athletes, and government employees," apparently for those GS's with a higher than average per diem. The Ashton comes furnished or not, short-term (3 month) leases or long, and with views ranging from stunning Capitol dome to, well, a peek at much more local architecture. Occupants also get a separate suite for guests, though you won't need it if you take one of the top floor suites, with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2700 s.f., and views from far southeast to Rosslyn and everything in between. All that at only $10,817 per month. And situated near the on-ramp to 395, you could make it to a Nationals game in 5 minutes flat, or just bug out of town in a hurry. Hanover hired WDG Architecture for the design, but reports performing the remainder in-house, from interior design to construction. The Ashton is the nationwide developer's first entrant in the DC Market, but it will soon follow up with the Crescent at Falls Church, scheduled to open next May. Hanover purchased the empty lot from Abdo Development in July of 2007 after Abdo cleared the land of a hotel in order to construct a condominium that never made it past the drawing board. That means the building was designed, planned, and built in just 25 months, something local developers should envy. Abdo retained the land next door, along with a plan for a large office building. The site is 3 blocks north of the Judiciary Square Metro.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Judiciary Square Apartments Rising

One of Penn Quarter's last remaining vacant parcels will soon be occupied. Texas-based Hanover Company began construction in February on Ashton Judiciary Square, a 49-unit “luxury” apartment project at 750 3rd Street, NW. Designed by DC-based WDG Architecture and constructed by the developer, the new project is located next to the Mass Court Apartments, on the west side of I-395, three blocks north of the Judiciary Square Metro. Back in 2007, Abdo Development demolished the Best Western hotel on the site to build Penn Tower, a 90-unit condo project, but later abandoned the plans an

d sold the site to the current developer. The Hanover Company's $45 million project is slated for delivery in spring 2009. The Downtown BID cites this space as the last remaining parcel of developable space - other than the already-spoken for Convention Center. Why the downsize from 90 units to 49? The developer says it specializes in “premium multi-family units,” not condos. While pricing and exact square footage is not yet available, Stuart Rosenberg, a member of the developer's marketing team, told DCMud that “apartment footprints do tend to be spacious.” Minimum unit square footage in its other projects hovers around 1,000 s.f. The project's below-grade parking garage will offer the Downtown BID approximately 40 spaces upon completion. The developer is currently working on projects across the country in Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Denver as well as the closer Crescent Falls Church in Virginia and Domain Brewer's Hill in Baltimore.

Washington DC commercial property news