AREP, Harrison Street Complete NoVa Office-to-Residential Conversion
The original building was constructed in the 1980s.
A joint venture between American Real Estate Partners and Harrison Street Asset Management has completed CityHouse Old Town, a 199-unit luxury multifamily adaptive reuse project located in Alexandria, Va. It is the market’s first office-to-residential conversion.
Leasing began late last year and the community in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The property is currently 40 percent occupied.
Construction on the conversion project began in early 2024, as the developer closed on $61.8 million in construction financing from Bank OZK, according to public records. The financing package included a $26.1 million five-year interest-only mezzanine loan, which was originated by investment funds managed by Mesa West Capital and arranged by Newmark.
Cooper Carry was the project’s architect and Hoar Construction served as general contractor. Other team members included Hickok Cole Creative, which oversaw brand and identity development, RD Jones + Associates, the interior designer, landscape architect LandDesign, mechanical engineer SSA Engineering and SK&A Structural Engineers. Bozzuto Management Co. is the property manager and KNLB is handling retail leasing at the property.
What got built
Located at 1101 King St. in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, the building was originally constructed as a seven-story, 236,000-square-foot office building in the 1980s. AREP acquired the asset in 2022 through its Strategic Opportunity Fund III. The total sale price, which included the acquisition of all the condo units in the office building from seven owners, was $34.8 million, according to public records.
CityHouse Old Town has a mix of studios to three-bedroom residences with floorplans ranging from approximately 500 to 1,559 square feet.
Units include stainless steel kitchen appliances and in-home washers and dryers, with select homes having waterfall island countertops and wine refrigerators. The residences feature tall ceilings and large windows with private outdoor terraces.
The redevelopment features a six-story interior atrium and courtyard with a fireplace and landscaping. Other amenities include a fitness studio, a coworking studio with semi-private pods and conference rooms, a dog-groom salon, a first-floor library lounge with a fireplace and seating, The community also has fourth-floor club with billiards and entertaining space that opens to a terrace with fire pit, grilling stations and a water feature. CityHouse Old Town has on-site parking with electric vehicle charging and bike storage space.
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CityHouse Old Town will also have concierge and hospitality services, a mail and package room and an online resident portal. Property manager Bozzuto will offer its Bozzuto Away-from-Home service.
The property includes approximately 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, with space leased Orangetheory Fitness, French Baguette and Lasik Plus.
CityHouse Old Town provides walkable access to neighborhood retail and dining options, the waterfront and the King Street Metro. Residents commuting by train will be three stops from Amazon’s HQ2 at National Landing. The Northern Virginia location is about 8 miles from downtown Washington, D.C. and 2 miles from the Alexandria Commons shopping mall. Reagan National Airport is a 5-mile drive, and the property is also close to interstates 495 and 395, and routes 7 and 1.
Office-to-resi conversions gain steam
The Washington, D.C. metro, including Northern Virginia, are seeing other office-to-residential conversions in addition to the now completed CityHouse Old Town in Alexandria.
The year started off with a record financing deal for Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, when Post Brothers closed on a $575 million funding package that included $465 million in C-PACE funding for The Geneva. The $750 million D.C. project that will convert two nine-story office buildings into a 15-story, 530-unit rental community with 57,000 square feet of commercial space. It is the largest C-PACE deal in history.
In November of last year, Carr Properties acquired 2121 Virginia Ave. NW, a 135,875-square-foot office building in D.C., with plans to redevelop it into a 320-unit luxury rental community. Demolition work is expected to begin this quarter.
While New York City leads the nation in the number of office-to-residential units planned this year, at more than 16,000, the D.C. metro ranks second with 8,479 in the pipeline, according to a new RentCafe.com report. The report notes conversions are hitting record levels, with 90,300 units in different stages of development nationwide. After New York City and D.C., the closest markets are Chicago, with 4,360 units planned, and Los Angeles with 4,340 units.
