Ares Management Corp. JV to Bring Mixed-Use Development to DC

Rendering of project. Image courtesy of MRP Realty

Ares Management Corp. and MRP Realty will be bringing more affordable units to downtown Washington, D.C., at the site of the soon-to-be former headquarters for the District of Columbia’s Housing Authority (DCHA).

The joint venture closed on the land for the project from DCHA and also secured an undisclosed amount of acquisition and construction financing from Bank OZK for the mixed-use community. Ares Management and MRP Realty are leading the joint venture, but it also includes CSG Urban Partners and Taylor Adams Associates.

The joint venture is looking to start construction on the first phase of the project immediately, aiming for an expected delivery in 2024. The community will replace the DCHA headquarters, which is a building on a 1-acre plot that’s currently nearing the end of its useful life.

The first phase of the project will total 430 units in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans, where 86 of the units will be affordable, and half of those will be deeply affordable at 30 percent AMI and offered to DCHA residents. Located at 1133 N. Capitol Street NE in Washington, D.C.’s NoMa neighborhood, the community will be two blocks west of the NoMa metro station.

Adding more affordable housing to Downton DC

In total, the joint venture’s mixed-use project will include three phases. When fully built out, the community will total approximately 1,200 apartments, with a minimum of 244 affordable units. Half of the affordable units will also be reserved for those making 30 percent of the area’s median income, just like the first phase.

As for the DCHA, the agency will be moving to a new headquarters in the new WMATA headquarters building at 300 Seventh St. SW roughly 2 miles away. The DCHA will be taking 52,000 square feet at the new location on a 12-year lease. The DCHA’s Office of Public Safety will also move to Douglas Development’s new office building at 515 New York Ave.