D.C. Condo Project Nears Completion; Mostly Sold

Washington, D.C.--In a show of good sales in a condo market that isn't seeing the strongest of times, the Harrison, a 49-unit project in the Friendship Heights area of the District, reports that it has sold 70 percent of its residences.

Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Rendering of the Harrison

Washington, D.C.–In a show of good sales in a condo market that isn’t seeing the strongest of times, the Harrison, a 49-unit project in the Friendship Heights area of the District, reports that it has sold 70 percent of its residences. The development is still under construction, and will be complete in November, according to the developer, Robertson Development.

The Harrison is the first residential project in the D.C. part of the neighborhood (the border with Maryland runs nearby) in about five years. The site was previously a Bank of America surface parking lot.

According to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc., a real estate information specialist in the Mid-Atlantic states, the D.C. market unit and sales volumes for condos are down. Condo sales volume in dollars was down 17.98 percent in July 2010, compared with the same month a year earlier. Some 218 units sold in the market during July 2010, compared with 309 during July 2009.

Average condo sales prices are up year-over-year in July, however, notes MRIS, which might indicate that the sales are skewing toward the higher end of the market. The average DC condo fetched about $443,800 in July 2010, 12.26 percent more than a year earlier. The Harrison’s units, which is a range of over 33 floorplans, run from just under $300,000 for a one-bedroom unit to well over $800,000 for two bedrooms

One of the main draws of the site, according to the developer, is its transit-oriented location. The Harrison is about a block and a half from the Friendship Heights Metro station, and it’s also near a shopping corridor on Wisconsin Ave. that includes the likes of Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Williams-Sonoma, Lord and Taylor, Bloomingdales and Borders. When complete, the project will include a 40-car parking garage, and parking will be available specifically for motorcycles and bicycles as well.

Urban Pace, which specializes in sales and marketing services to developers of urban condo and townhome projects in the Washington area, is heading the sales effort for the Harrison. Ellisdale Construction is building the project.

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