FirstService Residential to Manage Virginia Condo Community
The 525-unit River Towers Condominium features three nine-story buildings in Old Town Alexandria.
FirstService Residential has been tapped to provide management services at River Towers Condominium, situated 2 miles south of Old Town Alexandria, Va. The 525-unit community features three nine-story towers on a 26-acre park-like property. The list of amenities is highlighted by a picnic grove with grills.
“River Towers is a beautiful property and a great location, and has been self-managed for a long time,” Trent Harrison, president, Mid-Atlantic for FirstService Residential, told Multi-Housing News. “They wanted a partner to develop and drive a plan to take them to the next level, because the property has upside potential . . . They needed professional guidance especially during COVID-19. They were like a ship without a rudder, especially in managing staff. They are moving their employees to our responsibility.”
With a location at 6621 Wakefield Drive, River Towers is well sited to provide owners with convenient access to jobs, stores, bike and walking trails, the Potomac River, a marina and a bus stop offering connections to the region’s Metrorail Yellow Line.
“It is so close to everything,” Harrison said. “The Amazon headquarters, the Pentagon, all of that is so close, and available by public transportation. But you feel like you are living in the suburbs in a park-like area, and not having to deal with the long commutes.”
In August, FirstService Residential grew its portfolio in the nation’s capital when it was selected to provide property management services at a Washington, D.C. co-op property.
Dual challenges
Calling River Towers “unique,” Harrison observed most high-rise residential buildings do not also have a grounds component. “This has both,” he added.
“Fortunately, we have the resources, because we manage large-scale properties . . . We will use the lessons learned and our experience in large-scale properties with homeowners’ associations where we’re dealing with both high-rise and extensive park land. The management team has to be diverse enough to handle both.”