Republic Properties Begins Construction on DC Luxury Apartments
The development is part of the final phase of a 3 million-square-foot megaproject.
Republic Properties has broken ground on 1301, a $260 million, 356-unit luxury apartment building that marks the final phase of Republic Properties Corp.’s $2 billion Portals mixed-use development. The area overlooks the Tidal Basin and Washington D.C.’s memorials and monuments.
1301 is located at 1301 Maryland Ave., SW, and is considered to be part of Portals IV, the development’s final phase. The market-rate, 525,000-square-foot building will be similar to its sister building at 1331 Maryland Ave., SW.
When 1301 is completed, the Portals Complex will total more than 3 million square feet of mixed-use space. The complex in Southwest D.C. already includes three Class A office buildings, the luxury Salamander Hotel and 1331 Maryland Ave., SW. The 550,000-square-foot 373-unit 1331 Maryland Ave., SW, building cost $230 million to construct. It is located above the Tidal Basin with views of the Potomac River and National Mall.
1301 details
Republic worked with CBRE’s Mid-Atlantic Debt & Structured Finance team to secure $195 million in construction financing. The package included $137 million from Kennedy Wilson and $58 million from Pearlmark. Republic provided the remaining $65 million in sponsor equity.
The new trophy apartment building will feature a rooftop terrace with an outdoor pool, grills and firepits. Other amenities include clubroom entertaining areas with a piano lounge and coworking spaces as well as a fitness center, game lounge with sports simulator, dog spa and park.
The property was designed by WDG Architecture with interiors made by Akseizer Design Group.
Public-private partnership
Considered a landmark public-private partnership with the District of Columbia, Republic has worked with the D.C.’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. The District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency first identified the vacant Portals lot as a development site in the 1980s. In 1987, DCRLA competitively awarded Republic and its partner, Eastcoast Development Corp., the right to master plan and develop a 3 million-square-foot mixed-use development.
Based in Washington, D.C., Republic Properties Corp. is a division of Republic Family of Companies along with its affiliates Republic Land Development LLC and Republic Urban Properties LLC. The privately owned, full-service real estate investment, management and development enterprise has developed and invested in transactions valued at more than $8 billion.
Office-to-resi conversion
In 2020, Republic Properties completed the adaptive reuse of Portals V, converting the former office building into 1301’s multifamily neighbor, 1331 Maryland Ave. SW.
Last month, a joint venture between London-based Henderson Park and Lowe closed on $180 million in construction financing to convert a 536,000-square-foot office building at 1250 Maryland Ave. SW into a 428-unit multifamily community. Although it has a different sponsor than 1301, Balfour Beatty is also providing general contracting services for the office-to-residential conversion. Beyer Blinder Belle is the architect of record and KTGY is the interior designer.
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The adaptive reuse project will add three more levels totaling 112,000 square feet, to the eight-story office building. The project will also have about 53,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.
Although it is part of the Portals campus, Republic Properties has not owned the building since 2017. Henderson Park acquired the asset in 2023.
