Dan Sernovitz
The J Street Cos. plans to break ground this September on a 62-unit condo building in NoMa targeting apartment dwellers looking to buy their first homes.
The District-based developer is close to selecting a general contractor for the roughly $30 million project at Congress at L streets NE after paying nearly $7.2 million for the real estate in late December. The acquisition, from an individual seller through two different LLCs, was financed by EagleBank. The site, which now includes a former medical office building at 220 L St. NE and a vacant warehouse at 1101 Congress St. NE, is just south of a hive of activity that includes Douglas Development Corp.’s Uline Arena, anchored by an REI flagship store, and Trammell Crow Co.’s planned redevelopment of the Central Armature Works.
J Street Chairman Bruce Baschuk said the Congress Street project is ideally located to benefit from that activity and the continued development spreading out from the NoMa-Gallaudet U Metro station. J Street has built a number of projects in the area over the years, and Baschuk said the new condos designed by Nelson Architects will help broaden the neighborhood’s accessibility for those who want to put down roots.
"We think we have just a great location between the H Street retail and what's happening at Union Market," Baschuk said. "The vast majority of the building is designed for entry-level housing, so the thousands of people who have been renting for years in NoMa have been looking to buy will have more options."
About 12 percent of the project's residential units will be set aside for residents earning between 50 and 80 percent of area median income. That includes affordable units to be built at off-site locations nearby under the District's inclusionary zoning requirements. J Street has retained UrbanPace to market the units to interested buyers. The project is also slated to include about 3,700 square feet of ground-floor retail.
J Street has been planning the project for more than two years, and submitted development plans to the District's zoning commission in 2016. The development will be J Street's largest multifamily project but reflects a growing interest in residential. It is also working on a smaller, nine-unit condo project closer to Dupont Circle.
The District's approval of the NoMa project was the subject of an appeal filed in September by Union Market Neighbors, an organization battling new development and gentrification throughout the booming NoMa and Union Market communities. The appeal was voluntarily dismissed by Union Market Neighbors in November.
Link to the article at: J Street Cos. to Target First-Time Homebuyers w/ Planned NoMa Condos
Karen Widmayer
KW Communications LLC
301.661.1448
karenwidmayerpr@gmail.com