SkyHouse, Washington, DC
Now called Lex and Leo at Waterfront Station
Multifamily and Mixed-Use
Emerging Market
Complexity Innovation in Design
Transit-Oriented Development
Public-Private Redevelopment
Challenge
Long before Southwest Washington’s waterfront was reimagined as a lively new urban destination, Urban Atlantic saw an area poised for explosive growth and a transit-adjacent property that could be leveraged to yield market-rate and affordable residences. Based on an exceptional record in executing mixed-income developments, maximizing yield through adaptive reuse, and structuring complex financing, Urban Atlantic was selected as the developer to transform two Brutalist-style former office buildings into a vibrant and viable residential community within a larger public-private redevelopment zone. Urban Atlantic’s vision, creativity and experience were necessary to create a new residential landmark in a neighborhood largely populated by limited retail and low-density housing, where there had been virtually no new residential construction for decades.
What We Did
Urban Atlantic led the design and construction team in an innovative reimagination that included gutting and redesigning the interiors from office to residential use and re-skinning the exteriors with modern, energy-efficient glass and metal paneling—all while preserving the historic character and design of twin I.M. Pei-designed structures. The 12-story historic concrete structures, along with elevator shafts and stairwells, would be preserved, but nearly everything else needed to be replaced. Working within these building core and column constraints, Urban Atlantic maximized interior space to realize a yield of dozens more luxury residences than were initially believed possible, achieving a strong return on investment. Urban Atlantic was further able to assemble conventional financing to internally cross-subsidize the construction of the required 20% affordable units within the project, with no external subsidies needed.
Value Realized
Defying expectations of the time, Urban Atlantic, in partnership with investor JBG (now JBG SMITH) converted and renovated two outdated government office structures into a 530-unit high-rise luxury apartment community with 20% affordable units. SkyHouse (now called Lex and Leo at Waterfront Station) became the first Class A multifamily community in decades in the emerging Southwest Washington market. Urban Atlantic achieved a high-end product within a public-private partnership in a location that was new to institutional investors. The project also featured one of the District’s first shared parking structures, licensing spaces within an existing underground retail and office garage. Later purchased by Bernstein Management, Lex and Leo is a highly prized neighborhood asset and landmark residential community in the nation’s capital.