Landmark Properties Buy U-District Site For $39M
Georgia developer Landmark Properties has purchased an eight-parcel site in the U-District for $39M.
The developer will build two 25-story buildings and one seven-story mid-rise building, all of which will be designed for student housing. The 500K SF of development will deliver 1,600 student housing beds in 549 units, and will include 8,500 SF of ground-floor retail. There will be a rooftop pool on one of the structures.
The company will break ground in the first quarter of 2021 and is set to deliver in fall 2023. The development will go through design review early next year. The existing Canterbury Court building has been nominated for a possible landmark status. The property is bordered by Brooklyn Avenue NE and 12th Avenue NE and NE 43rd Street and NE 42nd Street.
Part of the site hit the market in April 2018, shortly after the area was upzoned, but no significant sales activity has occurred at 4238 12th Ave. NE, which is the address of one of the buildings, since 1999. At that time the building changed hands for $420K, according to public records. The last recorded buyer is Sabah Sharifah.
Colliers’ Tim McKay, Dan Chan and Sam Wayne, and CBRE’s Jon Hallgrinson, represented the sellers in the transaction.
Developers have been flocking to the U-District since the neighborhood was marked as an upzone. Much of the development has been clustered around the site of the new Link Light Rail station, which is just a few blocks from the Landmark development. In one transaction, University District Parking Associates teamed up with Touchstone and Portman Holdings as long-term ground-lease partners to develop commercial office buildings on the lots.
The new development and high-rises haven’t been welcome by all parties. Some longtime businesses, such as Hardwick’s Hardware, have found themselves unable to continue to operate due to new neighborhood constraints. Hardwick’s site sold in June for $17.25M.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated an incorrect number of planned student beds. The story has been updated to reflect the correct number.
